IU target Thon Maker to remain in 2016 recruiting class
IU has one scholarship available for next season after the dismissals of Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Devin Davis, and many Hoosier fans have had their fingers crossed that 7-foot, five-star prospect Thon Maker would fill the team’s last roster spot.
Maker is reportedly considering four schools, one of which is IU, according to a story written by Scout’s Evan Daniels in April.
Originally a member of the 2016 recruiting class, Maker was hoping to reclassify to the class of 2015, and he was looking into the possibility of enrolling in college midseason this winter.
Well, so much for that plan.
At the NBPA Top 100 Camp at the University of Virginia on June 18, Maker told a crowd of reporters that he’s going to stay in the class of 2016, per multiple media reports.
In a video published by the Louisville Courier-Journal of Maker’s interview with reporters, he said, “I’ll make it official here that I’m definitely going to stay and just play it out and take my visits in November and play another year with my brother.”
Maker’s younger brother, Matur, is a 6-foot-10 prospect in the class of 2017.
“Well, for me it was just trying to get it all done at once, and it became too much, so I just had to (stay in the class of 2016),” Maker said in the Courier-Journal video, citing his focus on his studies, traveling and improving as a basketball player.
He was named the MVP of the camp after recording 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in the title game.
While Maker declined to provide reporters with a list of schools he’s considering, Daniels previously reported the elite recruit is looking at Arizona State, IU, Kansas and Kentucky.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello tweeted last Thursday June 25 that Maker’s guardian, Ed Smith, said Arizona State and IU are the schools “in most consistent contact” with the recruit.
Thon and Matur Maker, along with IU freshman Thomas Bryant, took an unofficial visit to IU on March 7 for the Hoosiers’ regular season finale against Michigan State. They sat behind IU’s bench and waved to the student section as they walked off Branch McCracken Court after the game.
“I don’t have a list,” Maker said, smiling in the video. “But you know, you can kind of tell some of the frontrunners and stuff like that.”
Maker said he will graduate in June 2016. When asked if he’ll play college basketball, he said, “Of course.”
Huntington Prep combo guard visits IU
At about 2 p.m. on Tuesday June 23, IU assistant coach Chuck Martin tweeted, “BIG DAY on campus! #WhosNext.”
Inside Indiana’s Alex McCarthy cracked the code and reported 6-foot-4, class of 2016 combo guard Curtis Jones was on a visit to Bloomington. A native of Richmond, Virginia, Jones has multiple IU connections, plus an IU offer.
He attends Huntington Prep (West Virginia), where he was a teammate of IU freshman Thomas Bryant, and he plays AAU basketball for Boo Williams, Troy Williams’ uncle.
Jones is a consensus four-star recruit with offers from Cincinnati, IU, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina State, Old Dominion, Richmond, Tulane, VCU, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
2017 combo guard visits IU, receives offer
Al Durham, a Stone Mountain, Georgia, native and 6-foot-4, class of 2017 combo guard, visited IU on Wednesday June 24, according to Shun Williams of On the Radar Hoops.
Durham tweeted Wednesday evening that he had received an offer from IU.
He also has offers from Miami, South Florida and Virginia Tech.
IU offers five-star class of 2018 recruit
While IU still has one scholarship available for the 2015-16 season, the Hoosiers’ coaching staff is also busy recruiting players for future seasons. IU offered Jaedon LeDee, a 6-foot-7 guard in the class of 2018, the Indiana Daily Student confirmed. It was first reported by GiveNGoBasketball’s Pat Lawless.
He and his mother, Sherri, called IU Coach Tom Crean last Friday.
“He just talked about little things, how he liked my game, being a guard that can dribble,” LeDee told the Indiana Daily Student, “but he actually gave me some advice on how to make my game better, and that’s what I really like.”
LeDee, listed as a point guard, shooting guard and small forward by various recruiting services, is ranked as a five-star, top-10 prospect by ESPN and Future 150. The Houston native has offers from Baylor, College of Charleston, Houston, IU, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Wake Forest.
“I know a lot,” he said, when asked about his familiarity with IU. “Indiana is big anywhere you go so you have no choice but to kind of know about them.”
IU among top suitors for 2016 recruits
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello tweeted recruitment updates Tuesday June 23 about numerous class of 2016 prospects after covering the NBPA Top 100 Camp, including a few involving IU targets.
Kameron McGusty, a 6-foot-5 guard, mentioned IU as one of 12 schools involved in his recruitment, according to Borzello. The others are Auburn, Florida, Georgetown, Louisville, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, USC, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
The Katy, Texas, native is a consensus four-star and top 100 recruit in his class.
Bruce Brown said IU, Michigan and Texas are recruiting him the hardest, while Boston College, Louisville and St. John’s, among other schools, recently entered the mix, Borzello tweeted. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard from the Vermont Academy is a four-star recruit.
De’Riante Jenkins said Clemson, IU and Texas have made him a priority, while he listed Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee and Utah as other schools involved in his recruitment, per Borzello. Jenkins, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Orlando, Florida, is a four-star recruit.
He sat down with Scout’s Evan Daniels at the NBPA Top 100 Camp to discuss his recruitment. When Daniels asked Jenkins what schools are recruiting him, IU was the first school Jenkins mentioned.
“It was eye-opening,” Jenkins said of his recent scholarship offer from IU. “A couple of their fans were at the game and they told me keep Indiana in mind, they offered me and it was good.
“Tom Crean– legendary coach- they think I can come in and contribute to the team like Troy Williams. That’s some big shoes to fill, but I think I’m capable of doing it.”
2016 guard Alkins’ high school eligibility in question, may be forced to change schools
Rising senior guard Rawle Alkins, an IU target who plays for Christ the King (New York), could be forced to switch schools due to a Catholic High Schools Athletic Association (CHSAA) ruling on his eligibility that’s scheduled for September, according to the New York Daily News. Alkins’ status is in question since he appeared in varsity games as an eighth grader in Florida, the Daily News’ Nick Forrester wrote.
“As of right now, I don’t know where I’m going,” Alkins told the Daily News. “I’ve stopped trying to get in contact with (prep schools), and right now I’m just relaxing and focusing on me and my basketball.”
Alkins is a five-star shooting guard ranked among the top 25 prospects in the 2016 recruiting class. In addition to IU, he has offers from Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, St. John’s, Texas Villanova, among other schools.
While Christ the King coach Joe Arbitello reportedly plans on petitioning for Alkins to receive a fifth year of eligibility, the coveted recruit is left with two options: stick it out with Christ the King and hope the Student Eligibility Committee rules in his favor or attend a prep school next year.
“According to our eligibility, if someone transfers into the league, his academic clock would start then as a freshman, but his athletic clock would’ve started the year before, so he would only have three years at that new school to play because he used up one year already,” CHSAA basketball chariman Paul Gilvary told the Daily News. “Even though it didn’t count as an academic year because of his grades, it still counts as an athletic year.”
2017 wing from Bloomington Central unofficially visits IU
Charles Payton, a class of 2017 wing from Bloomington High School (Illinois), traveled to IU on Friday for an unofficial visit, according to NBC Sports’ Scott Phillips. Payton, 6-foot-6, plays for the Illinois Wolves AAU program. Verbal Commits lists Payton as a two-star recruit in its composite rankings.
