IU Basketball News and Notes

[Pagoda]

Hmm.

IMO at home our student section is notably vulgar and not nice.  And given the size of the student section the overall AH vibe is not exactly nice to the visiting team.

The rest of the AH fans are generally Midwest nice.  Visiting fans are treated okay.

Neutral and road games I’ve never noticed much of an issue with us.

It’s hard to rank niceness.

[Jeff Flabjohns]

“Bittle’s Balding!”

[Demo]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46886245/2026-nba-draft-big-board-rankings-top-100-prospects-players
 

ESPN’s latest draft board update. DeVries at 76 and Wilkerson outside their top 100, so basically undraftable.

I’m gonna call my Wilkerson draft shot right now: Dude will get a Portsmouth invite and play well there. That’ll get him a combine invitation where he’ll test ok, not great, and have at least one pretty good game. So he’ll come out with some curiosity and get a bunch of workout invitations. At at least one of them, and probably more, he’s gonna be having one of those days where he’s making everything and then have the added benefit of the perfect workout partner, some 20yo he outweighs by 25lbs, and he’s just gonna overpower that kid taking him to the rim and his defense will play just well enough. Then he’s gonna interview great and some GM is gonna look at his HC and say, “Hey,  explain to me why that kid can’t eventually give you a pretty decent approximation of Desmond Bane for a fraction of the money?” And that HC is just gonna nod at him and sometime mid 2nd someone’s taking him and signing him to a 2-way. And then somewhere down the road he’ll be with the NBA team, he’s gonna put a couple of very nice games together back to back and he’s gonna stick and hang for a decent while.

I am straight up a believer.

[CSP]

3 minutes ago, Demo said:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46886245/2026-nba-draft-big-board-rankings-top-100-prospects-players
 

ESPN’s latest draft board update. DeVries at 76 and Wilkerson outside their top 100, so basically undraftable.

I’m gonna call my Wilkerson draft shot right now: Dude will get a Portsmouth invite and play well there. That’ll get him a combine invitation where he’ll test ok, not great, and have at least one pretty good game. So he’ll come out with some curiosity and get a bunch of workout invitations. At at least one of them, and probably more, he’s gonna be having one of those days where he’s making everything and then have the added benefit of the perfect workout partner, some 20yo he outweighs by 25lbs, and he’s just gonna overpower that kid taking him to the rim and his defense will play just well enough. Then he’s gonna interview great and some GM is gonna look at his HC and say, “Hey,  explain to me why that kid can’t eventually give you a pretty decent approximation of Desmond Bane for a fraction of the money?” And that HC is just gonna nod at him and sometime mid 2nd someone’s taking him and signing him to a 2-way. And then somewhere down the road he’ll be with the NBA team, he’s gonna put a couple of very nice games together back to back and he’s gonna stick and hang for a decent while.

I am straight up a believer.

ok any big board that has TDV listed and not Lamar should be discarded lol.... burn it. never open that link again...ever. 

Oh my haha

[Hovadipo]

3 minutes ago, Demo said:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46886245/2026-nba-draft-big-board-rankings-top-100-prospects-players
 

ESPN’s latest draft board update. DeVries at 76 and Wilkerson outside their top 100, so basically undraftable.

I’m gonna call my Wilkerson draft shot right now: Dude will get a Portsmouth invite and play well there. That’ll get him a combine invitation where he’ll test ok, not great, and have at least one pretty good game. So he’ll come out with some curiosity and get a bunch of workout invitations. At at least one of them, and probably more, he’s gonna be having one of those days where he’s making everything and then have the added benefit of the perfect workout partner, some 20yo he outweighs by 25lbs, and he’s just gonna overpower that kid taking him to the rim and his defense will play just well enough. Then he’s gonna interview great and some GM is gonna look at his HC and say, “Hey,  explain to me why that kid can’t eventually give you a pretty decent approximation of Desmond Bane for a fraction of the money?” And that HC is just gonna nod at him and sometime mid 2nd someone’s taking him and signing him to a 2-way. And then somewhere down the road he’ll be with the NBA team, he’s gonna put a couple of very nice games together back to back and he’s gonna stick and hang for a decent while.

