IU Basketball Recruiting: Southport Event Provides Chance to See Commits and Targets

With IU playing on Friday night, the calendar lines up perfectly for those wanting to see several of the Hoosiers’ top in-state recruiting targets and commits all in one place.

The annual Forum Tip-Off Classic is being held at Southport High School on the south side of Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon and evening.

The event features six games, two players that have signed to play for Indiana next year, three players that IU has offered, and others that are on the Hoosier radar.

Here is a quick summary of what to look for on Saturday.

12:00 p.m — Southport vs. Greensburg

Greensburg is one of the state’s best class 3A teams and features Andrew Welage.  The 6-foot-5 wing had multiple division one offers and committed to Wright State.

Brevin Jefferson leads a balanced Southport team that is off to a 3-0 start.

1:40 p.m. —  Brownsburg vs. Heritage Hills 

Brownsburg’s Pierce Thomas is a junior who is firmly on IU’s radar.  An elite athlete, Thomas is a consistent jump shot away from seeing his recruitment explode.

Heritage Hills 6-foot-9 junior Blake Sisley is on the radar of several division one programs.  He is averaging 21 points per game early in this season.  Senior guard Murray Becher also averaged more than 20 points per game last year.

3:20 p.m. — Hamilton Southeastern vs. Gary West

Hamilton Southeastern has intriguing 7-foot junior Mabor Majak, who averaged 8.4 points and 5.7 rebounds last year.  He has committed to Cleveland State.

Unfortunately, Gary West sophomore forward Jalen Washington suffered a season ending knee injury and will not play on Saturday.  Washington is considered one of the top prospects in the country in the class of 2022 and he holds an IU offer.  His teammate, junior point guard Quimari Peterson, is rated in the top 250 nationally and has plenty of division one interest.

5:00 p.m. — Carmel vs Evansville Reitz

Peter Suder is the only returning starter for defending state champion Carmel.  The 6-foot-4 guard is likely to end up at the division one level, possibly even high major.

Of course everyone knows by now about Reitz junior point guard Khristian Lander.  The top ranked point guard in the country in the class of 2021 is perhaps Indiana’s highest priority recruit.  The Hoosiers have plenty of competition of course, including Louisville and Michigan.

Reitz’s Owen Dease is another potential division one player.

6:40 p.m. — Silver Creek vs. Ft Wayne Blackhawk

Perhaps the recruiting headliner game of the night, this contest features three players that are likely to end up playing at the high major level.

Silver Creek features IU offer recipient Trey Kaufman.  The 6-foot-9 forward is a top 50 recruit in the class of 2021 and has offers from several top high major programs.  Playing alongside Kaufman is fellow junior Kooper Jacobi, who is averaging 15.3 points and 10 rebounds and holds offers from several mid-majors thus far.

2021 forward Caleb Furst is another top 50 recruit nationally and he holds offers from IU and several other top high major programs.  Furst is averaging 26 points and 16 rebounds through two games this year for Blackhawk Christian.

Silver Creek and Blackhawk both won state titles last year in Classes 3A and 1A, respectively, and both will be looking to repeat.  Blackhawk moved up to Class 2A.

8:30 p.m. — Culver Academy vs. Bloomington South 

(UPDATE:  Based on reports, Trey Galloway suffered a wrist injury and will not play)

In the final game of the evening fans will get a chance to see two IU class of 2020 commits and Indiana Mr. Basketball candidates go head-to-head.  Culver Academies star Trey Galloway will face good friend Anthony Leal and Bloomington South, and the two will no doubt be matched up in this game a fair amount of the time.

South’s Connor Hickman is also a division one prospect, and Culver’s Deontae Craig is a former IU football recruiting target that is verbally committed to Iowa.

Both teams have state title aspirations in class 4A.

SEVERAL COLLEGE COACHES LIKELY TO BE IN ATTENDANCE

The event draws in college coaching staffs from around the country.

The headliners last year were Indiana’s Archie Miller, Kentucky’s John Calipari, and Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Dane Fife.

With no game on Saturday, multiple coaches from the IU staff are likely to be in attendance.  Coaches from Purdue and Louisville are likely to be there this year also.

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