Hardwood83

Gotta say the staff is definitely turning over a lot of stones this portal season. Hopefully the results are spectacular, but hard to argue they aren't at least kicking tires.

3 pages of NGW/Tyme and Thanos? I expect more. If I were actually paying for this content I would demand a refund. However, I will still complain about something that is both free and that I choose to do. This is the internet afterall.

So we could have the vanilla squad of Cupps, Galloway, Essegian and (maybe) Humrichous off the bench? Essegian wasn't on my bingo card for the transfer portal- but if he can play a Zeisloft like role, I'm all about it.

Maybe not absolute best case, but very realistic it seems. That assumes Humrichous is content to make some $$ to come off the bench.

IF that happens then we're gonna have to find something else to complain about! I am a little skeptical though. I am no expert, but what I've seen of Carlyle, he seems like he'll be erratic. Get you 26pts on 5-8 3p shooting one night, but then 7pts on 0-4 3p with 4 TO's the next. Hope I'm wrong, but was hoping for a starting SG that is (already) a very good 3p shooter and I am not convinced Carlyle will develop into that guy. Hope he proves me wrong, since all indications are he is being installed as the starting SG next year.

Yes, I do like that he's not a 'feed the post' type of player. Basically a "you other 4 shoot it, I'll rebound 2 of every 5 misses and dunk it, get fouled and miss the FT" type of player. Maybe run a P&R lob to him a couple times a half and that is about it.

Then only if there aren't open scholarships.

Wow, I admire your enthusiasm! If that turns out to be true and the rest of the roster just repeats their productivity from last year, IU would be a top 10 team.

I've never forgiven you for the last time you said something like that.

That seems very possible. I'd prefer a more consistent 3p shooter instead of Carlyle, but seems a fate acompli he's coming and will start.....

That is best case big man scenario to me. Then find a back-up 4 that can shoot a little and you've hit the front-court jackpot.

That would be my approach, I wouldn't slow walk anyone or hold out. He has other options, so does IU. Take the best player you can get to commit. I wll be pleased with Williams or Payne.

Oh Feathery, you see the world as it is, I see it as it should be. :) Guess I'm a naieve idealist, but I believe amateur sports can exist. Otherwise, why not give high school kids a piece of the action? How about that $6 Gramma pays for the junior league games at the rec center on saturday morning? I'm not against capitalism, at all. That doesn't equate to everything only being about money all the time. My solution is "if you want to get paid to play basketball, terrific, there are lots of options around the world for that. If you want to play for ____________ University then you aren't a professional, yet and won't get paid." And yes, I understand that cat is out of the bag already. College sports (actually only football & basketball) have been twisted to create the current situation. Too bad no ever told us the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Besides, pro basketball is already established, why should state run universities be running a sports/entertainment business? What do education and pro sports have to do with each other? Just license out the name "Indiana Hoosiers" and let them run the new league like AAA baseball. No reason for the facade of being attached to a school anymore. Enough on this derailment- back to transfer portal news. I think if Ballo hasn't committed by tomorrow afternoon, he's not gonna.

And likely some fans too. An NCAA pro league isn't that interesting to me either. Add Profit sharing, contracts and collective bargaining and I am gonna fade away as a fan just like I did from the NBA 15 yrs ago. Back to the transfer portal, I am hoping for a class of Rice, Conwell, Ballo, Malone, Humrichous and maybe Hickman. Not sure how realistic that is, but seems to fill all the needs.

You are ignoring a huge detail. Conwell DID improve, it already happened. Carlyle MIGHT improve. Conwell's example =/= Carlyle (or Rice, etc) will do the same. It's not ironic, it is reality that not everyone follows the same development arc. Trey made a huge jump, then regressed. Rice, Carlyle (or even Conwell) COULD actually get worse. So my preferene is to bring in someone that has already demonstrated the ability to shoot over someone that maybe, hopefully possibly could. If you need shooting, recruit shooters. We need a Center too, but aren't waiting to see if Leal grows 6ins over the summer to fill the need, we're bringing in, you know, Centers.

What happened to the 'one free transfer' limitation? I've lost track.

I'm a little concerned about his shooting and maybe his health, but he's on the team now, so I wish him the greatest success. Ultimately the only stat I care about is W/L and I think he can help that. I will feel MUCH better if he is playing with an above average to very good shooter in the backcourt though. We know what Trey can do, need someone with a skillset that makes up for his weaknesses, IMO. I don't think Carlyle does that, so hope he finds another home.

Ehhhh, gotta differ with you there. He did have some big games, but had some real stinkers too. Home vs Oregon St he was 1-7fg (0-3 3p) 3-6 FT's, 1 reb with 3 TO's and 3PF's in 27mins. @ Colorado was 4-17 shooting (2 of 11 3p!) with only 2reb in 33mins. Maybe just the ups and down's of a Freshman? Or he's just wildly inconsistent. I got my fill of that with XJ and so many other IU players over the last +20yrs. I think he takes a scholarship from someone that will actually help IU win- Conwell or Hickman for instance. Pass on Carlyle and let him 'develop' somewhere that doesn't need immediate help.

Good points and reaasonable arguments. But nothing says IU has to get someone coming off his Freshman year either. I wouldn't have liked Conwell last year, most likely. Was that "wrong"? No, he had something to prove, not me. Fortunately he did and now I want him! One of the advantages of the portal is you can look at proven college results. I won't beat it to death, there are valid points either way, but my strong preference would be to bring in someone that has demonstrated a skill rather than the potential to achieve it. Carlyle has some existing strengths and possibly could get better in other areas, I don't think that is the right fit for what IU needs. We'll see what happens.

I am not familar enough with their roster to say for sure, but I assume because he filled a perceived need on the team?

How much closer to 35%? I might take that bet! I will cheer for whoever we end up with, but this is shaping up to be a counterintuitive roster, IMO. Obviously improvement is expected and possible, but we thought the same thing for some guys last year. Now Rice & Carlyle might be 'better' and have higher upside than previous options, but it's still makes WAY more sense, IMO to bring in proven shooters rather than hope for large improvement from guys that were below average. Problem: "We're bad at shooting!" Solution: "Let's bring in more bad shooters and get them to shoot better!".......sorry, my faith is lacking.

This is EXACTLY my thought, so it must be right! I am not excited about Carlyle, because I think paired with Rice it will be, at absolute best, an average 3p shooting backcourt. Realistically below average. With Trey likely your 6th man, it's shaping up to be a worse shooting team than last year. Conwell > Carlyle and pretty unlikely we get both.

If IU signs Rice as expected, I sure hope they pair him with a good shooter in the back-court. We can hope/expect/project a big Soph leap in shooting all we want, but a Rice/Carlyle backcourt with Trey off the bench, sure doesn't say 'huge improvement' to me, certainly in shooting anyway. We'd need a huge defensive improvement, since as I already said earlier in this thread, Rice/Carlyle/Mbako/Reneau/Any center on the list currently = a 4 in 1 out offense. Probably 52ppg for the team :(

We're all just speculating, doesn't cost anything. I'm not that excited about Rice & Carlyle, but others seem to be. I will be a little surprised if IU signs 3 incoming guards though. That would be 7 on the roster (3 new, Galloway, Cupps, Newton & Leal.) Could be a good thing though, depending who they are. Ballo is definitely a presence....but man his game is ugly and that FT shooting will give me an ulcer.