Montverde Trio Visits Indiana For Pivotal Recruiting Weekend

Indiana basketball is hosting official visits this weekend for three players – Liam McNeeley, Derik Queen and Curtis Givens III – from Montverde Academy, one of the top high school basketball programs in the nation that produced Jalen Hood-Schifino, Malik Reneau and plenty of NBA talent.
Montverde Trio Visits Indiana For Pivotal Recruiting Weekend
Montverde Trio Visits Indiana For Pivotal Recruiting Weekend /
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Coach Mike Woodson has worked hard to build a recruiting pipeline from Montverde Academy to Indiana.

It started with the class of 2022 and landing Jalen Hood-Schifino, who became a one-and-done first-round pick by the Los Angeles Lakers after winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Indiana, as well as his teammate Malik Reneau, an expected starter for the 2023-24 Hoosiers.

And if Woodson hopes to truly establish this pipeline, now is the time.

Class of 2024 recruits Liam McNeeley, Derik Queen and Curtis Givens III – teammates at Montverde – will take official visits together to Bloomington this weekend.

Indiana hosts highly-touted recruits on a yearly basis, but three in the same weekend is unprecedented, especially since they're also all high school teammates.

McNeeley and Queen have long been priority recruiting targets for coach Mike Woodson and staff. Together, they took a junior year official visit to Bloomington last September, and they'll do so again this weekend. Both are consensus five-star recruits in the class of 2024, with McNeeley ranked No. 8 and Queen No. 10 in the 247 Sports Composite Rankings.

At 6-foot-7, McNeeley is one of the top high school 3-point shooters, and he recently discussed his skillset and recruitment in an exclusive interview with HoosiersNow.com reporter Daniel Olinger. In June, McNeeley announced a top-six list of Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas. Before transferring to Montverde, McNeeley attended John Paul II High School in Plano, Tex.

Queen is ranked second among high school centers, behind Flory Bidunga, who recently committed to Kansas. For an in-depth breakdown of Queen's game, check out this film study article by Olinger. While Queen has not narrowed down his list of schools, Maryland, Indiana and Kansas are considered the top contenders.

Queen has impressive passing ability for a forward, and while he isn't much of a jump shooter, he excels with crafty post moves and soft touch. He played AAU basketball for Team Thrill on the Under Armour circuit. Before transferring to Montverde, Queen attended St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Md.

Givens, a 6-foot-2 point guard, will join McNeeley and Queen in Bloomington this weekend. Indiana offered Givens back in April, and other schools in his top seven include LSU, Memphis, Texas, UConn, Georgia Tech and Villanova. 

Givens averaged 14.8 PPG in 24 games for MoKan Elite on the Nike EYBL Circuit, and has shot 35.6 percent from 3-point range across 63 games with MoKan Elite, Montverde and The Skill Factory 15U from 2021-23. He's a consensus four-star recruit and ranked No. 59 in the 247 Sports Composite. Before transferring to Montverde, Givens attended Memphis University School in Tennessee.

Indiana does not currently have any commitments in the class of 2024, but landing one or more of these players would build momentum for the current class and further establish Woodson and the Hoosiers as a destination for future Montverde prospects and other highly-ranked recruits.

It's a bold strategy, and one that comes with risk as Woodson battles top college basketball programs for top talent, but he believes Indiana has earned the opportunity to pursue the best of the best.

"When I took the job, I made it clear to my coaches that we deserve to sit at the table with the best players," Woodson said. "We kind of squabbled a little bit early on because they didn't think we were in the position to be able to do that, and I thought we were based on Indiana basketball and the history of it."

"So I didn't accept no for an answer, and I told them that I wanted to be able to sit at the table with the best players and compete with the Kentuckys, the Kansas, the Dukes, teams like that. All they can do is tell us no, but we've got to get there. And we've been able to get there some, so it's kind of nice."

Related stories on Indiana basketball

  • MCNEEELEY FILM STUDY: Liam McNeeley, a five-star prospect in the class of 2024, is being recruited by coach Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers. McNeeley attends Montverde Academy and plays for the Florida Rebels AAU team on the Nike EYBL circuit, and he's teammates with fellow Indiana basketball recruiting targets Derik Queen, Curtis Givens and Asa Newell. CLICK HERE
  • QUEEN FILM STUDY: Derik Queen — a five-star center in the class of 2024 — is being heavily recruited by Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers, and he's scheduled to visit Bloomington in September. This is our scouting report on the superstar from Montverde Academy. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA OFFERS GIVENS: After a big weekend on the Nike EYBL AAU circuit, Indiana offered four-star point guard Curtis Givens III from Montverde Academy. CLICK HERE

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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.