We are now a little over a week removed from the draft withdrawal deadline and that came with a lot of shift in the Big Ten.
Indiana loses nobody to the draft -- the lone decision being Trayce Jackson-Davis -- while Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Rutgers and Purdue all lose key players. That provides a lot of movement atop the conference heading into the summer months.
Numerous national media members have inked Indiana as the preseason favorite in the Big Ten. When you look around the conference, there can be a very, very, very strong point to make that Indiana is truly the 'preseason' favorite. Retaining Race Thompson, Jordan Geronimo, Xavier Johnson, Miller Kopp -- all key players last year and will be even more so this season -- to pair with Jackson-Davis, a clear Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year candidate and potential First-Team All-American, Indiana has the pieces. Add in some key rotation players like Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau and IU replaces what it lost with better talent.
All of the other teams will have to integrate a lot of new pieces and players who are expected to play much different roles. To an extent, Indiana really doesn't have to do that.
Expectations are real in Bloomington as we sit here on June 10.
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On the recruiting front, 2023 Cathedral (Ind.) four-star forward
Xavier Booker continues to make a case for a top-10 ranking and more. He was named the Pangos All-American Camp MVP earlier this week, going up against some of the top talent in the country regardless of class.
His recruitment has become very national, however. Duke, Auburn, Oregon have all jumped in his recruitment in the last few weeks and Duke is about as strong as anyone in his recruitment at the moment.
Duke, Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Indiana and Michigan probably sit in the 'main group' of legit landing spots. Outside of that, you can tier it off to Duke and Michigan State at the top. He is expected to take a visit to Duke this summer and that will be a very key visit as you can expect.
Indiana is still pushing hard and have almost every assistant coach involved in his recruitment now. Mike Woodson has become more involved but until Indiana can get him back on campus in any setting, the Hoosiers sit lower on the leaderboard. He visited Indiana both for an official visit last year and then an unofficial visit during the season this winter
More on his play at Pangos:
2023 Cathedral (Ind) forward Xavier Booker continued his terrific spring being named Pangos All-American Camp MVP.
indiana.rivals.com
Xavier Booker shined this week at the Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas.
indiana.rivals.com
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2023 Bishop Ireton (Va.) four-star wing
Jamie Kaiser has an offer from Indiana from May and named a top nine of Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Maryland, Virginia, Boston College, Miami, Wake Forest and West Virginia last week but out of that list, it's clear which programs sit at the top.
Kaiser has taken visits to Wisconsin, Virginia and Maryland and those are clearly the top three at the moment. He told TheHoosier.com that he wants to commit by the end of the month and, at the moment, doesn't have any additional official visits set up. He took visits to UVA and Maryland this week.
Kaiser on UVA visit:
"It was great. (They see me) as an interchangeable 2-3 guard with the ability to shoot and score."
Kaiser on Maryland visit:
"They want me to come and right away and fight for a starting spot and they said with me and Jahnathan Lamothe we could keep the best of the dmv home for years to follow."
Indiana is pushing to get him on campus, but no dates are confirmed at the moment, Kaiser said.
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2023 Wheeler (Ga.) forward
Arrinten Page continues to be a priority for the Indiana staff.
A visit to June was trying to happen but now with Page being invited to USA U17 tryouts later this month, that is most likely off of the table.
Page visited Cincinnati last week on an official visit, his third official visit (Missouri, USC) for his junior year overall. He has two more if he wants to use them.
Page on Cincinnati visit:
"It was good. Their player development is set up good and their environment and campus are very good."
Page says the relationship and communication with Indiana continues to be very good. The Indiana staff sees Page as a stretch-4 in its system.
He heads to USA Basketball on June 18.
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2024 Montverde Academy (Fla.) center
Derik Queen is taking his time in his recruitment, but one thing is for certain, Indiana wants him. While coaches can't contact class of 2024 prospects directly until June 15, NCAA rule, Indiana's connections to Montverde are evident.
According to sources, a move to the 2023 class is not out of the question.
One source puts it: "it's possible. That's the answer I hear the most".
It's not clear how serious the potential move is, sources say, but it is definitely worth following. Indiana needs bigs in the 2023 class and guys who can compete right away. With Indiana pitching a stretch-4 to Arrinten Page, this gives Indiana the potential ability to pair the two up without either impacting the other in terms of role on the floor.
This isn't a decision that will be made soon. Queen is nowhere near a decision and has taken very few visits. Indiana expects to receive a visit from him.
If he makes the move to 2023, he moves up, in my opinion, ahead of Xavier Booker in terms of priority level right there with Page.
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A new offer that has been reported and has flown under the radar is 2024 Archbishop Stepinac (NY) guard
Boogie Fland. He is a five-star point guard ranked No. 12 overall in the Rivals70 for the class of 2024.
He has offers from UConn, Kansas, Michigan, UCLA, Illinois, LSU, Oregon and a host of others.
He has two visits set up at the moment, to UConn and Villanova.
He was at the Pangos All-American Camp last week. Here is a breakdown of his performance from Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy:
"Fland, a well-rounded point guard, has every tool one would want in a floor general. The 6-foot-2 Fland comes with length, the ability to control pace and incredibly advanced court vision for a prospect of his young age. At Pangos, Fland turned heads with a well-rounded skill set that helped him post double-digit scoring totals while also throwing a crafty pass or two that drew audible reactions from onlookers."
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The Indiana All-Star game took place this week with the Junior All-Stars competing against the Senior All-Stars. Indiana freshman guard
CJ Gunn didn't play due to high school graduation.
The Indiana vs Kentucky Senior game takes place on Saturday and Gunn is expected to participate.
TheHoosier.com will be there.
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