It had been a while since the IU basketball staff extended a scholarship offer, but head coach Archie Miller did just that over the weekend when he called DeMatha High School small forward Tyrell Ward.
The 6-foot-5 Ward is likely a name familiar to our readers. The Daily Hoosier caught up with his high school head coach Mike Jones recently and discussed Ward extensively. At the time Jones hinted that a scholarship offer from IU was likely.
On Sunday, Ward announced an offer from Indiana on his Twitter page.
https://twitter.com/daraghson_/status/1358544468794892291?s=20
The Indiana offer capped off a big weekend for Ward, who posted a career high 26 points in a matchup of national top-20 teams as No. 5 DeMatha defeated No. 20 Paul VI.
Ward is rated the No 108 player in the Class of ’22 in the 247Composite rankings. He is the No. 26 small forward according to that same service.
He has been with his head coach since the seventh grade, and DeMatha’s Mike Jones sees a true two-way player.
“He can guard every position on the floor, except for maybe a 7-foot center,” Jones told The Daily Hoosier in January. “He can guard point guards and stay in front of them. His length bothers them. He can guard wings. He can guard face-up 4s. He’s extremely versatile and he embraces being that.”
On the other end of the floor Ward is a threat to score at all three levels.
“He’s a throwback in terms of the way he plays,” Jones said. “He makes jump shots. He’s shooting very well from the 3 so far this year. We tease him because he’s got a lot of finesse. The finger rolls. The finishing around the rim. He’s got good touch with his right and his left hand. He’s good. He’s really good. He’s developed into what I believe to be one of the top players in his class around the country.”
247Sports’ Eric Bossi recently described Ward after watching him play in January at the St. James NIBC Invitational.
“He is a versatile guy dripping with upside,” Bossi wrote. “Ward is on the lean side, but he can run, is capable of playing all over and looks like he’s just scratching at his potential.”
For AAU Ward runs with the New World (Adidas) program where he is teammates with another 2022 IU target, center Favour Aire. At DeMatha Ward is teammates with IU shooting guard target Rodney Rice. All of these players from the Washington D.C. metro area are being recruited primarily by assistant coach Kenya Hunter.
Ward has an impressive and growing offer list that includes Providence, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Georgia and LSU. Maryland, Louisville and Xavier are some of the other high majors involved.
To see all of Indiana’s 2022 prospects, GO HERE.
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