Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers awaiting big decision from Dawson Garcia

The Indiana basketball program is awaiting a huge decision from 2020 five-star forward which would change the expectations of the Hoosiers’ season next year.

It has been another very good recruiting class for Archie Miller and the Indiana basketball program, currently sitting with three signed players in 2020, but the class may not be done just yet.

While it has been well-known Archie Miller’s desire to make the 2020 class one with at least four players, there has also been an emphasis on securing a commitment from a frontcourt player, as three perimeter players reside in the class as of now.

For Dawson Garcia, he has been a target that the Indiana staff has had its eyes on since the spring and have actually been one of the programs to have been involved with him the longest.

On Monday night, it was announced that Garcia would make his announcement on CBSSports HQ at 4:30 pm EST, the final day of the early signing period. So where exactly do the Hoosiers stand going into Wednesday night?

It has been long rumored that Indiana has been one of two teams out in front of his recruitment, going head-to-head with the Golden Eagles of Marquette and after his official visits, it seemed to echo that.

"“It [the visit] was great. Going there with Trey [Galloway] and Anthony [Leal]…. I have a great relationship with them, as well as the other guys on the team,” Said Garcia. “I felt at home really. Their fan base, definitely the best fan base recruiting me right now.”"

"“I just love the tradition they have there as well as my relationship with the coaching staff, as well as the players coming,”  Garcia told 247Sports’ Evan Daniels.. “They have a crazy fan base, I think one of the best in the country.”"

Not only was his visit great, but as Garcia mentioned, he knows some of the incoming members of the 2020 class quite well. Signees Anthony Leal and Trey Galloway have been friends for quite some time now, playing on the Adidas Gauntlet circuit in AAU, but also rooming together at the Adidas All-American camp over the summer.

Despite being a Minnesota native, the Hoosiers also have connections with his AAU program. Indiana assistant Tom Ostrom is from the same area of Minnesota as Garcia, knowing the family for a long time, and has had success recruiting out of the D1 Minnesota AAU program. Current Indiana sophomore Race Thompson is an alumnus of D1 Minnesota as Ostrom was the lead recruiter in his recruitment as well.

Even with all of the Indiana connections, beating out Marquette could, in the end, be too much to overcome. The program that has been recruiting Garcia for the longest has picked up some steam over the past 24 hours, even picking up multiple Crystal Ball picks for the five-star forward, though they aren’t from any of the major analysts tied to the recruitment.

Though he didn’t have any visits in the past week, coaches from Indiana, Memphis, and Minnesota all visited Garcia, after Marquette received the final visit, following Indiana’s official visit.

If Indiana pulls it off and receives a commitment from Garcia, it would move the Hoosiers class to No. 5 in the 2020 class rankings.