AKHoosier

So I read somewhere we have our in-home with Garland on Sept. 18. Looks like Duke, Vandy, UCLA, IU are all getting in-home visits as of now.

It was mostly just speculation of how we could get around the oversign if we end up with Forrester, Garland, and Romeo to round out 2018. He wasn't talking about a sudden decommitment or anything.

Honestly I think we lead for TJD and Brooks, but the only thing I worry about is "big boy recruiting" and if it comes to that. Of course I'm just a concerned fan and nothing more ha.

TJD, Keion Brooks and Aaron Henry are all visiting MSU this weekend. Sounds like Gary Harris will be there too.

I hope that's not the case, I don't see how he could be a 3. Whatever, they'll figure out the best place for him on the court. Just hoping he picks IU.

Sounds like Sunday's visit was huge for TJD. He basically went down to Btown as a personal visit to hang with friends, but ended up calling the staff and meeting with them for a while. Per an interview I read somewhere, it sounds like he is getting way more comfortable with the staff and players. He's probably playing open gym basketball with the team right now as I'm typing this.

Plus TJD is sure to break into the top 50 when the next instance of rankings come out, and Forrester just dropped 12 spots and he's almost dropped out of the top 150. Their trajectories are almost completely opposite. But of course we all know that rankings are meaningless crap anyway. :)

I freaking love it. Purdue is crapping their pants right now after their fans claimed they led for Jackson-Davis, Damezi Anderson, and Phinisee. No you fuggin' didn't.

It's behind the IU rivals' site paywall. Which made it more significant imo since the national recruiting analyst paid a visit to that site and posted it.

Yeah no offense to the kid, but with our current scholarship situation and the players we're in good to great standing with at his position in 2019, I really hope we don't get him.

Eric Bossi dropped some solid news today that he's hearing IU has made up ground on Garland. He rarely pops in like that, so there has to be some pretty credible recent developments on that front. I really hope we get confirmation of a visit soon.

Looks like TJD will be on campus for Thursday's game along with Damezi Anderson and Jerome Hunter. Have to think Phinisee will also make the trek down.

That's what I was thinking too, that it was bigger than one player or a "package deal." To me, if you're using the term "seismic," it's going to be a lot bigger than 2 players going to Vanderbilt or any school, even if they are top 10 guys. Seems more like an institution-level thing with the NCAA or something like that.

lol so one guy tweets something that may not even be factual, and of course half of us are concerned it HAS to mean both Garland and Romeo are going to Vanderbilt. We're not jumping to conclusions, we're Chuck Yeager strapping ourselves into a Bell X1B rocket and blasting ourselves off to Planet Conclusion.

Not much of a shock, except for Duke being omitted. Also, I seem to remember someone saying Texas was going to surprisingly be involved with him, which was definitely out of left field. Looks like nothing came of that.

Sounds like this weekend was a huge next step into getting his commitment. He just has to get a little more comfortable and familiarity with the staff, players, and campus before he makes a verbal somewhere. I wonder if he's taken overnight unofficials to any other campus over the last year or so.

That would be incredible if he commits today, causing TJD to commit before the weekend is over to lock up his spot for 2019. I know it's the definition of counting your chickens before they hatch, but I really want these two in-state guys to make up for the players we lost out on the past few years.

Of course rankings matter. Show me the last national championship team to not have highly ranked kids. There are only about 10 (at most) teams every year capable of winning a national championship, all of whom likely have at least one 5 star, McDonald's All American on them. Now, even Eric Bossi said there isn't a difference between kids ranked between 80-115 or so, and I believe that. But there's a huge difference between a top 20 guy and a fringe top 100 player. But I''m sure the king of hot takes is going to refute this by saying, "But Butler!".

What happens if Forrester commits in September, do we go all in on either Garland or Romeo? Per another board it sounds like he could very likely commit on his visit. What if both Garland and Romeo wanted to come?

Well I know that, I'm just saying a team with Langford is going to be getting some Final 4 hype before and during the season, whereas a team without him definitely will not. I'm not saying it couldn't happen, as you've pointed out there have been many teams who have gotten there despite being less talented, however the chances increase exponentially with Romeo.

I love Damezi but whose minutes do you see him getting his freshman season? A sophomore Justin Smith plus Jerome Hunter are probably seeing the floor ahead of Anderson, so I don't think he's getting more than ~8 mpg in 2018-2019.

I'm starting to disagree with people who say Romeo Langford is not a must-get recruit for 2018. A roster of De'Ron Davis, Juwan Morgan, Clifton Moore, Justin Smith, Curtis Jones, and Devonte Green is probably hoping for a Sweet 16 at best, as I don't think they'd have a very realistic shot at anything higher than that barring major development from some players in the backcourt. But if you add Romeo Langford to that equation, does that not look like a Final 4 roster? Devonte Green Romeo Langford Juwan Morgan Clifton Moore De'Ron Davis With Curtis Jones, Phinisee, Hunter, and Smith likely the players getting meaningful playing time, that roster looks pretty capable of a matchup-friendly run to the Final 4. Although we'd have to see some pretty solid development out of the backcourt and Clifton Moore turning into a Jared Jeffries-lite, that looks to be a pretty potent lineup. That's my scorching hot take anyway. If we want IU to make our long-awaited return to the Final 4, Romeo Langford pretty much provides the only realistic way there.

So in other words, just his prediction.

Because you can do both, and in order to win national championships, you have to get the 3-4 year kids plus the elite one-and-done guys. Also, getting Romeo Langford would be huge PR for the program, and make IU the cool place to go again. Top flight talent, both in- and out-of-state, would take IU much more seriously if Langford comes. It's a big deal.

The staff offered him and scheduled an official visit this fall knowing full well that Phinisee was likely to commit anyway. I've seen nothing to suggest his offer was conditional on what Phinisee would do. They play much different positions.