Indiana Basketball: Next moves for Hoosiers in recruiting after Trey Kaufman decision

What is next for Indiana Basketball’s in the recruiting world?

Trey Kaufman’s decision to commit to Purdue was a blow to the hearts of Indiana fans. I will maintain for quite some time that Kaufman had the potential to be one of the better Indiana players in the past two decades. Kaufman is the type of athlete NBA teams are targeting, and I feel like (with the right coaching and right situation) he has NBA All-Star potential. He is a version of 1st-team All-Rookie and former Gonzaga standout Brandon Clarke but is much farther along developmentally than Clarke at this point.

Not only will it be brutal to know that potential will never be realized in Assembly Hall, but we will have to see Purdue with that type of talent for likely four years. Matt Painter is a great coach, but Purdue hasn’t produced a decent NBA talent since Glenn Robinson in 1994. They are going to waste his superb NBA potential that could have been strengthened at IU.

Clearly, I haven’t quite gotten over the loss of Kaufman yet, but I digress. Losses happen in the recruiting world, and Archie Miller’s first huge blow had to come at some point. Now we are left to look at the future. The Hoosiers already have Logan Duncomb committed for the class of 2021, and the young big man from Ohio appears primed to shoot up the recruiting rankings this season.

Here are the main priorities for Miller as he tries to add to a crucial class of 2021. Keep in mind, Miller’s strategy is to clearly prioritize one or two recruits and give them all he has to offer. Kaufman was one of these recruits, and now that he is lost, it is likely Miller shifts that attention to another recruit. As it stands now, Indiana has three scholarships open for 2021.