Transfer Portal w IU Interest

[RaceToTheTop 24,306]

2 minutes ago, IUFAN1976 said:

I don’t get the love either, but based off his medical condition, I have a feeling his declining numbers were a result of fatigue from his medical condition.  Also, he did lose conditioning due to his illness as well.  My guess is, his numbers will increase some next year

I don't see how they could go down.  Low volume shooter who shot 37/27.  He's a top 30 player from 2023 and is athletic so I'm sure he's going to get better but take the last name off him and I don't see anyone going wild over him.  

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,382]

16 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

For the life of me, I can't get the Bronny love.  I get the pedigree, understand the medical issue he had at the beginning of the season but don't understand using that to explain all his struggles at USC when it seems to me like a guy in that situation would have had trouble at the beginning of the season but the fact is he started the year fine and then went downhill fast.  His first six games:  16 of 32 from the field (50%), 6 of 19 from three (32%), averaged 7.5 points per game in 17 minutes per game.  The remainder of the season:  25 of 80 (31%), 10 of 41 from three (24%), 4.0 points per game 20 minutes per game in a span of 19 games.

Perfect prospect to have on the team and you know you'll get publicity. But nothing in the world would convince him to go to an Adidas school that will basically never play on ESPN.

[rcbowla 6,796]

5 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

I don't see how they could go down.  Low volume shooter who shot 37/27.  He's a top 30 player from 2023 and is athletic so I'm sure he's going to get better but take the last name off him and I don't see anyone going wild over him.  

Take his namesake out and he's not a top 30 recruit.

[Feathery 4,005]

3 hours ago, Chris007 said:

You ok with giving him 700K? That’s the asking price. Him, MR, MM all together in the starting lineup 

Give him $5 million for all I care. It’s not my money. And if the boosters say IU won’t get outbid for a player, then pay the $700k. How much a player makes means absolutely nothing to me. I get a kick out of ppl getting up in arms about a player making good money. It’s capitalism folks, I hope you all are making as much as you possibly can too. 
 

Also the issue with the lineup is Reneau and has been. It’s why I wasn’t going to be upset if he transferred out.  Having him means there isn’t going to be a massive shift in offensive philosophy. As he can’t play center but we need someone to play that role. So why not get the best center that you can? It’s chump change to the boosters anyway. 

[IUFAN1976 2,464]

2 minutes ago, Feathery said:

Give him $5 million for all I care. It’s not my money. And if the boosters say IU won’t get outbid for a player, then pay the $700k. How much a player makes means absolutely nothing to me. I get a kick out of ppl getting up in arms about a player making good money. It’s capitalism folks, I hope you all are making as much as you possibly can too. 
 

Also the issue with the lineup is Reneau and has been. It’s why I wasn’t going to be upset if he transferred out.  Having him means there isn’t going to be a massive shift in offensive philosophy. As he can’t play center but we need someone to play that role. So why get the best center that you can? It’s chump change to the boosters anyway. 

Finally, someone who agrees with me about Reneau.  He’s not a center or at least the type of center that is a rim protector and he’s not a stretch 4.  Also, he’s a black hole offensively who makes really dumb decisions with the ball.  Yes he does well finishing at the rim when he finally fights his way through a triple team to put up a shot.  Reneau is a problem offensively and defensively but MW is the biggest problem.

[IUFAN1976 2,464]

18 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

I don't see how they could go down.  Low volume shooter who shot 37/27.  He's a top 30 player from 2023 and is athletic so I'm sure he's going to get better but take the last name off him and I don't see anyone going wild over him.  

I still think it was due to his medical condition 

[OKHOOSIER 1,902]

Sky Clark to UCLA. Not sure how in on him we were or weren’t, but high level guards are moving off the board daily now. 

[RaceToTheTop 24,306]

12 minutes ago, Feathery said:

Give him $5 million for all I care. It’s not my money. And if the boosters say IU won’t get outbid for a player, then pay the $700k. How much a player makes means absolutely nothing to me. I get a kick out of ppl getting up in arms about a player making good money. It’s capitalism folks, I hope you all are making as much as you possibly can too. 
 

