Indiana Basketball: Recruiting target takeaways from Run N Slam

The 2023 Bill Hensley Memorial Run N Slam weekend has come and gone and while it was not an official live period weekend, this was a good chance to see most of the local Indiana targets in action in or around the state.

The Bill Hensley Memorial Run N Slam is one of the top in-state events of the AAU season with local teams from EYBL, 3SSB, UAA, and many more all participating and make for matchups we don’t normally see throughout the spring/summer.

While most of the local Indiana targets were in attendance, one big omission from this past weekend was 2025 guard Jalen Haralson, who was not able to play this weekend due to his brother’s gradation.

There was a ton of great action over the weekend, which you can read more about from our Run N Slam Live Blog from Saturday.

HoosierIllustrated.com’s Kyler Staley was in Fort Wayne, IN all of Saturday checking out the Indiana targets Flory Bidunga (2024), Travis Perry (2024), Jonathan Powell (2024), and Trent Sisley (2025).

Below are the takeaways and notes of how each Indiana target did over the weekend.

Flory Bidunga (Indiana Elite 2024)

The 6-foot-9, five-star center Flory Bidugna was doing Flory Bidunga things that we have come to know he does on Saturday. Like it is every game he plays in, his motor was mostly always at 100% and he was running hard down the floor to get in position on both offense and defense.

His true rim protecting and shot blocking skills are going to be near the top of what makes him so impressive and he had a few huge blocks that came out of nowhere that you tell really amazed people. For his size, he is so light on his feet and just has nearly perfect timing on when to go up and contest the shot.

Offensively, he continued to show his improvements putting the ball on the floor and making moves face up towards the basket. Other than that, it was your typical score after score around the rim.

In the two games on Saturday, Bidunga finished with a total of 44 points and was as impressive as always doing so.

Travis Perry (Indiana Elite 2024)

The 6-foot-2, four-star guard out of Eddyville, Kentucky is another major part of what makes this Indiana Elite 2024 team so great. With Perry paired with Bidunga, the duo makes for one of the best 1-2 punches not only this past weekend, but on the entire Adidas 3SSB circuit.

What makes Perry such a special player, is his ability to score in so many ways. He is one of the better high school prospects out there at creating his own look and scoring at a high level both on and off the ball.

What stood out mostly to me on the offensive end was not only his ability to create, but how great he did off the dribble and finishing through multiple defenders as well finding an open spot to get an easy shot off. He also was extremely tough on both ends of the floor throughout the day.

In two games, Perry had a total of 30 points.

Jonathan Powell (Midwest Basketball Club 2024)

This was the first time that we had been able to see four-star guard Jonathan Powell since he included Indiana as part of his final six, which also includes Ohio State, Xavier, Michigan State, Clemson, and Virginia Tech.

Out of all the Indiana prospects that I saw over the weekend, I can easily say that Powell was the smoothest. He came off the bench for Midwest Basketball Club, who is coached by 2023 Indiana signee Gabe Cupps’ dad, and you can tell he really excels in that role. He was so good about getting to his spot in transition which was often in the left corner.

He did most of his scoring from the outside but there were times he would get real aggressive and attack the rim and finish with a two handed slam. With as cool and calm he is on the floor, you sometimes forget how athletic he can be and that was the case here.

Defensively, his length and athletic build make him very sharp on that end and can cause some problems for the offense.

He overall had a really good showing on Saturday and finished with an unofficial total of 25 points. Only time will tell to see if Indiana can seal the deal and land this talented guard.

Trent Sisley (Indy Heat 17U)

In my opinion, this was the best that the 6-foot-7, four star forward out of Heritage Hills (IN) has looked since the start of the of the AAU season. He was very energetic the whole time and was aggressive about taking over when he needed to.

With both 2024 Purdue signee Kanon Catchings and 2025 Indiana target Jalen Haralson not playing this weekend, Sisley was able to do much more on offense and open up his game. His versatility on the offensive end was on full display as he was attacking on the drive very hard and was also knocking down a ton of open looks from the wing.

While Indy Heat 17U has really struggled on the EYBL circuit thus far, this was the best display of basketball that I have seen from Sisley and squad and it looked as through their passing and overall chemistry was much more improved.

Sisley has recently seen a surge in offers since the last two live period have taken place with schools such as Wisconsin, West Virginia, UCF, and others getting in the mix with the talent forward. HoosierIllustrated.com was able to confirm that Sisley will be taking an unofficial visit to Notre Dame in early June.

In both games on Saturday, Sisley had a total of 33 points.

SEE ALSO: Indiana basketball offers 2024 four-star big man Patrick Ngongba

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