Indiana basketball communicating with five star 'every day'
CARROLLTON, Texas -- There might not be a target Indiana basketball and coach Mike Woodson have focused more on in the Class of 2024 than top-10 recruit Liam McNeeley, and the Hoosiers coaching staff is making it known.
"I talk to the coaches at Indiana every day," McNeeley said at Nike's EYBL event in Dallas last weekend. "They keep on me, I keep up with them. We talk all the time and they let me know how much they want me."
A true wing target, McNeeley would fill a big need for the Hoosiers roster in the 2023 class. While Indiana landing Mackenzie Mgbako on Friday adds necessary length and athleticism to the roster in 2023-24, there's a good chance Mgbako is only with Indiana for one season before declaring for the NBA Draft like Jalen Hood-Schifino did after his freshman season with Indiana.
"He's a pretty high prospect," McNeeley said of Mgbako. "And that's what I think I am. Seeing other high prospects go there and hopefully be successful, that's what I'm trying to see."
This summer on the EYBL circuit, McNeeley has helped lead Florida Rebels to an 8-4 start through the first three sessions, including a 3-1 record this weekend with the Rebel's only loss coming to New York Renaissance and top-5 ranked recruit Dylan Harper, who also is being pursued by Indiana.
McNeeley is averaging 11.3 points per game this summer with 4.0 rebounds and more than 1.5 assists per game. He's also proven to be a capable shooter, making 33.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
"Really my mindset is don't defer to anybody," McNeeley said. "Play my game no matter what and don't let anybody take me out of what I do best. I think make plays on both sides of the ball."
The five-star prospect recently took a visit to Texas, his home-state school despite moving to Florida to play for the prestigious Monteverde Academy and the Florida Rebels AAU team.
"Austin is a great city and Coach Terry did a great job picking up where Coach Bears left off," McNeeley said. "I think me and everybody else is just excited to see what he can do next season starting this team on his own."
On his visit to Texas, McNeeley was given a tour of Texas' new stadium, the Moody Center, which was impressive.
"It's like an NBA arena," he said. "It's so nice."
College basketball's premier programs are starting to recruit McNeeley more too. Alabama, Kansas and Kentucky are starting to communicate with the top-10 prospect more and Indiana is hoping to get McNeeley secured for another official visit in the future.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION ON THE HOOSIER'S MESSAGE BOARDS
-- SUBSCRIBE TO THE HOOSIER'S YOUTUBE