IU basketball among eight finalists for class of 2026 five-star guard Taylen Kinney

Class of 2026 point guard Taylen Kinney handles the ball.

Class of 2026 guard Taylen Kinney is down to eight schools and Indiana is among his finalists.

The eight finalists for Kinney include Arkansas, Indiana, Louisville, Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Miami (FL) and Texas. Kinney is a five-star prospect and the No. 16 player nationally according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

He plays at Overtime Elite and played for Wildcat Select on the adidas 3SSB circuit in the spring and summer.

Kinney, a 6-foot-1 native of Newport, Kentucky, has an official visit to Indiana the weekend of August 29-31. He also has planned visits to Kansas (August 22), Oregon (September 5), Texas (September 12), Miami (September 19) and Arkansas (September 26).

Here’s a scouting report on Kinney from Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports:

“Kinney is a scoring and playmaking lead guard who is smooth and versatile with his attack. He’s a multi-level scoring threat with a creative and crisp handle to get to his advanced pull-up game or pressure the rim. He can rise-up to finish when he has momentum, and also owns dexterity and touch as a lay-up maker. He’s a bit streakier from long-range, with a tendency to short-arm that release more, (33% in OTE & 27% in 3SSB), but plenty capable when in a good rhythm.

“While Kinney has trended towards more of a scoring lead guard recently, he also has good natural instincts as a passer, averaging 5 assists per game in both OTE & 3SSB. He’s great in drive-and-kick actions, can make pick-and-roll reads, and understands how to feed the post. He also has a pretty good feel, even while in attack mode, of how to utilize his versatility to make plays without pounding the ball or settling unnecessarily. Where he’s a little less natural at this point, is in the rare situation when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands.

“Defensively, he’s good with his hands (1.3 steals in 3SSB play) and shown flashes of being able to blow-up ball screens when he’s fully engaged on that end, which isn’t totally consistent yet. He’s also a good rebounding guard (5.8 per game). Physically, while he measures in at just over 6-foot-1, he plays much bigger than his size, thanks his long 6-foot-6-plus wingspan, increased muscle mass, and the physicality in his game.”

(Photo credit: adidas 3SSB)

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