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Indiana lands sharp-shooting forward

MORE INDIANA COVERAGE: Peegs.com
As a junior and during the summer, Max Hoetzel developed a reputation on the West Coast as a shooter with size. After moving to an East Coast prep school for his senior season, Tom Crean got a look at him and things changed.
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Crean and Indiana evaluated the 6-foot-7 shooter during open gyms at Wilbraham (Mass.) Wilbraham & Monson and got the native Californian on campus after initially going in to see another recruit.
"The first time they saw me workout was because they came up to see Goodluck Okonoboh and they were meeting with him," Hoetzel told Rivals.com. "They said they needed a shooter and a scorer and my coach told them they needed to see this shooter from California.
"My coach ran a workout for me and they liked my footwork and shot. They said they would come next week and Coach Crean came right when they said they would and that really meant a lot to me. He said he liked what he saw and that he wanted to get it done and offered me a scholarship."
Sunday night after an official visit to Bloomington, Hoetzel decided that he couldn't pass up the chance to play at Indiana.
"It was magical," said Hoetzel. "It was something that I couldn't even describe really. Just being a part of a program like Indiana. I can't wait for what the future holds."
Hoetzel is a reputed shooter and with his size he can also be used as a stretch four if you want to play small. He has an edge to him and will get his nose dirty around the rim according to Rivals.com analysts Chris Karpman and Edward Lewis who were able to evaluate him during the summer.
"One thing about Indiana is that they have a lot of people that play multiple positions like Noah Vonleh will pay the three through five," said Hoetzel. "They see me as a strict wing like a two or a three but you know how Christian Watford last year trailed the play and found the open spot on the perimeter as a stretch guy, I can also play the two through four like that."
For a while, Hoetzel was considering making a move to the class of 2015 but for now remains a 2014 prospect.
Currently unranked, Hoetzel joins a recruiting class that already includes four-star combo guard Robert Johnson. The Hoosiers are also still deeply involved with five-star wings Devin Robinson and James Blackmon, both of whom could have decisions by week's end.
The Hoosiers most recent commitment isn't worried about all of that. He's celebrating the fruits of his labor and looking forward to his future.
"I always had dreams but I never thought it would happen this quick," said Hoetzel. "I played a game out in New York in the IS8 league and I had 38 but they've never seen me in a real game so this is crazy. Now I just have to focus on getting prepared to come in and be ready to play at Indiana."
Eric Bossi is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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