Indiana hasn't been very active in the class of 2021 but on Friday it extended an offer to five-star point guard Hunter Sallis. With the expected departure of Khristian Lander and then the graduation of Rob Phinisee, the point guard position has been a topic of discussion for the rest of the 2021 class.
With the recent addition of Kenya Hunter to the IU coaching staff, Sallis became a name that the Indiana staff immediately turned its attention to. Sallis previously put out a top-12 list before IU was involved that consisted of Gonzaga, Kansas, North Carolina, Oregon, Kentucky, Creighton, Auburn, Iowa State, Alabama, Michigan, Louisville and UCLA.
The Nebraska native also attended a Team USA Basketball camp with current IU freshman guard Khristian Lander. Because of the few connections that the Hoosiers have to the five-star guard, this is a recruitment that Indiana could get involved in despite getting in the race late.
Sallis is an extremely athletic guard who can do multiple things on the offensive end. A very fluid and explosive athlete, Sallis makes a living in the paint. At 6-foot-5, he has great body control and length that gives him the ability to score in multiple ways at the rim. If he is stopped in the paint, he has a terrific floater game that allows him to get his shot off over bigger defenders.
Additionally, he is extremely explosive off of two feet and has great leaping ability that often times leads to many highlight plays. While Sallis has the ability to knock down threes, he hasn't found a super consistent shot from deep due to his slightly unorthodox shooting form that isn't always the easiest to replicate.
While Sallis is exceptional with the ball in his hands, he is often times used more in the half court than in full court situations. Playmaking can be a bit sporadic in terms of his ability to get teammates involved and put in good positions to score, and is a part of his game that is still growing.
Defensively, Sallis uses his great length to get in the middle of passing lanes and get out in the open floor. With his athleticism and size, however, he is a very solid on-ball defender and can become a lockdown defender at the next level. Off of the ball is where Sallis can slack off at times.
Overall, Sallis is a big time playmaker offensively and would solve a lot of playmaking issues for IU on that end of the floor.
Sallis is ranked as the No. 11 overall player in the Rivals150 rankings and the No. 2 point guard.
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