The recruiting trail is heating up for the Indiana Hoosiers.

Having already secured re-committments from three big recruits for the 2017 season, head coach Archie Miller has turned his attention to the 2018 class. There are many five star players throughout the country, but one of the absolute best players resides right in the state of Indiana.

-Wherefore Art Thou Going Romeo?

The top player in the state of Indiana, and the third ranked prospect in the 2018 basketball class is a 6’5” 195 lb shooting guard from New Albany High School named Romeo Langford.

One look at the colleges that have already offered Langford and it’s easy to he will be Coach Miller’s primary focus. He has already received offers from Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Purdue, UCLA, Vanderbilt, and of course, Indiana. Miller has wasted no time in showing his interest to the third ranked player in the 2018 class.

Langord is expected to announce his top five schools by the end of summer. It would be a great short term win if Indiana was in that grouping.

-“Inside Out Recruiting Approach”

Coach Miller stressed an “inside-out” approach to recruiting, and his early work has backed up that claim. Miller has already visited four-star point guard Robert Phinisee from Lafayette and four-star shooting guard Eric Hunter from Indianapolis.

Phinisee is ranked 61st in the class of 2018, and Hunter is currently 85th by ScoutHoops.

Both would provide a huge lift in the backcourt for an Indiana team that thrived under former four-star local recruit and now NBA player Yogi Ferrell. Ironically, the main key to Indiana’s in-state recruiting success may also be directly connected to Ferrell.

-The Recruiting Ace up the Sleeve

Indiana’s best chance to sign any of these recruits will lie in the homegrown hands of assistant coach Ed Schilling.

Schilling was the head coach at Park Tudor High School in Indiana for four seasons, during which he coached and developed Yogi Ferrell. In his four years there, Schilling led the Panthers to an 87-18 record and won two IHSAA Class 2A state titles.

From there Schilling went to UCLA, where he coached under former Indiana legend Steve Alford. He brings a reputation as a superior player developer and recruiter. Schilling’s Indiana roots will serve as the backbone for Miller’s vision of keeping Indiana players home.

Overall

Coach Miller has started laying the groundwork for big things for Indiana basketball. He has aggressively tried to make up for lost time with some of the top five and four star recruits in his own backyard. By retaining the incoming 2017 class, Miller has already fortified his reputation as a tireless recruiter.

With three of the four Indiana draft declarations signing with an agent, it is Miller’s hope he can land a few big time recruits and start laying the groundwork for Indiana’s seventh Final Four appearance since 1970.