2026 General Recruiting Thread (Bball)

[mike vannice]

4 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

I'm going to speculate without stating a detailed basis for doing so, because the different theories have all been recently discussed in this thread:

I think we get Thompson and one of the four between Allmond, Taylor, Diana, and Karvala.

For me the probability order for IU is:

1. Thompson
2. Allmond
3. Taylor
4. Karvala
5. Diane

At this point if we get 2 of the 5 I'm a happy man.

[Stuhoo]

17 minutes ago, mike vannice said:

At this point if we get 2 of the 5 I'm a happy man.

One would be solid, two would be fantastically outstanding.

[Demo]

On 10/6/2025 at 1:17 PM, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

And while bringing in Karvala for an OV this late probably doesn't bode well for landing AT, Karvala isn't like we'd be shopping at Dollar General.  He's #47 on 247, #30 on ESPN and #59 on On3.

Watched 2 of his HS games this morning. A shining example of a kid you dream on. He’s a tremendous athlete. Run, jump, change of direction, twitch, plus across the board. Stroke is pretty, though he has some inconsistency in his footwork to clean up. Took the ball to the basket and finished through contact, which was nice to see because his EYBL statlines looked like he fell in love with the 3. Played ok defense for the level but has the tools to  be a very good defender. Handle needs work. Competed on the glass and physicality didn’t bother him. My favorite part: he’s late developing physically. I don’t care how well he plays there is no realistic scenario in which that kid would go after a year. He’d have to put on 30lbs of muscle to move on. So he’s a multiyear piece but on talent he can be a rotation guy immediately. 1 thing: watched part of an interview with him and he’s kind of a different kid. Can’t put my finger on it exactly. Don’t mean that critically, if the staff is down I’m down, but he doesn’t feel like a Sisley where you know the kid is just solid as a rock. Karvala’s at Bella Vista this year and I’ll be seeing them at an event in January. Hopefully I’ll be watching an IU commit. Diane will be there, too. Maybe I get to see 2. 

[Scotty R]

10 hours ago, Scotty R said:

I went back and looked at the recruiting classes of UL and UM for the 2025 class. These were classes that both coaches brought in for their first class which was before they coached a game at that school. This is the same scenario that Devries is doing this year. UL class was ranked 25th with a 3 high school players and UM was ranked 30th with 3 high school play. Both had one highly ranked player one being a 5 star and another a high 4 star player.

 

Looking at this should have made us realize that getting all 3 of Thompson, Almond and Taylor was probably unrealistic. Getting all 3 to go along with Prince Alexander probably would be at least a top 20 class. I still haven't seen anything that makes it look like we won't get any of those players

Since I got home I looked a little deeper.

UL has 1 player in the top 150 at #6

UM has 2 players in the top 150 21 and 89

 

[HoosierDevils]

Yesterday during the day I was a bit disheartened about what feels like some burgeoning recruiting whiffs. But as the day went on I feel like I’ve changed perspectives a bit. Increasingly it seems the negative outlook on IU on some 2026 targets is driven by outlandish NIL offers. How outlandish? Rumors of 1.5-3M for recruits ranked in the 30-50 range in a 2026 class that is overall considered to be one of the weakest in a while. I don’t think it’s that IU doesn’t have the funds to match, it’s do we really want to spend that much on 17 year olds without a day of high major experience and who are not even at the top of their class? It’s also important to remember that while it won’t be full rebuild mode next offseason like it was this offseason, we will have a ton of roster slots open as our transfers from this year run out of eligibility. Does it make sense to blow through the budget this early when we will still need to fill out the roster (including starters!)? 

Finally, some of this has to do with preferences of the type of team we’d like to see constructed. I think a lot of us who follow HS recruiting like the idea of developing players and keeping them in the program for multiple years which has been missing from the program in quite a while. In a way, these agents and recruits that are demanding Cooper Flagg money for being top 30-40 in a weak class are one-on-dones of another type. They are not good enough to go pro but will only demand more money in a second year and hit the portal to the highest bidder again. If the coaching staff have a number in mind that makes sense and the recruit is motivated by liking the style of play and what IU offers (and still make a ton of money) then great. But if not, I think it does make sense to save much of the budget for proven players with high major experience in the portal and focus HS recruiting for the 2027 class where the new staff has been in on the process the full way. 

