Transfer Portal w IU Interest

[Silat Player]

13 minutes ago, IUrocker said:

As a fellow Central Noble graduate, I’d like this a lot. Really good kid. Made no sense to me for him to play in the Wisconsin style offense. He probably picked them out of his other list of suitors because it was the big name school. Obviously don’t expect him to get big minutes with us but to come in and bang in a couple/few Zeisloft/Roth 3’s would be great. 

I think he makes even less sense in Woody's offense. Granted, IU needs shooters in the worst way, and I'd be happy to see Essegian come after IU struck out on Hickman. 

But it's not like Woody's O has generated a bunch of open 3s even when we allegedly did have some shooters. And remember, Woody even did publicly claim it wasn't his job to get the players shots. 

I think he needs guards who can get their own shots. I think that's clear.

[Silat Player]

4 minutes ago, Shooter said:

Great get in Ballo. If we're going to play with a traditional 5, may as well grab one of the best in the country.

We've talked a lot this offseason about a potential Reneau-Mgbako frontcourt pairing, and the potential rebounding / defense limitations of that tandem. A Ballo-Mgbako pairing doesn't have that issue - and still spaces the floor for our penetrating guards.

I know the two bigs will play together plenty. But I really hope we also see a fair amount of the Ballo-Mgabko frontcourt.

Yep. It's clear we've got 4 of our starters set now. Ballo, MM, MR, and Rice. I guess the only question now is who will end up starting at that last spot.

[AH1971]

1 minute ago, Silat Player said:

Yep. It's clear we've got 4 of our starters set now. Ballo, MM, MR, and Rice. I guess the only question now is who will end up starting at that last spot.

Carlyle who might give Reneau a run for his money on leading scorer if he can’t stay on the court.

[Alford Bailey]

It appears we will do well enough in the portal that Galloway will come off the bench in the role that suits him best. That is a very good thing.

[IUrocker]

5 minutes ago, Silat Player said:

I think he makes even less sense in Woody's offense. Granted, IU needs shooters in the worst way, and I'd be happy to see Essegian come after IU struck out on Hickman. 

But it's not like Woody's O has generated a bunch of open 3s even when we allegedly did have some shooters. And remember, Woody even did publicly claim it wasn't his job to get the players shots. 

I think he needs guards who can get their own shots. I think that's clear.

Right, that’s true, I agree with that. Probably wishful thinking that we’ll actually have an offense that would get more open looks for guys like him. 

I was just talking to a friend of mine who is also a big IU fan and CN graduate and he thinks he’d be surprised if Conner ends up at IU. Thinks he’d probably rather go to a smaller school where he could be a starter and get more minutes. I guess we’ll see. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

On 4/7/2024 at 2:26 PM, Magisterium said:

He’s not a “shooter” but is a former IU recruit who’s now in the portal fwiw: Arrinten Page, who I guess would qualify as a rim protector.

USC transfer Arrinten Page has committed to Cincinnati. The 6’11” freshman forward appeared in 27 games, averaging 3.1 points, and 2.1 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

So does Essegian commit Wednesday?

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

17 minutes ago, Silat Player said:

Yep. It's clear we've got 4 of our starters set now. Ballo, MM, MR, and Rice. I guess the only question now is who will end up starting at that last spot.

Galloway or Carlyle will start likely. Maybe both. Off-season work should determine that.

[Home Jersey]

15 minutes ago, Alford Bailey said:

It appears we will do well enough in the portal that Galloway will come off the bench in the role that suits him best. That is a very good thing.

Sort of feels like he was always meant for that role and just hasn't had the opportunity to play it til now. 

We will benefit from the fact that Gallo was asked to play bigger roles (too big of roles?) the past couple seasons. 

His energy off the bench (I recall an announcer saying the team calls him "wild man" and he has his own rules for pressuring the ball on defense... not sure if that's true but it is funny lol) could be Hassan Diarra like if he/Woody makes it a point of focus in his role. Rice, Carlyle, Gallo, Mgbako, and Ballo could be an interesting lineup... 

