5-Star Darius Wabbington Commits to Indiana

Darian DeVries and the Indiana Hoosiers added to an impressive 2027 recruiting class on Tuesday evening with the commitment of five-star big man Darius Wabbington. Wabbington is a 6’11” forward/center from Phoenix and he is ranked the 13^th best prospect in the 2027 class in the 247Sports Composite. Wabbington chose Indiana over hometown favorite Arizona and the Illinois Fighting Illini.

The Arizona Wildcats were long considered the favorite to land his services but Indiana continued to recruit him and momentum began to swing towards the Hoosiers following his campus visit in September. The talent and skill for Darius Wabbington has always been apparent but his game taken a major leap in the last year as he put more emphasis on sculpting his body and getting into excellent shape. He stars at Sunnyslope Academy and is considered by many analysts to be the most skilled big man in the 2027 class. While not a particularly explosive athlete, Wabbington is outstanding as a ball-handler and passer and Indiana clearly excited him on the opportunity to play the “stretch four” role that will be occupied by Aidan Sherrell in 2026-2027.

Strengths

-Highly skilled offensive player

-Excellent ball-handler, passer and offensive initiator

-Intelligent feel for the game with great length (wingspan of 7’4”)

-Proven production against elite competition

-Developing perimeter shooter, as evidenced by his seven three-pointers last weekend in a high-level game

-Solid rebounder

Areas For Improvement

-Lacks high-end quickness and is not an explosive athlete

-Despite his 7’4” wingspan, he has never shown to be a consistent rim protector and would ideally be paired with a true center that is a strong defender (Samet Yigitoglu would be an excellent partner for him)

-If he’s playing the four, continuing to develop consistency as a perimeter shooter

Darius Wabbington pairs with elite scorer Chase Branham to give Indiana a dynamic duo in the 2027 recruiting class. The pair were together recently at a camp in Las Vegas and that could have ultimately helped sway Wabbington to Bloomington. Wabbington, Branham and German international Felix Kiehlneker very likely form the entirety of IU’s class.