5-Star Recruit Khristian Lander Commits to Indiana

Evansville's Khristian Lander is considered the best point guard in America in the 2021 class, and Indiana got a verbal commitment from him late Tuesday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Evansville Reitz guard Khristian Lander committed to Indiana on Tuesday night, another huge get for Archie Miller and his coaching staff — and maybe the biggest one of all.

The 6-foot-2 Lander is considered the best point guard in America in the 2021 class in several recruiting service rankings. He has been a high priority for Miller since he arrived in Bloomington three years ago, and all that work on the recruiting trail paid off with Lander's decision, announced via Twitter.

Lander's commitment to Indiana over schools like Louisville, Michigan and Memphis also thrilled his AAU running buddies and future teammates at Indiana. Bloomington South senior Anthony Leal, one of the leading candidate for Mr. Basketball this season and a one of three key pieces in Indiana's 2020 recruiting class, tweeted this:

Sheeesh🤯 #hoosiernation🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/0Ykqgq9y81

— Anthony Leal (@anthonyl3al) February 26, 2020

Leal and Culver's Trey Galloway have played AAU basketball with Lander with Indiana Elite, and the two of them also have been active recruiters. The three of them already have a special bond, and they've wanted that to continue at the next level.

There are only 21 five-star recruits in the 2021 class, and Lander is one of them. He is lightning quick with the ball in his hands, and he can score at every level on the floor. He's been praised often by coaches and evaluators for his passing ability and his court awareness.

When Lander gets reunited with Leal and Galloway is a question without an answer right now, because Lander said Tuesday night that he is pondering reclassifying into the Class of 2020 so he can come to Bloomington a year early.

“It’s kind of up in the air right now. I have to talk to my counselors and stuff,” Lander told the Herald-Times' Jon Blau.

When Miller landed in Bloomington after Tom Crean's firing, he vowed to recruit "inside-out'' and has delivered on that promise to lock down the best players in the state of Indiana. He's gotten the best player inside the borders three years in a row now — Romeo Langford in 2018, Trayce Jackson-Davis in 2019 and Leal and Galloway in 2020 — and Lander fits right into that, regardless of which class he winds up in.

Lander is the ninth highly regarded in-state player to commit to Miller, including current junior forward Joey Brunk, a former top-3 in-state recruit who started his career at Butler but transferred to Indiana. The others besides Langford, Jackson-Davis, Leal and Galloway are Rob Phinisee, Damezi Anderson and Armaan Franklin.

Lander has visited IU several times, and sat with Leal during Sunday's 68-60 win against Penn State. But it was never a given that Indiana was a front-runner in his recruiting because he also liked what was going on at Louisville and Michigan, respectively.

That constant recruiting push by Miller and his staff paid off in the end.

“I just feel like they never acted different, no matter what type of recruits they could have gotten. They stayed consistent,” Lander said Tuesday night. “And the loyalty thing is real big for me.

"I committed because they stayed relevant the entire time. I was a priority no matter what type of recruits they could have gotten," Lander said.  "I'm ready to turn up the Hoosier Community!"

The 2021 class in indiana is loaded with talent, so getting an early commitment from Lander may help several other important recruiting decisions, too. 

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