2026-27 Roster/Portal/how to fix the roster?

[IUHoosier5]

I think we can all agree it’s only up from here for roster construction/talent… lol

[cbp4iu]

26 minutes ago, IUHoosier5 said:

I think we can all agree it’s only up from here for roster construction/talent… lol

We know one thing for sure. Our front court can’t possibly be any worse. 

[8bucks]

1 hour ago, Unexpectedflash said:

The pacers drafted Taelon Peter this year who I had never heard of before. He played at Liberty and has been better than expected. Hopefully Carr is able to find some diamonds in in the rough like that for cheap because there are definitely more possibilities out there as compared to the nba draft or free agency

I worry this may be the strategy.  I heard Rabby or Goodman during the off-season talk about how less than 20% of kids who move up a level (mid major to p6) via the portal have success beyond being a role player. 87% had a decrease in peg, with 57% seeing a drop of more than 7ppg. There are some exceptions but it is hard to go get 8 kids from p6 schools who we can afford and who don’t bring some baggage. 
I like the cig philosophy of production over potential but the stats suggest that for college bball mid major kids see their production fall off when they portal up. 
 

I lwas highlighted in coverage of players like Florida’s Xaivian Lee (Princeton → SEC), who started slowly but later improved

[WayneFleekHoosier]

1 hour ago, Uspshoosier said:

Turned out to be a top 20 class for ESPN 

could of been worse 

I don’t hate the class overall.  It’s got solid potential for sure.  Especially long term.  But he aimed for the fences and missed everyone.  Should leave us more funds for the portal, which I like.  
 

Same as assistant coaches.  Aimed for the fences.  Ended up with what seems like a solid core, granted not the HR the original 2 would have been.  
 

DD might be getting signs Indiana doesn’t sell quite like he thought.  Gonna have to overpay until results speak for themselves.  

[CSP]

15 hours ago, AH1971 said:

He's 38% for the year on good volume. There's a role for that on every team.

Over the last 7 games is there? 18% lol with volume 

[AH1971]

38 minutes ago, CSP said:

Over the last 7 games is there? 18% lol with volume 

And was shooting 48% on volume and playing like one of the better players in the conference the two weeks prior. Obviously you want more consistency out of Dorn, but I don't think IU is in any position to tell a high volume shooter that hits at a decent clip that there isn't a spot for him next year. You want to start completely over?

[CSP]

30 minutes ago, AH1971 said:

And was shooting 48% on volume and playing like one of the better players in the conference the two weeks prior. Obviously you want more consistency out of Dorn, but I don't think IU is in any position to tell a high volume shooter that hits at a decent clip that there isn't a spot for him next year. You want to start completely over?

Did I say that? 

There's "poor consistency", then there's 18% from 3 over 7 games. That's retched. 

Too bad we don't have Jack Benter :) 

[AH1971]

2 minutes ago, CSP said:

Did I say that? 

There's "poor consistency", then there's 18% from 3 over 7 games. That's retched. 

Too bad we don't have Jack Benter :) 

Might be available in the portal after this year but hope we're looking at better players personally.

[CSP]

Just now, AH1971 said:

Might be available in the portal after this year but hope we're looking at better players personally.

Jack isn't portaling lol 

Jack is also better than Dorn

[AH1971]

1 minute ago, CSP said:

Jack isn't portaling lol 

Jack is also better than Dorn

Who knows. He's currently being recruited over as we speak as Purdue just signed Alec Pierce younger brother who was Ivy League POY last year. Both shoot similar percentages, Dorn on better volume. Neither can really dribble. Give me the experienced guy with a year in DeVries system. If Benter is starting for Purdue next year I like our chances to at least split with them again.

[ronzo4IU]

Shouldn't be hard to target the right players.  Look and see who Dusty may is targeting and offer more money. ;)

[skhoosier2]

10 hours ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

I don’t hate the class overall.  It’s got solid potential for sure.  Especially long term.  But he aimed for the fences and missed everyone.  Should leave us more funds for the portal, which I like.  
 

Same as assistant coaches.  Aimed for the fences.  Ended up with what seems like a solid core, granted not the HR the original 2 would have been.  
 

DD might be getting signs Indiana doesn’t sell quite like he thought.  Gonna have to overpay until results speak for themselves.  

