Indiana Basketball Player Scouting Report: Kanaan Carlyle

As it was announced on Saturday, Stanford transfer guard Kanaan Carlyle has committed to play for Mike Woodson and Indiana basketball for the upcoming 2023-24 college season. The commitment of Carlyle comes after his official visit that he took to Indiana over the weekend.

Carlyle is the third player out of the transfer portal to commit to Indiana along with fellow guard Myles Rice and center Oumar Ballo. Per 247Sports, he is the No. 1 rated combo guard and the No. 10 overall prospect in the transfer portal this offseason.

He has three years of eligibility remaining.

Carlyle, who is originally from the Atlanta area, is a former top-60 prospect who played just one season at Stanford. During his high school recruitment, he was on the radar of Indiana basketball thanks to his ties with assistant coach Yasir Rosemond, who once again led this recruitment. Carlyle was rated at the No. 52 overall prospect in the 2023 class according to 247Sports and chose Stanford over schools such as Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Kansas, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, and many others.

He attended his first three years of his high school career at Milton (GA) before joining Overtime Elite for his senior season. He averaged 9.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game for the YNG Dreamers in OTE and led them to the OTE Championship game. He also led Milton to the Georgia state championship game in 2021 as well as winning a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas championship with USA Basketball in Tijuana, Mexico.

During his freshman season at Stanford, he averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in 23 appearances. After the season, he was named to the All-Pac-12 Freshman honorable mention team. He scored in double-figures 15 times, including two 20-point games and one 31-point outing (a career high) against Indiana basketball transfer commit Myles Rice and Washington State.

The 6-foot-4 guard shot a field goal percentage of 38.6% including 32.0% from three. After shooting 44.7 percent on 2.1 made 3s per game in the first 10 games he played, his shot fell off. He shot just 20.8 percent from three on 4.1 attempts for the final 13 games of the season.

Scouting Report: Oumar Ballo

A lot of what Indiana basketball is getting with Myles Rice, they are also getting with Kanaan Carlyle, except with just a slight twist. They both play a similar-ish style for the most part which in-turn, gives the Hoosiers multiple ball handlers in the backcourt along with the likes of Trey Galloway and Gabe Cupps, as well.

For starters, Carlyle is a straight bucket-getter and does it with so much speed. While he is not the biggest guard at the high major level, his speed and ability to change direction on the ball is such a major advantage. Like Rice, you can make a strong case that Carlyle is at his best when he can work off ball screens and either have a burst of the speed through the lane or become a spot up shooter off a side-step or straight pull-up.

For a right-handed guard, he is much better shooting off the left elbow (52%) than the right elbow (31%). He can also excel off the pick-and-roll and does a good job of catching the defense lacking with that most of the time. If he were to run a pick-and-roll game off the wing with the likes of a Malik Reneau, they both would be able to cause confusion on the defense which is where Carlyle’s speed comes into play because he can beat the defense off the dribble and utilize his very successful floater.

One of the main difference when it comes to Carlyle and Rice is that the former Stanford guard is actually a more reliable catch-and-shoot guard. When looking at both of these guys on the court together next season, Rice is likely to have the ball in his hands most of the time which will allow Carlyle to work more freely off the ball. He will be able to use his speed and work off the cuts to get a free look going. Think of the short time that Xavier Johnson and Jalen Hood-Schifino played together at Indiana and how JHS was used….that is how Carlyle will likely be used as the secondary ball-handler that will play mostly off the ball.

To also add to his offensive game, he is just extremely crafty and plays with a tough motor to add to all the things he can do on the floor.

Defensively will be the interesting area for him in the 2024-25 season for Indiana basketball. While his defensive numbers do not really jump out to anyone, he is a capable defender for the most part. If he can cause disruptions guarding on the ball or just even jumping the passing lanes, it will make Indiana a better transition offense team and play more the fast style Mike Woodson want’s his ball club to play.

The ultimate goal for this Indiana basketball team this offseason was to get more dynamic and have more playmakers in the backcourt. They have done just that with the first addition of Myles Rice and now with Kanaan Carlyle. These two should be able to play alongside any backcourt rotation that Hoosiers run next year becausethey are that dynamic and versatile as guards.

Reliable three-point shooting is still a major need, but each addition the Hoosiers just keep getting better.

Indiana basketball now has three scholarships open for the 2023-24 season.

Below are full highlights of Stanford transfer guard Kanaan Carlyle.

SEE ALSO: Indiana Basketball Player Scouting Report: Myles Rice

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