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Forward Tim Priller becomes Indiana’s fifth 2014 commitment

Tom Crean

Indiana head basketball coach Tom Crean responds to a question during the Big Ten Conference NCAA college basketball media day Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, in Rosemont, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

AP

With Noah Vonleh turning pro and Luke Fischer making the decision to transfer to Marquette back in December, adding bodies to the front court was a key for the Indiana coaching staff this offseason. And Saturday afternoon Indiana received its second verbal commitment in the last week, with 6-foot-9 forward Tim Priller announcing his decision to become a Hoosier via his Twitter account.

Priller, a native of Richland, Texas, joins 6-foot-10 power forward Jeremiah April and 6-foot-8 combo forward Max Hoetzel as the front court players in Indiana’s 2014 class. In total Indiana will have five newcomers, with guards James Blackmon Jr. and Robert Johnson being the headliners in the class.

In a story written by Tim Littman of Inside the Hall, Priller’s high school coach Richard Bacon spoke highly of his former player’s shooting ability.

Bacon also described Priller as someone who “can score from any place on the floor.” He shot 51 percent on 3-pointers and had the second-most attempts on his team. He shot 48 percent from the floor, overall. He was their best free throw shooter, shooting 78 percent from the line and was also their technical-foul shooter. And on top of that, he was also the target for Richland’s game-ending plays.

In addition to Vonleh and Fischer the Hoosiers also lost Austin Etherington and Jeremy Hollowell, with Etherington transferring to Butler (where he’ll be eligible immediately) and Hollowell to Georgia State. Those moves left Indiana with a total of five forwards, with rising sophomore Troy Williams (7.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg) being the most productive returnee.

Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin are Indiana’s biggest players, and given the fact that Mosquera-Perea averaged 7.7 minutes per game last season and Jurkin 1.4 more bodies were needed. And even with the late additions of April and Priller, Indiana still has a scholarship remaining.

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