Indiana received its second commitment of the class of 2023 on Tuesday as point guard Gabe Cupps made his pledge to the Hoosiers.
Cupps chose IU over Ohio State and Stanford.
Going into his Friday visit, Cupps had pretty much narrowed it down to IU and Ohio State and was all but 100% solid on IU it seemed. Talking with he and his dad following the visit and leading up to his announcement, the biggest takeaway was the confirmation. They hadn't seen what they saw in practice or heard from Mike Woodson in a game yet and they saw exactly that on Friday in the blowout win of Northern Illinois.
One of the biggest factors in choosing Indiana was the tradition -- and the challenge to help IU get back to the top.
Brook Cupps, Gabe's dad, on the commitment: '"The history and tradition of Indiana is appealing to Gabe. He really likes the coaching staff and felt like Indiana is the place he could see himself playing. He really likes the challenge of trying to help restore Indiana Basketball too."
Cupps on Indiana: '"It’s a basketball school is probably the biggest thing that stuck out from the other schools recruiting me.'
Cupps is your true point guard who is a winner. He makes winning plays and will be someone come junior and senior year that will lead his team to multiple NCAA Tournament wins and a conference title. That's the type of player he is. A lot of people like Aaron Craft as a comp... as I've said before, my comp is a bit of a bigger TJ McConnell. Similar type of player to Craft, but he's more like McConnell in his crafty scoring ability and shooting ability. Cupps hit 36 percent of his 3's last season as a sophomore.
Cupps joins top-45 guard Jakai Newton in the 2023 class.
More on Cupps' commitment w/ quotes: https://indiana.rivals.com/news/2023-point-guard-gabe-cupps-details-indiana-commitment
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Top target now looks to be top-40 forward Xavier Booker from Cathedral (IN).in 2023. Booker has visited a few times and his last visit opened his eyes to the style of play Mike Woodson will be running and how he will use his bigs.
We have seen so far, the freedom Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson have. Booker likes that.
Now, with Booker, he is someone who does need structure and an ability to have a coach really push him. He has the talent, but he can lack a motor at times.
Not the type of player obviously at this stage, but moving forward I think you can look at Julias Randle of the Knicks as a good look at how Woodson would use someone with Booker's skills. He isn't a great shooter right now, but has shown some ability from out there -- I would like to see more attempts though. Booker isn't going to be be on the block every play, but when he is, it's way more finesse than power. He needs more muscle in order to do that. But, the craftiness and finesse that Randle improved on last year is something that is intriguing when I look at Booker. Regardless, it will be very interesting to see Booker this season for Cathedral as it will be the first year he will see a ton of minutes.
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A lot of people have asked about 2023 La Lumiere (IN) guard Jeremy Fears after the Cupps commitment. At this moment, he would still be an absolutely take, but IU isn't as active in that recruitment as it was a few months ago -- or even weeks. But, IU would take two point guards in this class.
So, with that, you look at Finnish guard Miro Little. At this point, Little would rank higher than Fears on the hot board.
Keep an eye out for a potential visit to Indiana in the spring from Little. IU is very active with him and more active than almost any other college program.
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As for some visitors this weekend -- 2022 IU commit Kaleb Banks headlines the list. He told me he will be there this weekend.
Xavier Booker, mentioned above, is trying to get up to Indiana this weekend as well, his family tells me.
2023 Linton-Stockton guard Joey Hart will also be on campus, his dad tells me. UCF Is really pushing hard with Hart. He was down there for an official visit earlier this fall.
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Switching gears to IU on the floor, the news of Trey Galloway breaking his wrist put a bit of a damper on the St. John's win Wednesday. He is expected to have surgery today and miss 6 weeks.
As for who steps up... I think you look at Tamar Bates to take even more minutes on and then Khristian Lander. Lander has shown he deserves more minutes and I think he gets them now. Depending on the lineups he is with, Lander off the ball may work better than on the ball. He brings another level of speed to this team and if you were to have Xavier Johnson and Lander on the court at once, that is as quick a backcourt as there is in the country. Biggest thing with him is continuing to play within himself. If he does, I think you see his role expand just a bit. But, Mike Woodson is going to play guys who matchup well with the opponent. Not just throw the same rotation out there every game. Because of that, he could see 15 minutes one game and then 2 the next.
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Indiana takes on Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday in Assembly Hall. I wouldn't call this a trap game, but Indiana needs to be awake for this one.
The Raging Cajuns average 9.8 3's per game and while teams haven't shot a great percentage against IU so far -- just 32.8 percent through three games.
They also have traditional bigs who have size -- two 6-foot-11 guys -- who average double digits and combine for nearly 19 rebounds a game. It will be interesting to see the rotations for this game and I would expect to see more Michael Durr - a traditional big - in this one.
We will have a more in-depth look at the matchup this weekend, but like I said, IU needs to be ready.
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Small note...
2023 guard Reed Sheppard is announcing his college choice on Saturday. To no real shock, all signs point to Kentucky. He did hold an IU offer and visited IU with his AAU teammate Gabe Cupps earlier this summer.
