NBA superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander thinks that Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard’s passing ability is elite.

Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP-level talent for the Oklahoma City Thunder, was asked to build his perfect player in a FIBA interview. He is currently playing in the Olympics for Team Canada, who reached the knockout stage this week.

When Gilgeous-Alexander was asked to name what player’s passing he would use in his hypothetical perfect player, he said Nembhard’s name. The two players are currently teammates with Canada in the Olympics, and they were the leading scorers when the team beat Spain on Friday.

“Andrew Nembhard,” SGA said after some hesitation.

Gilgeous-Alexander chose Kobe Bryant’s scoring ability, Lu Dort’s defense, Chris Paul’s game IG, and LeBron James’ athleticism. Dort is also with Team Canada for the Olympics.

Nembhard averaged 4.1 assists per game last season, though he plays alongside Tyrese Haliburton with the Pacers, and Haliburton often handles the ball and distributes. When sharing the floor with Haliburton, Nembhard dished out 5.7 assists per 100 possessions — that number climbed to 11.7 when he played without the All-NBA guard.

Clearly, Nembhard can pass better than his assist numbers suggest. He is talented in many areas of the game, which is why Indiana gave him a contract extension last week. He’s tied to Indiana for the next four seasons.

In the Olympics, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 19.0 points and 4.0 assists per game. Nembhard, meanwhile, is averaging 8.3 points and 1.3 assists per game. They’ve both been vital to Canada’s success

Canada plays France in the quarter finals on Tuesday.

The first of the senior official visits is in the books for Greenfield-Central star Braylon Mullins, who was on campus at back-to-back national champion UConn on Thursday and Friday.

This figures to be an interesting few weeks for Mullins, who is now ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 23 recruit in the country by 247Sports. He cut his list to 10 schools almost two weeks ago to Indiana, Purdue, UConn, Alabama, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Basketball recruiting: Braylon Mullins’ stock soaring, more Indiana risers, what’s next?

Three thoughts:

Watch Braylon Mullins score 51 points, including game-winner at buzzer

Greenfield-Central junior Braylon Mullins put on a show as he kept the Cougars undefeated (16-0) with his heroics Friday night.

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Would Braylon Mullins go that far from home?

The UConn visit was impressive. When have you heard of an official visit not going well? But the Huskies obviously have a lot of juice right now coming off two national titles for coach Danny Hurley. He knows how to sell the program and has the proof it works. But one thing Hurley can’t control: Storrs, Conn., is 847 miles from Greenfield, Ind. Distance from home is just one factor, but how much it factors in will certainly be a conversation when it comes down to Mullins making a decision.

What happens in coming weeks?

Mullins does not have another official visit scheduled until the weekend of Sept. 7 to Michigan. He has official visits planned to North Carolina the following weekend (Sept. 14), then Indiana (Sept. 21), Tennessee (Oct. 19) and Kentucky (Oct. 26). Will he take all of those visits or narrow it down a little more between now and then? If Mullins ends up signing in the early period (Nov. 13-20), as is the plan, it would be difficult to continue to consider 10 schools, especially as other players make commitments. Speaking of which…

Jalen Haralson watch

There is some crossover between Mullins’ list and that of five-star prospect Jalen Haralson, the former Fishers star who transferred to La Lumiere for his junior year. The 6-6 Haralson, ranked No. 9 in the 2025 class on the 247Sports composite, like Mullins, has an official visit set to Indiana, though his will come a few weeks earlier (Aug. 31 weekend). He had also previously scheduled official visits to Notre Dame (Sept. 7) and Michigan State (Sept. 14).

According to a report from Dushawn London of 247Sports earlier this week, Haralson has also set official visits to Missouri (Sept. 21), Purdue (Sept. 28) and Kansas (Oct. 19). When he cut his list in March, he had those six schools, in addition to Auburn, Duke and Gonzaga.

Obviously, from an in-state perspective, both Indiana and Purdue are on the lists of Mullins and Haralson, though IU is the only school with official visits locked in for both. Mullins’ Indiana Elite teammates, Trent Sisley and Malachi Moreno, are also scheduled to visit IU the weekend of Sept. 21.

More visits and commitments …

∎ The Jeffersonville trio is busy this weekend. Tre Singleton took an official visit to Northwestern. The 6-8 Singleton has been one of the highest-rising 2025 prospects, picking up offers from several high-major programs, including Butler, Clemson, DePaul, Louisville, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Purdue, Wake Forest and Xavier. Singleton’s teammate, guard Michael Cooper took an official visit to Wright State on Friday and is visiting Davidson today. Guard P.J. Douglas is taking an official visit to Wright State on Sunday.

∎ Cathedral’s Brady Koehler also took the first of his senior official visits this weekend to Northwestern. The 6-9 Koehler also has official visits scheduled in coming weeks to Iowa, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.

∎ Grace College picked up a commitment from Tipton guard Grady Carpenter on Saturday. Grace was 34-2 last year, reaching the NAIA national semifinals. Tyler Raasch of NorthWood and Luke Bricker of Warsaw are also committed in Grace’s 2025 class.

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.