Khristian Lander, the nation’s No. 1 point guard in the class of 2021 according to 247Sports, announced his commitment to IU via his Twitter account Tuesday night.
Lander is a five-star recruit and ranked the No. 11 overall player in the nation. He is an Evansville, Indiana, native playing at Francis Joseph Reitz High School. He picked IU over the University of Louisville, University of Memphis and Michigan.
A reclassification, which involves leaving high school a year before expected graduation to play in college earlier, for Lander is reportedly being considered. The Herald-Times reports Lander would prefer to attend IU as part of the 2020 class.
The decision would seem reasonable given how early in his recruitment process he made his commitment. Lander is just the second five-star-rated prospect in the class of 2021 to make a college decision.
IU has a scholarship spot available should Lander choose to move up to the class of 2020.
The high school junior visited Bloomington for IU’s game Sunday against then-No. 9 Penn State. He previously visited IU, including an official visit in the fall.
IU head coach Archie Miller has now landed three five-star recruits from Indiana. Lander joins a list that already included current freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis and current Boston Celtics guard Romeo Langford. Multiple high school recruiting experts did not expect Lander to pick IU over Michigan.
Lander provides IU with an option for the future at point guard. Should Lander remain in the class of 2021, starting point guard Rob Phinisee would be a senior when Lander arrives on campus.
