Recruiting high -- Indiana rolling under Archie Miller

By Pete DiPrimio

BLOOMINGTON -- Archie Miller has ‘em pumped.

You bet he does.

The man hired, at a hot $3.3 million a year, to revive Indiana’s national title-winning basketball ways, has Hoosier Nation jacked with a red-hot July recruiting roll that even generated a buzz in the Rocky Mountains.

Trust me. I was there. I heard it while at elevations surpassing 11,000 feet.

Anyway, Miller landed commitments from three four-star recruits in like 30 seconds – forwards Race Thompson and Damezi Anderson, and swingman Jerome Hunter.

OK, it was really more like two days, but it was enough to propel IU into top-12 national class status courtesy of Scout.com.

The 6-8 Thompson, a top-90 prospect, was supposed to be part of the Class of 2018, but reclassified to this year, which means he could play this year, but won’t so he can redshirt.

Why do that?

To get an early jump on college life, academics and basketball. That could lead to maximum impact when Thompson does start playing in November of 2018.

According to Scout.com, Hunter is considered the No. 62 player in the Class of 2018. Anderson is at No. 81.

Miller has a ton of scholarships to offer, as many as six. He might not use all of them, but he has them, and topping the wish list is, of course, New Albany five-star standout Romeo Langford.

Yes, the class’s No. 5 prospect is a potential one-and-done guy, but what a one that could be.

Beyond that, IU is looking at standouts such as Darius Garland (an Indianapolis native now living in Tennessee), Rob Phinisee, Moses Brown, Louis King, Jalen Carey, David Duke and Aaron Henry (a 6-6 rising forward prospect out of Indianapolis Ben Davis).

Garland, by the way, is the nation’s No. 8 overall prospect and the top point guard prospect.

Phinisee is another highly regarded point guard prospect.

Miller won’t get all of them, but he might get enough to have a top-10 class in his IU debut recruiting effort.

Add the fact Miller earlier salvaged the current freshman class of Clifton Moore, Justin Smith and Al Durham (they could have left in the aftermath of Tom Crean's March firing) and no wonder Hoosier Nation is pumped.

As far as the 6-7 Anderson, Miller made up recruiting ground fast, especially on Purdue, which had made him an early target. Connecticut and Michigan also were in the mix. He’s strong and athletic and possesses an effective three-point shot as well as an ability to bang inside.

As a South Bend Riley standout, Anderson also represents Miller’s first success with in-state recruiting, something that he has made a priority. He’s considered the state’s No. 3 prospect via 247 Sports.

Anderson averaged 24.0 points and 7.6 rebounds last season for Riley. He was named the Northern Indiana Conference MVP.

How long has it been since IU got a recruit from South Bend? Since 1976, when Tom Abernathy said yes to then coach Bob Knight.

Then there is Ohio-native Hunter, a versatile 6-7 prospect rated as a top-15 prospect at small forward. Miller had made him a priority when he was at Dayton, and continued the focus when he joined the Hoosiers. 247 Sports has him as the state of Ohio’s No. 2 player.

As a junior at Pickerington North High School, he averaged 19.3 points and 10.9 rebounds. He can play shooting guard or both forward positions.

Add it all up and you have a July to remember.

Will it lead to a season to remember?

To a bunch of seasons to savor?

Stay tuned.