The fall college basketball recruiting live period rolls right up to the November early signing window, which means this is a critical time for coaching staffs to fortify their 2020 classes and begin to prioritize 2021 targets.
We wrote last week about where the IU coaching staff initially focused their efforts during the live period, which provided insight into where the Hoosiers are pushing the hardest.
Week two is here, and below is some news and notes on what to look for.
DAWSON GARCIA SET TO CUT LIST
If you ask most Indiana fans who sits atop their class of 2020 wish list, Minnesota based forward Dawson Garcia is a name you are sure to hear.
The IU coaching staff traveled north to visit the Prior Lake product last week and were one of the first schools to spend time with Garcia during the live period. Now the hope and expectation is that Garcia will use one of his five allotted official visits in Bloomington this fall.
The first step will be for the 6-foot-11 Garcia to cut his list down, and that appears to be coming on Tuesday. Tipton Edits reported that Garcia will initially reduce his list to a top seven.
Final 7 coming for Dawson Garcia on Tuesday. #iubb expected to be included. https://t.co/Lg72oCPlcJ
— Mike Schumann @ The Daily Hoosier (@daily_hoosier) September 16, 2019
With players only allowed those five official visits, the list of seven should soon be cut down to at least five for all practical intents and purposes when the visits are announced. Indiana appears to be in good shape to get one of the five.
The top 30 ranked Garcia would turn an already strong 2020 class into one of the best in the country for Indiana.
IU STAFF TO VISIT JAVONTE BROWN-FERGUSON
With turnover coming due to exhausted eligibility, there is a clear need to replenish Indiana’s front court.
IU offered 7-foot Javonte Brown-Ferguson last month after a strong spring and summer playing AAU basketball, and the Hoosier coaching staff is continuing to push on the Canadian product.
According to a report by Adam Zagoria, Indiana will be in for a visit this week, and they will be looking to secure one of just two remaining official visits.
The big question with Brown-Ferguson right now centers around whether he will reclassify from the class of 2021 into 2020. According to the Zagoria report, Brown-Ferguson is currently leaning 70/30 in favor of 2020. That appears to be the year that IU is the most interested in recruiting him for.
Brown-Ferguson plays for Canada Elite on the Under Armour AAU Circuit and high school basketball in Baltimore at Mount St. Joseph,
2021 FORWARD BRYCE HOPKINS TO VISIT THIS WEEKEND
Joe Henricksen was the first to report the next visitor to the IU campus.
Fenwick’s Bryce Hopkins, the Hoops Report’s No. 2 ranked prospect in Illinois in the Class of 2021, plans to visit Indiana #Hoosiers next weekend, #Louisville Sept. 27-28 and a junior year official visit to #Cal Oct. 13-15.
— Joe Henricksen (@joehoopsreport) September 13, 2019
Indiana offered Hopkins in June. He is the No. 77 player in the 2021 class according to the 247Sports composite.
Playing for Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill., Hopkins averaged 22 points, seven rebounds and two assists a game as a sophomore. He plays AAU for the same MoKan Elite program that produced Juwan Morgan.
VIDEO EMERGES FROM TREY KAUFMAN’S IU OFFICIAL VISIT
As we shared with you on Friday, class of 2021 in-state forward Trey Kaufman took a junior year official visit to IU this past weekend. Indiana’s emphasis on Kaufman during the first week of the live period made it clear that the 6-foot-8 in-state product is a high priority for head coach Archie Miller.
One of the more interesting things to emerge from Kaufman’s visit was this video shared on Twitter by his trainer Cardell McFarland. The Sellersburg, Ind. product got to play one-on-one with current IU players Trayce Jackson-Davis and Joey Brunk.
https://twitter.com/CardellMcF/status/1172877456430305280
The Daily Hoosier also saw former Hoosier All-American and current NBA player Cody Zeller on campus this weekend along with IU class of 2020 verbal commits Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal at the same time Kaufman was visiting.
McFarland also shared this new photo of Kaufman from the weekend.
2021 IN-STATE FIVE STAR KHRISTIAN LANDER’S VISIT PLANS CRYSTALLIZING
Of course Evansville based five-star point guard Khristian Lander is also a high priority for Miller.
The competition for the top ranked 2021 point guard is becoming a bit more clear as Lander’s fall visit plans become public.
Five-star PG Khristian Lander (2021) will officially visit Louisville Sept 27-29, Indiana Oct 4-6 and Michigan Oct 26-28, per his father.
— Nick Baumgart (@Nick_Baumgart) September 16, 2019
Lander’s IU visit aligns with the annual Hoosier Hysteria event in Bloomington.
While these three schools are clear strong contenders, Lander is still just starting his junior year of high school with a commitment probably at least year away.
This is a recruitment that is likely to continue to expand, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.
You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no additional cost to you.
