Indiana Basketball: IU remains active for 2020 PG, receive OV from four-star

Indiana basketball secured an official visit from one of its few remaining 2020 targets and it comes at the point guard position.

Archie Miller has remained adamant that he wants the Indiana basketball program to have a 4-6 man recruiting class in 2020. With three current commits, the Hoosiers are in need for a big man and are in the mix for Dawson Garcia, set to trim his list on Tuesday, but also want to snag a point guard to help with the ball handling duties moving forward.

On Monday night, IU got good news with one of its point guard targets as Hassan Diarra scheduled an official visit to Indiana this fall, according to Andrew Slater.

Indiana has been one of the programs heavily involved in Diarra’s recruitment throughout most of the summer, but there has never been a strong connection between the two until recently. With the news of Caleb Love cutting the Hoosiers from his list, the need to at least entertain the possibility of Diarra became crucial.

Diarra is a defensive minded guard who is more of an inside the arc option on the offensive end, and makes up for his lack of shooting with his quick first step and athleticism.

What is interesting about this development is the possibility how this would impact 2021 PG Khristian Lander. Lander, the top ranked point guard in the class, is Indiana’s top priority and has a junior year official visit scheduled for Hoosier Hysteria as well.

Lander is not a guy who would come in and sit behind multiple guards – something the Hoosiers already have and would have with Diarra. Indiana’s starting point guard Rob Phinisee isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and will be the starting point guard for the next couple of years for the Hoosiers, so how a point guard commit in the 2020 class would impact Lander would be interesting.

Archie Miller does love having interchangeable guards in the lineup, but having three main ball handlers in the mix for backcourt minutes along with Anthony Leal, Trey Galloway, Armaan Franklin and Al Durham would be a lot to manage.

Diarra and Lander play totally different games, but I do think if Diarra’s relationship with Indiana picks up steam and results in a commitment, it would significantly impact IU’s chances in landing Lander in 2021.