Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our player-by-player recap of the 2021-2022 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Khristian Lander.
Lander (13 games): 2.9 points, .9 assists, .8 rebounds, 45.2 FG% in 8.8 minutes per game.
Previously: Logan Duncomb, Tamar Bates, Anthony Leal, Trey Galloway, Jordan Geronimo
When Khristian Lander committed to Indiana in late February of 2020, the news was considered a major coup for then-IU coach Archie Miller.
At the time, Lander was rated the top point guard in the class of 2021 and he was the second five-star guard Miller had reeled in, joining Romeo Langford.
Shortly after his commitment, Lander was already mentioning the possibility of reclassifying and moving up to the 2020 class with Indiana Elite teammates Anthony Leal and Trey Galloway.
“I want to go 2020, but either way is good for me,” Lander told Inside the Hall’s Cameron Drummond just days after announcing his commitment. “I want to go 2020 because I feel like Trayce is not going to stay another year, like in 2021. And I feel like if I get a hold of Trayce, I feel like we can dominate the Big Ten.”
Lander did indeed move to the class of 2020 and enrolled in Bloomington for the fall semester as expectations for his first season were sky-high.
In our annual preseason rankings of the top 25 players in the conference with UMHoops, Lander cracked the top 25 because of his lofty ranking and what was perceived as a huge opportunity for early minutes:
Archie Miller has made a habit out of signing the top players from Indiana since taking over in Bloomington in the spring of 2017. The latest five-star prospect to land in Bloomington is Khristian Lander, who moved up a class to join the Hoosiers for the 2020-21 season. A speedy lefty, Lander averaged 21 points as a senior at Evansville Reitz. His addition is a big deal for Indiana, which has lacked playmakers on the perimeter for most of Miller’s tenure.
Unfortunately for Lander and Indiana, expectations never met…