Romeo Langford’s recruiting decision has the entire college basketball world watching

“Kentuckiana” is a made-up name to describe eight counties in Kentucky and five counties in Indiana that are separated by the Ohio River. The region, if you want to go so far as to use that distinction, consists primarily of the Louisville metropolitan area.

Five or six years ago, Kentuckiana residents began to hear whispers about a kid from Southern Indiana named Romeo. They haven’t stopped hearing about him since.

In an era that isn’t supposed to be conducive to the existence of high school basketball cult heroes, Romeo Langford has been just that for the past four years.

The rare modern prep superstar who spent all of high school years at the same place, Langford racked up 3,002 points during his career at New Albany High School, the fourth most of any player in the history of the state of Indiana. As a senior, he averaged 35.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and three steals per game on his way to solidifying his status as a top-five player in the 2018 recruiting class.

Those types of accolades will generate buzz anywhere in the country, but in an area of America where basketball is commonly referred to as a religion, the results are going to be even more extreme.

Children went nuts after getting his New Albany Bulldogs basketball jersey for Christmas.

Fans lined up by the hundreds after games during Langford’s senior year to snag his autograph. The star would sit there for hours making sure no one went home upset.

Since 2015, everyone in the Kentuckiana area has become an expert on New Albany High School gossip. Everyone has known someone who has known someone who has known someone close to the Langford family or on the Bulldogs basketball team.

Romeo’s mom HATES John Calipari

Romeo’s mom LOVES John Calipari

Romeo actually grew up a Duke fan

The Vanderbilt stuff is a smoke screen, he’s been telling his boys for weeks that he’s actually going to Kansas

It’s always been Indiana, anyone who’s ever told you differently was told to do that by Romeo himself

This is the way life has been for Langford ever since the first moment his name became a whisper strong enough to carry over the Ohio. It’s a way of life that ceases to exist Monday night.

At 7 p.m., Langford will announce his college decision in front of a packed house at his high school gym. Local TV stations will carry the ceremony live, and every major news outlet from Louisville to Indianapolis will be there to live stream it on their websites. Langford will reach for one of three hats, and for good or for bad, “Hoosier Hysteria” will become a real thing again.

If he picks Indiana — seemingly the most likely scenario at the moment — the storylines won’t be difficult to discern.

Langford instantly becomes the modern day Damon Bailey, the Hoosier Hero for the one-and-done era. Faith in Archie Miller increases exponentially, and hope for the 2018-19 season triples. If Langford were to make Indiana a contender and lead the Hoosiers past the opening weekend of the NCAA tournament, then his predictably short stay in Bloomington would likely do little to diminish his status in the lore of IU basketball.

If he picks Vanderbilt, the Commodores instantly become one of the most intriguing teams in the country for 2018-19. Think Missouri this past season if Michael Porter Jr. had never gotten hurt.

In Nashville, Langford would join forces with the greatest recruiting class in Vandy history, one currently headlined by his friend and fellow five-star recruit Darius Garland. The rest of the supporting cast might not be good enough to make the Commodores a legitimate national title contender, but that would only give Langford even more of an opportunity to post staggering numbers throughout SEC play.

If he picks Kansas, Langford has an opportunity to spend his one year in college as a key cog on a team that could win the national championship.

Despite being the No. 1 team on a lot of early top 25 lists for 2018-19 (including SB Nation’s) Kansas could potentially lose all five of its starters from last season’s Final Four squad. Even if that doesn’t happen, Langford would play a prominent role on a loaded Jayhawks’ team that would also feature another friend and fellow consensus top-10 recruit, Quentin Grimes, as well as three of the top transfers in America.

Whatever happens, the college basketball world will react, the state of Indiana will burst, and the Romeo Langford whispers in Kentuckiana will continue. Only the subject matter will change.