Not that rankings matter much this early in the season... but assuming IU wins on Sunday, I would expect them to jump into the top 25.
Cupps chose IU over Ohio State and Stanford.
Going into his Friday visit, Cupps had pretty much narrowed it down to IU and Ohio State and was all but 100% solid on IU it seemed. Talking with he and his dad following the visit and leading up to his announcement, the biggest takeaway was the confirmation. They hadn't seen what they saw in practice or heard from Mike Woodson in a game yet and they saw exactly that on Friday in the blowout win of Northern Illinois.
One of the biggest factors in choosing Indiana was the tradition -- and the challenge to help IU get back to the top.
Brook Cupps, Gabe's dad, on the commitment: '"The history and tradition of Indiana is appealing to Gabe. He really likes the coaching staff and felt like Indiana is the place he could see himself playing. He really likes the challenge of trying to help restore Indiana Basketball too."
Cupps on Indiana: '"It’s a basketball school is probably the biggest thing that stuck out from the other schools recruiting me.'
Cupps is your true point guard who is a winner. He makes winning plays and will be someone come junior and senior year that will lead his team to multiple NCAA Tournament wins and a conference title. That's the type of player he is. A lot of people like Aaron Craft as a comp... as I've said before, my comp is a bit of a bigger TJ McConnell. Similar type of player to Craft, but he's more like McConnell in his crafty scoring ability and shooting ability. Cupps hit 36 percent of his 3's last season as a sophomore.
Cupps joins top-45 guard Jakai Newton in the 2023 class.
More on Cupps' commitment w/ quotes: https://indiana.rivals.com/news/2023-point-guard-gabe-cupps-details-indiana-commitment
--
Top target now looks to be top-40 forward Xavier Booker from Cathedral (IN).in 2023. Booker has visited a few times and his last visit opened his eyes to the style of play Mike Woodson will be running and how he will use his bigs.
We have seen so far, the freedom Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson have. Booker likes that.
Now, with Booker, he is someone who does need structure and an ability to have a coach really push him. He has the talent, but he can lack a motor at times.
Not the type of player obviously at this stage, but moving forward I think you can look at Julias Randle of the Knicks as a good look at how Woodson would use someone with Booker's skills. He isn't a great shooter right now, but has shown some ability from out there -- I would like to see more attempts though. Booker isn't going to be be on the block every play, but when he is, it's way more finesse than power. He needs more muscle in order to do that. But, the craftiness and finesse that Randle improved on last year is something that is intriguing when I look at Booker. Regardless, it will be very interesting to see Booker this season for Cathedral as it will be the first year he will see a ton of minutes.
---
A lot of people have asked about 2023 La Lumiere (IN) guard Jeremy Fears after the Cupps commitment. At this moment, he would still be an absolutely take, but IU isn't as active in that recruitment as it was a few months ago -- or even weeks. But, IU would take two point guards in this class.
So, with that, you look at Finnish guard Miro Little. At this point, Little would rank higher than Fears on the hot board.
Keep an eye out for a potential visit to Indiana in the spring from Little. IU is very active with him and more active than almost any other college program.
---
As for some visitors this weekend -- 2022 IU commit Kaleb Banks headlines the list. He told me he will be there this weekend.
Xavier Booker, mentioned above, is trying to get up to Indiana this weekend as well, his family tells me.
2023 Linton-Stockton guard Joey Hart will also be on campus, his dad tells me. UCF Is really pushing hard with Hart. He was down there for an official visit earlier this fall.
---
Switching gears to IU on the floor, the news of Trey Galloway breaking his wrist put a bit of a damper on the St. John's win Wednesday. He is expected to have surgery today and miss 6 weeks.
As for who steps up... I think you look at Tamar Bates to take even more minutes on and then Khristian Lander. Lander has shown he deserves more minutes and I think he gets them now. Depending on the lineups he is with, Lander off the ball may work better than on the ball. He brings another level of speed to this team and if you were to have Xavier Johnson and Lander on the court at once, that is as quick a backcourt as there is in the country. Biggest thing with him is continuing to play within himself. If he does, I think you see his role expand just a bit. But, Mike Woodson is going to play guys who matchup well with the opponent. Not just throw the same rotation out there every game. Because of that, he could see 15 minutes one game and then 2 the next.
--
Indiana takes on Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday in Assembly Hall. I wouldn't call this a trap game, but Indiana needs to be awake for this one.
The Raging Cajuns average 9.8 3's per game and while teams haven't shot a great percentage against IU so far -- just 32.8 percent through three games.
They also have traditional bigs who have size -- two 6-foot-11 guys -- who average double digits and combine for nearly 19 rebounds a game. It will be interesting to see the rotations for this game and I would expect to see more Michael Durr - a traditional big - in this one.
We will have a more in-depth look at the matchup this weekend, but like I said, IU needs to be ready.
--
Small note...
2023 guard Reed Sheppard is announcing his college choice on Saturday. To no real shock, all signs point to Kentucky. He did hold an IU offer and visited IU with his AAU teammate Gabe Cupps earlier this summer.
Not that rankings matter much this early in the season... but assuming IU wins on Sunday, I would expect them to jump into the top 25.
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