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

[Uspshoosier]

4 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

Completely agree! 

Clark is regarded as our best assistant, he joined too late to make a difference in the portal IMO. So keeping an eye out for players with existing connections to him especially.  

Yep just got to hope our assistant’s connections pay off like it did for some of these teams last year 

[Jeff Flabjohns]

Ryan Carr the Roster Czar will make a huge difference.  

[str8baller]

10 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

They swung for the fences off the bat with 2 kids that were not going to go to IU from the jump.   Conwell they had to go after just because but he was going to Louisville.   Kelsey tried to get him the year before but got a late start.   Once he went into the portal this year Kelsey had the jump on everyone since he is basically from that area or have a ton a family from that area.    Dix they had to go after because of the relationship DeVries had with him but that kid was going to go where ever was closest to his mom that was battling cancer and sadly she lost her battle with cancer during the season.    UConn had a moment of silence at their home game against Creighton this year 

That reeks of amateurism. You have to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.  
 

Thank goodness Carr is here. If the same thing happens this year, then we have a problem. 

[Uspshoosier]

48 minutes ago, str8baller said:

That reeks of amateurism. You have to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.  
 

Thank goodness Carr is here. If the same thing happens this year, then we have a problem. 

In Conwells  case I think even if you know he isn’t coming the head coach of Indiana has to try.   He was one of the hottest guards in the portal and had Indiana connections.   Kind of like the head coach of IU needs to be presence at Indiana high school sectional of final games even if they are not recruiting anyone at that time.   Unwritten rule sort of speak.   If he wouldn’t have went after Connell he would have gotten blasted on here for not even trying.   He was perfect but in this case I don’t think he did anything wrong.  Just my opinion 

[Asha’man]

21 minutes ago, str8baller said:

That reeks of amateurism. You have to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em.  
 

Thank goodness Carr is here. If the same thing happens this year, then we have a problem. 

More importantly, know when to walk away, know when to run. 

[Pagoda]

4 minutes ago, Asha’man said:

More importantly, know when to walk away, know when to run. 

You never count your NIL,
When you're biddin' in the portal,
There'll be time enough for countin',
When the roster’s done.

[str8baller]

42 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

In Conwells  case I think even if you know he isn’t coming the head coach of Indiana has to try.   He was one of the hottest guards in the portal and had Indiana connections.   Kind of like the head coach of IU needs to be presence at Indiana high school sectional of final games even if they are not recruiting anyone at that time.   Unwritten rule sort of speak.   If he wouldn’t have went after Connell he would have gotten blasted on here for not even trying.   He was perfect but in this case I don’t think he did anything wrong.  Just my opinion 

Oh yea…definitely. Have him in, have an assistant show him around, and throw him an offer that makes sense for everyone…that he’ll 99% turn down.  
 

But by no means factor him into your plans. Don’t waste any more time than the 2hr dinner with him. And if he and Wilkerson miraculously commit then drop someone else and just deal with having two of the best portal guards commit.  
 

Very sad about Dix, btw. But spending any time besides a meet and greet on campus with those guys was a waste given what you’re saying (which I believe).  And that’s going to be true of lots of players going forward. A lot of agents will waste your time with no intention of sending a player your way just so they can bid up the price or show off their connections or whatever. I hope Carr helps there. 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

3 hours ago, AH1971 said:

-3 freshman $300-400k

-Miles/Sisley $400-500k

-Dorn as potential 5th starter/6th man $500-750k

From that group alone you potentially have a starter and 2-3 key depth/rotation pieces and collectively have only spent $2-3mil. Against a $12mil budget, you have $9-10 million to add 5, maybe 6 players depending on how the staff feel about Drake and Harris who will command very little. You have enough to buy an elite big ($2.5-3mil), an elite guard ($2.5-3mil) a 2nd really good guard ($1.5-2mil), a serviceable backup big ($500-750k), and a 4 man.

We agree.  And Agree with this math.  Seems like what I’d expect the plan to be, thereabouts.

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Rumors from Kansas Fans that Bidunga is talking to teams.   I don’t know we will want to pay what he wants, but the chance will exist again. I’d like to see him as a Hoosier. But he also might just be the modern Keion Brooks for Indiana fans. Lol

[AH1971]

4 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Rumors from Kansas Fans that Bidunga is talking to teams.   I don’t know we will want to pay what he wants, but the chance will exist again. I’d like to see him as a Hoosier. But he also might just be the modern Keion Brooks for Indiana fans. Lol

It's the reason why you hire Drew Adams. He needs to deliver.

On a related note and while we're on rumors, heard from a good buddy who is still pretty well connected to the local basketball scene in the area that Tre Singleton could be available this offseason. He along with his high school teammate Michael Cooper have expressed interest playing with one another. Singleton has had a pretty solid freshman campaign absent perimeter shooting and would definitely add an element of toughness and athleticism to the front court. Don't know much about Cooper other than his stats suggest he's had a pretty terrific year at Wright State. Would seem to fill the backup PG need for next year with the potential for an expanded role as an upperclassmen. Didn't say if IU was in the mix or not. Maybe Cooper just ends up at Northwestern.

[HoosierHoopster]

7 hours ago, Home Jersey said:

CAM's firing is so far removed it makes no sense to mention him IMO. The only thing relevant is having nothing to inherit from Woodson.

The point isn't even that we needed 9 better players. You think out of all those schools, there's not a single big man who could contribute better than Bailey or a guard who fit better than Conerway?

I'm personally not so fussed, but the roster could have been better with the money we had. DDV was just doing it at way less than 100% staffed which is a big deal. He's much better positioned for this portal, so time to see what they can cook up for us in year 2. 

