Live Period I: Commits
The class of 2018 is a different breed than the last few that have come through Indiana. They are already coming off the board after the first live period. Three of the top players in the class have committed and that is very reminiscent of the class of 2013. Committing early isn’t a bad thing, especially if you know where you want to go.
The first to come off the board is Guerin Catholic (IN) forward Jack Hansen. A 6’7 forward who can really shoot the ball is the kind of big man that IUPUI head coach Jason Gardner really likes. It’s a good fit for him in terms of style. He already has a player similar to Hansen at IUPUI that played at Guerin Catholic as well in Aaron Brennan.
The next in order of commits was Evansville Bosse (IN) guard Mekhi Lairy. Lairy, a 5’7 point guard is just another in a long list already for new Miami (OH) coach Jack Owens from the state of Indiana. He got three from Indiana in his 2017 class that he had to finish up late and now he’s already on the board with another from the Hoosier State.
The final commit of the first live period was that of South Bend Riley (IN) wing Damezi Anderson as he committed to the in-state Indiana Hoosiers. It was the first in-state commit for new head coach Archie Miller. Damezi had talked about committing near the end of July but came off the board quicker than expected as Indiana made some power moves nationally landing three commits in the span of 24 hours.
Nationally, a lot of prospects are coming off the board sooner than they have the previous few years. This does happen in waves so one would expect it to continue. With that, there are a number of Division I prospects in state that could be close to a decision so be on the watch the rest of the month.