AH1971

Sure it does, especially when you're purposely being obtuse about it.

It does add up once you get your head out of the sand. As you've been repeatedly told, you get much more bang for your buck when you retain your own players rather than going out and buying and building a brand new roster from scratch.

We have a guy who was on last years title winning team. We have a guy who won Sun Belt POY last year and lead his team to the tournament (Louisville's best player last year was the reigning Sun Belt POY). Devries and Enright have been on some very good Drake teams. I fail to see the difference in my opinion.

Louisville was projected to finish 8th in an already bad ACC in the preseason last year. I'm not sure what separates Louisville's roster last year from IU's roster this year? Louisville had a ton of really good mid-major guys and a few good, but not stellar P5 guys. I'm just not sure how Snow can draw that comparison yet?

I believe next years roster has two all-conference caliber players in Devries and Wilkerson. I believe that Bailey can be elite on the offensive end the same way I believe Conerway and Alexis can be elite on the defensive end. If guys like Enright, Miles, and Harris can become competent B10-level role players, this team should be in good shape. I do share the same concerns as otherwise with our depth in the front court and lack of rim protection, but offensively we should be a nightmare for many teams. It's a two-way street.

I don't think Michigan and Louisville's rosters last year looked all that different from IU's this coming year. Worked out well for both of those programs. 23-24 year old mid-major all-stars won Florida a national title last year.

I think $160 is going to be a steal on game day. Autzen is a small stadium ~54k so guessing there really isn't a bad seat in the house. If IU is undefeated, you're looking at huge Game Day/Big Noon implications as both teams could potentially be in the top 5. Tickets would be a riot on the secondary market in that scenario.

Derkack and Allmond would be very good adds, especially if we can lock them up in the early Fall. Gives us the rest of the period to go all-in on one or two big fish.

Does anyone have a realistic pool of 26' targets? Feel like we've offered 50-60 guys in the last 2-3 months and it's tough to keep track of on the recruiting board. Prince Moody-Alexander is already on board and Latrell Almond seems like the next realistic get. What's an ideal class size for 2026?

Not every kid that plays college basketball is entering the portal demanding to be paid “fair market value” each and every season. I’m sure guys like Braden Smith and TKR (who have never entered the portal) are playing at significant discounts compared to their “fair market value” had they chose to enter the portal. When you’re literally building a roster from scratch, you’re going to have to overspend. It’s not that complicated.

Our NIL is fine...we had to overspend to assemble a brand new roster from scratch

In a paywalled article yesterday, Joe Tipton at On3 pretty much said IU was the team to beat here.

It’s July. The hype right now is for the start of football season…where it should be this time of year.

This current landscape just produced a National Champion that was projected to finish 7th in their conference featuring a bunch of mid-major transfers at guard and 2-3* recruits in the front court. Talk about unheralded.

I’m not sure what leads you to believe that? Roster retention is still an absolute necessity in today’s game and roster retention starts with…recruiting freshman. Recruit your core roster and then supplement your needs in the portal.

So it was a money/NIL issue, not a negligent, unprepared from day one issue? In a perfect world, Moibuko and Murphy accept on the spot, but that’s life and the way this industry works. Rod Clark is a better recruiter than Moibuko and pushing the same tier as Murphy.

Barnett took a HC job elsewhere and there wasn’t a chance in hell Chester Frazier was coming here. That leaves you with Tom Ostrom as the remaining guy who sat on his bench last year…yeah that Tom Ostrom. We didn’t lose a year because DeVries didn’t panic. Pure nonsense.

Yeah don't understand the issue. I would have held out till August if it meant hiring Rod Clark. To most, this is marathon, not a sprint. Getting the right staff in place no matter the timeline is much more paramount to long term success although I understand you can't please everyone.

We know

Wonder if Rod Clark's connections to Sunrise Christian helps or hurts here?

Can we get an offer out to his teammate Qayden Samuels?

We're too good for a top 75 wing from a really good program who plays in an even tougher conference?

Absolutely. Load up and develop the lines on both sides of the ball and you can always dip into the portal for skill position guys when needed. Play in the trenches is crucial to taking the next step forward.

Believe was previously committed to Penn State at one point. Canceled his Tennessee visit that was scheduled for this weekend. Steve Wiltfong over at On3 seemed very confident about a month ago that he was ours to lose. Ole Miss appears to be a new player in this race. Hope we land him.

Would be ecstatic to land this kid. There are several high level players in the 2027 class in central Indiana alone who could become big difference makers for this university.