I really enjoy reading your posts. Thank you.
Portal Options
- Thread starter TJ Inman
- Start date
Oh I agree they were outworked and outhustled. But, again, I place the blame squarely on the coaching staff. Not only do the coaches instruct the players, they recruit them and need to get a feel for what type of player they are. Lazy players should be chastised but that should be on the coaches, not fans. If a player is half assing their play, why are they on the court? That's the coaching staff making poor personnel decisions on top of allowing it to get to that point by not drilling in effort in practice.
I'm not saying every transfer out will be a better player for their new team but if they're getting playing time I'd have to imagine it's because there's more effort shown than in '24-'25. Just look at what Gunn and Banks did this season.
I’ll do you one better. He’s building the best team he can around his boy. I don’t mean that as a cut. If the kid can play, it’s all for the best. But there’s no need to sugar coat it.
Dylan Darling 6’1” guard from Idaho St contacted by IU. Kind of like him. Two yrs remaining. Averaged almost 20 per game 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals. Has a nice handle.
Reed Bailey is 6’10” and committed, does he count? If you are referring to straight “centers”…Eddie Lampkin Jr. from Syracuse and Ante Brzovic from Charleston are the two we know about that were contacted.
Enoch Boakye should imo be contacted-Villanova, 6’ 11” and 255 lbs
Wonder if all of the former ‘Nova assistants have found new jobs?
Thank goodness DeVries indicated interested in bigs with shooting skills. No more bigs running an outdated NBA offense.
Between IU forums and X posts ... I could lose my mind, only to look at today's date and see there is plenty of time to fill in the roster with good players that fit CDD's offense/defense philosophy.
He more a forward than a big like in CENTER. Yes, he counts. Don't take it as an affront. It is a question because I've seen umpteen good centers taken but IU has had no visits yet from any.
I’d like to see him start closing on his top targets. Kelsey, May, and Pope turned things around in a year. That should be the expectation for DeVries as well.
Interesting that these 3 are cited, but no one wants to talk about Golden, Pearl or Beard?
This won't be near as clever, funny or creative as the SNL version but...I got my kids to bed and wanted to pop-in and offer a quick update.
Lamar Wilkerson was on campus on Friday evening into Saturday night. He reportedly enjoyed his visit but he is following his plan of visiting Kentucky. He was in Lexington today and is expected to go to Auburn tomorrow for his final visit. However, it is very possible he does not make the trip to The Plains and moves into "decision mode" with IU and Kentucky at the forefront. IU feels good about their chances but it's never good to have a rival school get the chance to make the final sell, as is the case here. That is especially true when IU is working without a complete staff and without anywhere clear a full roster to recruit with whereas Wilkerson could conceivably be sold as the "finishing piece" of a contender. Expect a decision this coming week.
Reed Bailey has already committed to IU but he joined Wilkerson on Saturday for his official visit to Bloomington. Bailey liked what he saw and heard from Darian DeVries and IU and is reportedly quite happy with his commitment.
Finally, Tayton Conerway (a really good guard from Troy) is on campus on Sunday evening into Monday. IU is his final visit and he is expected to make a decision in the days immediately following his visit.
The coming week is expected to have decisions by Conerway and Wilkerson and then presumably, additional news on the coaching staff. I would also expect news of additional visits to IU from portal prospects and potentially from some high school prospects like Nyk Lewis or Acaden Lewis. Portal players to know include Terrance Arceneaux (Houston), Dylan Darling (Idaho State), Bryce Lindsay (James Madison), Tyrell Ward (LSU), Kimani Hamilton (High Point). I'll dig into those players further in the coming days and I am very confident there will be many additional names that end up requiring attention.
Lamar Wilkerson was on campus on Friday evening into Saturday night. He reportedly enjoyed his visit but he is following his plan of visiting Kentucky. He was in Lexington today and is expected to go to Auburn tomorrow for his final visit. However, it is very possible he does not make the trip to The Plains and moves into "decision mode" with IU and Kentucky at the forefront. IU feels good about their chances but it's never good to have a rival school get the chance to make the final sell, as is the case here. That is especially true when IU is working without a complete staff and without anywhere clear a full roster to recruit with whereas Wilkerson could conceivably be sold as the "finishing piece" of a contender. Expect a decision this coming week.
Reed Bailey has already committed to IU but he joined Wilkerson on Saturday for his official visit to Bloomington. Bailey liked what he saw and heard from Darian DeVries and IU and is reportedly quite happy with his commitment.