Also the issue with the lineup is Reneau and has been. It’s why I wasn’t going to be upset if he transferred out.  Having him means there isn’t going to be a massive shift in offensive philosophy. As he can’t play center but we need someone to play that role. So why not get the best center that you can? It’s chump change to the boosters anyway. 

Reneau isn't a defensive 5 but can play it on the offensive side.  He can co-exist with a stretch big.

[rcbowla 6,796]

10 minutes ago, Feathery said:

Give him $5 million for all I care. It’s not my money. And if the boosters say IU won’t get outbid for a player, then pay the $700k. How much a player makes means absolutely nothing to me. I get a kick out of ppl getting up in arms about a player making good money. It’s capitalism folks, I hope you all are making as much as you possibly can too. 
 

Also the issue with the lineup is Reneau and has been. It’s why I wasn’t going to be upset if he transferred out.  Having him means there isn’t going to be a massive shift in offensive philosophy. As he can’t play center but we need someone to play that role. So why not get the best center that you can? It’s chump change to the boosters anyway. 

 

2 minutes ago, IUFAN1976 said:

Finally, someone who agrees with me about Reneau.  He’s not a center or at least the type of center that is a rim protector and he’s not a stretch 4.  Also, he’s a black hole offensively who makes really dumb decisions with the ball.  Yes he does well finishing at the rim when he finally fights his way through a triple team to put up a shot.  Reneau is a problem offensively and defensively but MW is the biggest problem.

Agree with both of you. Lots of people trying to figure out the best lineup they can run with MR and I think they all fall short. Those people know it too. MR is a matchup nightmare but not in a good way. Take him out of the equation and you can foresee a lot of good lineups. I like MR but he's not a good fit for any roster honestly.

[rcbowla 6,796]

Just now, RaceToTheTop said:

Reneau isn't a defensive 5 but can play it on the offensive side.  He can co-exist with a stretch big.

Which worked wonders this last year? 

[RaceToTheTop 24,306]

1 minute ago, OKHOOSIER said:

Sky Clark to UCLA. Not sure how in on him we were or weren’t, but high level guards are moving off the board daily now. 

I like his potential, but I wonder where he'll be playing at in 2025-26.

[HoosierFan1994 4,635]

8 hours ago, Chris007 said:

I have heard we lead for him but we have competition.

I have been off the last few days so I'm just seeing this. This would surprise me. Don't get me wrong, I'd take him. He was a really good player of the Aces. I know fans here are really bummed about losing him. However, with Tucker, Mgbako, and Reneau at the 3/4/5 spots I wouldn't think he would want to be here. Kind of surprised he's not on 247's portal rankings. 

[Home Jersey 5,536]

6 minutes ago, rcbowla said:

Which worked wonders this last year? 

That's not really the fault of Reneau or the stretch big he was paired with, though. Just a product of Woody's offense. Like it or not (I don't) that's the system. The bigger concern than spacing, for me, in this consideration with Reneau, is rebounding. Rim protection to a lesser degree. Then spacing. Most of this year, we saw the typical bad spacing and clogged lane/post. Toward the end of the year we saw some better action between Ware and Reneau. If that's carried over into next season and Reneau learns how to pass effectively. Reneau also showed he could step outside and get hot... if that part of his game continues progressing this conversation is moot, to a large degree

[HoosierFan1994 4,635]

3 hours ago, IU - Kaulie said:

It’s hard for me to get excited with CMW coming back.  My top three are Hickman, Conwell, and Humrichous but at the end of the day it’s still the same staff.

The same staff that didn’t really know what they had in Miller Kopp.  Or guys that went elsewhere and fared better like Franklin at UVA or Bates at Georgia.

Don’t get me wrong, those three I like plus others being talked about are really good players but I think we need bigger fish just because of the ineptitude of this staff.  
I think we would need someone like a Caleb Love or a Hunter Dickinson.  I don’t know if guys like that are in the portal.  Bronny isn’t coming here.  I don’t know why any quality wing would look at us over other schools if they are looking at our offense and want to win and develop.  I hope CMW and company didn’t really think bags of cash would guarantee anything.