Ballo in the middle IMO is a game changer for our offensive scheme. Especially since he is not a post-up scorer, it seems to me like we will see more 4 out 1 in next year (trying not to get my hopes up). While I think we should always have good rebounding guards, I'd like to hope/think that to Woody/staff's mind, what looks like a "good shot" becomes different, knowing you've got a guy who attacks the glass like that. If Mgbako improves his rebounding (I think he will) that line up could be very interesting. 

I think Reneau continues expanding the outside shooting ability he has and can see a world where the offense looks a lot better... hopefully we give the green light to shoot good 3s when they are there. 

Did someone pump sunshine into my dinner? 

[steubenhoosier]

If the reports are to be believed, and there will be more high end guys entering the portal soon, I wouldn’t be in a huge hurry to sign a guy like Essegian. 
 

But, if it came down to these types of players I would much rather have the guy from Dayton who shot 49% from 3

[ebridges24]

1 hour ago, IUrocker said:

As a fellow Central Noble graduate, I’d like this a lot. Really good kid. Made no sense to me for him to play in the Wisconsin style offense. He probably picked them out of his other list of suitors because it was the big name school. Obviously don’t expect him to get big minutes with us but to come in and bang in a couple/few Zeisloft/Roth 3’s would be great. 

I think Connor would be a good get. If he could bring what he brought to Wisconsin his freshman year, that would be great.

[Trish]

42 minutes ago, Silat Player said:

Yep. It's clear we've got 4 of our starters set now. Ballo, MM, MR, and Rice. I guess the only question now is who will end up starting at that last spot.

Rice / Trey / Mack / Malik / Ballo

Personally I don’t like the Malik + Ballo combination on offense, not unless Malik is playing on the wing and shooting / making the 3. 
 

I doubt Trey is going to accept a bench role after coming back. Personally I rather have Malik come off the bench so Indiana can play more modern. Malik if not Ballo. Nonetheless Indiana has to shoot the 3PT shot more often than this season. Being in the 300’s for attempts per game is so bad. 

[IUrocker]

I saw that Connor broke the record for 3’s made as a freshman at Wisconsin and was only the 5th frosh in school history to average double figures. Just odd to go from having that type of impact (27 mpg) to being pretty much non existent this last season (7 mpg). I know it was said because Gard didn’t like his defense but still..kid wasn’t afraid to be a sniper. Dusty May was one of the first to contact him at Michigan once he hit the portal and after that has visited South Carolina and Maryland..now IU. 

[Muskie for three]

6 minutes ago, IUrocker said:

I saw that Connor broke the record for 3’s made as a freshman at Wisconsin and was only the 5th frosh in school history to average double figures. Just odd to go from having that type of impact (27 mpg) to being pretty much non existent this last season (7 mpg). I know it was said because Gard didn’t like his defense but still..kid wasn’t afraid to be a sniper. Dusty May was one of the first to contact him at Michigan once he hit the portal and after that has visited South Carolina and Maryland..now IU. 

High school board local fans said he had a nagging back injury for at least the first part of year . 

[IUrocker]

1 minute ago, Muskie for three said:

High school board local fans said he had a nagging back injury for at least the first part of year . 

Oh yeah, forgot about that, which I did see he is 100% ok from that as of now. 

[HoosierHoopster]

He’s exactly the kind of offensive player we need

[Napleshoosier]

Yeah baby!  IU basketball !  

[MikeRoberts]

Won’t happen but if we can get Reneau and Galloway to come off the beach as 6 & 7th man that is killer. Hate the idea of Reneau and Ballo playing together

[jonz44]

Which would be awesome. Just want more, as most of you do. I'm ready for IU to go on a nice tournament run. Long due for one. 

I'd really like to see them stomp on Purdue's neck for a few seasons. Kinda return the favor from this past season.

Sent from my SM-S901U using BtownBanners mobile app

[Trish]

Boogie says he’s open to hearing from schools. 
 

Does Indiana make a call?