Finally, Tayton Conerway (a really good guard from Troy) is on campus on Sunday evening into Monday. IU is his final visit and he is expected to make a decision in the days immediately following his visit.
The coming week is expected to have decisions by Conerway and Wilkerson and then presumably, additional news on the coaching staff. I would also expect news of additional visits to IU from portal prospects and potentially from some high school prospects like Nyk Lewis or Acaden Lewis. Portal players to know include Terrance Arceneaux (Houston), Dylan Darling (Idaho State), Bryce Lindsay (James Madison), Tyrell Ward (LSU), Kimani Hamilton (High Point). I'll dig into those players further in the coming days and I am very confident there will be many additional names that end up requiring attention.
Last edited:
Inside the Hall stated a 7ft center from a Juco has been offered.
Report: JUCO 7-footer Emeka Opurum offered by Indiana
According to a report Sunday evening, JUCO 7-footer Emeka Opurum has received a scholarship offer from Indiana.
www.insidethehall.com
I appreciate the effort you are putting in. Do these players come from mutual interest? Why are they on the radar for Indiana?
IU is beginning to try and grab a big guy or two: Emeka Opurum (JUCO transfer, originally from Nigeria, four years remaining) and Duke Brennan (Grand Canyon) have both been contacted.
I don't know if IU will pursue this guy but it would certainly make sense: Kevin Overton played for Drake as a freshman and then transferred to Texas Tech for this past season. He has two years left and he has entered the portal. He's a big guard that functioned as a key bench piece for the Red Raiders and the two years of eligibility is enticing.
I don't know if IU will pursue this guy but it would certainly make sense: Kevin Overton played for Drake as a freshman and then transferred to Texas Tech for this past season. He has two years left and he has entered the portal. He's a big guard that functioned as a key bench piece for the Red Raiders and the two years of eligibility is enticing.
Any more news on Elyjah Freeman?
In the next few days, getting one of the bigs you mentioned, and then a couple guard wings from Wilkerson, Conerly, Freeman, maybe Overton if we've reached out?... would be enormous.
We need some momentum.
Freeman visited a while ago...he has visited other schools as well and I know Auburn was his most recent. There has not been any serious buzz about Freeman committing anywhere or any school being a leader. I don't know if that means he is waiting on some higher bidders to come in or if he is just being very deliberate about the process but the IU visit is in the rearview mirror by quite a bit. If recent history provides context for portal recruitments, that would mean IU is likely not going to be the choice but there has been zero information or speculation about where he's going to end up.
Thanks for the follow up. I've been in Mexico for over a week. Tequila and sunshine have cleansed my recent knowledge of such things. Coming from D2, he's likely a wild card...just hoping to land some athletic length like him, here at some point. Overton, while nothing like Freeman, might be more realistic, and a better fit, anyways. Hopefully with DeVries history with him, we'll get involved.
Overton would be a very solid contributor. Both Freeman and Overton have multiple years of eligibility remaining, making them pretty appealing in the effort to avoid losing like 9-10 players after this season and having to start from scratch again for 2026-2027. I think Iowa will be the other school to watch with Overton as an assistant at Texas Tech left the Red Raiders for the Hawkeyes. Your overall point is a really good one. With Reed Bailey and Tucker DeVries and Trent Sisley as the current wings, athleticism/length/defensive ability/rebounding from the other forwards and bigs are necessary.
Little bit of a Summary of where we're at right now...
Lead Guards
Committed: Enright
Legit Possibilities: Conerly, Darling
Wings/Scorers/Shooters
Committed: DeVries, Sisley
Legit Possibilities: Wilkerson
Guys that seem to make sense: Overton
Bigs
Committed: Bailey
Legit Possibilities: JUCO big
If we were to get one of Conerly or Darling, One of Wilkerson or Overton, and the JUCO big.
That would give us:
1 B10 starter level lead guard in either Conerly or Darling (prefer Conerly because of his size and defense, but Darling was a small conference POY, he'd contribute well)
1 Very solid backup Lead guard in Enright
2 B10 starter level wings in DeVries and Wilkerson/Overton
1 B10 starter level big in Bailey
Get Conerly, Wilkerson, Overton, and the JUCO big...THEN we're talking a team DeVries can win with, and build on to finish out the offseason and roster. This is a big week.