 

 

This is a great post. Kind of how I feel. My hope is the roster situation is much better this time next year and Woodson steps aside. He's not the answer. Do I think we can be a top 25 team and maybe win a game in the NCAA tournament with him? Yes. I just don't think we can compete for Big Ten Titles and advance in the tournament with him. It's early but yeah, it's concerning to me that Indiana doesn't have a portal commit yet. 

[RaceToTheTop 24,306]

Just now, rcbowla said:

Which worked wonders this last year? 

Ware isn't a true stretch big.  He was a low volume perimeter shooter.  Taking one three per game doesn't really stretch the court.  Teams gave him that shot.

Players like Riensk Mast exist.  While he isn't a better player than Ware, he fits alongside Reneau in a lineup.  If Reneau left IU would have seven (eight?  I'm losing count) spots to fill and you're scrambling even more and I doubt you are going to fill his spot with someone as good.  

[RaceToTheTop 24,306]

7 minutes ago, HoosierFan1994 said:

I have been off the last few days so I'm just seeing this. This would surprise me. Don't get me wrong, I'd take him. He was a really good player of the Aces. I know fans here are really bummed about losing him. However, with Tucker, Mgbako, and Reneau at the 3/4/5 spots I wouldn't think he would want to be here. Kind of surprised he's not on 247's portal rankings. 

Can tell you from the past that 247 and On3 have trouble getting rankings straight for the portal when so many players are coming in each day.  Lots of guys enter and are in for a little while before they get ranked.

[rcbowla 6,796]

5 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

That's not really the fault of Reneau or the stretch big he was paired with, though. Just a product of Woody's offense. Like it or not (I don't) that's the system. The bigger concern than spacing, for me, in this consideration with Reneau, is rebounding. Rim protection to a lesser degree. Then spacing. Most of this year, we saw the typical bad spacing and clogged lane/post. Toward the end of the year we saw some better action between Ware and Reneau. If that's carried over into next season and Reneau learns how to pass effectively. Reneau also showed he could step outside and get hot... if that part of his game continues progressing this conversation is moot, to a large degree

On offense Reneau is a 5 playing with another 5 because he can't play that position defensively. 

[rcbowla 6,796]

4 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

Ware isn't a true stretch big.  He was a low volume perimeter shooter.  Taking one three per game doesn't really stretch the court.  Teams gave him that shot.

Players like Riensk Mast exist.  While he isn't a better player than Ware, he fits alongside Reneau in a lineup.  If Reneau left IU would have seven (eight?  I'm losing count) spots to fill and you're scrambling even more and I doubt you are going to fill his spot with someone as good.  

I think Ware was under-utilized as a stretch 5. I do agree with everything else but rather than bringing in another 5 to start with MR I'd like our staff to make him a competent defensive 5. That doesn't mean he needs to block shots or play like TJD/Ware. 

[RaceToTheTop 24,306]

7 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

That's not really the fault of Reneau or the stretch big he was paired with, though. Just a product of Woody's offense. Like it or not (I don't) that's the system. The bigger concern than spacing, for me, in this consideration with Reneau, is rebounding. Rim protection to a lesser degree. Then spacing. Most of this year, we saw the typical bad spacing and clogged lane/post. Toward the end of the year we saw some better action between Ware and Reneau. If that's carried over into next season and Reneau learns how to pass effectively. Reneau also showed he could step outside and get hot... if that part of his game continues progressing this conversation is moot, to a large degree

Reneau expanding his game is going to be one of the keys.  I've said prior that the key to playing two bigs is that you don't have to have two down low at once.  I would argue that the offense would have run better last year if Reneau doubled his three point attempts -- not because he's a great shooter, but because he's good enough that you have to respect it and it would have opened the floor up more.  

[RaceToTheTop 24,306]

Just now, rcbowla said:

I think Ware was under-utilized as a stretch 5. I do agree with everything else but rather than bringing in another 5 to start with MR I'd like our staff to make him a competent defensive 5. That doesn't mean he needs to block shots or play like TJD/Ware. 

Personally, I would call a player like Rienk Mast a competent defensive 5.  Just saying that there are guys like him in the portal, just have to identify them.  Worth noting that Edey really struggled when he played Mast.