Jaeden Mustaf, a 4-star guard that will be playing his junior and senior season at Carmel Christian School in North Carolina, had a conversation about his interest in Indiana basketball and recruiting moving forward.
Mustaf had quite a busy summer with recruiting, along with leading his New World AAU team to the second best record in the Adidas 3SSB Circuit and winning the 17u title as he was named the tournament MVP.
extremely blessed! still working, more to come, not ever satisfied 💯 #mambamentality pic.twitter.com/0LIJIYGsai
— jaeden mustaf (@1tjaee) August 8, 2022
Though Indiana basketball is one of 15 other schools to offer the 6-foot-5 guard thus far, it seems as though the two standouts of the 16 offers are Maryland and Indiana at this point. Mustaf’s AAU teammate, Jamie Kaiser Jr., committed to Maryland back on August 7, and included the Hoosiers in his top three schools. According to 247Sports, Mustaf ranks as the 55th best player in the 2024 class and 13th best shooting guard in the class. The one advantage and connection that Indiana basketball has with Mustaf is that one of Bloomington’s most successful players in college and NBA, Victor Oladipo, came from the same high school that the 4-star guard played his freshman and sophomore season, DeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland. Yes, that was 10+ years ago and the Hoosier program was in a different phase. But, the connection is there, and it’s worth noting as Mustaf cuts his list down in the coming months.
4 ⭐️ 2024 Jaeden Mustaf (@jaeetm3) putting in WORK at Southern #HGJamFest
— Hoop Group (@TheHoopGroup) June 20, 2022
‼️Jaeden is a prospect whose phone hasn’t stopped ringing since June 15
➡️Current offers: Harvard, Coastal Carolina, Indiana, UConn, South Carolina, Northwestern, Maryland, Georgia, & New Mexico State pic.twitter.com/UgDOkzdObq
As seen in his highlights above, Mustaf is a Swiss army knife when it comes to his on-the court abilities. He can finish with anyone, has the athleticism to finish over anyone, and can create shots for himself and others. Mustaf spoke about his abilities and what he thinks stands out about his game, along with his interest in Indiana and other recruiting snip-bits, in a conversation with TheHoosier.com:
"“I think in my strength, I feel like I am able to get wherever I need to get on the floor and I’m able to finish through contact. I think I have improved my catch and shoot shooting as well. Just continuing to improve shooting, not trying to always get to the rim and making the game even easier for myself.”"
Questioning his shooting is fair, which is not highlighted much. But if he can develop a more consistent jump shot and have, at least, the threat of being able to shoot, especially in the Big Ten, Mustaf would make a great addition to the Indiana basketball program for Mike Woodson in the near future.