Demo

1) open system 2) a coach who understands that the cost of his good stuff, and there’s a lot, is that there will be plays that make you want to kill him. 3) an alpha PG who understands where and when not to feed him.

100%. I’m confident that most of school budget numbers we’re hearing are probably at least in the ballpark but the player expectations are agent driven nonsense

Agree. If he’s finds the right fit he’ll be a breakout player.

Was a huge priority of the previous staff. They put a lot of time into him. DMV kid, so Kenny probably knows him. 39% from 3 is misleading because he has a really slow low release point, lower than Galloway’s, and can’t get a contested look off.

Wouldn’t even consider it. Not even close. Way too many vagaries in CBB to throw that much jack at a single player for 1 year. IF AJ Dybantsa, who’s a legit star, can’t get you out of the 64 what exactly is Flory Bidunga guaranteeing you for a third of your budget?

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/2026/04/02/iu-recruit-vaughn-karvala-helps-cia-bella-vista-prep-to-chipotle-nationals-win/89443392007/ Nice little article on Karvala from the Star.

Way too small a sample size, obviously, but the one Dayton game I watched was their win at SLU and L’Etang had a huge game and thoroughly outplayed Robbie Avila. He was the reason they won that game.

DDV: “Reed, have a seat, I’m going with Dave. He may be, ya know, an actual senior, but we got to have some physicality.”

Nope, but consensus ND Twitter seems to consider it just a matter of when.

The appeal of Dilione is lost on me and he flies dead in the face of IU’s shot chart last year. So much emphasis, correctly, on 3’s and getting to the rim and Dilione doesn’t shoot it very well and basically lives and dies on contested middies. Unless DDV is putting a bunch of emphasis on guys who get their own, and he can do that, I don’t get it. But it’s not my team. If he wants him, by all means go get’em.

Sold him the Dalton Knecht starter kit. Pretty easy sell. I was watching some Brett Decker stuff last night and if IU can get him on campus he would be about as susceptible to the Lamar Wilkerson starter kit as it’s possible to find. He’s basically a slightly smaller version of the same archetype.

For the record I look nothing at all like that dude.

That is my 65th birthday. No need to chew on present ideas, I know I’m tough to buy for, y’all know what to do.

Wow, Buffalo’s guards. Not too many backcourts dropping close to 40 a night.

The Zeppo Marx of the greatest high school team ever. You have to be a certain age to get that reference, but, believe me, he is.

I liked Ndongo, too and I still think he’s pretty good on just traits alone. The one awesome thing with Rooths was watching him play with Darius Acuff at IMG. He HATED that kid and didn’t even bother to hide it. He would just stand and glare at him as Acuff would pound the air out of the ball.

Probably nothing but I’d be ok with it if was true. Miles has some value as a 4th or 5th guard and assuming he’s healthy Harris might help as a rotational 4/small ball 5. Kind of liked his traits looking into him last year.

No universe in which it was good.

Is that how those work? Never played one. I could have just said it like that. Way faster. And tell ya what, those schools that profiled their GM role as 1st foremost a scouting and identifying talent in the portal gig and hired some Asst Coach or ex-midmajor HC they liked got it wrong. You’d be better off hiring some Asst GM from MLB who doesn’t know a thing about basketball but is steeped in team sports mgmt. IU getting Carr was a freaking gift and that guy is gonna pay off huge over time.

Rooths is an interesting deal. When Woody offered him I watched some of his games, either as a Soph or a Jr, thought he was a good looking prospect, and was really down with that kid. And it just hasn’t come. At all.

Yeah, the schools that can(eventually) take advantage of this mess, and presumably Carr can give IU a leg up here, are the ones that create some level of roster stability over a period of time to the point that they’re going into the portal with the goal of finding crack fillers rather rather than, ya know, a starting 5. Those guys can wait out the insane early money period and, comparatively, find value propositions after the market cools a bit. They can then use those savings to grow and keep their own kids, even if you have to overpay them some, and to at least the greatest possible degree create an internal culture piece. That’s basically the MLB model for teams with mid-level revenue streams.

Pretty interesting what’s happening at UL and I suppose just the reality we need to get accustomed to. They took a step forward this year and now instead of building on it they’re losing everything. They’ll have, presumably, Wooley back, London Johnson, the G League kid who didn’t play this year and is apparently the next PG, Khalifa who was the lesser half of their C pair with Fru, and then just some spare parts. And no ‘26 recruits. They’re basically starting over again. That is rough.

Oh look, UConn’s ‘26 PG just hit the portal.

Georgetown’s Malik Mack back in the portal. Kenny brought him from Harvard to Georgetown, so I assume he can probably be had, but it would be disappointing if he’s the PG of choice. Would be pretty surprised by that.

Will be a nice add as a bench shooter for someone. Deep range and plays his a$$ off. Will serve the same role for someone that Dorn should fill except I like him better because he plays much harder.