Anthony Leal, a top priority target for Indiana Basketball’s in the 2020 recruiting cycle, announced that he has cut his list down to two schools yesterday via his Twitter account. The local standout of Bloomington South High School will only consider Indiana and Stanford moving forward in his recruitment.
Final 2
✞
Thank you to every coach who recruited and believed in me, but through God’s grace I am proud to announce my final two schools: pic.twitter.com/dQr4R3helV
— Anthony Leal (@anthonyl3al) July 25, 2019
Before Leal cut his list, he held 12 scholarship offers with the primary contenders outside of his current final two being Xavier, Northwestern, Cincinnati along with a recent offer from Ohio State.
Landing Leal would be a huge victory for Indiana Head Coach Archie Miller as Miller has placed heavy importance on locking up the top prospects in the state; Leal certainly is one of them. Coach Miller is also looking for his first commitment in the 2020 class.
Leal is a four-star shooting guard who is considered the No. 96 overall prospect in the country and the top-rated player in Indiana for the 2020 class according to the 24/7 Sports Composite.
The rising senior has a versatile skill set as a polished athlete who is a good defender and finisher at the rim, but his importance to IU is magnified through his great ability to shoot the ball -- one of, if not the Hoosiers’ biggest weakness from a season ago.
Playing with Indiana Elite on the Adidas Gauntlet Circuit for AAU, Leal has averaged 12.2 points per game while shooting 41.9% from the three-point line in travel ball.
As a Bloomington native, Leal is more than familiar with IU. He has visited multiple times, grew up watching Indiana basketball, and his parents have deep connections to the school.
Despite the longtime interest from the Hoosiers, Indiana didn’t offer Leal a scholarship until a few months ago, back in late April. Stanford, on the other hand, invested in Leal with a scholarship offer back in December 2018.
The Cardinal have long valued Leal and viewed him as a top priority, earning the guard’s first official visit back in March, before Indiana had even offered.
Additionally, Stanford presents a rare and unique opportunity for Leal. As one of the nation’s top tier academic institutions, it’s rare to have an offer from Stanford on the table. Leal is one of the top students in his class at Bloomington South and boasts a grade point average above a 4.0.
It is yet to be seen whether he’ll visit either school again, but Leal does intend on making his decision at some point before the high school season.
Just talked to Bloomington South Anthony Leal about cutting his list to IU and Stanford. Says a final decision could take anywhere from "a couple of weeks to a few months." #iubb
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) July 25, 2019
A potential difference maker in Leal’s decision could be the recruitment of his good friend and AAU teammate, Trey Galloway, who announced his commitment to Indiana late last week. The two have not said they would prioritize being a package deal but have certainly acknowledged the ideal of playing together in college on multiple occasions.
Galloway attends the Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana and is considered a three-star shooting guard and the No. 178 prospect nationally and No. 5 ranked prospect in Indiana by 24/7 Sports.
Galloway and Leal are the only two players from the state of Indiana who have held an IU offer in the 2020 recruiting class. They were offered on the same day during each of their in-home visits with Indiana on April 29. Archie Miller's program is the only one that seems to have recruited both Leal and Galloway.
At the end of the day, Leal will have to choose between the allure of representing his hometown school of Indiana or taking the rare opportunity of power-five athletics with elite academics in Stanford.
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