Transfer Portal w IU Interest

[JF87 1,413]

8 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

Well one of the two things I said that would have to happen to get Hickman to IU might have actually happened. 

Playing small.  I hope that Tucker and the guards can rebound. 

5- Reneau,  4- MgBako,   3- Tucker,   2- Hickman,   1- TBD   

6th man/BU 3,2,1- Galloway,  BU 5- TBD,   BU 4/5- TBD,  BU 2/3 Leal,  BU 1- Cupps,   BU 2 Newton, open, open

 

[JSHoosier 19,645]

2 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

We'll see if that is correct. But one thing we both know it wasn't that Woodson was going to change his offense

Hmm, NGW said Woodson would change and we know not to question his insight.

[Chris007 42,445]

4 minutes ago, JF87 said:

Playing small.  I hope that Tucker and the guards can rebound. 

5- Reneau,  4- MgBako,   3- Tucker,   2- Hickman,   1- TBD   

6th man/BU 3,2,1- Galloway,  BU 5- TBD,   BU 4/5- TBD,  BU 2/3 Leal,  BU 1- Cupps,   BU 2 Newton, open, open

 

I don't hate it but still don't think it is likely

[Banksyrules 4,296]

3 minutes ago, JSHoosier said:

Hmm, NGW said Woodson would change and we know not to question his insight.

Wait is he still at it?

[Chris007 42,445]

3 minutes ago, Banksyrules said:

Wait is he still at it?

We're pretty sure he's Tyme 19987652145741541585 on Twitter. But don't ask him if he is NGW on there or he'll block you

[IU22 82]

32 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

Well one of the two things I said that would have to happen to get Hickman to IU might have actually happened. 

So IU PAID him!

[IH8PU 219]

12 minutes ago, JF87 said:

Playing small.  I hope that Tucker and the guards can rebound. 

5- Reneau,  4- MgBako,   3- Tucker,   2- Hickman,   1- TBD   

6th man/BU 3,2,1- Galloway,  BU 5- TBD,   BU 4/5- TBD,  BU 2/3 Leal,  BU 1- Cupps,   BU 2 Newton, open, open

 

I don't see that lineup being a consistent winner in the B1G. I've always said to be a frontline player as a freshman, they have to be NBA caliber from the first tip off. Not waiting 3/4 of the season to develop. Reneau will get eaten alive guarding a 5 ... foul trouble galore. Plus too many TBD's. In fact I don't see that line up winning many games.

[Hoosier1984 1,540]

3 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

We're pretty sure he's Tyme 19987652145741541585 on Twitter. But don't ask him if he is NGW on there or he'll block you

His name is like that because that is how many times he has been right in his life.

[str8baller 4,837]

23 minutes ago, Trish said:

300th in 3PT attempts

That would be a decent improvement and probably constitutes the nicest thing you’ve said about this program since I’ve been here. Lol

[AZ Hoosier 6,089]

40 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

Well one of the two things I said that would have to happen to get Hickman to IU might have actually happened. 

Hickman had two requirements. Getting paid was the easier of the two.

[Trish 11,417]

22 minutes ago, JF87 said:

Playing small.  I hope that Tucker and the guards can rebound. 

5- Reneau,  4- MgBako,   3- Tucker,   2- Hickman,   1- TBD   

6th man/BU 3,2,1- Galloway,  BU 5- TBD,   BU 4/5- TBD,  BU 2/3 Leal,  BU 1- Cupps,   BU 2 Newton, open, open

 

If we're relying on Malik to replace Ware and TJD then go ahead and skip this upcoming season. Woodson will have him as the #1 option, which is not good. 

[Trish 11,417]

25 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

 

You just never know.

• Juwan Howard
• Kevin Keatts

At this time last year, both of these fanbases expected those coaches to lead them to a meh-mediocre season. One of them, Howard,  was so much worse than anyone could've imagined, and he was an easy dismissal decision. The other one looked like he was having that mediocre season, but then his team caught fire at just the right time and now that have a chance at a national championship. So while mediocre is the median expectation...

You just never know. 

 

Fair! Kevin would've been fired in year 4 here at Indiana with his first four year results at NC State.

However, the law of averages usually tends to be correct. A 1st round or second round appearance isn't enough. Honestly, a Sweet 16 isn't enough here at Indiana. But if Scott Dolson doesn't care about basketball, then it's enough. 

[Hoosierfan2017 20,032]

19 minutes ago, Trish said:

Fair! Kevin would've been fired in year 4 here at Indiana with his first four year results at NC State.

However, the law of averages usually tends to be correct. A 1st round or second round appearance isn't enough. Honestly, a Sweet 16 isn't enough here at Indiana. But if Scott Dolson doesn't care about basketball, then it's enough. 

I mean, Scott Dolson has shown us what he considers to be enough. A 1st round and a 2nd round appearance gets you a million dollar raise. A sweet 16 appearance? Scott would probably dish out a John Calipari-esque lifetime contract. 

[JF87 1,413]

24 minutes ago, IH8PU said:

I don't see that lineup being a consistent winner in the B1G. I've always said to be a frontline player as a freshman, they have to be NBA caliber from the first tip off. Not waiting 3/4 of the season to develop. Reneau will get eaten alive guarding a 5 ... foul trouble galore. Plus too many TBD's. In fact I don't see that line up winning many games.

I'm probably in the minority, but I just don't see Tucker or Hickman coming to IU without a promise to start and that would mean Reneau at the 5.  Reneau is a tweener.  He's a great low post scorer but will have difficulty guarding the post. I think the IU staff has a tough task ahead trying to assemble a team considering our returning pieces.   

