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Awesome. Wilkerson is going to be great here. Conerway next. Let’s go!!!!

Dug McDaniel got suspended at UM I think two seasons ago for six games only at home for academic reasons IIRC. He had a hall of fame tweet afterwards about how his …”teammates”… would hold it down while he’s out. Lol

Sure

IMO, money is probably the main motivator. If that’s not the sole deciding factor, I think it boils down to who sells him better on fit to put his best foot forward professionally. IU can probably say he will be one of our feature guys and get a lot of minutes. But it’s a first year coach at a new school and he doesn’t have a history of producing a ton of pros. Or, UK’s pitch: play less minutes but in a more clearly defined/focused role, probably on a winning team, and show what you can do in the exact role you’d play at the next level. If he were to choose to be one of the main guys at IU and the team struggles or he underperforms, that could hurt his stock. But it offers higher upside too. And a bigger payday. I think athletes of his caliber tend to bet on themselves.

I see zero reason to believe that narrative which seems very driven by UK fans? He seemed pretty excited about IU when he posted the hype video and supposedly enjoyed his visit here.

A few small random UK Twitter accounts are saying that. Who knows. If he makes it through tonight without committing and leaves Lexington, I'll think our odds are pretty good as long as the rumor is true that we're offering the most money by a decent margin. Otherwise I think it's generally pretty hard to commit to basically a blank canvas roster, especially for a guy like Wilkerson with one year left. An IU vs UK head to head recruiting battle with a new coach makes for an exciting portal season.

Definitely, they view Mullins as the best player in their recruiting class and it's not particularly close. Their fans are wondering if they will target a back up big guy next or rely on Reibe to sub in. For the most part, I'd say they think Adams is least likely to get run of their freshmen. A lot of them think Jacob Furphy is going to get more minutes in the backcourt than him. Others think Furphy is more of a project and will play less than Adams or more on the wing. They mostly project Adams at around 5-10 minutes a game right now. I think they're up to 9 or 10 on the roster now without Karaban coming back. He should decide soon I'd think.

FWIW the UConn board I keep up with thinks that unless Karaban comes back, Mullins has a very good chance to start in a 3 guard lineup with Demary and Ball. Front court of Reed and Stewart. Karaban comes back, Stewart almost certainly starts at the 3. Mullins will probably get starter or sixth man minutes IMO.

Saw a screenshot on Twitter of Trilly saying Wilkerson got food poisoning from a McDonalds in Lexington, probably fake I guess, but kinda funny if true lol.

His seat won’t be warm if we miss the tournament in year 1. Fan engagement will dip. But his seat won’t be warm. Look at his contract. He’s getting minimum 4, probably at least 5. Maybe 6. Fans will come back if/when the winning starts. After all the years of sucking, fans are at their breaking point with the program. But winning brings them right back. The job of fans is to cheer and support the team. Having concerns is fine but the fans don’t make or break the coach’s tenure. We should support them even if you’re not impressed after one month on the job. Being snarky about a JuCo big man is looking for a reason to dump on the new coach. How are IU fans who aren’t ready to throw in the towel on the program supposed to react to constant negativity on an IU sports board? I don’t really care how any of you guys feel, personally, no offense. It’s just funny how both sides needle each other constantly. Long offseason

Time to hit the panic button, the anonymous poster RoadToZion says we’re swinging and missing too much.

Did you repent for all those emails to Dolson Scotty?

Not saying this account knows anything. They are right money is part of the game today. This is the biggest payday for most of these kids and they’re going to make them count. Just good business for a guy like Wilkerson to take visits before committing. Maybe Conway and Dix were never going to come because of family stuff anyway or we weren’t willing to pay them a mind blowing number to steal them… that’s fine. But we shouldn’t be afraid to spend what it takes to land Wilkerson. IMO

Can the state quality of life conversation be moved to PMs and this thread get back to transfer portal plz? Thx lol

Idk about this. Fair to question IMO. Not to sound all Scotty R, sorry Scotty lol. We can have all the money and playing time in the world. Other factors about IU exist that players take into consideration. All things considered it’s easy to see why IU wouldn’t be in many talented kids top few choices right now, even/especially with a new coach. He seemed to recruit to WVU just fine. So early at IU and not much continuity from WVU to bring in the first place. Maybe it gets easier after he shows he can win here. We always say IUBB is different… it is… when we are good that’s a good thing. When we are as bad as we have been the last 25 years, it seems like a self-sustaining issue that’s got a lot to do with IU independent of coaching. Gonna take time to see any results.

