Indiana Basketball: Archie Miller Proving To Be A Man Of His Word

When Archie Miller stated in his first Indiana press conference that he planned to recruit “inside-out”, he wasn’t kidding.

The Hoosiers new head coach has emphasized the importance of becoming a major player in the robust Indiana recruiting landscape since his arrival in Bloomington. Miller has put his tireless recruiting reputation on display for the Hoosier faithful and is already starting to show impressive results.

Miller secured his third recruit in just under 24 hours by getting a commitment from four-star prospect Damezi Anderson of South Bend, Indiana. Anderson joins fellow four-star players Jerome Hunter (Pickerington, OH) and Race Thompson (Minneapolis, MN) as Indiana Hoosier commitments for the 2018 season.

In Anderson, the Hoosiers the program added an athletic and versatile scorer. Last season, the four-star forward averaged 24 points and 7.6 rebounds per game leading Riley High School to a 19-3 overall record. In fact, the 6-foot-7, 205-lb swing man is only 76 points shy of becoming Riley’s all-time leading scorer. Anderson proudly announced his decision on Twitter:

Anderson is one of the top prospects in the state of Indiana and had received offers from such Big Ten school such as Michigan and Purdue. Prior to his signing with the Hoosiers, many thought Anderson would end up as a Boilermaker, especially after multiple trips by Purdue head coach Matt Painter to South Bend.

There is no doubt Miller has made a huge splash in just a few short months as Indiana. Anderson cited his connection with Miller as a key component of allowing him to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing for the Hoosiers. He also mentioned the attraction of playing with other big-time recruits like Hunter and Thompson.

Already, national ranking sites are singing the praises of Miller’s recruiting acumen. Analyst Brian Snow of 247Sports, now lists the Hoosiers 2018 class as number four nationally. Indiana ranks as having the second-best 2018 Big Ten recruiting class, trailing only Michigan State in the updated lists.

The Hoosiers jumped ahead of Maryland with the signing of Anderson, and were already listed in front of Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa in the Top 25 2018 classes.

The incredible start by Miller must make Hoosiers fans happy, as the Anderson signing has quickly demonstrated his ability to successfully keep local in-state talent. The only outstanding remaining prize is 6-foot-5, five-star guard Romeo Langford from New Albany, Indiana.

Langford is listed as the number one in-state recruit and is mulling offers from every top program in the country. He has offers from Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and UCLA currently.

If Miller can add Langford to this strong signing of Damazi Anderson, Indiana fans will have every reason to believe they are on well on the path towards their ninth Final Four in school history.