I am straight up a believer.

I made my Buddy Hield-lite claim during the game the other night. Hield is a generational shooter at his best and I'm not sure why, stylistically, Lamar can't be that type of player.

[HoosierHoopster]

33 minutes ago, Demo said:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46886245/2026-nba-draft-big-board-rankings-top-100-prospects-players
 

ESPN’s latest draft board update. DeVries at 76 and Wilkerson outside their top 100, so basically undraftable.

I’m gonna call my Wilkerson draft shot right now: Dude will get a Portsmouth invite and play well there. That’ll get him a combine invitation where he’ll test ok, not great, and have at least one pretty good game. So he’ll come out with some curiosity and get a bunch of workout invitations. At at least one of them, and probably more, he’s gonna be having one of those days where he’s making everything and then have the added benefit of the perfect workout partner, some 20yo he outweighs by 25lbs, and he’s just gonna overpower that kid taking him to the rim and his defense will play just well enough. Then he’s gonna interview great and some GM is gonna look at his HC and say, “Hey,  explain to me why that kid can’t eventually give you a pretty decent approximation of Desmond Bane for a fraction of the money?” And that HC is just gonna nod at him and sometime mid 2nd someone’s taking him and signing him to a 2-way. And then somewhere down the road he’ll be with the NBA team, he’s gonna put a couple of very nice games together back to back and he’s gonna stick and hang for a decent while.

I am straight up a believer.

I'm a believer too. Would add that if we play well down the stretch and Lamar shows up with high scoring in the NCAA tourney, he could very well move up into 2nd-round draft pick consideration. He's an elite perimeter scorer, that's coveted in today's NBA.

[Hardwood83]

3 hours ago, Pagoda said:

Hmm.

IMO at home our student section is notably vulgar and not nice.  And given the size of the student section the overall AH vibe is not exactly nice to the visiting team.

The rest of the AH fans are generally Midwest nice.  Visiting fans are treated okay.

Neutral and road games I’ve never noticed much of an issue with us.

It’s hard to rank niceness.

IMO the student section should be absolutely brutal to the opposing players/staff. Referencing Mom's & Donkey's or whatever, just being as savage and vicious as possible....but not visiting fans. They are real people, players & staff got it coming.    

[Demo]

3 hours ago, HoosierHoopster said:

I'm a believer too. Would add that if we play well down the stretch and Lamar shows up with high scoring in the NCAA tourney, he could very well move up into 2nd-round draft pick consideration. He's an elite perimeter scorer, that's coveted in today's NBA.

Yup. The difference between Wilkerson and a kid like Hood-Schifino is that JHS has a broader array of skills but no elite ones. That needs some luck to find a niche. Not only does Wilkerson have an elite skill, he’s got the hands down best one to have.

[Hovadipo]

3 hours ago, Pagoda said:

Hmm.

IMO at home our student section is notably vulgar and not nice.  And given the size of the student section the overall AH vibe is not exactly nice to the visiting team.

The rest of the AH fans are generally Midwest nice.  Visiting fans are treated okay.

Neutral and road games I’ve never noticed much of an issue with us.

It’s hard to rank niceness.

Following paragraph is all football related:

My wife (unassuming, minding her own business, but in Illinois gear) got ripped into by students in the concourse this year. She was with other members of our group at the time, but I would've had a pretty serious issue if I was around. I'm all for a good ribbing if it's friendly. This was not. I had friends at the Illinois game and Michigan game in '24 and they all had similar experiences with students and adults, multiple said they'd never go back to Bloomington. Season tickets were across the aisle from the student section in 2024 and if the seats and the team weren't so good, it would've been a supremely negative experience. Moved away from there this season and still ran into issues with either students or young alums at every game.