I will be the one to pour gasoline on this fire since we all enjoy a good meltdown between bits of good news… don’t watch McCollum’s intro press conference at Iowa if you want to feel better about our hire right now. DDV is going to have to earn this in a very competitive B10. Time will tell how he stacks up against his peers in the conference. I think it’s early to worry about the roster. It’s also fair to observe not landing targets when it happens. However it’s still the guys first month and he has coached 0 games here so it’s going to be a very tough sell for a lot of kids. You land the right guys this cycle, rated wherever they are, based on their ability to play a role in winning basketball. You have a year like UL or UK, you recruit like they are in their second cycle. DDV is a good ball coach and we can’t just buy players so easily in this environment. Gotta trust the process. Boring offseason. More football news to help pass the time and fill your IU sports fix. Not sweating anything until I see a team on the court.

Gonna have to win here before he can really do that very well IMO. It’s nice to have a player as highly rated as his son on board.

That’s true. “Just fine” is pretty ambiguous. I’ve said a ton of times I don’t think this cycle will get the best version of the roster. Louisville’s roster last year had no top 75 transfers. We may not get any highly rated guards this cycle. Hopefully we get at least a couple. Wilkerson would’ve been great. It is still relatively early. Do want to see that we’re willing to pay guys what it takes to get the deal done soon-ish.

We will be just fine

Of course there are tons of examples. But generally pro teams (particularly overseas) value winning experience / connections. Individual performance and projectibility is most important for sure. But for guys who are tweeners of NBA/G League or overseas, they put themselves in better position coming from a winning team/program. Plus obviously, it can’t be understated how much good players want to win in general. Going through a mediocre / bad season sucks. All things considered you definitely try to avoid that if you can. JMO.

For sure. That’s really important. I think by the time they’re visiting campus they probably have a decent sense for that, money, PT, etc. IMO the visits are to firm that all up and give the recruit a feel for what they’d be walking into. “Does it all add up to the winning that’s going to help me get to the next level as long as I do my thing?”JMO

I think playing time obviously is a big factor. But if you’re confident you’re going to get on the court like Wilkerson is, you want to play for a winning team. Especially a guy like him with one year left and trying to put himself in the best position to play NBA / high level pro basketball. Winning is still important to players, more than people think. That’s why IMO it’s tough to commit to a team with pretty much a blank canvas. Hopefully the Wilkerson update is not accurate.

This would be a damn good haul. Imagine KJ would be the biggest factor in Acaden Lewis. I think KJ was a great hire. Lewis would be a hell of a lot! Sounds like at multi-year player and again fits the description of what DDV wants (assuming Risley heard ANYTHING accurately, lol). Evaluated 07/14/2024 Adam FinkelsteinDirector of Scouting Lewis is a lefty lead guard who is extremely talented with the ball. He has soft hands and natural touch that are the foundation of a very advanced skill-set. His handle is tight, he’s a lay-up maker with both hands, and he has soft floaters and tough pull-ups alike in the mid-range area. While Lewis connected on just 31% of his threes during EYBL play, he’s a much better shooter than those numbers indicate. He made 83% of his free-throws, attempted nearly 7 threes per game, and projects as someone who not only has gravity spotting up but can be a movement shooter as well. In total, there isn’t much Lewis can’t do with the ball in his hands, but the area where he’s shown the most growth is in becoming a true lead guard and making those around him better. He still has a high-volume approach with the ball in his hands, and is generally more focused on throwing assists than he is otherwise moving the ball, but his floor vision and delivery both impressed this year as he finished in the top three in the EYBL in assists. He’s a threat coming off screens, both on and off the ball, but has a tendency to stand and watch without the ball in his hands unless it’s a pre-determined action. Physically, Lewis is naturally leaner and not the 6-foot-3 that is sometimes listed (his last official measurement was 6’0.5 without shoes in the summer before his junior year), but does have long arms to compensate. He’s also older for his grade, having turned 19 in October, and that extra year of high school has really helped him to hold his own physically and be capable of absorbing more contact than he was a year ago. Defensively, he has the hands to be a playmaker and is also a good rebounding guard, but isn’t always able to sustain disciplined and consistent effort on that end of the floor.

That is great news and very classy from Underwood. If there is a kid who deserves a chance to play for a real Hoosier team, it is Luke Goode.

Not belaboring the point because it does not matter where he lives, but go look at Glastonbury CT pics - not a concrete jungle at all, similar to Storrs. 40 mins is a normal commute around here, admittedly not "close to campus" like i said. He's not leaving UConn. I look forward to DDV building a team that can go toe to toe with good teams. Been too long since we've had that.