Written by: TJ Inman
If you are reading this, I can safely assume three things about you:
- You are an IU basketball fan.
- You are familiar with the concept of a “hot board”.
- You have exceptional taste in what you read and are supporting independent media. Hooray for you!
With those indisputable facts established, welcome to the first version of the 2026 Hoosier Huddle IU Basketball Hot Board. This will be slightly different than others you might read and I reserve the right to change the format if it is discovered that readers want tweaks or adjustments. For now, I will list offered prospects in a very specific order: likelihood they are to end up committing to IU. That means committed prospects will be at the very top of the board. I will be using the 247Sports Composite Ranking and the “evaluation” and thoughts on the player will be coming both from myself and from recruiting analysts and experts. Where appropriate, a player comparison will be included. Your thoughts and conversation on individual prospects or the class on a whole are very welcomed.
Committed
Prince Alexander-Moody
Player Vitals: 6’4”/180 pounds from District Heights, MD and Bishop McNamara High School – Team Takeover AAU – 4-star (90) ranked 123rd – Chose IU over Vanderbilt, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan State and others
Prince Alexander-Moody is the first (and currently only) commit of the 2026 recruiting class. He is listed as a combo guard but IU is expecting him to be a point guard in college. His wingspan appears to be that of roughly a 6’6” individual and once he adds a bit of bulk, he will be a versatile perimeter player that should be a real asset on the defensive end and as a driver.
He is often able to beat his defender one-on-one and get into the lane and he finishes with a fairly reliable mid-range jumper or with good wiggle around the basket. I certainly would not call him Alexander-Moody an elite athlete but he’s above-average and has outstanding downhill quickness. His length and quickness make a good defender already and he has the potential to be high-end on that level with the ability to switch three or four positions pretty easily.
There are two things that IU will be hoping he can improve upon to really outplay his ranking: consistency as a perimeter shooter and elevating his decision-making as the primary ball-handler. He is only shooting 29.4% in EYBL play for Team Takeover (but he did shoot it better at a recent DMV Live event with his high school team). Analysts like the outstanding Trevor Andershock report that his form looks good and believe he projects out to be a good perimeter shooter in college. That’s very promising. The second point for improvement is critical if Prince Alexander-Moody is to end up being a point guard for the Hoosiers. He is not currently a dynamic passer. If that improves, he could be a really good point guard and primary ball handler. If not, and he remains more of just a distributor, he should still be a very solid secondary ball handler and combo guard that could pair next to true point guards (hypothetically, players like Jason Gardner Jr. or Taylen Kinney). Prince Alexander-Moody is exceptionally bright off and on the court and he appears to have a personality that will be loved by the IU faithful.
Qayden Samuels and Prince Alex Moody WENT OFF in front of 15+ College Coaches!! 📈
Offered
Latrell Allmond
Player Vitals: 6’8”/225 pounds from Richmond, VA, Petersburg High School and Team Loaded AAU – 4-star (93) ranked 42nd nationally – Top Schools include IU, LSU, Oklahoma State, Rutgers and others emerging
Latrell Allmond has had a terrific summer and his official visit to IU in mid-June has him right at the top of the targets list. He’s a modern forward or stretch center that would appear to fit into Darian DeVries’ system really well. Allmond has been one of the top players in the EYBL circuit thus far (15 points/7.5 rebounds/47.1% from 3) and he has used his estimated 7’0” wingspan to finish around the rim with ease against most every defender that tries to match up with him. He has what everyone is looking for in a modern big man with good ball-handling skills, great hands and a really good outside shot. Allmond is a good shot-blocker and a developing defender but he shows a lot of promise there thanks to good agility and quickness.
Jeff Rabjohns of peegs.com is really darn good at evaluation and projection and he compares Allmond to a college veteran version of Juwan Morgan. For those that don’t remember, that means he’d be a heck of a player. Kenny Johnson was all over Allmond as an assistant at Georgetown and he has IU in a very strong spot in this recruitment. To be blunt, I expect Allmond to be a star in college and I hope it is at IU.
Latrell Allmond – Team Loaded – 2025 Adidas 3SSB Highlights
Ethan Taylor
Player Vitals: 7’0”/230 pounds from Branson, MO and Link Academy, MoKan Elite AAU – 4-star (97) ranked 22nd nationally – top schools include IU, Kansas, Baylor and Houston
Ethan Taylor is the prototypical rim-running and shot-blocking center teams are looking for. He’s a legitimate seven-footer with nearly a 7’3” wingspan and he jumped from 73rd to 22nd in the rankings thanks to his great play in the Nike EYBL this summer. He projects as a high-level rebounder and shot-blocker on defense. On offense, he’s a really good screen and roll diver that can effectively catch and finish at the rim (typically with a dunk). If you appreciate big men that don’t try to be something they are not, Ethan Taylor is your guy. He will not try to stretch the floor as a perimeter shooter and he will not demand post-ups and try to dazzle with moves in the paint. IU assistant Rod Clark has connections to the MoKan Elite program and got the Hoosiers in the door and IU is in really good shape.
Anthony Thompson
Player Vitals: 6’8”/185 pounds from Lebanon (OH) and Western Reserve Academy – Indiana Elite AAU – 5-star (98) ranked 9th nationally – top schools include Auburn, IU, Kansas and BYU
There was a time when Anthony Thompson was considered a heavy lean to Ohio State but the Buckeyes did not close the deal early and Thompson’s stock took off last summer and Jon Diebler did not exactly set the world on fire in his first season as head coach in Columbus. IU’s previous staff was recruiting Thompson but he was not a likely option until Darian DeVries was hired and brought on Drew Adams as an assistant coach. Adams is well-connected to Indiana Elite and the Hoosiers are now a real player in this recruitment. Anthony Thompson has tantalizing potential and the perfect frame of a modern-day wing. He has a 7’2” wingspan but he has the on-ball skills of a guard. He’s already a terrific three-point shooter and he can move really well, particularly in transition.
