Indiana Basketball Recruiting: Georgetown commit Tremont Waters asks for release

One of the highly sought after recruits on Indiana basketball’s wish list might have just become available.

It’s the middle of March and with the Hoosiers missing out on the NCAA Tournament, it’s never too early to look ahead to the 2017-18 season. One of the highlights of looking ahead is seeing the new and exciting players entering college.

Tremont Waters is one of those recruits. Waters, a four-star guard from Connecticut and rated No. 37 by 247Sports Top-100 recruits, has asked for his release from Georgetown. He had previously committed to the Hoyas program on October 19th, 2016 but now is looking to go elsewhere. Tremont Waters is one of the eighteen Top-100 recruits Indiana offered to the 2017 recruiting class.

Indiana has only secured one of those recruits, No. 72 forward Justin Smith. While there are still plenty of recruits who have yet to decide on a school for the fall, Waters could be an extraordinary get for the Hoosiers. When he was making the rounds on his recruiting trail, he seems to be quite interested in the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers were considered his second choice in landing spot before committing to Georgetown.

If Tremont Waters is given his release from the school, he can then sign with any program. Indiana should be taking every possible measure to persuade Waters back to Bloomington. The Hoosiers have not recruited a true point guard from high school since Yogi Ferrell back in 2011. Current Indiana point guard Josh Newkirk sat out a season after transferring from Pittsburgh.

Take a look at some of Tremont Waters highlights from high school.

Let’s talk about what Tremont Waters could do for the Indiana Hoosiers recruiting wise. As it stands right now, the Hoosiers composite score from 247Sports sits at 51.4 but adding Waters to the mix pushes their score to 61.06. That would be good enough to push the Hoosiers recruiting class from No. 36 to No. 11 for 2017. It’s quite the jump for a program that you would expect to be in the Top-15 in recruiting annually.

More from basketball recruiting

• Indiana basketball recruiting: 2024 5-star schedules visit to Bloomington
• Indiana basketball offers #1 recruit in 2024 class, Naas Cunningham
• Indiana basketball recruiting: 2024 big man visits Bloomington
• Indiana basketball recruiting: 2025 skilled forward discusses schools
• Indiana basketball recruiting: 2024 4-star guard talks interest in Hoosiers

We wish it was that simple, though. What Waters thought about Indiana in September when he made his official visit to Bloomington could have completely changed six months later. The Hoosiers were pre-season ranked No. 11 in the country and a formidable pick to contend for a Final Four run. Like I said, plenty has happened since the beginning of the season.

Is Indiana still a place where recruits believe they can contend year in and year out? I’m sure there is some doubt in recruits still pondering the possibility of Indiana being their destination. It does not just have to do with the Hoosiers missing their second NCAA Tournament appearance in four years, but the lack of certainty in head coach too.

Over the course of the last several weeks, storylines of Crean’s job security have continued to brew. Would a recruit as highly rated as Waters try and avoid coming to a place with uncertainty looming? That I’m not so sure of. What I am sure of is Tremont Waters consideration for a wide variety of other offers should he be given his release.

Next: Bobby Knight's thoughts on Indiana are tiring and bitter

If Syracuse and Duke are both expected to make a run at the four-star recruit, the hopes of him coming to the Midwest are probably unlikely. The recruiting circle each year finds a way to be bizarre in its own way. Crazier moves have happened and we will keep our eye on any updates from Waters or Indiana basketball’s recruiting interest.