Status on our missing players, please.

[WayneFleekHoosier]

40 minutes ago, BA47591 said:

Yeah, the idea he was a shooter was based on an inflated 3pt% last year. He shot less than 2 a game and a couple of his games where   1 for 1, 2 for 3. 

Nothing about his career ever said Big Ten big to me. He is a good passer, and for his size he's a good ball handler. Atrocious career defensive numbers and the offensive rebounding numbers of a back-up point guard. 

Again,,,,the roster reflects our staffing during roster construction. The price tag on Bailey was reported to be 1.5m. 1.5 I think is the number of offensive rpg he gets. He was Adam's contribution. 

Next year will be different. 

Roster had issues from onset. Frustrating to always see it from the outside and not be able to do anything about it.  Enough basketball heads should be able to figure it out.  Exhibit 1A that DeVries isn’t Maybor Cignetti.  He’s fine.  He’s not a savant.  Legitimately worried already, but he’s a likeable personality an LF worker.  Pulling for him hard.  

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Just now, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Roster had issues from onset. Frustrating to always see it from the outside and not be able to do anything about it.  Enough basketball heads should be able to figure it out.  Exhibit 1A that DeVries isn’t May or Cignetti.  He’s fine.  He’s not a savant.  Legitimately worried already, but he’s a likeable personality an LF worker.  Pulling for him hard.  

 

[Rico]

1 hour ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Roster had issues from onset. Frustrating to always see it from the outside and not be able to do anything about it.  Enough basketball heads should be able to figure it out.  Exhibit 1A that DeVries isn’t Maybor Cignetti.  He’s fine.  He’s not a savant.  Legitimately worried already, but he’s a likeable personality an LF worker.  Pulling for him hard.  

I'm waiting with bated breath to hear what Exhibit 1B is?

[Hoosier987]

Rod Clark / Kenny Johnson > Drew Adams in terms of talent evaluators and recruiters.

[BA47591]

Rod Clark is certainly the jewel of the group. Adams was never supposed to be a recruiting force on the first DeVries staff and that's evident with this year's roster, specifically Reed Bailey.  The wild card is Kenny. Can he resurrect some of the magic from over a decade ago. He's certainly connected in the dmv. DD is a really nice modern offensive coach. Year 3 will be when we should expect return on investment.  

[WayneFleekHoosier]

56 minutes ago, BA47591 said:

Rod Clark is certainly the jewel of the group. Adams was never supposed to be a recruiting force on the first DeVries staff and that's evident with this year's roster, specifically Reed Bailey.  The wild card is Kenny. Can he resurrect some of the magic from over a decade ago. He's certainly connected in the dmv. DD is a really nice modern offensive coach. Year 3 will be when we should expect return on investment.  

Fully disagree. It’s a game by game judgement.  Gotta build momentum.  Gotta win recruiting battles. But most importantly you got to win games.  
 

If we have an underwhelming season this year and miss the tournament, which to me seems likely, what do we have to sell for impact players.  Our NIL isn’t top 10.  Our results aren’t top 25.  You’ve got to sell hope then.  But the negative recruiting is so easy. Year 1 proof is being built game by game.  

Critical next 2 months for our future. 

[str8baller]

4 hours ago, BA47591 said:

DD is a really nice modern offensive coach.

We’ve seen glimpses but so far offense is our biggest issue. OTOH, he’s definitely a capable defensive coach. We defend well above our athletic talent 

[8bucks]

4 hours ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Fully disagree. It’s a game by game judgement.  Gotta build momentum.  Gotta win recruiting battles. But most importantly you got to win games.  
 

If we have an underwhelming season this year and miss the tournament, which to me seems likely, what do we have to sell for impact players.  Our NIL isn’t top 10.  Our results aren’t top 25.  You’ve got to sell hope then.  But the negative recruiting is so easy. Year 1 proof is being built game by game.  

Critical next 2 months for our future. 

I agree. Either we greatly up our NIL (maybe easier with more football revenue but also likely harder as we may give football more to stay on top) or we need to grind out wins and demonstrate the vision for the future. Losing to Minnesota, Lville and UK really dampened my expectations that we can demonstrate much this year. Hope I am wrong, but if I had to pick between having one great program and one OK program I would choose football to be great 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

57 minutes ago, 8bucks said:

I agree. Either we greatly up our NIL (maybe easier with more football revenue but also likely harder as we may give football more to stay on top) or we need to grind out wins and demonstrate the vision for the future. Losing to Minnesota, Lville and UK really dampened my expectations that we can demonstrate much this year. Hope I am wrong, but if I had to pick between having one great program and one OK program I would choose football to be great 

Seems like the consensus.  I don’t see the vision for basketball as it’s on the back burner financially.  The Dusty May miss plus the roster DDV put together for this season in a critical year just worries me.  Saying, oh well, he can do better next year?  But if the results aren’t there, who are we getting?  Just needed one or 2 different pieces and this season could have been great.  But now, we’ve got an uphill battle on our hands. The crazy thing, I’ve mentally already written off this year and B1G play hasn’t even started.  Maybe we surprise but the eye test says no.  

