The Indiana basketball program has fully shifted its sights to the class of 2024 at the moment outside of its lone 2023 target in Wheeler (Ga.) forward
Arrinten Page.
TheHoosier.com reported earlier this week that Page's visit to Miami had been cancelled for this weekend due to a tragic event within the Wheeler (Ga.) High school basketball community. There is a funeral/service this weekend that Page is taking part in.
PAge told TheHoosier that he expects to reschedule his visit to Miami but nothing is set at the moment.
Indiana continues to sit in a very good spot for Page.
Outside of him, it looks to be the transfer portal this spring -- which isn't a bad thing. While there could be a few spring options from this class, much like Tamar Bates and Malik Reneau the past two years, it seems more likely Indiana lands someone from the portal.
Rivals national analyst Travis Graf addressed that this week in the monthly mailbag.
"As of right now, I don’t see it, but there will be some 2024 reclasses happen that could spark some dominoes to fall. However, I’d personally attack the portal hard if I was Mike Woodson, and I think there will be a lot of interest in the program from top college transfers."
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As for the class of 2024, the core group to focus on at the moment is Liam McNeeley, Derik Queen, Jaeden Mustaf, Asa Newell and Raleigh Burgess. Others to follow are Jonathan Powell, Paul McNeil, Yves Missi, Flory Bidunga, Khani Rooths, Ace Bailey.
Indiana already has an official visit locked in for
Liam McNeeley for Sept 23-25. It's the only one he officially has scheduled. Texas will be another school receiving one and they are working on the dates, per Travis Graf.
Class of 2024 wing Liam McNeeley has set his official visit to Indiana.
indiana.rivals.com
2024 top-25 forward
Derik Queen is going to visit Indiana. The top programs to watch at the moment are Indiana, Arizona State and Maryland. Before, Maryland wasn't as strong due to the lack of connections with new head coach Kevin Willard. But, after Willard was able to land four-star 2023 guards DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser, it is clear that Willard and Maryland will now be a legit threat for every DMV kid -- Queen is originally from Maryland.
Queen talked with Rivals national recruiting director Rob Cassidy this week and mentioned the strong connection with IU freshmen Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau.
“I’ve been talking to them a little bit, and I’m going to ask my teammates about them,” Queen said of the IU staff. “The coaches think it would be a good fit for me and talk about how good my teammates fit in up there.”
Indiana is in a spot you want to be in for a fringe 5-star forward at the moment, with junior year official visits about to take place.
More on Queen:
Four-star Derik Queen has three visit destinations in mind for the fall.
indiana.rivals.com
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A new 2024 name to pop up this week was No. 21 overall player in the class
Dink Pate. He is a 6-foot-7 point guard from Pinkston (Tx.) High School and played for Trae Young on the AAU circuit. Pate played for Pinkston his freshman season then transferred to Prolific Prep last year. He is returning to Pinkson for his junior year. As a freshman, he averaged 18 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
Currently, Pate holds nearly 30 offers including Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Houston, LSU, Arizona, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCF and Indiana.
hile he doesn't have a strong connection to former Indiana player Bracey Wright, he knows the 'legend' that he is in the Dallas area.
"The only thing I know is Bracey Wright," Pate said about the main thing he knew about Indiana. "He is from Dallas and is listed as a Dallas legend and went to Indiana. Him and my stepdad have talked before and know of each other."
Pate said there is a possibility of an Indiana visit: "On a scale on a 1 to 10 it's probably an 8 or a 9 that I will visit."
Indiana has a ways to go in this one if it has a shot at landing Pate -- but the offer is the place to start. He's a fringe 5-star who had a tremendous summer and lots of programs will be after. Don't keep a close on on this one, however, until there is some more substantial movement.
More from the Q&A:
Class of 2024 four-star Dink Pate discusses his offer from Indiana.
indiana.rivals.com
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The Rivals updated rankings were released this week. That included a refresh on the class of 2023 and the unveiling of the first rankings for the 2025 class.
The following is a look at the Indiana prospects/commits for 2023:
Jakai Newton --
Previous Ranking: No. 52
Current Ranking: No. 64
Gabe Cupps --
Previous Ranking: No. 127
Current Ranking: No. 122
Arrinten Page --
Previous Ranking: No. 42
Current Ranking: No. 57
The 2025 rankings include in-state prospects
Jalen Haralson (No. 26) and
Trent Sisley (No. 33) as four-star prospects. I think Haralson is a bit low and think he ends up top-20 and closer to top-15 sooner rather than later.
The initial Rivals class of 2025 rankings were released on Thursday morning and included numerous Indiana targets.
indiana.rivals.com
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Unofficial visitors that have confirmed with TheHoosier.com that they will make a trip to Hoosier Hysteria are:
2023 Indiana commit Gabe Cupps
2025 guard Jalen Haralson
2025 forward Trent Sisley
2025 guard Trey McKenney
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We had some good looks at Indiana and its recruiting from the national perspective up on the boards this week from both Rob Cassidy and Travis Graf. Here is a recap of both:
TheHoosier.com’s premium subscribers check in with Rivals national analyst Travis Graf to discuss all things Indiana.
indiana.rivals.com
Rivals national recruiting director Rob Cassidy breaks down Indiana recruiting, Mike Woodson and expectations this year.
t.co
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Other notes --
Jalen Hood-Schifino will be participating in the Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp this weekend in Los Angeles.
Trayce Jackson-Davis was named an All-American by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
Some additional info including some ticket info was released for Indiana's game against Arizona in Las Vegas.
"Las Vegas Clash" between Indiana-Arizona details announced.
t.co