AH1971

And we very well could have overpaid to fill an entire roster which brings us back to the original point: it's much easier to spend top dollar when you have a pretty well established roster.

I don't think guys like Miles, Dorn, Enright, Drake, etc went from making virtually $0 last year to making close to $600k overnight. I also don't buy that Gabe Cupps is making $600k next year. I would guess that end of rotation/bench guys at P5 schools are making between $150-300k. Most of this NIL valuation talk is perpetuated by agents to try and prop up their other clients.

That's exactly what I'm saying. I would say an overwhelmingly large majority of guys in the portal looking to be paid "market value" end up in a much worse situation.

Maybe although I highly doubt every P5 bench player is making $600k or even close to that.

Depends on who is back from your existing roster. A team that returns most of their bench and one or two starters has a lot more money to throw at one or two top level players. Every team likely has a budget and then a max spend if necessary, and I'm sure that not every team fills that budget. Based on who DeVries has brought in, I would be surprised if IU is at the top of their budget yet...unless they are just wildly overpaying to fill the roster.

Coming around to the idea that Conerway, Wilkerson, DeVries, Harris, Alexis might be the best overall lineup. Probably won't be the lineup you see to start many games but a lineup down the stretch when you need a stop.

Going to need to win some of these marquee non-conference game, that B10 draw is something else. Very unforgiving for a first year coach with 12-13 new faces.

They did not. But they also had 2-3 high level wing defenders including Sencire Harris who is one of the best on-ball defenders in the country.

So making ends meet? The NCAA had a 20-30 year head start just as TV contracts were growing astronomically larger with each renewal to come up with a solution that compensated their athletes beyond simply “making ends meet”…and they sat on their hands and did nothing. They left it up to the courts to rule that their “amateur” model violated anti-trust laws. College sports are the way they are today because of the NCAA. Nobody else to blame but themselves.

Again, I'm not fixated on height. I've never mentioned height in any of these arguments. Houston had three 6'8-6'9 interior bigs who could all wall up opposing defenders, protect the rim, and were relentless on the glass on both ends of the floor. That's what we need. Sam Alexis (who is also 6'8) is the only player on the roster that even comes close to fitting that mold. That's not enough. Bailey isn't a serviceable 5 for a P5 team for 15 mpg, let alone 25-30...he doesn't have any of those defensive traits. I use names like Baba Miller and Federiko Federiko because they fit that mold...they just so happen to be 7 foot tall. Those are names that have been directly linked with Indiana.

Commit elsewhere or IU simply not pursuing?

Lol. You can still play a modern offense and have rim protector big(s) who can rebound on both ends of the floor (see the national champion Florida Gators)

He was the odd man out in an albeit very good Florida front court rotation last season coming off a lower leg injury which is always a lingering concern with big men. I wouldn't feel comfortable with just Alexis and Bailey as the only two experienced front court players and then having to rely on someone like Leo Curtis to log major minutes in the event of an injury. There is a very serious sell of ~20 mpg to guys like Federiko and Miller, which is right in their wheelhouse. Unless we're out of money, would be disappointing not to land one of them or someone of a similar skillset.

Again, I think the concern with the 5 spot this coming year is entirely based on the defensive end. Not every good 5 is a high usage, post centric player and there are plenty of bigs with size who can defend the interior and protect the rim without demanding a paint touch every time down.

He’s ok. Now keep going.

The Villanova team that has 4 guards playing in the current NBA playoffs? Yeah that team could guard the hell out of you out on the perimeter. I’m not worried about height, I’m worried about guys who can guard.

I’d feel a lot better about Bailey if this roster had guys like Javon Small, Sencire Harris, and Toby Okani guarding out on the perimeter. We don’t have that unfortunately.

Tend to agree with this. In the event you add a legit rim protector, he becomes one of the better luxury adds in the portal. He presents matchup problems offensively for a bunch of teams, but you’ll run into much bigger problems if he’s your defensive anchor for the majority of the minutes.

Who cares? He’s a face up 5 that dives and cuts to the rim. He doesn’t play on the block. 65% of Danny Wolf’s shots were at the rim last year and I guarantee you nobody takes issue with calling him a perimeter-oriented player.

What other players? You’re putting a ton of blind faith in mid-major players not revered for their defensive prowess.

He’s defensive numbers were atrocious last year. There’s no defending it.

Do we have athletic wings? We have taller wings, but Miles is the only one who I would consider to be a plus athlete. I don’t think you’re going to get much defensively from DeVries, Dorn, Wilkerson etc. Maybe they’re serviceable but that’s not reassuring especially if Bailey is playing a bulk of the minutes at the 5.

Low block rate, bad rebounding rate, poor positioning…likely due to strength. Teams in the A10 scored at the rim at will with Bailey in the game. He’s a perimeter-oriented player that just happens to be tall.

He’s not bad in spurts, but there’s no way he can be your only defensive oriented player in the front court next season. What if he’s only good for 10-15 mpg or god forbid he gets hurt again? Need a rim protector who you can rely on for ~20 mpg, and if it cuts into Reed’s minutes, so be it.

I don't think many are worried about what the 5 brings offensively. Defensively however, it's a glaring concern at the present moment.