A few interesting tidbits that might end up mattering: Thompson signed a national adidas NIL deal recently (as you know, IU is a marquee school for adidas…but so is Kansas) and he has yet to lock in a date for an official visit to Bloomington. If he does end up visiting IU this summer, as is rumored, IU should have a real shot to land the blue-chip prospect.
Anthony Thompson – Indiana Elite – 2025 Adidas 3SSB Highlights
Taylen Kinney
Player Vitals: 6’1”/185 pounds from Newport, KY and Overtime Elite – Wildcat Select AAU – 5-star (98) ranked 11th nationally – top schools include Kentucky, Louisville, Alabama, IU
IU wants at least two guards in this class and they’d love to land a top-end true point guard. Prince Alexander-Moody certainly fills one of those guard spots and Taylen Kinney is one of the potential and preferred options at point guard. Kinney now plays for Overtime Elite but he is a native of Kentucky and many think it will be really tough to get him away from Louisville or Kentucky. He is a dynamic lead guard that is a really good creator and playmaker for his teammates (over five assists per game as a junior) and he’s shown to evaluators that he makes excellent decisions with the ball. Quickness is the name of the game for Kinney. The only non-elite part of his game is his outside shooting. Experts like his form but the results have shown that thus far, he’s an average or below three-point shooter. DeVries was recruiting Kinney when he was at West Virginia and has continued that pursuit at IU. Nothing is scheduled yet but he is expected to visit IU this summer. Ultimately, I don’t think Kinney leaves the Bluegrass State (well, after he comes back from Overtime Elite ha).
Arafan Diane
Player Vitals: 7’1”/260 pounds from Norfolk, Iowa and Iowa United Prep – Iowa United AAU – 4-star (97) ranked 15th nationally and #1 center on 247Sports. Top schools include Arkansas, Arizona, IU, Creighton, BYU and several others
Of the prospects on this list, no one is more physically intimidating and impressive than Arafan Diane (of course, all of them are quite physically impressive to this aging little man). He’s 7’1” and built like a brickhouse. He was relatively unknown until this summer before dominating a number of matchups against four and five-star big men. Those performances catapulted him up the rankings. Diane has a true shooting percentage of 79.9 while averaging 16.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
Diane is a shot blocker on defense, as one would expect. On offense, he finishes really well around the rim and is showing a pretty good shooting touch. It’s a small sample size but he is making 60 percent of his three-point attempts on the adidas 3SSB circuit this summer. Indiana is trying really hard to get an official visit from Diane but he’s going to be really hard to reel in.
Arafan Diane – 2025 NBPA Top 100 Camp Highlights
Jordan Smith Jr.
Player Vitals: 6’2”/200 pounds from Fairfax, VA and Paul VI Catholic – Team Takeover AAU – 5-star (98) ranked 2nd in the country and the top guard
Jordan Smith is one of the more coveted prospects in the country and he’ll be incredibly difficult to land but IU is absolutely trying. Drew Adams went to Switzerland to watch him play for Team USA in a U19 competition in late June and the Hoosiers have had a consistent presence at every Team Takeover game this summer. His AAU teammate, Prince Alexander-Moody, is already committed and Kenny Johnson’s DMV/Team Takeover connections have IU feeling like they can get a visit.
Jordan Smith is a terrific competitor and he’s a power driver with a rare combination of strength and length. Smaller guards aren’t strong enough for him and bigger players are rarely quick enough for him and if Jordan Smith wants to get to the basket, he tends to get what he wants. I’ve never seen anyone at the high school level drive the ball with quite the ferocity Eric Gordon did for Indy Heat and North Central High School but Smith packs a similar punch when he attacks. Jordan Smith is not a good outside shooter right now and there are concerns that he might never be (his free throw percentage suggests the shooting concern is legitimate). He has to at least improve as a free throw shooter because he lives at the line. He projects as a plus-player right away on both ends of the floor. It’s going to be very difficult to win his recruitment over elite Nike schools (looking at you Duke).
Jordan Smith Jr. Paul VI Highlights
Aiden Derkack
Player Vitals: 6’5”/160 pounds from Colonia, New Jersey and Colonia High School – Team Final AAU – four-star (92) ranked 48th nationally and the 5th ranked shooting guard
Aiden Derkack is the younger brother of former Rutgers guard Jordan Derkack. He is a top 50 prospect that played really well at the Pangos All-American Camp and piqued the interest of the Hoosiers’ staff. Rod Clark watched all of Derkack’s games recently at an even called Philly Live and earned an offer from IU. It’s early in this recruitment and unclear how serious Derkack is going to be about IU. He is known as a major competitor that does whatever it takes to win and that is exemplified with the highest Performance Index Rating (overall impact analytic) on his AAU team. I will make a prediction that IU ends up appealing to Derkack and I think he’ll ultimately visit Bloomington. If that does occur, he skyrockets up this list.
Others to Know
Justin Curry (Noblesville), Noah Smith (Plainfield), Trey Thompson (#59 ranked/PF/Purdue is favored), Deron Rippey (#17 ranked/PG/no visit scheduled to IU), Bryson Howard (#28 ranked/late riser), Caleb Gaskins (#16 ranked/no visit scheduled to IU), Cole Cloer (#24/Forward/no visit scheduled to IU), Marcis Ponder (massive center, offered this past weekend)