Five Breakout Prospects: Indiana Class of 2022

<p>We’ve closed the book on the AAU season and live evaluation periods. As we shift our focus to elite camps and showcases in August and September we will begin by highlight some Indiana prospects that attracted a lot of attention over the summer months. These five guys saw their recruitment really pick up and are poised for a breakout senior high school season.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870226" first="Ryan" last="Conwell"] (Pike H.S. 2022)</p> <p>Every year there are guys that go from having just a couple of low-major offers to getting blown up by mid-majors or even a high major school. There are also those guys who may not have a D1 offer until late in their senior season. However, it isn’t as common to see a recruitment blow up in the way that Conwell’s did in June and July.</p> <p>The 6’3" lefty guard didn’t have a Division I opportunity as recently as the Top 100 workout. He now holds 16 offers. Indiana State was the first to jump in on June 23rd. The Sycamores were joined by IUPUI, Evansville, Eastern Illinois, and Miami (OH) who all pulled the trigger in June. Ball State, Northern Kentucky, Appalachian State, Milwaukee, Southern Illinois, Middle Tennessee State, and Murray State were the next batch of offers. Then came Prep Hoops 2K21. After showing out on Friday night of the event, Virginia Tech became the first high-major to offer EG10’s Conwell. Nevada, Charlotte, and Wichita State round out the newest schools to vie for his services.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1063971" first="Jaxon" last="Edwards"] (Cathedral H.S. 2022)</p> <p>If Conwell experienced the biggest recruiting breakthrough this summer, Edwards isn’t too far behind. The 6’6" uber-athletic wing received his first offer from IUPUI on April 30th and has since added 13 additional D1 opportunities after a great summer with D1 Indiana on the UAA Rise circuit.</p> <p>Edwards doesn’t just have all the physical gifts, but he is very skilled as well. He is a good three-point shooter, handles the ball well enough to attack closeouts, and then can get up and finish above the rim. With his length and athleticism there is a ton of defensive potential as well.</p> <p>Heading into the high school season the sky is the limit for Edwards and it wouldn’t be shocking to see a high-major or two jump in before all is said and done.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870219" first="Jalen" last="Jackson"] (Northrop H.S. 2022)</p> <p>Over the course of the summer months, Jackson moved up to play with the Indy Heat EYBL team after beginning with Indy Heat Red. The switch put the 6’2" point guard on a national stage and he absolutely made the most of the opportunity.</p> <p>Jackson has added seven Division I offers just since just July 17th. IUPUI had already offered back in April while Bellarmine got on board in late June. After a strong showing at the Peach Jam he added scholarships from Toledo, Winthrop, Ball State, Miami (OH), Milwaukee, Wright State, and Illinois-Chicago.</p> <p>Jackson is very strong for a lead guard with a great feel for playing off of the ballscreen. He has excellent vision, plays with great pace, and has really developed into a great decision-maker. The perimeter part of his game is getting better and better to catch up to his ability to finish inside. He is also arguably the state’s best rebounding point guard.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870230" first="J.J." last="Louden"] (Crispus Attucks H.S. 2022)</p> <p>Louden returned to the court this summer after batting some nagging injuries and immediately was a major impact guy for EG10. He has all of the physical tools you could want as a 6’5" point guard with elite length. That length helps makes him one of the best perimeter defenders in the state of Indiana. Louden is constantly in the passing lanes and is excellent on the ball as well.</p> <p>He has the ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter which forces defenders to respect him, but he really makes his money off of the bounce. Louden has a tight handle and is great at creating his own shot especially with his size that allows him to get shots off over smaller defenders or drive by bigger ones. He has an effective intermediate game with a mixture of pull-ups and floaters.</p> <p>On the recruiting front, Louden picked up an IUPUI offer in June and added one from Canisius later on in July. With his playmaking ability and defensive tools there should be a big jump in his recruitment as the high school season gets underway. There are plenty of schools at the mid-major level circling and evaluating Louden.</p> <p>Also, as a note, he has transferred to Crispus Attucks for his senior season from Pike.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870225" first="Billy" last="Smith"] (Brebeuf Jesuit H.S. 2022)</p> <p>Playing with Indiana Elite this summer, the Brebeuf Jesuit sharpshooter broke out in a big way earning five Division I offers in the span of the last three days of June. Army was the first, followed by Bellarmine, Eastern Illinois, IUPUI, and Fordham.</p> <p>Smith is a 6’6" wing that is one of the better shooters in the state of Indiana. Along with that shooting ability, he continues to improve off of the dribble attacking closeouts and creating his own shot. He rebounds the ball well and will continue to get better and better defensively as he gets stronger. Smith is a great all-around offensive player with a very high skill level.</p> <p>Defensively, Smith is a better athlete than he gets credit for and can guard multiple different positions. Coaches never get tired of 6'6" knockdown shooters so there should be even more attention coming Smith's way as he heads into his senior season.</p>