BB RECRUITING

Scout’s Take: What Trent Sisley’s commitment means for Indiana basketball

What does Trent Sisley’s commitment mean for Indiana basketball? National scout Max Feldman breaks it down with HoosierIllustrated.com.

Published

2 hours ago

September 24, 2024

Alec Lasley

What does Trent Sisley's commitment mean for Indiana basketball? National scout Max Feldman breaks it down with HoosierIllustrated.com.

Indiana basketball landed a commitment from 2025 four-star Trent Sisley on Monday — the first pledge in its 2025 recruiting class.

Sisley is a 6-foot-7 hybrid forward who is ranked No. 75 in the 247Sports overall rankings.

Sisley played the first few years of high school for in-state Heritage Hills where he averaged 24.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He then played for Indiana Elite this summer where he averaged 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

This summer he announced that he would be transferring to national power Montverde Academy (Fla.) for his final season of high school.

HoosierIllustrated.com spoke with Max Feldman, national scout for MADE Hoops, to breakdown Sisley’s game, what he’ll bring to Indiana, what the recruiting win means for the Hoosiers and more.

Q: IU invested a lot into this recruitment; what does it mean for Indiana, big picture, to land a key prospect it prioritized for years?

Feldman: No doubt about it. 2025 has been aligned as huge class in the state for some three years now. To be able to land the first one off the board is key — especially in a national class that’s played out a bit longer than usual. Locking in a top-75 prospect is always important — even more so given he’s from the state and has relationships with multiple other key targets.

Q: What will Trent bring to Indiana from a skillset perspective short and long term?

Feldman: I’d say it’s two-fold, and is most closely related to Sisley’s best trait to me — he’s naturally versatile and can play with just about anyone. He doesn’t demand much drawn his way to make an impact offensively. Smart, skilled, has solid size, rebounds well and can space the floor off the catch. He should be easy to get on the floor early and tough to take off of it after more time spent in the weight room.

Q: Where has Trent developed over the last few years the most?

Feldman: In terms of development, I’d say just identifying his role and maturing from the approach standpoint. When guys are young and highly touted, it’s common to want to prove that game in and game, and at times force the issue. This past summer with Indiana Elite, around a ton of talent, there was a clear buy in to playing within the system and starring in that role. He’s definitely improved in terms of handling contact and doing the little things, but more than anything it’s been buying into being the type of player he’ll have to be at the next level.

Q: What is next in his development to be able to make an impact as soon as possible?

Feldman: In terms of instant impact, he’ll have to continue to get quicker laterally to stick on the floor defensively. Sustaining efficiency as a shooter will of course be key and a pathway to early tick, but also think speeding up his decision-making process will be key to monitor. If you can hold up defensively, make shots at a solid clip and play within the flow at 6-foot-7, you’ll be tough to take off the floor around primary guys. Essentially, an overall buy-in on being an ancillary guy and polishing up the necessary traits to do so.

Q: With Indiana looking to play a faster pace in the future, how do you see Sisley fitting into Mike Woodson’s system on both ends of the floor?

Feldman: He’s awesome in transition. He’s got natural basketball instincts and you could see this summer with Indiana Elite — an offensive construct heavily built around off ball movement and attacking space. If the spacing and decision-making pieces are in place, he’ll slide in nicely.