This Saturday, the start of the Curt Cignetti era for Indiana football officially kicks off with FIU coming into Bloomington. The start of the college football season means many things, but on the basketball side of things, it often means to start the visit season for multiple high schools prospects across the country. When it comes to Indiana basketball, they kick off the fall with one of the more important visits they will see this year.
This weekend (8/31), 2025 five-star guard Jalen Haralson will make an official visit to Indiana, a place that he has already visited multiple times over the past few years. Indiana basketball is one of the final nine schools on Haralson’s list which also includes Purdue, Duke, Kansas, Auburn, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Gonzaga, and Missouri.
The Indiana basketball visit for Haralson will kickoff a string of upcoming official visits this fall. As it stands right now Haralson will also visit Notre Dame (9/7), Michigan State (9/14), Missouri (9/21), Purdue (9/28), and Kansas (10/19). He previously made an official visit to Auburn last year around this time, as well.
Not only will Haralson be on campus the same time as the first game for Indiana football this season, but he will be also be there for the Indiana basketball player reunion that is expected to take place with multiple former players expected to be in attendance.
Haralson, who ran with Indy Heat 17U on the Nike EYBL circuit, is coming off a very big final season of AAU basketball. He averaged 21.2 points per game while adding 7.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists, as well. In seven games for Team USA, Jalen Haralson averaged 11.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 15.0 minutes a game. He shot 58.1 percent from the field, 38.5 percent (10-of-26) on 3s and 80 percent (12-of-15) from the free throw line. He was one of the key reasons why Team USA won the FIBA U17 World Cup gold medal.
Watch: Summer highlights of key 2025 five-star IU basketball target Jalen Haralson
Most of Hoosier Nation are very familiar with the five-star product. Before he even played a single high school game, Mike Woodson and Indiana basketball were one of the first schools to offer Haralson. He is a Indiana native from Anderson (IN) who played the first half of his high school career with Fishers High School before he eventually transferred to La Lumiere prep school, where he play once again for his senior season.
Indiana basketball has been viewed as the favorite for Haralson for awhile now due to his in-state ties and the fact that Mike Woodson and his staff have made him a priority for the 2025 class, with national analysts even giving the edge to the Hoosiers.
“Jalen Haralson showed this spring and summer on the circuit that he is one of the premier scorers in this class,” On3’s Joe Tipton wrote. “He has a top nine of Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Missouri, Gonzaga, Auburn, Duke, and Kansas.”
“A native of Indiana, Haralson has a lot of familiarity and ties to the Hoosiers. I don’t think a decision has been made or that a commitment is imminent, but for the sake of this article today, I’ll predict IU lands him in the end.”
A lot of selling point from Indiana basketball to Haralson is how the Hoosier utilized Jalen Hood-Schifino a couple of years a go. Haralson and Hood-Schifino are two pretty similar players due to them being bigger guards that can make plays for themselves and others as well.
With how big of priority that Jalen Haralson has become for the Indiana basketball, you can almost now view the 6-foot-7 guard as a ‘must get’ for the Hoosiers when looking to build for the 2025 class. The 2025 class is looking to be an extremely important class for Mike Woodson, especially when it comes to in-state prospects. The class of 2025 was really the first group that Mike Woodson was really able to build a strong relationship from day one.
Landing guys like Haralson along with Braylon Mullins and Trent Sisley are majorly important for Woodson and the Hoosiers. The Hoosiers still sit pretty well with multiple prospects for the 2025 class, even if they have already missed out on a few.
“A co*cktail of factors have combined to make everything Indiana does this year feel massively important,” said Basketball Recruiting Director Rob Cassidy. “The fact that the Hoosiers missed the NCAA tournament a year ago and limped to the recruiting finish while doing so has a lot of people in and around Bloomington on edge these days.”
“Losing Malachi Moreno to Kentucky…was probably annoying, but that disappointment will pale in comparison to what happens if the Hoosiers watch one of the top-ranked prospects in their own state walk away to Notre Dame, Purdue, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, or Michigan State. The year ahead will either see Mike Woodson restore some of the good will he lost last season or place him squarely on the hot seat.”
“What happens with Haralson won’t determine that, but it will play a role in shaping public perception as the season plays out.”
Haralson is rated at the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2025 247Sports Composite Rankings.
Full highlights and scouting notes from HoosierIllustrated.com below.
When it comes to play, Haralson is his typical unselfish self on the ball while also proving he can take over a game at nearly any moment. He does a really good job in half court settings making tremendous passes for open looks but when he was able to get downhill, he got to the rim nearly every time. What is fun about Haralson is that is he lets almost everything come to him on the floor before he makes his move.
SEE ALSO: Key 2025 Indiana basketball target provides update on recruitment, timeline on commitment
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