[Alford Bailey]

On 11/24/2025 at 10:53 AM, Magnanimous said:

Is it bad or the new normal that I have no idea who any of these guys are? The apathy of the last few years and constant roster turnover have not incentivized getting familiar with anyone until it’s proven to be worth the effort by the team’s performance (although I’m encouraged so far!). 

Dude I was just thinking the same thing

[newcastle12]

On 12/18/2025 at 7:37 PM, Hoosier987 said:

Rod Clark / Kenny Johnson > Drew Adams in terms of talent evaluators and recruiters.

Drew Adams is here because of his Indiana specific and Midwest ties more broadly, plus he's been plugged in somewhat in Europe.

 

[Asha’man]

On 1/3/2026 at 10:43 AM, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Fully disagree. It’s a game by game judgement.  Gotta build momentum.  Gotta win recruiting battles. But most importantly you got to win games.  
 

If we have an underwhelming season this year and miss the tournament, which to me seems likely, what do we have to sell for impact players.  Our NIL isn’t top 10.  Our results aren’t top 25.  You’ve got to sell hope then.  But the negative recruiting is so easy. Year 1 proof is being built game by game.  

Critical next 2 months for our future. 

My understanding is we are a top 10 NIL program for basketball. Now the argument could be that it wasn’t spent wisely enough. But we are still half of what schools like UK and Duke are spending at $20+ million. But it’s still good enough for a top 10 in NIL. 

I think how it was spent could be criticized. But I’m willing to give a pass since it’s an entire new roster. We have discussed before in another thread and agree on basic roster building philosophy from a NIL standpoint. Bow that the staff is set and has a base to build off, I think the money will let them get a better roster next year. My biggest issue is I never want to see a starting PG not be able to score in multiple ways again. Sometimes it’s like playing 4 vs 5 on offense. 

[ziggyiu]

14 hours ago, Asha’man said:

My understanding is we are a top 10 NIL program for basketball. Now the argument could be that it wasn’t spent wisely enough. But we are still half of what schools like UK and Duke are spending at $20+ million. But it’s still good enough for a top 10 in NIL. 

I think how it was spent could be criticized. But I’m willing to give a pass since it’s an entire new roster. We have discussed before in another thread and agree on basic roster building philosophy from a NIL standpoint. Bow that the staff is set and has a base to build off, I think the money will let them get a better roster next year. My biggest issue is I never want to see a starting PG not be able to score in multiple ways again. Sometimes it’s like playing 4 vs 5 on offense. 

Seems there are at least 20 schools who claim to be top 10 in NIL. This fall I heard a lot top 15 talk from IU sources. At some point we're talking a couple bucks here and there that separates the 15th from the 16th biggest spender, and so on. I think college athletics and the various sources who report things like top 10, 15, 20, etc. need to be taken with a grain of salt. It's very difficult to know precisely how much money the school you are covering is spending let alone 20 others. IU may have spent poorly, but then again maybe IU didn't have the funds to be top 10 like the athletic department thought it would last spring. 

[Golfman25]

So unlike Cig, DDV started with less than zero.  Cig was able to bring a core group from JMU to instill his culture into the foot ball program.  Then he was able to coach up a bunch of "misfits" into an undefeated team.  That success led to recruiting becoming much easier than previous years.  

DDV, didn't bring anyone except his kid and an over achiever who played for him a couple years prior.  Everyone else is new.  Now the question being answered is can he coach these "misfits" up to a successful season, and some tournament excitement.  The jury appears to still be in deliberations.  

[Asha’man]

On 1/9/2026 at 11:06 AM, ziggyiu said:

Seems there are at least 20 schools who claim to be top 10 in NIL. This fall I heard a lot top 15 talk from IU sources. At some point we're talking a couple bucks here and there that separates the 15th from the 16th biggest spender, and so on. I think college athletics and the various sources who report things like top 10, 15, 20, etc. need to be taken with a grain of salt. It's very difficult to know precisely how much money the school you are covering is spending let alone 20 others. IU may have spent poorly, but then again maybe IU didn't have the funds to be top 10 like the athletic department thought it would last spring. 

I looked it up using AI. so yeah who knows. I still maintain they had to fill and entire roster from scratch to establish a style of play. I think this year will be another heavy lift but we have Dorn and Sisley already in the fold plus 2 more freshmen coming in. So there is 4 players already. Go get 5-6 more and call it a day.  With the style now established it shouldn’t be as hard.