INDIANA — For decades all of the homies that grew up in urban Indiana like Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend etc. have asked the question as to why the Indiana Hoosiers can’t or won’t recruit in Urban America? The ball players are in or around the cites. Why do they continue miss out on all of these bonafide hoopers that are born and bread in this state where they play the best high school basketball in THEE country?
Well playas…we can stop asking that question because ole Archie Miller has come to the rescue and he’s recruiting like no other Hoosier coach before him. He’s going where the hoopers are and we love it. EVERYWHERE!!! On Friday he landed the No.17 ranked recruit in America, Trayce Jackson-Davis, from Center Grove. Ole boy is the No.5 center in American and the No.1 ranked player in the state.
‼️‼️ I AM COMMITTED ‼️‼️ @TiptonEdits pic.twitter.com/Wtw27yeuPc
— TJD (@TrayceJackson) November 30, 2018
The biggest knock on the Indiana program has been that it can’t keep the horses in-state!!! That drove me crazy for years!!! I’m a Class of 1990 graduate and I had two older brothers that came through IU before I even got there. Then my younger sister showed up after I finished, and yes, we ALL graduated. So I’ve been watching this foolishness for a long time playa!! I’ve seen baller after baller either not chose IU because it was too stiff or they weren’t even offered scholarships to play there for whatever reason. All I know is that a long list of bonafide Indiana high school hoopers went to other schools and then ended up in the NBA.
Check out this list of players that grew up in the state of Indiana, played high school ball here, shot spit balls at IU, signed with other programs and have gone to the league since 1988: Rick Fox (UNC), Glenn Robinson (Purdue, POY), all three of the Plumlee brothers, Mason, Miles and Marshall (Duke), they missed on two of the Zeller brothers, Tyler and Luke (UNC and ND), Rodney Carney (Memphis), Josh McRoberts (Duke), Zach Randolph (Michigan State), Greg Oden (OSU), Mike Conley (OSU), George Hill (IUPUI), Shawn Kemp (UK, JUCO), Sean May (UNC), Jeff and Marquis Teague (Wake Forest and UK), Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky), Eric Montross (UNC), Luke Harongody (ND), Robbie Hummel, E’Twan Moore and JaJuan Johnson (Purdue), Gordon Hayward (Butler), Gary Harris (Michigan State) Glenn Robinson III (Michigan), Mitch McGary (Michigan) and Trey Lyles (Kentucky), Gordon Hayward (Butler), Caleb Swanigan (Purdue), RJ Hunter (Georgia State) and Trevon Bluiett (Xavier). That’s just off of the top of my head so I know that I’m missin’ a few other cats.
Just think of the amount of Big Ten titles and potential national titles the Hoosiers could have won just signing a third of those players. Now we’ve got a guy in Bloomington that’s chasing the dawgs in the state. Just last week he signed Armaan Franklin from over at Cathedral. Last year he was able to get the state’s top recruit and McDonald’s All-American and potential lottery pick in Romeo Langford. He didn’t stop there as he swooped four-star recruits Robert Phinisee and Damezi Anderson as well.
With those three signees last year he got three of the top four players in the state. That’s what you’re supposed to be doing if you’re the head basketball coach at Indiana University. So now there’s a kid up north from Forth Wayne (currently attending La Lumiere) that everybody and their baby’s momma will be waiting to see where he’s going to sign. He’s one of Trayce’s best friends and he’s all of that, a bag of Funyuns and a red pop. He’s the No.22 ranked player in the country and his name is Keion Brooks Jr.
We have no idea where he’s going to land but if Archie Miller keeps doing what he’s been doing in these recruiting streets he’s got a great chance of realing him in too. Talk about a dawg? He’s a Pit Bull on the floor.
Oh yeah playa, it’s about to be Chris Brown up in this piece! “On and Poppin'” if Archie Miller can literally keep the best players in the Indiana at IU. Let’s GO!!!
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Chris Brown: noun – R&B singer with a hit record called “On and Poppin'”