In an update to a story that we shared with you in yesterday’s Daily Hoosier Report, Rivals has now noted that Keion Brooks, Jr. canceled* his official visit to Michigan State that was scheduled for this weekend.
In the Rivals story the Fort Wayne, Indiana native indicates that he is close to making a decision on what school he will attend for the 2019-20 season:
“I would say that I’m close to making a decision. I don’t think I will sign early because I don’t think that fits my timetable. But I think in a couple of weeks or a month or so I should be able to make a decision.
I just need some time to step away, speak about it with my family, pray on it and then hopefully make a great decision from there.”
With the Spartans now seemingly out of the picture, that leaves just Indiana and Kentucky as serious contenders for the five-star wing. Brooks, Jr. has not officially eliminated UCLA, North Carolina or Purdue, but based on our sources and reports from other outlets, it is widely believed that those schools are not under serious consideration at this time.
While some see Brooks as too close to call, we believe (and have been saying for weeks) that IU is in the lead here for several reasons.
First, Kentucky already has multiple wings committed in their 2019 class. Five star Kahlil Whitney is a small forward and is one of the highest rated players in the country, and fellow UK commit Dontaie Allen is also a top 100 small forward. Five star scoring guard Tyrese Maxey has also signed with the Wildcats’ 2019 class, meaning there will be serious competition just in the class of 2019, let alone the players returning to Kentucky next year.
Second, Brooks, Jr. has said on multiple occasions in various interviews that he places importance on representing his home state. In this era of well rehearsed statements and closely guarded recruitments, Brooks, Jr. hasn’t been shy about his views regarding playing for Indiana.
Third, while recruiting package deals rarely materialize, we believe that fellow in-state five star Trayce Jackson-Davis and Brooks actually do want to play together and place importance on it. While downplaying the significance as it relates to their overall decision, both have acknowledged their close friendship and desire to play together.
The duo has taken multiple official visits together, and now interestingly enough, their timing for a decision seems to be aligning. Jackson-Davis recently told the Indy Star that he was on a similar timeline for making a decision.
Finally, both Brooks, Jr. and Jackson-Davis have alluded to the fact that they would like to see how players develop at Indiana under second year head coach Archie Miller. While it is only a brief glimpse, they cannot be discouraged by the early production, playing time and immediate on-the-court success of in-state freshmen Rob Phinisee and Romeo Langford.
The bottom line here is that a decision is nearing for both Brooks, Jr. and Jackson-Davis. That much we know for sure. Now more than ever, it looks quite promising that good news for Indiana will be forthcoming very soon.
If IU were able to land both players, it would be a major second year validation of Archie Miller’s “inside out” recruiting efforts after landing Langford, Phinisee and Damezi Anderson last year, and the second consecutive class ranked nationally in the top 20.
*[Update: Several outlets have since reported that the visit was canceled by Michigan State. This is most likely an irrelevant point, as schools do not cancel official visits with five star targets without a very good reason. We found that out earlier in the year when IU canceled Jahmius Ramsey’s visit.]
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