Indiana Basketball: Busy week of official visits begin for Hoosiers
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Indiana begins a very important and busy week to wrap up July as it is hosting three Rivals150 prospects for official visits.
Indiana is hosting IMG Academy (Fla.) wing Jamie Kaiser, then Wheeler (Ga.) forward Arrinten Page and finally Paul VI (Va.) wing DeShawn Harris-Smith.
The Hoosiers have prioritized these three players most during the live evaluation periods this summer.
Indiana offered Page in April, Kaiser in May and Harris-Smith not until July.
Below is a breakdown of each prospect and the key notes about their game and recruitments.
2023 four-star Jamie Kaiser is taking the first visit of the week and that takes place from July 26-27.
The main programs involved with Kaiser right now appear to be Maryland, UCLA and Indiana.
Kaiser took a visit to Virginia this summer but they are in a different tier at the moment.
Maryland has seemed to be the team to beat for quite some time and at the moment, probably still hold that title. Indiana went to see Kaiser to open both June live evaluation periods and Mike Woodson and Kenya Hunter were out in California on Thursday and remained there through Friday during the final live period in July.
Kaiser has always been drawn to the tradition and history of Indiana. This was what he told TheHoosier.com when he received the IU offer in May:
"It was so exciting I was in shock on the phone with coach because you really can’t beat Indiana basketball it’s like a different type of basketball culture that the whole state has.
"I know I can trust what he (Mike Woodson) said because he’s been there and explained that there’s no bigger stage than IU basketball."
Indiana could do wonders on this official visit and sway things its way, but I do think Maryland has the edge regardless and the other two programs will have to do a good deal on the visits to sway him. One note is the move to IMG Academy that Kaiser announced this weekend could show he is more open to leaving the DMV area than previously thought.
For 2023 four-star Arrinten Page, he is the second visit this upcoming week. He will be on campus July 27-28.
Page has really seen his recruitment tick up this summer. Indiana offered back in April and got in early. There is a really good Yasir Rosemond connection there.
Page did not play at Peach Jam due to a minor injury. Indiana watched Page in every game during the first live session of July.
Page told TheHoosier.com he was shocked at the Indiana fan base after he received the offer, how much love they showed him.
"I love the fan base. As soon as I got the offer, they blew up my DMs saying I would look good in a Hoosier uniform."
Page has taken visits to Missouri, USC and Cincinnati. The big player here could be Cincinnati. They are pitching Page and five-star point guard Isaiah Collier of playing together and they are both being recruited by Wes Miller and the Bearcats.
Page has shown the ability throughout different events this summer to hit shots from the outside. He is best near the rim, but the flashes that he's shown gives Indiana the option to play him alongside a true center.
"They've (Indiana) been saying my athleticism and ability to stretch the floor excited them," Page said. "... (They said) like a stretch four."
“He’s a guy that can do a number of things," Wheeler head coach Larry Thompson told Rivals of Page. “Good with his back to the basket, face guy that can shoot the basketball out to the three-point line, catch lobs, play in space, play with the ball in his hand, play off the ball. He’s one of those guys who is continuing to develop into that Swiss Army Knife kind of guy, he can do a little bit of everything.”
Indiana sits in a good spot for Page, but a commitment on or right after the visit is not something I would expect. Indiana has a strong need for bigs in the 2023 class.
The final visit is 2023 four-star DeShawn Harris Smith. He will be on campus from July 28-29. Indiana made sure he felt like a priority last week by going 4-deep for his opening game of the live period. The Indiana staff had at least one member at each of his games last week.
Harris-Smith was terrific at Peach Jam, leading Team Takeover to a runner-up appearance with a one-point loss in the title game.
Harris-Smith is a 6-foot-5 guard who can play both on and off of the ball. His biggest asset, and something Indiana is searching for, is the ability to get downhill and turn the corner into the paint on the offensive end.
“Harris-Smith doesn’t ever play a game without having a big impact in one way or another,” Rivals national analyst Travis Graf said. “He can score the ball, most notably by getting downhill and creating opportunities at the rim and getting to the free throw line, but he also grabs boards, defends, and does a lot of little stuff well. He’s malleable in a lot of ways and is someone you can slide into a lot of different roster constructions.”
Villanova, Xavier, Maryland and Penn State are the other programs heavily involved at the moment. Harris-Smith has a visit to Maryland planned for this week as well.
Indiana assistant coach Kenya Hunter has very strong ties to the DMV area and Team Takeover.
TheHoosier.com watched all of Harris-Smith's games at Peach Jam last week. Here are our scouting notes:
Harris-Smith is a very physical guard who does a tremendous job using his body to force contact and finish through contact. He is such a good offensive player with the ball in his hands and is a powerful and strong guard who can turn the corner and get in the paint. He has a good ability to create plays for his teammates and his passing ability is very good.
At 6-foot-5, he has good size on the perimeter and is often used as a primary ball handler. Though he is not a true point guard, he has very similar tendencies as one. He is a tremendous rebounder on the offensive end and always finds himself in the middle of the action. One part of his game that is different from others when it comes to rebounding the ball is the fact that he goes after the rebound and doesn't let the ball just come to him.
Defensively, Harris-Smith has good length and that physicality to play up in someone and showed a good ability to be a lockdown defender throughout this week. At times, he got a bit too aggressive and would overshoot a passing lane. His motor, however, makes up for any mistake he would make as he never takes a play off and always recovers immediately after any blown assignment.
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