Archie Miller scored a third-successive five-star in-state prospect in as many recruiting classes Tuesday night, with the surprise commitment of Evansville Reitz point guard Khristian Lander.

An Indiana target for years now, Lander was a priority for Miller and his staff during the recruiting windows in the spring and summer. And he's visited IU multiple times, most recently last weekend for the Hoosiers' 68-60 win against Penn State.

Lander said it’s yet to be determined if he will remain in the 2021 class or reclassify, but his preference would be to graduate early and arrive in Bloomington as part of the 2020 class.

“It’s kind of up in the air right now. I have to talk to my counselors and stuff,” Lander told the Herald-Times' Jon Blau.

INSIDER:Khristian Lander pledge latest sign of IU program momentum under Archie Miller

His finalists included Michigan, Louisville, and Memphis. In fact, he grew up idolizing Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Glenn Robinson III, but IU ended up coming out on top because Miller and his staff were the most consistent in the recruiting process.

IU has been recruiting Lander since his freshman year.

“I just feel like they never acted different, no matter what type of recruits they could have gotten. They stayed consistent,” Lander said. “And the loyalty thing is real big for me.”

IU also had the advantage of additional recruiters in Lander’s ear. He has been AAU teammates with 2020 in-state commits Trey Galloway (Culver Academies) and Anthony Leal (Bloomington South) with Indiana Elite.

He visited IU with both Leal and Galloway during Hoosier Hysteria in October. While they were frequently talking to him about IU prior to the season, they had given Lander some distance over the last several months so he could make his own decision about the Hoosiers.

“It’s a basketball state,” Lander said. “I feel like the fanbase is ridiculous. They love basketball and all their players that have been there.”

IU was so concerned about landing Lander that Archie Miller came to Reitz’s practice last Thursday, the day after IU had won at Minnesota, 68-56. Part of their concern was that Lander had attended Louisville’s 90-66 win over visiting Syracuse last Wednesday.

“I think coach Miller and his staff had been in on Khristian really early,” said Reitz coach Michael Adams. “They had worked really hard at it. Khristian thought IU was the best place for him.

“It puts a lot of pressure on a kid and he felt if he knew, he didn’t want to drag it out. He has a lot of respect for all of the coaches who have been recruiting him. He felt it was time. I couldn’t be happier for the kid.”

“He is so happy,” Adams said. “I could tell he was relieved.”

Lander is averaging 20.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists for the 15-6 Panthers, who play at Bosse on Thursday.

If Lander indeed reclassifies, he adds another ball-handler to a class that could use one. Along with Leal and Galloway, guards who predominantly operate off the ball, IU currently has wing Jordan Geronimo in the 2020 class.

If he stays in the 2021 class, Lander gives the Hoosiers a strong start to that group.

“He is an athletic point guard who can score from all three levels on the court,” 247 national recruiting analyst Brian Snow said. “Because he’s so athletic and so good with the dribble, people tend to think he can’t shoot, but he actually can. He’s got good floor vision, good size, there’s a lot to like. I think he’s the complete package as a point guard.”

When asked to give his own assessment, Lander pretty much agreed.

“I feel like I bring everything to the table, offense, defense, I can be a leader,” Lander said. “The only thing I can’t do on the court is post up. Everything else, I can do it.”

Bloomington Herald-Times reporter Jon Blau and Evansville Courier & Press reporter Kyle Sokelancontributed to this report.