Watched IU fans try to start fights with Kansas fans at least 3 times when we went out to Lawrence a few years ago. KU fans, pretty much all gracious, just blew it off knowing they were about to bust our ass but it was embarrassing. Saw a few similar instances at the Rose Bowl with Bama fans and a ton up at Notre Dame last year. Countless road trips for basketball and football where IU fans will "HOO HOO HOO" in an opposing fan's face that's minding their own business. Maybe it's not that big of a deal and this is coming off whiny, but it'd annoy the hell out of me if it was done to me. Of all the places I've traveled I don't think I've ever heard anything harsh thrown at me. Sometimes, the opposing fans are nice to the point that it's uncomfortable (hello, Nebraska). 

Just my experiences, there's turds in every fanbase, yada yada. Hopefully I'm the only one with these experiences because if it's the norm, then our fanbase blows.

[68Hoosier]

3 hours ago, CSP said:

ok any big board that has TDV listed and not Lamar should be discarded lol.... burn it. never open that link again...ever. 

Oh my haha

Based on what I have seen this year, I would agree.  I don't see all the hype with Tucker but Larmar seems to be a legit player. 

[Demo]

11 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Following paragraph is all football related:

My wife (unassuming, minding her own business, but in Illinois gear) got ripped into by students in the concourse this year. She was with other members of our group at the time, but I would've had a pretty serious issue if I was around. I'm all for a good ribbing if it's friendly. This was not. I had friends at the Illinois game and Michigan game in '24 and they all had similar experiences with students and adults, multiple said they'd never go back to Bloomington. Season tickets were across the aisle from the student section in 2024 and if the seats and the team weren't so good, it would've been a supremely negative experience. Moved away from there this season and still ran into issues with either students or young alums at every game.

Watched IU fans try to start fights with Kansas fans at least 3 times when we went out to Lawrence a few years ago. KU fans, pretty much all gracious, just blew it off knowing they were about to bust our @$$ but it was embarrassing. Saw a few similar instances at the Rose Bowl with Bama fans and a ton up at Notre Dame last year. Countless road trips for basketball and football where IU fans will "HOO HOO HOO" in an opposing fan's face that's minding their own business. Maybe it's not that big of a deal and this is coming off whiny, but it'd annoy the hell out of me if it was done to me. Of all the places I've traveled I don't think I've ever heard anything harsh thrown at me. Sometimes, the opposing fans are nice to the point that it's uncomfortable (hello, Nebraska). 

Just my experiences, there's turds in every fanbase, yada yada. Hopefully I'm the only one with these experiences because if it's the norm, then our fanbase blows.

I think there’s a fair element of “act like you’ve been there before” at play with schools like KU that maybe we’re lacking a bit at this point. Went to a Bama-Mizzou a few yrs ago when Saban really had them rolling and that fanbase couldn’t have been nicer or more indulgent as they were boat racing Mizzou. There was a lot of “you guys are gonna get it together, really.”

[Pagoda]

35 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Following paragraph is all football related:

My wife (unassuming, minding her own business, but in Illinois gear) got ripped into by students in the concourse this year. She was with other members of our group at the time, but I would've had a pretty serious issue if I was around. I'm all for a good ribbing if it's friendly. This was not. I had friends at the Illinois game and Michigan game in '24 and they all had similar experiences with students and adults, multiple said they'd never go back to Bloomington. Season tickets were across the aisle from the student section in 2024 and if the seats and the team weren't so good, it would've been a supremely negative experience. Moved away from there this season and still ran into issues with either students or young alums at every game.

Watched IU fans try to start fights with Kansas fans at least 3 times when we went out to Lawrence a few years ago. KU fans, pretty much all gracious, just blew it off knowing they were about to bust our @$$ but it was embarrassing. Saw a few similar instances at the Rose Bowl with Bama fans and a ton up at Notre Dame last year. Countless road trips for basketball and football where IU fans will "HOO HOO HOO" in an opposing fan's face that's minding their own business. Maybe it's not that big of a deal and this is coming off whiny, but it'd annoy the hell out of me if it was done to me. Of all the places I've traveled I don't think I've ever heard anything harsh thrown at me. Sometimes, the opposing fans are nice to the point that it's uncomfortable (hello, Nebraska). 

