Breaking News: 5-Star Guard Khristian Lander Officially in Indiana's 2020 Class
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Five-star Evansville Reitz point guard Khristian Lander confirmed Monday through social media that he is reclassifying ino the Class of 2020 and is on his way to Indiana. The school confirmed it later in the morning through a release from Indiana coach Archie Miller.
Lander, a 6-foot-2 left-handed point guard who was ranked in the top-20 in every Class of 2021 ranking, will join a class in Bloomington that include Indiana Elite teammates Anthony Leal (Bloomington South) and Trey Galloway (Culver Academies). plus top-100 wing player Jordan Geronimo. The class in now ranked No. 13 national in the 247Sports composite ranking, second in the Big Ten behind only Michigan (12th).
“After a long talk with me and my family, we have decided that I will reclassify into the class of 2020 and I will be attending (Indiana) in the fall,” Lander told 247Sports.
The school sent out a press release late Monday morning confirming that Lander had signed his National Letter of Intent.
Lander scored 1,314 points at Evansville Reitz and averaged 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4.6 rebounds last season and was named third team All-American by MaxPreps. He led Coach Michael Adams’ Panthers to a sectional title and was named second-team All-State, an Indiana Junior All-Star and first-team All-Southern Indiana Athletic Conference.
He averaged 23.2 points as a sophomore and entered the season ranked as the No.11 player in the Class of 2021 by 247 Sports, No. 12 by ESPN and No. 17 by Scout.com. He is the son of Keith and Brandie Lander.
“We are thrilled to be welcoming Khristian and his family to Indiana University,” Indiana coach Archie Miller said in the release from the school. “He is a tremendous addition to our program, not just as a basketball player, but a great person, and terrific student.”
Lander has been a priority recruiting target for Miller and his staff ever since he arrived in Bloomington three years ago.
“I knew when I first saw Khristian at 15 years old that he was a special player. He has great feel for the point guard position,'' Miller said. "His competitive drive has pushed him to elevate his game rapidly and his family has done a great job of keeping him grounded and humble.”
“He cares a great deal about his teammates and winning. It speaks volumes about him wanting this opportunity now and bypassing all of the high school accolades and opportunities he has in front of him to enjoy like most want so often. We are thankful to his family, the trust that goes into this is not easy. Indiana university and Bloomington is the perfect stage for him to grow on and off the court, as well as a student on campus.”
His future teammates were happy, too. Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana's best player a year ago who will be back for the 2020-21 season tweeted "this year just got scary.''
Lander's playmaking ability should have an immediate impact on the Hoosiers, who finished 20-12 last year but return all five starters and plenty of depth. Lander is confident he is ready to play at this level, and started thinking about thinking "about this decision a little bit around my official visit to Indiana. I had to get four classes done,” he told 247Sports. “It was extremely hard. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
By getting his schoolwork done, Lander — who is an excellent student — has officially signed his National Letter of Intent for the class of 2020. At Indiana Elite, Lander played with Galloway and Leal and had a lot of success. He's looking forward to being reunited with them,
“All three of us are looking forward to it a lot. It is going to make things easier because we know how each other play, so I think that will make things a lot easier.”
Lander is also close with Indiana point guard Rob Phinisee, who played at Indiana Elite as well. He told 247 Sports that the two can play well together.
“I think it is a really good opportunity. He played on Indiana Elite, so I know him. I feel like we are similar in some ways, but we can also play really well together.”
Next Generation: Meet the Recruits
- MEET TREY GALLOWAY: The first commit in the Class of 2020, Trey Galloway's basketball journey has been a true family affair. CLICK HERE
- MEET ANTHONY LEAL: There is plenty of unfinished business for Anthony Leal, the Bloomington South star who is excited to stay home for college. CLICK HERE
