Indiana Basketball: Breaking down Anthony Leal’s two finalists

Indiana basketball is one step closer to receiving a commitment from their first 2020 target as they were named in this four-star recruit’s top two.

Archie Miller and the Indiana basketball program have been waiting patiently for the first domino to fall in their 2020 recruiting class and on Thursday they got one step closer as one of their top targets cut his list to two, including the Hoosiers.

Anthony Leal is a name most, if not all, Indiana fans are aware of in the 2020 class. The Bloomington native has long been rumored an Indiana lean and now they have just one team to beat out in his recruitment.

While Leal never officially put out a list schools such as Northwestern, Xavier, and Cincinnati were some of the other programs involved.

As seen by the schools vying for his commitment, academics lean heavily in Leal’s decision where he will ultimately choose to go.

For Stanford, they are exactly that and because of it received Leal’s first official visit back in March.

He touched on his relationship with the Stanford staff in an interview with 247Sports.

"“I’m in great contact with their head coach and their assistant coaches. I’m working on the application right now because you have to be accepted by admissions before the scholarship can actually mean anything, so I’m doing that. I’ve been talking with their coaches. I’ve been getting closer with Tyrell Terry, who is a good friend of mine.”"

Terry is a 6-foot-1 point guard who is an incoming freshman at Stanford this fall and was a top-100 prospect in 247Sports rankings.

When it comes to Indiana, it’s home and it’s what he’s always known.

Growing up around Indiana basketball, he has been on campus numerous times for unofficial visits as well as his official visit earlier this summer.

While Leal has never really opened up about his desire to stay home and play at Indiana, the comfort as well as relationships he’s been able to build could help.

Another tipping point could be his relationship with another Indiana target Trey Galloway. Both starred on the Adidas Gauntlet for Indiana Elite and have been favored to end up in Bloomington for some time now.

There is no real timeline for when a decision will be made as it could still drag out, but Leal has been on record saying he would like his recruitment to be over with by the time his senior season starts at Bloomington South.

Leal is ranked No. 96 in 247Sports Composite rankings and is a four-star recruit in the 2020 class.