In a loaded in-state class of 2021, a few players have emerged as priority targets for Indiana, and one of them will be on the IU campus this weekend.
South Bend Riley guard Blake Wesley is taking a junior year official visit to Indiana beginning on Friday and ending on Sunday. Wesley will be in attendance for Saturday’s game against Troy.
Currently ranked No. 84 in the class of 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite, Wesley might have the most untapped potential when it comes to in-state juniors. He is ranked No. 4 in the state of Indiana for his class.
After entering his sophomore season with a broken wrist on his shooting hand, the 6-foot-5 Wesley averaged averaged 12.3 points, 3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 assists in 19.9 minutes per game for the 2018-19 season.
Wesley posted those numbers on a Riley team that featured nine seniors — and he was the only underclassman that started.
Wesley shot 45% from the field overall, 34% from behind the three-point line and 72% from the foul line during his sophomore campaign.
Now healthy and an upperclassman, Wesley appears destined for big things over his next two seasons of high school basketball.
His father Derrick, a Ball State basketball hall of fame inductee, told the Daily Hoosier in August that the 2019-20 season should bring big results — and new challenges.
“I think he’ll have a breakout year, but I think he also understands that he has to get his teammates involved because there’s a target on him,” Derrick Wesley told The Daily Hoosier.
Wesley is expected to grow to 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot wingspan, but he has good ball handling skills and he used his wrist injury as an opportunity to develop his off hand. His father sees a versatile perimeter talent that could play anywhere from point guard to the wing depending on the situation.
“He’ll have some versatility either way depending on who is there at whatever school he chooses,” Derrick said. “If there is a point guard there, then he can play the two, if there is a two there, then he can play the three. We want him to be able to play and guard all of those positions.”
IU offered Wesley in July, and that seemed to indicate that the Hoosiers are prioritizing him over other high profile members of the 2021 class that have similar skill sets.
Of course the competition is stiff, with Purdue, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Xavier, Butler, Cincinnati and others involved.
Indiana has some relationships that it can leverage in this key recruitment.
Wesley was a freshman at Riley when IU forward Damezi Anderson was a senior at the South Bend high school, and Anderson’s younger brother Davyion is currently on the Riley squad.
Damezi Anderson and Wesley also share the same trainer, and Wesley’s mother is an IU Bloomington alumna.
For those interested in watching Wesley and his Riley squad this year, here are a couple of games of note on their 2019-20 schedule, including a stop in southern Indiana.
- Dec. 10 – at South Bend St. Joseph (vs. Notre Dame commit J.R. Konieczny)
- Dec. 21 – at Barr-Reeve (at Evansville Bosse)
- Jan. 17 – at Mishawaka Marian (vs. Purdue commit Jaden Ivey)
- Jan. 25 – Tournament at Culver Academies / potential matchup with IU commit Trey Galloway
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