OK disagree, there's no evidence whatsoever that DeVries could have landed 9 better players, there just isn't. The evidence is directly to the contrary but you're just ignoring it. When he was hired, and with 0 staff, he got out recruiting and while other schools were landing recruits a good deal of time went by while he was evaluating and reaching out to Portal players before he was able to land a single player (other than Tucker). That's the actual evidence of what he could have and was doing. Weeks went by. That was "fussed" over here. Then he finally landed his first Portal prospect, and then the ball started to roll a bit down hill so that he was able to bring in additional players and with those he got some momentum. Meanwhile he beat out UK for Wilkerson, flying here to Texas to do it. 

It's really easy just to say he could have landed better players, but it completely ignores the context of his hire and yes the preceding 8 years leading to what IU was as a basketball school when he stepped in is absolutely relevant.

[RaceToTheTop]

1 hour ago, Home Jersey said:

Totally agree.

Last year, it seemed like we could get "top" guys like Conwell and Dix on campus but stuck to our guns when it came time to make best and final offers. Hopefully the guys we prioritize early this time, we are willing to pay top dollar for and then Carr / staff can find 2 or 3 underrated players that are good value and have multiple years of eligibility.

Portal will make for another interesting offseason. 

One interesting fact is that both Dix and Conwell have had their shooting percentages drop.  With Conwell this might have been expected as he has become more of a high volume shooter this year.  Dix's drop is pretty dramatic -- his sophomore year shot 55/42, junior year 51/42.  At Creighton this year he's at 43/34.

[Uspshoosier]

16 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

Dix's drop is pretty dramatic -- his sophomore year shot 55/42, junior year 51/42.  At Creighton this year he's at 43/34.

Kind of expected sort of drop from him knowing what he has been going through this year during the season 

[Home Jersey]

42 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

OK disagree, there's no evidence whatsoever that DeVries could have landed 9 better players, there just isn't. The evidence is directly to the contrary but you're just ignoring it. When he was hired, and with 0 staff, he got out recruiting and while other schools were landing recruits a good deal of time went by while he was evaluating and reaching out to Portal players before he was able to land a single player (other than Tucker). That's the actual evidence of what he could have and was doing. Weeks went by. That was "fussed" over here. Then he finally landed his first Portal prospect, and then the ball started to roll a bit down hill so that he was able to bring in additional players and with those he got some momentum. Meanwhile he beat out UK for Wilkerson, flying here to Texas to do it. 

It's really easy just to say he could have landed better players, but it completely ignores the context of his hire and yes the preceding 8 years leading to what IU was as a basketball school when he stepped in is absolutely relevant.

You're not hearing me lol. I'm not saying 9 better players. I'm saying the top 9 could've been better if 2 of them (Bailey and Conerway) were different.

Do you believe the current roster is the absolute, unquestionable best that could've been done? What evidence do we have to support that claim, other than it's the reality we got? I don't think even the staff themselves would say this roster is the best that could've possibly been had. Of course it's easier said than done... but it's his job to get it done. 

People were fussed because they were correctly concerned by the slow start in the portal, which was due to not being fully staffed, which you could easily argue is another mistake DDV made.

I'm not crucifying the guy for it, but it's silly to act like he's done everything perfectly since he's gotten here too. Archie Miller has absolutely zero to do with the roster DDV built, lol.  

[RaceToTheTop]

3 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Kind of expected sort of drop from him knowing what he has been going through this year during the season 

I've forgotten -- did this have something to do with the health of a parent?

[Uspshoosier]

Just now, RaceToTheTop said:

I've forgotten -- did this have something to do with the health of a parent?

Yeah.  He went to Creighton to be closer to his mom who was battling cancer and sadly she lost her battle with cancer during the season 

[Uspshoosier]

1 minute ago, Uspshoosier said:

Yeah.  He went to Creighton to be closer to his mom who was battling cancer and sadly she lost her battle with cancer during the season 

 

[68Hoosier]

1 hour ago, Pagoda said:

You never count your NIL,
When you're biddin' in the portal,
There'll be time enough for countin',
When the roster’s done.

You picked a fine time to leave me top dog.  5 lonely banners and a coach on his heals.  Oh, wait that is a different song all together.  

[jermhoosierfan]

13 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

 

I lost my mother at 45, and I can't imagine losing her at 21.  I would've love to have him in Bloomington, but he made the right decision.

[HoosierHoopster]

3 hours ago, Home Jersey said:

You're not hearing me lol. I'm not saying 9 better players. I'm saying the top 9 could've been better if 2 of them (Bailey and Conerway) were different.

Do you believe the current roster is the absolute, unquestionable best that could've been done? What evidence do we have to support that claim, other than it's the reality we got? I don't think even the staff themselves would say this roster is the best that could've possibly been had. Of course it's easier said than done... but it's his job to get it done. 

People were fussed because they were correctly concerned by the slow start in the portal, which was due to not being fully staffed, which you could easily argue is another mistake DDV made.

I'm not crucifying the guy for it, but it's silly to act like he's done everything perfectly since he's gotten here too. Archie Miller has absolutely zero to do with the roster DDV built, lol.  

Lol looks like we were talking past each other then -- Yeah there could've been better fits than Bailey and Conerway, agree, though I don't know who was out there that he could have nabbed. Of course I don't believe the current roster is the "absolute unquestionable best that could have been done" and never said that. And why are you now saying I'm silly to say he did everything perfectly since he's gotten here, which I obviously also never said. Come on man, what's with that