Five-star center Wabbington picks Indiana over Arizona, Illinois

Top-10 senior Darius Wabbington announced his commitment to Indiana on Tuesday, giving head coach Darian DeVries the highest-ranked recruit of his career.

Wabbington, a 6-foot-10 center ranked No. 9 in the SC Next 100 for the class of 2027, chose the Hoosiers over Arizona and Illinois. Arizona was the perceived favorite for much of the Phoenix native’s recruitment, but Indiana closed the gap after Wabbington visited Bloomington in early September.

“I love the community at Indiana University,” Wabbington told ESPN. “It’s much like my high school community. It comes out and is passionate.

“When I went to practice, everything was flowing, and the energy was amazing. I love their offense. It’s what you see in the NBA today: they play from concepts, constantly flowing. The one thing I took away from practice is that all the players are willing to move the ball and find the open man. As a playmaking big man, that’s perfect for me.”

Indiana assistant Kenny Johnson made Wabbington a priority shortly after the Hoosiers’ coaching change, and the two developed a strong relationship — as did Wabbington and DeVries.

“The staff showed a lot of trust in my capabilities over the last two years,” he said. “They never wavered. Their game plan for me is to be a lottery pick.”

Wabbington, who plays for Sunnyslope High School (Arizona), is Indiana’s first five-star commit since Mackenzie Mgbako picked the Hoosiers in the class of 2023. As the No. 2 center in the class, Wabbington is also the Hoosiers’ highest-ranked center recruit since the ESPN recruiting database began in 2007.

Wabbington played for the USA Men’s U18 National Team this past summer at the FIBA AmeriCup in Mexico, averaging 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds en route to a silver medal. He was also one of the better big men on the Adidas 3SSB circuit last spring and summer, posting 16.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Compton Magic grassroots program. His rebounding numbers ranked third on the circuit.

“Darius Wabbington is a special player and a special competitor, a true leader and character guy who impacts winning at a high level,” Compton Magic coach Etop Udo-Ema said. “He has a power forward body with a point guard’s skill set.”

He is the ideal point forward, processing the game with the ability to score inside and face up. He can be a triple threat, rolling to the rim, stopping for a short-roll playmaking opportunity, or popping out behind the arc. He keeps possessions alive as a dribble-handoff initiator at the end of a shot clock, too. Wabbington’s calling card is his ability to find open teammates with his passing and playmaking. He understands how to keep the ball moving and flowing with the accuracy and vision to make the assist. Wabbing creates a matchup problem for opponents with his size, skill and footwork. He is a good movement shooter who needs to tighten up his shot selection, which should improve his shooting numbers – per Synergy, he made just below 30% of his 3s on the 3SSB circuit – from behind the arc.

Wabbington is Indiana’s third commit in the 2027 class, joining four-star shooting guard Chase Branham (No. 32 in the SC Next 100) and international addition Felix Kiehlneker. He’s the fourth SC Next 100 recruit DeVries has landed since replacing Mike Woodson in Bloomington after the 2024-25 season.