I'm cleaning out my inbox and answering subscriber questions on 2021 recruiting.

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First, it seems the staff has prioritized 6-foot-8 Silver Creek power forward Trey Kaufman over the 6-foot-9 Fort Wayne Blackhawk center.

Second, Kaufman's "3-and-D" profile is more in-line with what Miller prefers. Trey has a combination of length and skill that's drawn Kentucky to Sellersburg this fall.

Furst is a 6-foot-9 center with limited range and no right hand. He'll need to work on his body to bang in the Big Ten. But that hasn't kept Matt Painter or Tom Izzo away,

Furst will visit East Lansing in early January to prove it.

IU hasn't stopped recruiting him altogether, but it's cooled off considerably from its stance a year ago.

Purdue still feels like the team to beat here for the moment, but Michigan State, Louisville, and Virginia are starting to get serious.

Here's the thing: there's no real answer to this one.

I'll say Trey Kaufman. While he's not anywhere close to a sure-thing, he feels as solid as anybody in 2021.

And even at that, he could wind up at Purdue and I wouldn't bat an eye. He was in West Lafayette two weeks ago for its game against Texas. He's a 4.0 student. It's either IU or Purdue for Kaufman.

I’d call Louisville the favorite for the five-star point guard, followed by IU and Michigan third. However, Memphis can't be discounted with Hardaway and Miller running around.

(Note: Hardaway texted Keith Lander while we were talking last night.)

Memphis supposedly has 2020 five-star shooting guard Jalen Green committing around the holidays, which would keep the momentum moving forward.

Jalen Green as your running mate in the backcourt is a solid pitch to a point guard like Lander

Everyone except Michigan is pushing for a 2020 reclassification, so that's the next order of business for IU. Is this going to happen?

Louisville 3:1, IU 5:1, Michigan 8:1, Memphis 9:1. How's thst?

20 percent? And even that feels high.

Patterson is a 6-foot-8 forward from New Jersey. He told me he can play anywhere on the court. He visited IU in October, which was his first official visit ever. Mlst recently, he took his second to Florida (Nov 8-10).

He was at Villanova’s Midnight Madness event. Seton Hall is hot on his tail as well. All together, Patterson picked up over 30 high-major offers this summer.

When was the last time Indiana landed an out-of-state, five-star player besides Thomas Bryant or Noah Vonleh, both late signings. Vonleh was a reclassification, too. Those were special circumstances.

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