Archie Miller is wasting no time making important introductions in his first days in Bloomington.
A day after making contact with New Albany (Ind.) High five-star junior guard Romeo Langford, and visiting IU signees Justin Smith and Al Durham, IU's new head coach is visiting Nashville (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy five-star junior guard Darius Garland today, a source told TheHoosier.com.
The 6-0, 150-pound Garland is ranked as the No. 10 player nationally in the class of 2018. He visited IU this fall for a practice prior to the program's annual Hoosier Hysteria.
Garland's father, Winston, grew up an IU fan as a Gary, Indiana native. So naturally, both him and Darius have followed the Hoosiers as the younger Garland has grown.
“I’ve been a Hoosier fan for a long time,” Winston told TheHoosier.com in February. “I’ve watched some real good teams.
"The teams with Isiah Thomas, Kent Benson, Scott May - guys like that. The ’76 team. My senior year in college when they had Steve Alford, I was in school and was the same age but I was still rooting for the Hoosiers.
"I loved Bob Knight. Just grew up a Hoosier fan.”
Darius Garland also holds offers from Duke, Louisville and Kentucky among others. He was tabbed a fourth team All-American by Maxpreps.com after averaging 23.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, leading Brentwood Academy to a 30-2 overall record, Tennessee's Division II Class AA state title and a No. 10 national ranking.
The Blue Devils, Wildcats and local Vanderbilt are among the other teams contending for his services.
"Coach (Mike) Krzyzewski says that I can help their program a lot," he told Rivals recently of Duke. "They've been offering a lot of great players in my class. If we were able to come together and play as one at Duke that would be great."
"I like Coach (Bryce) Drew a lot," Garland added of Vanderbilt. "He's a really good guy.
"We've had a relationship since he was at Valparaiso so we go way back. I think they have a really bright future. There's a little bit of a pull to stay home, but I'm taking my time with my decision."
The five-star junior will play AAU this spring with Bradley Beal Elite on Nike's EYBL circuit.
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