Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers make cut for Jalen Bridges, receive official visit

Four-star forward Jalen Bridges included Indiana basketball in his final list as he set up all five official visits.

The Indiana basketball program received some good news on the recruiting front once again, as West Virginia native Jalen Bridges included the Hoosiers in his final five schools.

https://twitter.com/jalenbridgess/status/1165354308650577925?s=21

Xavier, Alabama, Miami, and West Virginia make up the other four teams on Bridges’ list. The 6-foot-7 wing will be visiting all five schools, but he may have given Indiana a slight edge. Bridges will be visiting campus October 4-6 for Hoosier Hysteria, his final visit.

Bridges’ other official visits are to West Virginia on Aug 30-Sept 1, Alabama from Sept 6-8, Xavier the weekend of Sept 12-14, and then Miami from Sept 20-22.

As it stands now, Xavier and Miami seem to be the frontrunners with Alabama trailing right behind.

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While there are some formidable programs competing for Bridges’ favor, none of them can lay a finger to the tradition and fandom that Indiana provides. Hoosier Hysteria is a flashing beacon of irresistible Indiana pride. This gives the Hoosiers a leg up on the competition because they get to make the last, big, showtime pitch to the 2020 recruit, if he takes all five visits.

IU is a relative newcomer in Bridges’ recruitment, but they are not alone in this regard. The young prospect’s home state school, West Virginia, has been involved with him for quite a while, but he wasn’t formerly a player on a lot of teams’ radar.

Back in May, Bridges was ranked nationally in the 200s, but a tremendous AAU season saw him grace the top 100 and go all the way to his current position of No. 75.

The Hoosiers extended Bridges a scholarship offer in late June, similar to both Alabama and Miami.

Bridges would add depth at the small forward position. With Justin Smith graduating in two years and the uncertainty of Jerome Hunter’s future, Bridges would be able to fill the void nicely. He is a player with good upside and potential to grow on both ends of the court.

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My prediction about Bridges’ commitment back in July was that he’d wind up at Alabama, and I still feel the same way now. However, I do think that his visit during Hoosier Hysteria means something, and if he makes his trip to Bloomington, it would not be surprising in the least if he leans towards Indiana in a few months.

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