The Indiana basketball program continues to draw interest from top prospects and one rising target has talked about his intention to visit.
Archie Miller has put an emphasis on the state of Indiana recruiting over the course of his first two seasons as head coach but recently he has extended offers to multiple out of state prospects, looking to draw them to the Indiana basketball program.
One of those prospects is 2020 wing Jalen Bridges. Offered by Indiana at the end of June, Bridges has been one of the biggest risers in the spring and early summer. Now a four-star prospect, some of the schools that are prioritizing him are Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Miami (FL), Alabama, and Ohio State, in addition to the Hoosiers.
Talking with Stockrisers at Adidas Gauntlet over the weekend, Bridges said that he would like to take some visits in the near future.
"“I don’t have any scheduled but I’ll probably try to get to Miami, Indiana, back to Ohio State, and Alabama.”"
Bridges has already taken a few unofficial visits but being a rising senior, it is now time for him to settle into his recruitment and focus on setting up some official visits.
Coming into this weekend, Bridges played with Wildcats Select in the spring and averaged 17.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. He also shot 47 percent from the field and 34 percent from three.
Though Archie Miller likes to play three guards a lot of the time, Big Ten play can force your card and make you roll out lineups that have more length and size to be able to be a more effective team on both ends. Despite the length of Romeo Langford and Al Durham, their inability to finish over bigger defenders was emphasized throughout the season at times, especially if one of them was matched up with a true “small forward”.
Something that could help Bridges be a high impact freshman is his decision to reclassify to the 2020 class instead of staying in 2019. Giving himself another year to work on his game, but more importantly his body and maturity was something he was interested in
"“I just feel like I wouldn’t be able to handle college next year mentally or physically so I think living on my own will be good for me. Also I want to go somewhere and play immediately and not have to redshirt,” Bridges said on reclassifying decision."
As a 6-foot-7 wing, Bridges would fill a big hole in the Indiana offense as there are very few true wings that are on the roster. Bridges is also currently the only true small forward that the Indiana staff is recruiting heavily and could come back to benefit them in the long run, having ample opportunities for immediate playing time.
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