[IH8PU 219]

1 minute ago, JF87 said:

I'm probably in the minority, but I just don't see Tucker or Hickman coming to IU without a promise to start and that would mean Reneau at the 5.  Reneau is a tweener.  He's a great low post scorer but will have difficulty guarding the post. I think the IU staff has a tough task ahead trying to assemble a team considering our returning pieces.   

I agree. Portal players in any position are not going to any team to come off the bench, they are transferring to play a bigger role or for a bigger school for more exposure and in other cases ... "how much do I get paid".

[SamIam 644]

22 minutes ago, Trish said:

If we're relying on Malik to replace Ware and TJD then go ahead and skip this upcoming season. Woodson will have him as the #1 option, which is not good. 

In three games played without KW, Malik had 34, 28, and 21 points. 2 of the games we played horrible defense, and 1 of them we held Illinois to 70. I think it's worth a shot, just get a backup 5 that can protect the rim. 

[OKHOOSIER 1,879]

Maybe the dominoes start dropping and fall quickly, but I am still a little surprised we have landed zero from the transfer portal. We need depth in addition to some impact players, I would have thought we would have scored a couple bench players by now. It is sorta why I understood pre-emptively turning down the NIT (lol) so we could spread the staff thin to fill the 5-7 scholarships. I do not care to look, but there cannot be too many teams needing as much as we do, and one would think offering top dollar for role players would cause some snap decisions to commit like Tucker. There are tons of what I would consider fringe high major/role player types we need that probably understand they will not start if P4 money is what they want, that could be easy gets to start filling the roster while chasing the stars. I would say I am mildly concerned by the lack of any commits. 

[SamIam 644]

3 minutes ago, JF87 said:

Reneau is a tweener.  He's a great low post scorer but will have difficulty guarding the post. I think the IU staff has a tough task ahead trying to assemble a team considering our returning pieces.   

I'm seeing a lot of this so I want to explain why I think we NEED to play MR at the 5. It's true that he's not a lockdown defender, but he has elite offensive potential. If we put 10 more pounds on him I think he's an important piece.

Yes, he's a tweener, but there are plenty of tweeners in the NCAA, look at past champions.  Sanogo on UConn last year was the same height as MR and had a low block rate and it didn't hurt them. Baylor's starting big wasn't huge when they won either. Going back to 2019, Diakite on UVA was an inch shorter and skinnier than Reneau. Spellman on Nova was a textbook tweener. He doesn't need to become a great defender, look around the NCAA. Teams are increasingly using back to the basket big men who are skilled passers to run their offense. Hell, Burns at NC ST is a perfect example. You all love Schertz so much, that is how Indiana St. uses Avila. MR had a 20% assist rate this year in his first year starting. Think about that, he had a 20% Asst rate as a back to the basket big, meaning most of his passes are to cutters or spot up shooters, he's kicking to shooters on a bottom 20 shooting % team in the nation. Meanwhile, Cream Abdul Jabbar himself had a 24% assist rate on the number 11 3PT% team in the country. MR and MM would be a complete mismatch for nearly every other frontline in the country.

MR will always be a huge mismatch on offense, and there is evidence to suggest he won't be quite as bad of a defender. He was playing out of position and his foul rate was still cut by a third this year compared to his freshman year. His base is incredibly strong, I think he holds his own best in the post. There will definitely be times when he is overmatched, so we also need to go get a huge guy with a 5%++ block rate, to come off the bench,  eat fouls, defend the rim, and to play alongside Reneau for certain matchups. Go get Amari Williams from Drexel to plug that hole, and maybe one more body behind them and I'll be happy. 

[HoosierHuddle 221]

There are lots of things to play out and probably names that will be considered and ultimately choose Indiana that we have not even mentioned or thought about. So, this exercise is entirely pointless other than it serves to allow me to get my rambling thoughts into the ether. Based on what I have read and some reading between the lines, the very optimistic (but not completely delusional) best-case scenario would be something like as follows:

-PG - one of Tony Perkins or Myles Rice/SG - Ryan Conwell/Forward - Mackenzie Mgbako/Forward - Malik Reneau/Center - Amir Williams (Drexel)

Bench - Trey Galloway, Connor Hickman, Bryson Tucker, Gabe Cupps, Jakai Newton, Anthony Leal, backup big guy 

Keeping in mind that is a best-case scenario and very unlikely to occur roster, what would that group project to be? Impossible to know but I'd feel comfortable in that group being a top 4-5 team in the league and safely in the NCAA Tournament. Is obtaining a roster like that at all doable for this staff? I guess anything is possible until it gets to be May and we are on options D, E and F to try and fill out the roster. I'll keep on hoping.

[Stuhoo 76,383]

9 minutes ago, HoosierHuddle said:

There are lots of things to play out and probably names that will be considered and ultimately choose Indiana that we have not even mentioned or thought about. So, this exercise is entirely pointless other than it serves to allow me to get my rambling thoughts into the ether. Based on what I have read and some reading between the lines, the very optimistic (but not completely delusional) best-case scenario would be something like as follows:

-PG - one of Tony Perkins or Myles Rice/SG - Ryan Conwell/Forward - Mackenzie Mgbako/Forward - Malik Reneau/Center - Amir Williams (Drexel)

Bench - Trey Galloway, Connor Hickman, Bryson Tucker, Gabe Cupps, Jakai Newton, Anthony Leal, backup big guy 

Keeping in mind that is a best-case scenario and very unlikely to occur roster, what would that group project to be? Impossible to know but I'd feel comfortable in that group being a top 4-5 team in the league and safely in the NCAA Tournament. Is obtaining a roster like that at all doable for this staff? I guess anything is possible until it gets to be May and we are on options D, E and F to try and fill out the roster. I'll keep on hoping.

That would be an A+ roster that, if used effectively, would have unlimited potential for success.