Indiana Basketball Recruiting Visit Primer: Liam McNeeley, Derik Queen, Curtis Givens

Indiana basketball continues it’s busy month of recruiting visits with over 10 confirmed prospects expected to be on campus, both officially and unofficially, in the month of September.

Mike Woodson and Indiana basketball wrapped up their first set of visits with 2025 prospects, five-star guards Jalen Haralson and Darius Adams and four-star center Malachi Moreno over this past weekend. However, this upcoming weekend is viewed as the most important of the month with Montverde Academy (FL) trio, five-star wing Liam McNeeley, five-star center Derik Queen and four-star guard Curtis Givens all on campus this weekend for official visits starting on Friday (9/8).

They are expected to be in attendance for Indiana football’s week two matchup vs Indiana State.

More: Montverde Academy trio are ‘key visits’ for Indiana basketball, which could jumpstart 2024 recruiting class

This is a key month for Indiana basketball in terms of recruiting with them looking to build their 2024 and 2025 classes, which currently has zero names committed to the program as of yet.

Below is a breakdown of each player.

Liam McNeeley

Liam McNeeley has been the top priority target for Indiana basketball when it comes to the 2024 class for quite sometime now. Currently, the 6-foot-6 wing is ranked No. 8 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

This will be McNeeley’s second official visit to Indiana having already taking one in the fall of 2022. Texas will also be receiving a second trip. 

McNeeley, originally from Texas, transferred to Montverde Academy (Fla.) last season and emerged as one of the top prospects in the country. This season he averaged 13.7 points and was second in the NIBC averaging 2.2 made 3s per game.

Playing for Florida Rebels on the Nike EYBL Circuit this summer, McNeeley averaged 16.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game across 17 games. He shot 37 percent from three (30-of-81).

What makes McNeeley so special of a player is that he is a true hybrid forward that has the ability to play both on and off the ball consistently. His motor and aggressiveness on both ends is at a high level and when he has the opportunity to attack the basket, he does it without hesitation being one of the better players in the 2024 class at getting to the line. The 6-foot-6 wing is great playmaker that creates so much offense around him, as well.

Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers have built a strong relationship with the highly-touted wing over the recent years and the fanbase has been very welcoming to McNeeley.

“Indiana is obviously a historic basketball state, and the fans in Indiana almost worship basketball,” Liam McNeeley previously told HoosierIllustrated.com. “Love from the fans make me feel wanted.”

“They emphasized me being a bigger guard and being versatile. Coming off ball screens or posting up smaller defenders and moving the ball in transition.” McNeeley said.

While schools such as Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma are making strong pushes, Indiana basketball remains the ‘clear leader’ as his decision date looms closer and closer.

Derik Queen

Along with McNeeley, Derik Queen will be taking his second official visit to Indiana with his first also coming in the fall of 2022. He has arguably been the top front court target for Mike Woodson and Indiana basketball for the past year.

For the majority of Queen’s recruitment, Indiana and Maryland has always seemed to the frontrunners as the potential landing spots for the five-star center. The Baltimore native has the clear ties to Maryland and throughout the majority of his recruitment, he has been a Maryland-lean. Recently, however, the main assistant recruiting Queen for the Terps left the program leaving the door more open than previously thought.

The 6-foot-9 big man made significant strides over the last year in his overall game. As a junior at Montverde, Queen averaged 11.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting 61 percent from the field. Playing for Team Thrill on the Under Armor AAU circuit, Queen averaged 19.7 points per game.

“Opposing bigs hate to see Queen coming; his versatility and quickness as a scorer and rebounder are next level. Queen has some of the best footwork of any big in the country, uses his 6-foot-10, 220-pound frame to create separation in the paint and has an IQ that reads off the charts as one of the best passers in the country,” Rivals national analyst Jason Jordan wrote back in July.

Other schools involved along with Indiana and Maryland include Kansas, Houston, Georgetown and others.

Derik Queen is ranked as the No. 10 overall player in the 2024 247Sports Composite Rankings and the No. 3 center.

Curtis Givens

Rounding out our trio of Montverde Academy official visits is one of the more recent Indiana basketball targets, four-star guard Curtis Givens. He was offered by the Hoosiers earlier this spring but already listed them in his final 7.

Givens, a Memphis, Tennessee native, transferred to Montverde Academy (Fla.) last season. In his first year at Montverde Academy, Givens played more of reserve role and averaged 4.0 points and 2.2 assists per game in 14.7 minutes a game. He also shot 36% from three.

Givens has good size at the lead guard spot at 6-foot-3. He’s not going to blow you away with his athleticism but his pace and understanding of an offense is what separates him. Givens has the ability to play both on and off of the ball, but he’s best making plays for himself and his teammates with the ball in his hands. He is very effective shooting off of the catch and the dribble and that really opens up the rest of his game. He has also shown a really good ability to utilize ball screens to get into the paint.

Givens, a Memphis, Tennessee native, transferred to Montverde Academy (Fla.) last season. In his first year at Montverde Academy, Givens played more of reserve role and averaged 4.0 points and 2.2 assists per game in 14.7 minutes a game. He also shot 36% from three.

As a bigger guard, Givens looks at how Indiana used former Montverde Academy product Jalen Hood-Schifino and the success he had in his one season under Mike Woodson.

“The conversation I had with Coach Ya (Yasir Rosemond) was a very good conversation,” Givens told HoosierIllustrated. “He was telling me how much he loves my game and I remind him of Jalen Hood-Schifino. And he was also saying they have a good history of good guards and how they let their guards run the show. It’s really ideal for a point guard to be in that system with being given the keys to run the offense.”

He recently went on an official visit to Texas this past weekend but other schools include Georgia Tech, LSU, Memphis, UConn, and Villanova.

He is ranked No. 87 in the 247Sports class of 2024 Composite Rankings

SEE ALSO: Look —> Pictures of Jalen Haralson, Darius Adams, Malachi Moreno from Indiana basketball unofficial visits

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