Many four-star recruits who are ranked outside of the top 100 are happily accepted, but not immensely celebrated — especially at a program like Indiana.
These kinds of players are recognized to be good talents who will take time to develop and eventually contribute. At the same time, they aren’t viewed in the same light as a nationally regarded prospect like some of Indiana’s recent star-studded commitments over the years, like a Romeo Langford, Trayce Jackson-Davis or Khristian Lander.
Indiana’s newest commit, Logan Duncomb, who made it official on April 7, fits the criteria as a four-star recruit who might be a bit overlooked by most. He is a 6-foot-9 center from Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati and is considered the No. 106 player in the 2021 class nationally according to the 247Sports Composite.
“I felt like I knew all the information, it was just the right time,” Duncomb said on why he committed now amidst the coronavirus outbreak and having an official visit to IU canceled.
The timing couldn’t have been better for Indiana because Duncomb is a much more important commitment than people might realize.
Oftentimes in recruiting it is said that a player is needed for some team to fill a need or hole in the roster. In most cases, though, the team will still have a player of that same position on the roster already and they just “need” the depth the recruit would offer.
In the case of Duncomb, that common narrative doesn’t follow suit because Indiana absolutely needs him.
The Indiana program and Duncomb supplied what the other needed. Indiana provided a good fit for Duncomb and Indiana got a much-needed big man.
Big man of the future
By the time Duncomb steps foot on campus in Bloomington, Joey Brunk and Justin Smith will have graduated, and Trayce Jackson-Davis will have likely declared for the 2021 NBA Draft. By then, Indiana’s only returning post player for the 2021-2022 season will be a redshirt senior power forward in Race Thompson.
The 6-foot-8 Thomson improved steadily this past season when he was healthy and should really come into his own by then, but he doesn't have enough size to compete in the Big Ten. He would be Indiana’s only player at 6-foot-8 or taller, excluding Duncomb.
That is exactly why landing Duncomb is so huge for Indiana, both figuratively and literally. As of right now, when looking ahead to 21-22, he’ll be the tallest player on the team. By that point, the IU roster will be almost completely full of backcourt and wing players.
Blessed to announce that I have decided to commit to @IndianaMBB! Go Hoosiers!?⚪️ #IUBB pic.twitter.com/Nvdu6OFf7H
— Logan Duncomb (@LoganDuncomb) April 7, 2020
“There’s a huge opportunity for me as a front court player as a freshman,” Duncomb said.
Having Duncomb step in and make an instant impact was a key part in Indiana head coach Archie Miller’s recruiting pitch that dates back to last summer when Duncomb was offered in July 2019.
Miller beat out schools including Ohio State, Xavier and Stanford to land Duncomb’s talents. He’ll be getting a center that shows hustle, physicality and a strong ability to score around the basket. His improving outside jump shot, mobility and a 7-foot-3 wingspan should provide quite a bit of upside for Duncomb’s future too.
Part of what Duncomb likes about Indiana is that he thinks he’ll fit in well with IU’s style of play.
“They (Indiana) have a similar one (style) to Moeller, especially the way they utilize bigs,” Duncomb said.
Former and future teammates
More than just the system, IU presented a lot more familiarities for Duncomb as well.
Freshman Indiana basketball walk-on Michael Shipp is a friend and former high school teammate of Duncomb’s. In their only two years playing together they won two state titles at Moeller.
Duncomb said that Shipp was always there for him and talked to him if he had questions about the school or basketball program.
— Logan Duncomb (@LoganDuncomb) March 11, 2020
Additionally, with Duncomb playing for Indiana Elite in AAU, he knows fellow Indiana commits Anthony Leal, Trey Galloway and Khristian Lander. All three of them played for the same program, but they were playing a year above him.
“I’ve got a good feel of what people they were like and they were all high character guys,” Duncomb said. “We get along well.”
Even with Duncomb’s pledge, the frontcourt is still thin for the future, but Duncomb can help out in this continued effort as well. Trey Kaufman, a four-star power forward in the 2021 class out of Sellersburg, Indiana and Silver Creek High School is an AAU teammate of Duncomb’s and has been a long-time priority target for Indiana.
The 6-foot-8 forward and top-100 ranked prospect would be another gigantic get like Duncomb and could play a large role in solving Indiana’s future frontcourt issue.
Duncomb said he would be recruiting Kaufman to IU in due time.
“I feel like we complement each other well,” Duncomb said. “He’s more of a three-four (small forward or power forward) and I’m more of a four-five (power forward or center).
All in all, Duncomb is a giant recruiting win for Indiana and a direly needed one too. His value of filling a real positional need on the roster cannot be emphasized enough.
