Curtis Jones' commitment to Indiana is not only a much needed recruiting victory, but a good omen in the team's pursuit of another prospect.
Jones, the 55th ranked player on the 2016 ESPN 100, confirmed his verbal commitment to Indiana to ESPN on Saturday. He is the first ESPN 100 recruit in his class to commit to Indiana, a team with only one recruit from this year's ranking.
But Indiana coach Tom Crean is hoping Jones' decision could influence a teammate's. Crean is currently recruiting Miles Bridges, the eight-overall prospect on the 2016 ESPN 100 and Jones' teammate at Huntington Prep.
Bridges recently told ESPN he narrowed his choices down to Indiana, Kentucky, or Michigan State and will choose by Oct. 3. It remains unclear if Bridges will let his teammate's decision affect his own, but from Crean's point of view, it cannot hurt to hope it does.
The shooting guard from Highland Springs, Va. cited the "tradition of Indiana, along with Coach [Tom] Crean's plan" as the reason behind his decision. Jones will also arrive on campus at the opportune time, as Yogi Ferrell is going into his final season at Indiana.
"Last year they played an exciting style of basketball and I feel I fit into their system where I can play either on or off the ball," Jones told ESPN.
247 Sports gave Jones a 0.9564 composite score and also ranked him among the top 20 shooting guards in his class.
