Five-star basketball recruit commits to Indiana over Kansas
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The biggest basketball recruiting news of the week comes in favor of the Indiana Hoosiers.
Liam McNeeley, a class of 2024 5-star recruit from Montverde Academy in Florida, announced his commitment to the Hoosiers on Sunday. He announced his decision during halftime of the Top Flight Invitational high school basketball game in Las Vegas.
McNeeley chose between IU and Kansas as his top two after whittling down from offers from major programs including Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan.
“Coach Woodson has been recruiting me for a really long time,” McNeeley said during his announcement. “They’re interest in me has never waivered. They’ve been really consistent in recruiting me, and I just feel really comfortable with them.”
The 6-foot-7 small forward is the No. 13 overall recruit according to the ESPN 100. McNeeley averaged 12.4 points over 25 games during his junior season. His specialty comes past the arc, hitting 37.5 percent of his threes for his travel team — the Florida Rebels. Add on 16.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game during his most recent travel campaign.
McNeeley is IU head coach Mike Woodson’s first commit to the 2024 class. Woodson has made recruiting big time players a priority since returning to Bloomington in 2021.
“The Indiana fans are crazy,” McNeeley said with a big smile when asked about the Hoosier faithful. “All over the country, I’ve had fans come up to me, tell me to go to Indiana. It’s crazy.”
The sharpshooter can add a much-needed talent to the long game for IU. Last season, the Hoosiers struggled from three, making 37 percent from beyond the arc. IU’s top three-point shooter Trey Galloway led the way, sinking 46.2 percent. The Hoosiers also lost Miller Kopp to graduation — another standout three-point shooter.
Hoosiers fans can watch McNeeley for themselves Sunday night 9 p.m. ET in the championship game of the Top Flight Invite, televised on ESPN2.
Indiana is also targeting Derik Queen, who plays on McNeeley’s Florida Eagles team. McNeeley says his first recruiting call on behalf of the Hoosiers will be to his teammate, who was right next to him during the big announcement Sunday.
The Hoosiers tip off the season against Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday, Nov. 7 in Assembly Hall. Big Ten play starts Friday, Dec. 1 against Maryland.
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