Edited October 8 by HoosierDevils

[Gnet550]

https://x.com/tiptonedits/status/1975930007219507523?s=46&t=_2f4Kx2-vXs4ikCjA4bHkA

 

i don’t pay for it but being top 10 id have to think hes talking about Thompson…

[Home Jersey]

51 minutes ago, HoosierDevils said:

Yesterday during the day I was a bit disheartened about what feels like some burgeoning recruiting whiffs. But as the day went on I feel like I’ve changed perspectives a bit. Increasingly it seems the negative outlook on IU on some 2026 targets is driven by outlandish NIL offers. How outlandish? Rumors of 1.5-3M for recruits ranked in the 30-50 range in a 2026 class that is overall considered to be one of the weakest in a while. I don’t think it’s that IU doesn’t have the funds to match, it’s do we really want to spend that much on 17 year olds without a day of high major experience and who are not even at the top of their class? It’s also important to remember that while it won’t be full rebuild mode next offseason like it was this offseason, we will have a ton of roster slots open as our transfers from this year run out of eligibility. Does it make sense to blow through the budget this early when we will still need to fill out the roster (including starters!)? 

Finally, some of this has to do with preferences of the type of team we’d like to see constructed. I think a lot of us who follow HS recruiting like the idea of developing players and keeping them in the program for multiple years which has been missing from the program in quite a while. In a way, these agents and recruits that are demanding Cooper Flagg money for being top 30-40 in a weak class are one-on-dones of another type. They are not good enough to go pro but will only demand more money in a second year and hit the portal to the highest bidder again. If the coaching staff have a number in mind that makes sense and the recruit is motivated by liking the style of play and what IU offers (and still make a ton of money) then great. But if not, I think it does make sense to save much of the budget for proven players with high major experience in the portal and focus HS recruiting for the 2027 class where the new staff has been in on the process the full way. 

Yup, great post. At this point in time when it comes to HS recruiting, it's not something we have to live and die by anymore. If the staff thinks they can get better value in the portal, kudos to them for sticking to their guns when it comes time to put in final offers. Only point to add, flip side of that, hopefully the staff understands who/when it's worth paying top dollar to land a target they've been working on - probably can't all be portal guys. Like the idea of freshmen in the 25-60ish range coming for multiple years and adding big fish in the portal. 

[Hoosierfanyuh]

49 minutes ago, Gnet550 said:

https://x.com/tiptonedits/status/1975930007219507523?s=46&t=_2f4Kx2-vXs4ikCjA4bHkA

 

i don’t pay for it but being too 10 id have to think hes talking about Thompson…

He is. I’m not going to freak out about any of these 3 until they officially say they’re going else where. Thompson and adidas seems big to me. MSU is recruiting Taylor as hard as Reed for their C position. It’s first to pop in that scenario. Allmond is the one I cannot really put a finger on, but if rumors are true about Thompson leaning toward us, everything makes sense why Allmond is going else where. 

[ziggyiu]

52 minutes ago, Hoosierfanyuh said:

He is. I’m not going to freak out about any of these 3 until they officially say they’re going else where. Thompson and adidas seems big to me. MSU is recruiting Taylor as hard as Reed for their C position. It’s first to pop in that scenario. Allmond is the one I cannot really put a finger on, but if rumors are true about Thompson leaning toward us, everything makes sense why Allmond is going else where. 

I think you're right, and the last part of your post is a bummer. I think Thompson and Allmond can play well together. Allmond as an undersized 5 when we want to play 5 out or Allmond as a 4 to Thompson's 3. 

[HoosierDevils]

With all the crazy numbers being thrown around before anything has been cleared by NIL Go, I wonder what happens when some guys find out they committed to place that isn't allowed to just write a check. This article suggests its known its happening and with the NCAA revealing its tip line (I think more than anything as a signal that it's somewhat serious?) today, there could be i) chaos in the coming months as NIL offers are rejected and ii) programs and collectives that skirt the rules. This is just me being catty but it makes me think there's at least a coach or two out there we can think of with a scandal incoming (ahem...WW and KS...)

 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

1 hour ago, HoosierDevils said:

With all the crazy numbers being thrown around before anything has been cleared by NIL Go, I wonder what happens when some guys find out they committed to place that isn't allowed to just write a check. This article suggests its known its happening and with the NCAA revealing its tip line (I think more than anything as a signal that it's somewhat serious?) today, there could be i) chaos in the coming months as NIL offers are rejected and ii) programs and collectives that skirt the rules. This is just me being catty but it makes me think there's at least a coach or two out there we can think of with a scandal incoming (ahem...WW and KS...)

