Indiana Basketball: Targets Earn Accolades At Run-N-Slam
A pair of IU targets received some national praise over the weekend.
2020 Bloomington South three-star guard Anthony Leal and 2019 Center Grove five-star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis both earned a mention from Rivals national analyst Corey Evans in his final recap from the Run-N-Slam event in Fort Wayne.
Jackson-Davis is one of IU's top targets in the 2019 cycle, while Leal has visited Assembly Hall for a handful of games already.
Leal earned the accolade "Biggest Head Scratcher" from Evans, asserting that the 2020 prospect deserves more recruiting attention than he's received to-date.
"Leal filled a void in the backcourt left by Trey Galloway, his teammate on the Indiana Elite 16-under team who was sitting out the weekend with a minor injury," Evans wrote. "Leal took that opportunity and ran with it, thanks to his fundamentally sound skillset and toughness in the backcourt.
"It is rather head-scratching that he has no scholarship offers. He looks the part of a prototypical Big Ten guard who can shoot, dribble, pass and rebound. Not an explosive athlete, Leal makes up for things with his intellect and unrelenting mindset on the attack. He's a native of Bloomington, Ind., and if the Hoosiers offer this recruitment could be over before one can say ‘IU.’"
The Bloomington South guard earned honorable mention all-state honors this season after averaging 14.4 points per game, helping his squad to a 26-3 overall record.
Additionally, Jackson-Davis picked up an award for "Best Finisher".
"Missing two of his Spiece Indy Heat’s contests over the weekend, Jackson-Davis had to make amends for his rather lethargic Saturday morning outing before exiting Fort Wayne for his high school prom," Evans wrote. "Back on the floor at the Spiece Fieldhouse on Sunday, the top-25 junior went to work, and in a major way.
"While his right hand still needs more polishing, whenever Jackson-Davis can get his defender on his right shoulder the opposition might as well retreat to the offensive end, because it is going to be a bucket. A 6-foot-9 power forward who works extremely well out of high-low sets, Jackson-Davis’ use of angles and elite hands in the paint is are good as you’re going to find at this stage, and that's a major reason why practically the entire Big Ten has made him a priority.
"A quality finisher around the basket, Jackson-Davis is one of the top frontcourt prospects in the nation."
Jackson-Davis averaged 25 points, nine rebounds and four blocks per game as a junior, earning core Indiana Junior All-Star honors and was named second team All-State by the Associated Press and USA TODAY.
He holds offers from IU, Purdue and Michigan State among others.
**Click here to read Evans' full recap from Run-N-Slam**
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.