Where Indiana Stands With the Class of 2019 as We Head Down the Stretch Run

It is the busy season in the world of college basketball recruiting, with official visits ongoing, lists being cut, and commitments being made.  With no commitments yet for Indiana, a common question is where do the Hoosiers stand with their various targets — and is there a cause for concern?

The Daily Hoosier monitors all of the national news on all of IU’s recruiting targets and has a comprehensive feel for the latest.

To help ease your mind, we go through each of the uncommitted offered targets that IU is still actively involved with below.  You can click on each player’s name for more information, videos, interviews and coverage.

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS

Hometown – Greenwood, Indiana (Center Grove)
Position – Power Forward
Height – 6-foot-9
Weight – 220
247 Sports Composite Rating – 5-star
Primary Competition – Michigan State, Iowa, Purdue, Wake Forest, UCLA [“top 6‘]

The Hoosiers are still in a good spot with Jackson-Davis.  While he is planning to take his full allotment of five official visits, we have yet to read an account where anyone believes he will end up somewhere other than Indiana.  Jackson-Davis is taking an official visit to Indiana on Hoosier Hysteria weekend (September 29), and we still expect a commitment by the November signing period.

KEION BROOKS, JR.

Hometown – Fort Wayne, Indiana (La Lumiere)
Position – Small Forward
Height – 6-foot-7
Weight – 190
247 Sports Composite Rating – 5-star
Primary Competition – Kentucky, Michigan State, UCLA, North Carolina

Brooks’ recruitment is a bit of a tougher read than Jackson-Davis, but we believe Indiana is in a strong position here.  We’d pick Indiana if forced to predict a destination.  Brooks is also planning to take his official visits, with UCLA this weekend and North Carolina upcoming in November.  He will also be at Hoosier Hysteria along with Jackson-Davis, and has taken others with him as well.  While recruiting package deals rarely materialize, the Brooks / Jackson-Davis tandem has some promise.

ARMAAN FRANKLIN

Hometown – Indianapolis, IN (Cathedral)
Position – Combo Guard
Height – 6-foot-4
Weight – 180
247 Sports Composite Rating – 4-star
Primary Competition – Xavier and Purdue (Final 3)

It looks like Franklin is staying in state.  Although he has included Xavier in his final three, his only official visits thus far have been to Indiana (last weekend) and Purdue (this weekend).  We are not aware of any plans to visit Xavier.  We’d characterize it as a coin toss at this point.  Of everyone on the list, Franklin is the most likely to announce a commitment in September.

JAMES BOUKNIGHT

Hometown – Brooklyn, New York (MacDuffie)
Position – Shooting Guard
Height – 6-foot-5
Weight – 180
247 Sports Composite Rating – 4-star
Primary Competition – UConn, Virginia Tech, Miami, VCU (final five)

While many believe that IU is a legit contender for the New York guard, and the Hoosiers were included in his final five, things have been quiet lately.  He recently officially visited Virginia Tech, and has officials coming to UConn and Miami this month.  When the final five was announced the conventional wisdom was UConn and Indiana were the top two likely destinations.  If Indiana can get him on campus then our thinking would change, but right now the trend is not favorable.

BRANDON NEWMAN

Hometown – Valparaiso, Indiana (Valparaiso)
Position – Shooting Guard
Height – 6-foot-4
Weight – 180
247 Sports Composite Rating – 4-star
Primary Competition – Purdue, Xavier, Ohio State (Top Four)

IU got some good news just yesterday, as Newman appears to be on track to take an official visit next weekend.  Newman’s recruitment had started to take on a national feel with Kansas, Maryland and others showing initial interest and Newman intending to transfer to a Florida prep school.  Private family matters cause Newman to return to Valparaiso High School in Indiana, and his top four list has a very regional feel to it.  Similar to Franklin, this could be an IU vs. Purdue recruitment, and they seem unlikely to play together.

