Indiana head coach Archie Miller has followed through on his day one commitment to recruit the Hoosier state, and his “inside out” strategy has produced well thus far.
Under Miller’s direction IU has landed seven Indiana high school recruits in his first three recruiting classes.
Looking forward, The Daily Hoosier has extensively documented the breadth and depth of the in-state talent in the class of 2021, including high priority top 100 targets Khristian Lander (Evansville), Trey Kaufman (Sellersburg), Caleb Furst (Fort Wayne) and Blake Wesley (South Bend).
With another season of Indiana high school basketball set to begin in the coming weeks, it is time to start to look out to the in-state high school sophomores and freshmen.
Here are eight of the in-state names in the classes of 2022 and 2023 that appear right now to be the most likely to become some of IU’s top targets in the coming years.
Class of 2022
Jalen Washington (Gary, Ind. / West Side) – The only player that IU has already offered in the class of 2022, Washington appears to be another potential five star caliber recruit from the Hoosier State.
A forward in the 6-foot-8 range, Washington has great length and an emerging inside/out skill set. The 247Sports Composite has him ranked No. 13 nationally.
Washington missed most of his freshman season with a shoulder injury but returned in February and averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per game as a freshman at West Side.
Kamari Lands (Indianapolis, Ind. / La Lumiere) – Lands was originally slated to play for Cathedral before jumping to La Lumiere in LaPorte, Ind. While Miller hasn’t had any luck yet with the northern Indiana prep school, he will no doubt be keeping a close on Lands, who as a 6-foot-6 guard is rated as the No. 55 player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite.
As a freshman he helped La Lumiere to a 30-1 record and the finals of the 2019 GEICO High School Boys National Championship playing alongside Keion Brooks, Jr. and Isaiah Stewart.
Lands played up a year in AAU for 16U Indy Heat. He is the cousin of Jalen Coleman-Lands, who played at Cathedral and then Illinois before transferring to DePaul.
Tayshawn Comer (Indianapolis, Ind. / Cathedral) – It’s early, but Comer appears as though he might emerge as the top in-state point guard in the class. Comer is around 6-foot and 160 pounds, and he has elite quickness.
According to his MaxPreps profile, Comer averaged 9.1 points, 3.5 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per contest as a freshman at Cathedral playing alongside current Hoosier Armaan Franklin.
D’Ante Davis (Indianapolis, Ind. / Lawrence Central) – A 6-foot-4 shooting guard/wing, Davis had a more limited role as a freshman on a stacked Lawrence Central team that includes his brother.
Davis is the younger brother of D’Andre Davis, a Louisville commit and one of the top high school seniors in the state.
After an impressive spring and summer, the younger Davis is expected to emerge and will likely end up being a top 100 player nationally. He already holds offers from Louisville, Butler and Xavier.
Will Lovings-Watts (Jeffersonville, Ind. / Jeffersonville) – A 6-foot-4 guard, Loving-Watts averaged 8.4 points and 5.2 rebounds as a freshman at Jeffersonville.
Lovings-Watts plays with the Indiana Elite AAU program and he has been getting high major interest from several area programs including IU.
Reggie Bass (Muncie, Ind. / Hamilton Heights Christian Academy) – Bass should perhaps have an asterisk next to his name in the context of in-state players.
The former Muncie Central Bearcat averaged 12.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game as a freshman, but he has transferred to Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Tennessee. Of course Indiana will continue to keep a close eye on the 6-foot-3 left handed guard.
Class of 2023
Yes they are just freshman that have yet to play a game of high school basketball, but already there are two names in-state that appear to be on a clear high major / national recruitment path based on their impressive play at the grassroots AAU level.
Jalen Hooks (Indianapolis, Ind. / Franklin Central) – Hooks is around 6-foot-6 and a long, athletic wing that is already on the radar of all of the area high major programs.
Darrion Brooks (Fort Wayne, Ind. / New Haven) – If the Brooks/Fort Wayne combination sounds familiar, there is a good reason. The 6-foot-4 younger brother of former IU 2019 recruiting target Keion appears to be track for an equally high profile recruitment.
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