Indiana fans received joyous news Tuesday night, as top in-state 2021 prospect Khristian Lander announced his commitment to the Hoosiers.
On Tuesday, Khristian Lander’s commitment gave Archie Miller and Indiana basketball what is likely his fourth straight commitment from the top high school prospect in Indiana or Indiana’s Mr. Basketball. It is the first domino to fall in what is being heralded as perhaps the most talented Indiana high school basketball class ever, with six players landing in the top 100 rankings in the 2021 class.
Even in a week where Indiana likely punched its ticket to the NCAA tournament, Lander’s commitment might be the biggest victory. Usually, when a top recruit like Lander announces their decision, it is a marketed event with friends and family there to support. Lander went about it a bit differently. The last news in his recruitment was that he was leaning towards committing towards Louisville, and there was no timetable for a decision.
Then, he’s on an unofficial visit to see Indiana play Penn State, sitting next to AAU teammate and current 2020 commit Anthony Leal, and two days later he announces on Twitter that he’s committed to IU.
Speaking of playing in 2020, the option is potentially on the table for Lander to reclassify to the class of 2020 and play for the Hoosiers next year. In fact, Lander said that he’d prefer to reclassify.
To go over how he fits into Archie Miller’s scheme, we need to first cover what Lander does that makes him such a coveted high school prospect.