Indiana had four recruiting prospects on hand for their marquee matchup against Purdue on Saturday afternoon.
It would be difficult to imagine a better showcase for recruiting than the scene at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, both with the best crowd environment of the year, and a win over the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
Here’s a quick update on the four high school players who were in attendance as guests of Indiana.
Now fully transitioned into the role of recruiter, class of 2023 Indiana signee Gabe Cupps was in Bloomington once again. The 6-foot-2 point guard from Centerville, Ohio has been at IU too many times to count at this point. Cupps is averaging 15.2 points, 6.8 assists (against 1.9 turnovers), 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals. He’s shooting 39.7 percent from 3-point range and 93 percent from the free throw line. The reigning Ohio Mr. Basketball’s Centerville H.S. team is 17-2 and seeking its second state title in three years.
- For more coverage of Cupps, GO HERE.
Making his third visit to IU in the last four months, class of 2024 center Flory Bidunga was back for the marquee matchup involving two of the programs most heavily recruiting him right now. Ranked a 5-star, top-10 prospect nationally in the class of 2024, Bidunga is averaging 18.8 points, 13.1 rebounds and 4.6 blocks for Kokomo (Ind.) H.S. The number of visits by Bidunga suggests Indiana is a legitimate contender for the dominant athlete from Congo.
- For more coverage of Bidunga, GO HERE.
Also making a return visit was class of 2025 point guard Jalen Haralson. The 6-foot-7 Haralson has been to IU at least five times since August. He’s averaging 22.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists for Fishers H.S. (Fishers, Ind.). Haralson is the No. 11 overall player in his class according to the On3 Consensus. While Haralson is nowhere near a college decision, it’s reasonable to conclude IU is in his main group, and the way the Hoosiers are utilizing Jalen Hood-Schifino this year has to be particularly appealing to the tall point guard with a similar skillset.
- For more coverage of Haralson, GO HERE.
Also there was Kellen Pickett, a 6-foot-8 class of 2025 forward from Fort Wayne, Ind. He plays at Blackhawk Christian Academy where he’s learning to shoot threes from one of the best to ever do it for IU, head coach Matt Roth. That’s also the same high school that produced Purdue’s Caleb Furst. Pickett is averaging 13.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season while making 50 percent from the field overall, and 38 percent from beyond the arc. Pickett will be someone to keep an eye on this spring and summer when he runs with the Indy Heat AAU program.
You can always keep track of the latest news on IU’s top recruiting targets on our main recruiting page here:
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