IU basketball landed one of its highest-rated recruits ever on Tuesday afternoon.
Class of 2027 big man Darius Wabbington announced his pledge to head coach Darian DeVries and the Hoosiers.
“I chose Indiana because the plan they have for me and the trust that the entire organization has in me,” he told 247Sports.
“I decided IU was the place for me because of the love that was shown while I was there and the love I got from the entire organization. I have an amazing relationship with every coach on the coaching staff. I talk to all of them pretty consistently,” he told Rivals.
The 6-foot-11 and 255-pound Phoenix product picked IU over his home state Arizona program, along with Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas and Louisville.
Based on the 247Sports Composite, Wabbington has the third-highest player rating of any IU basketball commit in the rankings era. He comes in behind only Romeo Langford and Mackenzie Mgbako.
The addition of Wabbington gives IU the No. 1 ranked 2027 recruiting class in the nation for the moment. He joins Missouri-based guard Chase Branham and German center Felix Kiehlneker in the class.
Based on the average of the national rankings, Wabbington is a 5-star, the No. 13 overall player in the senior class, and the No. 2 center.
Wabbington attends Sunnyslope H.S. in Arizona, and he led the school to an open state championship. He averaged 17.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game as a high school junior.
This spring, Wabbington posted 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting over 38% from three for the Compton Magic on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit.
Here is national 247Sports analyst Adam Finkelstein’s assessment of Wabbington on his profile page at that outlet:
Wabbington is the most skilled big man in the national class. He has naturally soft hands and touch, is an excellent ball-handler and passer (especially good lob thrower), and developing floor-spacing shooter. He’s a wide-body who has gradually improved his conditioning, but could still better sculpt his frame. He has some sneaky agility, but is never going to be naturally quick or athletic. However, he’s continued to grow throughout his high school years and is now close to seven-feet with a long 7-foot-4 wingspan.
He was allowed to experiment and stretch his game as an ultra-jumbo initiator this grassroots season, which is why his numbers were less efficient than normal (41% FG and 2.4 assists vs. 2.4 turnovers). There were still some struggles to finish in FIBA play (36% on 2pt FG), but his decision-making was much more reliable. Long-term, he projects as someone teams can play through in the post, on the elbows, out of short-rolls, as a trailer, and potentially even starting the break.
He has good instincts and feel, but can still struggle to score over length at times and isn’t always totally reliable creating his own offense when unable to generate passing opportunities. Defensively, he’s mostly a drop coverage post at this point and isn’t much of a shot-blocker for his size (0.8 per game), but will control his area on the glass (6.3 defensive rebounds per game).
Overall, there’s a lot to like about Wabbington, and particularly how he could fit into offensive structure, but there’s room for him to keep working on his body, shooting, finishing, and overall efficiency to maximize his glaring talent.
Here is a long-form video highlighting Wabbington’s strengths and weaknesses as a player:
For complete coverage of IU basketball recruiting, GO HERE.
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