Indiana coach Archie Miller landed another major in-state commitment on Friday afternoon.
Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.) High School’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, ranked as the No. 16 recruit in the county on the 247 Sports composite, announced his decision on his Twitter account Friday. The 6-9 senior is considered a top contender for IndyStar Mr. Basketball this season.
It is another major in-state victory for Miller, who landed New Albany star and Mr. Basketball Romeo Langford in the 2018 class, along with McCutcheon point guard Robert Phinisee and South Bend Riley forward Damezi Anderson. Cathedral senior guard Armaan Franklin is also committed to Indiana for the 2019 class.
He chose Indiana over UCLA and Michigan State.
The Center Grove star was long considered a top target for Indiana, which appeared to have the inside track throughout his recruitment. Jackson-Davis, the biological son of former Clemson star and Indiana Pacer Dale Davis, had the entire Indiana staff watching him at last week’s game at Franklin Central, an indication of the Hoosiers’ recruiting priority.
Here are five takeaways on Indiana’s latest recruit:
Versatile threat: Jackson-Davis has the talent to help right away, which is the expectation as a top-20 national recruit. He runs the floor well for a player his size and has evolved into a player who can not only run the floor and finish, but get out and lead the break. Jackson-Davis’ combination of size and athleticism and ability play inside and outside seems to fit perfectly with the modern game in college and the NBA.
“You watch guys like Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins and five years ago they were all big men who didn’t do anything on the perimeter,” Jackson-Davis said in a recent interview with the IndyStar. “You watch them now and they are all shooting from the outside like (Kevin Durant). The bigs have to do other things. I think that’s how colleges saw me as well. My freshman year I started block to block, sophomore year moved about 10 feet out, junior year moved out the perimeter and now do a little bit of everything.”
More: Trayce Jackson-Davis ready to make run at state title, Mr. Basketball
Recruiting momentum: Miller, in his second year at Indiana, has already landed five in-state recruits since arrival at Indiana. And he might not be done in the 2019 class. Fort Wayne native Keion Brooks Jr., a 6-9 senior at LaLumiere, is the No. 22 prospect on the 247sports national composite. Brooks, who has taken official visits to Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA this fall, has a friendship with Jackson-Davis after the two played together on the EYBL circuit last spring and summer for Spiece Indy Heat.
“We talk a lot now,” Jackson-Davis said recently. “Quite often. We don’t talk about recruiting much, but we talk about everyday things like how their team is looking.”