Who Might Make Blake Wesley's Top-5 List?

After Blake Wesley announced his top-12 list, we decided to evaluate some of the schools that could be a top option down the line.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — South Bend Riley guard Blake Wesley announced his top 12 list Thursday night, and his decision could be coming sometime in the next six weeks.

With that in mind, there is no telling if Wesley will trim down the list again before making his decision.

The 12 teams on Wesley's list are Creighton, Kansas State, Grand Canyon, Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue, Louisville, Texas, Maryland, Xavier, Ohio State and Missouri.

Let's assume Wesley cuts down his list to five teams sometime in the next month. If he does, here are five teams that Wesley could fit really well with, and who is recruiting him the hardest.

Indiana

First and foremost is Indiana. Archie Miller and his staff only have one commit for the class of 2021, and that's Logan Duncomb out of Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, Ohio.

There are two players from Indiana that the Hoosiers really want for 2021. One is Silver Creek's Trey Kaufman, the other is Wesley.

Indiana's backcourt next season will be without Al Durham, and the starters will likely be a senior Rob Phinisee and a sophomore Khristian Lander. Then on the wing, the Hoosiers will have Jerome Hunter, Jordan Geronimo, Anthony Leal and Trey Galloway.

So, there's a lot of competition Wesley could be up against, but his talent speaks for itself. Miller seems more in-tune to playing a three-guard lineup with his new roster, and adding Wesley, who is 6-foot-4, would only encourage those possibilities.

Former Indiana assistant coach Bruiser Flint was the main recruiter for Wesley, but even though he's now gone to Kentucky, Wesley said it hasn't changed how he feels about Indiana.

Expect the Hoosiers to be one of the final schools for Wesley to consider.

Notre Dame

It's no secret that Wesley is far and away Notre Dame's top priority for the class of 2021.

After all, the Fighting Irish are in Wesley's backyard as he plays high school ball at South Bend Riley.

Notre Dame and Indiana are most likely the top two teams from the state in contention for Wesley. Butler didn't make his final 12, and even though Purdue did, they have so many young guards on the roster, it might not be the best fit for Wesley.

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey and his staff have struggled to consistently make the NCAA Tournament, and they could really use more depth in the backcourt, which is why Wesley is such a high priority.

Ohio State

The Buckeyes could really use a backcourt player after the transfer departures of both Luther Muhammad and DJ Carton this offseason.

Chris Holtmann has proven he's a good coach in the Big Ten, and it's a big reason why Ohio State has remained in the top 25 over the past couple of seasons.

They still have Eugene Brown and Duane Washington Jr. in the backcourt for next season. Washington Jr. will probably be the primary ball handler as he played a lot for them last season.

As for 2021, Holtmann already has a huge commit in shooting guard in Malaki Branham, who is ranked top-30 overall in the 247sportsComposite.

Landing Branham and Wesley in the class of 2021 would provide Ohio State with a stacked backcourt, and it makes for an enticing duo.

Louisville

The Cardinals have an interesting dynamic in the backcourt for the next couple of years.

Ever since Chris Mack has taken over for Rick Pitino, there has been no such thing as a "rebuild" in Louisville.

The perimeter for Louisville going forward features a ton of talent, including sophomore David Johnson, class of 2021 JUCO star El Ellis and freshman guard D’Andre Davis, who is from Lawrence Central in Indiana.

Mack also has a pair of 2021 commits in wing Eric van der Heijden and point guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. Bringing in Wesley as the two-guard would be an ideal situation for Louisville, especially if Johnson stays for a third year.

Either way, adding Wesley into that group would make for a dynamic backcourt for the Cardinals in the future.

Kansas State

The Wildcats are looking for a bounce back season after finishing 3-15 in the Big 12 last season. Just the year before that, they tied Kansas for first place in the Big 12.

Last season was Bruce Weber's first last-place conference finish as the head coach.

Weber brought in an eight-man recruiting class for 2020, trying to fill the Wildcats' roster with youth and talent as they try to claw back to the top of the Big 12.

In this year's recruiting class was Nijel Pack, who is another Indiana guy that played at Lawrence Central.

The reason Kansas State could be of interest to Wesley is because they currently have no clear go-to scorer, so Wesley could have an instant impact if he chooses to go to Manhattan, Kansas.

Related Stories:

• BLAKE WESLEY ANNOUNCES TOP 12: Blake Wesley announced his top 12 Thursday night, and Indiana made the list. CLICK HERE
• WESLEY AND OTHERS SHINE AT BATTLE OF THE BRANDS: Blake Wesley and other top targets around the state of Indiana put on impressive performances in early August. CLICK HERE
• CJ GUNN AND ISAAC MCKNEELY RECEIVE INDIANA OFFERS: Indiana offered two class of 2022 guards in CJ Gunn and Isaac McKneely. CLICK HERE