Following its summer trip to Canada, Indiana will get back to work on the recruiting front by hosting a pair of in-play power forwards beginning early next week.
Former Oregon commit Ray Kasongo arrives in Bloomington Sunday night and Vermont Academy’s Emmitt Holt is due in on Tueday.
“We obviously want him at Vermont Academy as a 2015, but if IU is lucky enough to land Emmitt, they will get a young man who will help them win games,” Vermont Academy coach Alex Popp told SNY.tv
“Recruiting rankings don’t matter once the games start. Wins and losses do.”
After averaging 19.8 points, 14.6 rebounds and 5.0 blocks during his senior year of high school, the 6-foot-7 Holt reclassed to 2015 and said he would do a year at Vermont Academy.
“I felt for playing and academically in college, it will help me get my head on straight,” Holt, 18, told the Democrat & Chronicle.
He originally had a interest from schools like Buffalo, Niagara, Canisius, Quinnipiac and Robert Morris, but now Indiana — which needs bigs for this season — has come calling.
One coach who was recruiting Holt offered this assessment: “Very good motor on the glass. Good body and finisher in the paint. Limited perimeter skills, particularly average shooting range at the 4-spot make him a mid-major/mid-major-plus for me.”
Meantime, sources told SNY.tv Indiana remains the favorite for the 6-foot-9 Kasongo, with a source telling SNY.tv that LSU is no longer in the mix for the Canadian-born talent because their international admissions is complete for the year. A week ago, he was listing Kansas, Memphis and California but his recruitment has been extremely fluid since he was not admitted to Oregon.
Indiana reportedly has just one scholarship for this season, but multiple sources said they would be interested in taking both Kasongo and Holt should they both commit.
It remains unclear how they would add both players, but stranger things have happened.
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