 

No chance. Smart people preparing for these scenarios.  Loopholes readily available to be utilized.  
 

And likely “here we go again” with Indiana following the rules and other programs figuring things out.  

[Hoosierfanyuh]

11 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

No chance. Smart people preparing for these scenarios.  Loopholes readily available to be utilized.  
 

And likely “here we go again” with Indiana following the rules and other programs figuring things out.  

Spot on.
 

Rabby said the other day someone told him if IU would stop getting in their own way they’d be a ton 10 program away. They thought too many people were involved in general.

This is me paraphrasing for what it’s worth.

[Home Jersey]

I'd genuinely love someone to help me understand why IU seems uniquely talented at getting in their own way, lol. It's apparently been the case over multiple administrations at this point. I understand being risk averse as an institution, but is there an inherent part of the administrative culture that seeks to undermine athletics/basketball or something? Asking in earnest because I just don't get "it" but "it" feels like a very real thing if we're actually taking a step back in the $$ sense 

[Scotty R]

23 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

I'd genuinely love someone to help me understand why IU seems uniquely talented at getting in their own way, lol. It's apparently been the case over multiple administrations at this point. I understand being risk averse as an institution, but is there an inherent part of the administrative culture that seeks to undermine athletics/basketball or something? Asking in earnest because I just don't get "it" but "it" feels like a very real thing if we're actually taking a step back in the $$ sense 

Why would they single out men's basketball to interfere with but not the rest of the sports. Football, Women's basketball, soccer, swimming, baseball are all looking good.

[TheWatShot]

5 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

Why would they single out men's basketball to interfere with but not the rest of the sports. Football, Women's basketball, soccer, swimming, baseball are all looking good.

I'd guess it's because football, women's basketball and baseball didn't have much success until recently, and they've been allowed to do their thing because there aren't nearly as many eyeballs on them. The basketball program has been micromanaged to death ever since Knight's firing. 

[BtownStrength]

53 minutes ago, Hoosierfanyuh said:

Spot on.
 

Rabby said the other day someone told him if IU would stop getting in their own way they’d be a ton 10 program away. They thought too many people were involved in general.

This is me paraphrasing for what it’s worth.

Some of the posters here with connections have implied this over the years as well. 

[mike vannice]

1 minute ago, BtownStrength said:

Some of the posters here with connections have implied this over the years as well. 

Speaking of posters with connections, what has become of Chris 007?

[Home Jersey]

6 minutes ago, TheWatShot said:

I'd guess it's because football, women's basketball and baseball didn't have much success until recently, and they've been allowed to do their thing because there aren't nearly as many eyeballs on them. The basketball program has been micromanaged to death ever since Knight's firing. 

Also the point was specifically about undermining basketball from a $$ point of view. Just because women's basketball, baseball, soccer and football have been performing well doesn't mean their financial situation is any better or "good." Football obviously is an outlier in this conversation and if anything they're taking resources that would otherwise have gone towards basketball if we didn't have Cig right now. It's good that football is doing well. It'll take some time before that translates to revenue for the AD. So in the meanwhile, what are we doing to support non-football programs? Apparently IU's admin has a tough time chewing gum and walking at the same time, minimally 

[Scotty R]

19 minutes ago, TheWatShot said:

I'd guess it's because football, women's basketball and baseball didn't have much success until recently, and they've been allowed to do their thing because there aren't nearly as many eyeballs on them. The basketball program has been micromanaged to death ever since Knight's firing. 

I am sorry but this is total BS. The administration is not purposely trying to sabotage the basketball program. Just look how many different presidents we have gone through it the number of AD's. How many different board members have we had the last 25 years

[Home Jersey]

4 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

I am sorry but this is total BS. The administration is not purposely trying to sabotage the basketball program. Just look how many different presidents we have gone through it the number of AD's. How many different board members have we had the last 25 years

Semantics. I'm sure nobody is intentionally going about their day trying to sabotage the basketball program. They probably think they're helping. To your point the problem has persisted across multiple admins for decades. Most likely IU's system just breeds incompetent administrators who all love the sound of their own voice too much. Just astounding lack of ability for more than 25 years. Too many cooks in the kitchen. Most successful organizations can figure it out within that time span.