There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding IU’s chances to land 5-star forward Liam McNeeley in the last couple days.
The Hoosiers are gunning for a top-10 recruiting class in the 2024 high school ranks, and McNeeley would certainly be a very good start for Mike Woodson and crew.
But IU would need more than one 5-star to truly land a home run class.
The options have dwindled recently, with Asa Newell, Annor Boateng and Curtis Givens all coming off the board in recent days.
McNeeley’s Montverde Academy teammate Derik Queen is still out there as a real possibility for Indiana, although the competition is stiff with Maryland, Houston and possibly Kansas still in the mix. Queen has visits scheduled through late October, so it may be a while before there’s any clarity on his decision.
And then there’s 5-star guard Boogie Fland.
Rivals national recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy ranked the contenders for Fland on Tuesday.
Fland has named a top-eight list of schools, but Cassidy believes there are only three legit suitors at this point. They are the three we would have expected — Kentucky, Indiana and Alabama.
Cassidy ranks IU as No. 2 right now behind Kentucky, but cites momentum for the Hoosiers:
“Multiple people in the know have referred to Indiana as the sleeper in Fland’s recruitment for some time now, but the Hoosiers have gone from “sleeper” to “serious player” in the last few weeks,” Cassidy wrote.
“Fland visited Bloomington in the summer and has been a priority for the Hoosiers ever since, as head coach Mike Woodson has made multiple trips to New York to see the five-star guard. He even spoke at a coaching clinic at Fland’s high school. Woodson and company like their chances here, even if UK and Alabama might be tough to topple.”
There is a wildcard when it comes to Kentucky.
Class of 2025 5-star guard Jasper Johnson is a Kentucky-based product who has been mentioned as a candidate to reclassify to 2024, and he hasn’t shut down the concept when asked. Johnson’s father played football at Kentucky, and he lives close to Lexington. On paper it seems like a logical fit with mutual interest. Johnson is a versatile combo-guard much like Fland. If he went to Kentucky in 2024 his presence there could at least make the opportunity at IU a bit more clear and attractive.
As it stands Kentucky has just one 2024 commit — center Somto Cyril.
Fland just wrapped up a visit to Alabama, who Cassidy ranks as the third most likely to land Fland right now. He has a visit scheduled to Maryland this weekend, but Cassidy gave credence to the buzz that visit might not happen.
In any case, Fland should be close to decision making made, and Cassidy appears to have broken the news that Fland will decide before his high school senior season begins. That means Fland will likely decide before the early November signing period.
Another wildcard would be whether Fland takes any additional visits after this weekend. If Indiana, Kentucky, and Alabama are truly his top three, he’s been to all three in the last three months. So it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s done with the road trips.
But an additional visit scheduled to any of his top schools would be a major indicator of where things are headed — much like it was with McNeeley, who only visited his finalists Indiana and Kansas.
UPDATE: Indiana will visit Fland on Wednesday —
Indiana will be in tomorrow for ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Boogie Fland’24 @BoogieFland of @step_basketball & @PSACardinals #iubb 🔴⚪️ https://t.co/OCmSipVSGq pic.twitter.com/NrVOlGoBNQ
— 𝒜𝓃𝒹𝓇ℯ𝓌 𝒮𝓁𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓇 (@Andrew__Slater) September 27, 2023
For a complete recap of IU basketball’s 2024 targets, including top schools, timelines, highlights and the latest on their recruitments, GO HERE. For all of our IU basketball recruiting coverage, GO HERE.
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