Indiana Basketball: What a visit from Matt Cross means for the Hoosiers

Another day, another visit. Indiana basketball is hosting their fourth prospect on campus this week, looking to make progress in the 2020 class.

A busy week that has now seen it’s fourth prospect come to Bloomington, the Indiana basketball program is amping up its pressure on multiple 2020 prospects.

After Trey Galloway to start the week, they turned their attention to two more on Thursday, Anthony Leal and Zach Loveday. Three good visits, the Hoosiers now host 2020 forward Matt Cross.

With what looks like six possible scholarships for the 2020 class, Indiana is making a huge push at the start of the summer.

Matt Cross (Woodstock Academy, CT) is a 6-foot-7 hybrid forward who has seen his recruitment heat up through the spring.

Indiana extended an offer to Cross at the end of April, and in the last month there has been constant communication between the two parties.

Cross has three scheduled official visits coming up, with the Hoosiers being the first. After Bloomington, he will move on to South Carolina, and then Miami (FL.) the week after.

While Indiana has been heavy on the guards in the 2020 class, there is a definite need for forwards, as they will lose De’Ron Davis and the possibility of Trayce Jackson-Davis as well. Furthermore, Justin Smith and Joey Brunk will have just one year left, leaving a big hole to fill.

Bringing in a couple of forwards who can learn the ropes and play roles off the bench without too much pressure to perform immediately would be crucial in their development and ability to be an impact player come their sophomore seasons.

For Cross, he is exactly what Indiana needs. A stretch-four who can shoot the ball and create much needed floor spacing on the offensive end.

In the Nike EYBL season, running with BABC (MA), Cross averaged 22.3 points per game while grabbing 9.5 rebounds. Though his shooting percentages didn’t reflect his ability, he had 10 games in which he made multiple threes. It is also worth noting that the roster around him isn’t as strong as others, so the amount of ‘open’ shots Cross had were miniscule.

Cross recently told InsideTheHall,

"“There’s nothing better than someone from a program like that and someone as known as him (offering a scholarship),” he said. “It’s a great feeling. We were just talking about my AAU coach, Leo Papile, because he’s known him very well since he was younger. He thinks I would be a great fit and I was just honored to get a call from him and a program like Indiana"

With Indiana’s need for players on the wing and front court, the relationship between Cross’ AAU coach and Archie Miller, and the extent to which the Hoosiers have amped up his recruitment, Indiana seems to be sitting in good shape with him.