JAHMIUS RAMSEY

Hometown – Arlington, Texas (Oak Hill Academy)
Position – Combo Guard
Height – 6-foot-4
Weight – 185
247 Sports Composite Rating – 4-star
Primary Competition – Louisville, Oregon, LSU, Virginia Tech, Miami (“Top 10”)

Indiana got some really good news as it relates to Ramsey’s recruitment last week.  The big physical top 50 guard is planning to take an official visit to Bloomington on Hoosier Hysteria weekend.  Ramsey’s recruitment has been hard to read, and he has said he intends to defer a commitment until the spring.  He has released a top 10, but with Indiana getting one of his five official visits, it is reasonable to conclude that the Hoosiers are in the top five.

TRENDON WATFORD

Hometown – Birmingham, Alabama (Mountain Brook)
Position – Small Forward
Height – 6-foot-8
Weight – 215
247 Sports Composite Rating – 5-star
Primary Competition – Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Memphis

There was a time in April where Indiana’s recruitment of Watford appeared to be trending in the right direction.  Archie Miller took two in home visits that month.  Since then, all of the buzz has surrounding him landing at Alabama or Memphis.  Perhaps he wants to chart his own course separate from his brother Christian?  If Indiana gets an official visit we could change our thinking, but this one doesn’t look promising at the moment.

ANTHONY HARRIS

Hometown – Fairfax, Virginia (Paul VI Catholic)
Position – Point Guard
Height – 6-foot-4
Weight – 180
247 Sports Composite Rating – 4-star
Primary Competition – Virginia Tech, Miami, UConn, Wake Forest (announced these four official visits, has one remaining)

Several of the national recruiting analysts have suggested that Harris will take his fifth and final official to Indiana.  The fact that he hasn’t scheduled that visit despite scheduling the other four nearly a month ago should tell you all you need to know.  Like Watford, if a visit materializes we’ll have to adjust our thinking, but sometimes actions speak louder than words.

ZEKE NNAJI

Hometown – Hopkins, Minnesota (Hopkins)
Position – Forward
Height – 6-foot-10
Weight – 215
247 Sports Composite Rating – 4-star
Primary Competition – Kansas, UCLA, Arizona, Iowa, Baylor, Minnesota and Wisconsin

Nnaji has been a fast rising star over the spring and summer.  Along with that, plenty of new, high profile suitors have expressed interest and offered.  Nnaji has been playing catch-up with them, going on a whirlwind tour of unofficial visits in an effort to narrow things down.  Kansas recently entered the mix with an offer, and some have characterized the Jayhawks as a dream destination.  We believe Nnaji is legitimately interested in IU, but the Jayhawks may be too much to overcome.

ISAIAH STEWART

Hometown – Rochester, New York (La Lumiere Prep, Indiana)
Position – Center/Power Forward
Height – 6-foot-9
Weight – 245
247 Sports Composite Rating – 5-star
Primary Competition – Duke, Syracuse, Villanova, Washington, Michigan State (“Final Six”)

We’ll admit we didn’t think Indiana was in a strong spot here, but the Hoosiers recently made the final six and Stewart has had promising things to say about IU.  The problem, at least in our view, is with Jackson-Davis perceived as the most likely to land in Bloomington, Stewart might believe there are better opportunities elsewhere.  Their games aren’t identical, but there is clearly overlap.  We’d love to think Indiana could convince overlapping five stars to commit, but the program might not be there just yet.

MATTHEW HURT

Hometown – Rochester, Minnesota (John Marshall)
Position – Forward
Height – 6-foot-9
Weight – 200
247 Sports Composite Rating – 5-star
Primary Competition – Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Memphis, Minnesota

Hurt recently announced in-home visits for Kentucky, Duke and Kansas.  This blue-blood rich recruitment is as competitive as anyone on this list.  While he regularly mentions Indiana and has close connections to the program, we have not heard anything to lead us to believe IU is cracking a top three here.

ALSO KEEP AN EYE ON  

• Harlond Beverly — While IU still hasn’t offered the 2019 four star point guard from Michigan, various reports suggest that there is ongoing dialogue, and Archie Miller continues to want to include a point guard in the class.

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