Just my experiences, there's turds in every fanbase, yada yada. Hopefully I'm the only one with these experiences because if it's the norm, then our fanbase blows.

Damn, those stories are disappointing to hear.

It's odd, I was at most of those games and didn't notice a thing, in fact I thought KU and IU fans got along great.  I'm not doubting your experiences, just sharing my data points.

The only US games I've seen get really nasty between fans are big football rivalries like UM-OSU, Tenn-Florida, etc.

One thing we've both noticed is our student section is too vulgar and crass.  It does suck.  Not sure how that can be fixed -- probably some proactive efforts from the AD or something like that.

[str8baller]

6 hours ago, Demo said:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46886245/2026-nba-draft-big-board-rankings-top-100-prospects-players
 

ESPN’s latest draft board update. DeVries at 76 and Wilkerson outside their top 100, so basically undraftable.

I’m gonna call my Wilkerson draft shot right now: Dude will get a Portsmouth invite and play well there. That’ll get him a combine invitation where he’ll test ok, not great, and have at least one pretty good game. So he’ll come out with some curiosity and get a bunch of workout invitations. At at least one of them, and probably more, he’s gonna be having one of those days where he’s making everything and then have the added benefit of the perfect workout partner, some 20yo he outweighs by 25lbs, and he’s just gonna overpower that kid taking him to the rim and his defense will play just well enough. Then he’s gonna interview great and some GM is gonna look at his HC and say, “Hey,  explain to me why that kid can’t eventually give you a pretty decent approximation of Desmond Bane for a fraction of the money?” And that HC is just gonna nod at him and sometime mid 2nd someone’s taking him and signing him to a 2-way. And then somewhere down the road he’ll be with the NBA team, he’s gonna put a couple of very nice games together back to back and he’s gonna stick and hang for a decent while.

I am straight up a believer.

I think a lot will depend on his measurables. He doesn’t have a ton of bounce, but how tall/long is he? I’ve seen from 6’3” to 6’6”. Obviously the latter is more preferable. Not sure I love the Bane comparison because that guy is a unit for a 2 guard but if Wilkerson measures out at 6’5”+ then why not…

I’d take him in the second. Coming off the bench for the pacers with Haliburton giving him 3-4 spot up 3’s a game…heck yea. Gonna be all about fit for him, imo

[Pagoda]

Bill Self knows his stuff.

Newton’s Law if you know you know.  Send it in!

 

[fwgreenway]

2 hours ago, Pagoda said:

Bill Self knows his stuff.

Newton’s Law if you know you know.  Send it in!

 

Oh my, that was fun.....Ahhhgain 

[jermhoosierfan]

3 hours ago, Pagoda said:

Bill Self knows his stuff.

Newton’s Law if you know you know.  Send it in!

 

That was such a fun team to watch when they got it going.  This team is the reason why Knight fought to keep his job because he knew they could be special.  

[WayneFleekHoosier]

3 hours ago, Pagoda said:

Bill Self knows his stuff.

Newton’s Law if you know you know.  Send it in!

 

I Was a very small part of that crowd noise.  That season cemented my diehard fandom.  Fond memories!  

[Stuhoo]

4 hours ago, Pagoda said:

Bill Self knows his stuff.

Newton’s Law if you know you know.  Send it in!

 

Oh goodness. And with Gus and Raftery on the call.

What a great trip down memory lane.

[Hoosier987]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

Oh goodness. And with Gus and Raftery on the call.

What a great trip down memory lane.

Newton’s law! When Newton dunked with the and 1 was a classic line from Rafferty. 

[HoosierHoopster]

On 2/12/2026 at 10:59 AM, Hovadipo said:

This may not be popular - like, at all - but I gotta wholeheartedly disagree with this one. Between traveling and home games, our fans are some of the worst I've ever encountered. Students at home more than anything (which I suppose comes with the territory to an extent) and on the road...pretty much anyone is a candidate to do or say something stupid.

Honestly, at home? Wouldn’t want it any other way. Who wants fans to be nice to Izzo lol