This is what I think too.  I really think he thought moving from WVU he would be able to recruit higher level kids easier because its INDIANA.  Dusty banners and a program that hasn't been successful in these recruits' lives doesn't make it an easy sell.  Not to mention most high-level recruits have NBA aspirations, and CDD hasn't proven to be that coach at this point.  So, we can sell playing time and cash but not much else.  Carr has NBA connections...maybe they can sell that to those recruits.  This is a tough job with a rabid fanbase that has high expectations from the past that doesn't make it easy on a coach to come in and build.  I will say football winning has taken some heat off however so that may be a good thing for CDD in the long run.  This is such a sleeping giant.  Seems preposterous to me that this program that should have been so easy to get going has been so mismanaged for this long.

[RaceToTheTop]

On 3/2/2026 at 9:31 AM, ronzo4IU said:

There is also the completely unknowns in Harris and Drake.  Once healthy, they could be very good pieces moving forward.

I would think that Harris has a higher upside than Drake does.  He has only played one year of college ball and he put up 13.4 points/game and 7.1 rebounds per game in under 23 minutes of play.  Drake's body of work seems to say he's never going to be more than an end of the bench guy who is just a spot shooter.

[Asha’man]

1 minute ago, RaceToTheTop said:

I would think that Harris has a higher upside than Drake does.  He has only played one year of college ball and he put up 13.4 points/game and 7.1 rebounds per game in under 23 minutes of play.  Drake's body of work seems to say he's never going to be more than an end of the bench guy who is just a spot shooter.

My hope is Drake can be a serviceable backup. Need some of these guys to pan out a little. 

[ronzo4IU]

1 hour ago, RaceToTheTop said:

I would think that Harris has a higher upside than Drake does.  He has only played one year of college ball and he put up 13.4 points/game and 7.1 rebounds per game in under 23 minutes of play.  Drake's body of work seems to say he's never going to be more than an end of the bench guy who is just a spot shooter.

I was really wanting to see Harris this year..seems promising at least.

[AH1971]

11 hours ago, skhoosier2 said:

This is what I think too.  I really think he thought moving from WVU he would be able to recruit higher level kids easier because its INDIANA.  Dusty banners and a program that hasn't been successful in these recruits' lives doesn't make it an easy sell.  Not to mention most high-level recruits have NBA aspirations, and CDD hasn't proven to be that coach at this point.  So, we can sell playing time and cash but not much else.  Carr has NBA connections...maybe they can sell that to those recruits.  This is a tough job with a rabid fanbase that has high expectations from the past that doesn't make it easy on a coach to come in and build.  I will say football winning has taken some heat off however so that may be a good thing for CDD in the long run.  This is such a sleeping giant.  Seems preposterous to me that this program that should have been so easy to get going has been so mismanaged for this long.

Javon Small went from an unknown to NBA draft pick currently getting run with the Grizzlies and Lamar Wilkerson will almost assuredly get the same chance. Wilkerson is a NPOY candidate if he played on a contending team. I don’t think attracting guards and shooters is going to be an issue for DeVries going forward. But he needs to commit to a front court that can hold their own in this conference. I do believe he underestimated the size and strength of the bigs in this league.

[Uspshoosier]

Need to be smart about the schedule as well.   Fans like the big neutral court game against name brand teams however until you get this thing rolling it might be wiser to schedule second tier teams.  Take away Louisville and Kentucky this year and replace it with 2 home games and IU could be sitting at 19-10 with 2 extra Q2 wins against lower level teams.   People want a seat at the table however lately the only thing IU is bringing to the table is extra Q1 or Q2 wins for the power 5 non conference teams they play 

[newcastle12]

We need to spend 20 million dollars.  that's the plan.  like the big boys do.  Tell Ferguson to get over it.

[skhoosier2]

12 hours ago, AH1971 said:

I do believe he underestimated the size and strength of the bigs in this league.

Agreed.  I really don't think he realized the grind and physicality of the league.  Clearly, he sees now how undermanned the team is on the interior.  Carr is an important piece to roster building.  Hopefully we see a big difference in next season's team.

[AH1971]

12 hours ago, newcastle12 said:

We need to spend 20 million dollars.  that's the plan.  like the big boys do.  Tell Ferguson to get over it.

We don't need nor are going to get $20 million for a basketball roster. Retaining 3-4 guys + the incoming freshman, should give us ~$8-9mil to get 3 high impact guys and a couple depth pieces.