Mohler, a sophomore at Austin High School in Southern Indiana, announced his commitment to the Hoosiers on Tuesday afternoon at his school. Mohler had offers from both Indiana and Purdue, along with Evansville and Western Kentucky.
“Growing up, my whole family was IU fans,” Mohler told IndyStar. “Purdue started recruiting me even before IU. Getting an offer from my dream school was a really big shock. I think there’s a whole lot of respect given to that. Purdue and IU both really looked at my potential to get better and grow and wanted to invest time into me and be willing to help get me to that next level.”
Mohler is coming off a freshman season that saw him average 21.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists and help Austin to a Class 2A regional title (its first regional title in 24 years). Though Mohler is not even to the point yet where coaches can call him – that will come after his sophomore year – he said he has developed a strong connection to IU assistants Kenny Johnson and Drew Adams.
“Coach Johnson really keeps it real and coach Adams has really been supportive,” Mohler said. “And I really love coach (Darian) DeVries. He’s a really friendly guy. Sometimes big-time coaches aren’t like that, but you can tell players really like him.”
Mohler said the IU coaches envision him as a prospect who can develop into any of the guard spots. “They really like my whole game and how I am a three-level player,” he said.
IU picked up a commitment from five-star 2027 prospect Darius Wabbington last week over Arizona and Illinois. The Hoosier have a commitment from four-star Missouri guard Chase Branham in the 2027 class. Mohler is the first commitment for IU's 2029 class.
Winning an in-state recruiting battle, even one where the Hoosiers appeared to have a head start even before Mohler’s recruitment started, sends a message that DeVries has IU’s recruiting on solid footing. Though IU does have a former Indiana Mr. Basketball on the roster in Markus Burton, he came to the Hoosiers after a transfer from Notre Dame. Trent Sisley, a native of Southern Indiana, originally committed to Mike Woodson before reaffirming his commitment when DeVries was hired.
As an IU commit in Southern Indiana, especially with three years of high school basketball ahead of him, Mohler understands the spotlight will be brighter than ever.
“It’ll be worse,” Mohler said with a laugh. “‘Overrated’ and all of that. Fans are going to be saying a lot of stuff. Coach Johnson told me that every time you hear stuff like that, it means they respect you.”
Mohler said his goal is to be a “40-50-90” shooter as a sophomore, meaning 40% from the 3-point line, 50% from the field and 90% from the free-throw line. He shot 37% from the 3-point line as a freshman.
“I want to become a consistent shooter,” he said. “All my field-goal percentages I’d like to see go up and just become way better at defending and be a bigger overall contributor to my team.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Coaches can't call him, Purdue was in first, yet small-town Indiana recruit chose 'dream school'