Indiana Basketball: Recruitment heating up for 2020 five-star target

The Indiana basketball program is hoping to reel in this class of 2020 prospect, but competition is starting to heat up.

Archie Miller and the Indiana basketball program have been heavily involved with many top targets in the 2020 class for a while, but now the Blue Bloods are getting involved with one top Indiana target.

Minnesota native Dawson Garcia has been on Indiana’s radar for quite a while, offering the prospect on May 1, but schools such as North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Kansas have now shown their interest in Garcia. After another good showing at the MBCA Showcase at the end of June, both Kansas and North Carolina extended an offer to the five-star prospect.

One program that, though they haven’t officially offered him yet, but could be the team to beat out, is Kentucky. In an interview a couple of weeks ago, Garcia had a lot of good things to say about the Wildcats. 

"“My level of interest right now is high,” he said. “It’s a great program, they get guys to the league right away. When they came to my school and talked to me, they were like, “Yeah, Kentucky is not for everybody, and that’s true. It shows that if you go to Kentucky, you have to just love basketball or life is going to be a living hell for you.”"

Garcia averaged 27.5 points and 11 rebounds per game as a junior at Prior Lake HS and is described by 247Sports recruiting analyst Brian Snow as someone who can stick in the NBA for a “long time”.

"Length allows him to block shots, and he is a capable rebounder. As he gets stronger, all parts of his game should begin to come together. He isn’t an elite athlete, but he does have solid explosion off the court. He is very skilled. Can make shots out to the three-point line, is very good going off the dribble, and also can pass. His upside is significant, and he does have a little bit more potential than production. Keeps improving and has an excellent chance to stick in the NBA for a long time."

Garcia plans to take a visit to Indiana, but already taken official visits to Texas, Baylor and Marquette as of now, and with the Blue Bloods heavily involved in his recruitment, the Hoosiers better try to secure a visit before his options expand even more than they have.