Lead Guards
Committed: Enright
Legit Possibilities: Conerly, Darling
Wings/Scorers/Shooters
Committed: DeVries, Sisley
Legit Possibilities: Wilkerson
Guys that seem to make sense: Overton
Bigs
Committed: Bailey
Legit Possibilities: JUCO big
If we were to get one of Conerly or Darling, One of Wilkerson or Overton, and the JUCO big.
That would give us:
1 B10 starter level lead guard in either Conerly or Darling (prefer Conerly because of his size and defense, but Darling was a small conference POY, he'd contribute well)
1 Very solid backup Lead guard in Enright
2 B10 starter level wings in DeVries and Wilkerson/Overton
1 B10 starter level big in Bailey
Get Conerly, Wilkerson, Overton, and the JUCO big...THEN we're talking a team DeVries can win with, and build on to finish out the offseason and roster. This is a big week.
Wilkerson has cancelled his Auburn visit and will be choosing between IU and Kentucky (per multiple reports). A decision will occur in the coming days.
We are now on commitment watch for both Lamar Wilkerson and Tayton Conerway. Landing them both would be a massive achievement and missing on them both would be disappointing (although not something to fall apart about, in my opinion).
In addition, North Florida wing Jasai Miles is visiting IU today. Miles has two years of eligibility remaining and is 6'6". He averaged 15.7 points per game and seven rebounds while shooting 41.9% from the field and 32.9% from three. North Florida played a high-octane style of offense and took nearly 36 three-pointers per game as a team but they struggled mightily on the defensive end. The rebounding numbers for Jasai Miles are very encouraging as that is something that typically translates to higher levels when players step up in competition.
There are a lot of rumors that Georgetown's Malik Mack (two years left, played at Harvard and then G'Town) is considering entering the portal and if he does, IU would be a prime contender because of his connection to Kenny Johnson. That is certainly something to monitor. I would be concerned about the complete lack of defense if IU's backcourt consisted of Mack and Wilkerson for large stretches and a hypothetical lineup of Mack/Conerway/Wilkerson/DeVries and Bailey would be a potentially highly-entertaining offensive squad and quite possibly awful defensive unit. Long way from that but it's really interesting (at least to me) to begin trying to game out how these puzzle pieces would fit together as the roster might start to take shape.
In addition, North Florida wing Jasai Miles is visiting IU today. Miles has two years of eligibility remaining and is 6'6". He averaged 15.7 points per game and seven rebounds while shooting 41.9% from the field and 32.9% from three. North Florida played a high-octane style of offense and took nearly 36 three-pointers per game as a team but they struggled mightily on the defensive end. The rebounding numbers for Jasai Miles are very encouraging as that is something that typically translates to higher levels when players step up in competition.
There are a lot of rumors that Georgetown's Malik Mack (two years left, played at Harvard and then G'Town) is considering entering the portal and if he does, IU would be a prime contender because of his connection to Kenny Johnson. That is certainly something to monitor. I would be concerned about the complete lack of defense if IU's backcourt consisted of Mack and Wilkerson for large stretches and a hypothetical lineup of Mack/Conerway/Wilkerson/DeVries and Bailey would be a potentially highly-entertaining offensive squad and quite possibly awful defensive unit. Long way from that but it's really interesting (at least to me) to begin trying to game out how these puzzle pieces would fit together as the roster might start to take shape.
Offense is king, any more...but obviously you can't have a "bad" defense. We don't want to be Fran Iowa like.
More than a silver lining, for me, if we don't get the weaker defenders of the potential guys this week. I'll take Conerly and then Overton, over that group...in all honesty.
Didn't I read that each F4 member was top 20 in both O and D? Watching Houston and FL, and thinking of UConn the last 2 years, O may be king, but D can't be ignored. I don't think DeVries will, but I don't like hearing only about the O stats for a recruit.
Right...it's easy to point out "player X averaged ___ points and shot ___ from the field". While offense, a well-balanced team that can shoot/attack the rim/rebound and defend is required to have big-time success. Of course, it's worth remembering that this is year one for DeVries and a perfect team is not going to built via the portal. Players have limitations...Reed Bailey is not a proven high-volume perimeter shooter, Conor Enright's shooting splits with DePaul are concerning (but there is reason to believe a shoulder injury played into that), Lamar Wilkerson has not been a plus-defender, Tayton Conerway is not a good perimeter shooter, Jasai Miles has not defended well thus far, etc. If they were perfect players without limitations, they would probably be headed to the NBA. The key for Darian DeVries and his staff is finding the right mix of players that you can get to commit that will buy into your system, the culture you want to build and have strengths that accentuate each other and help cover up the weaknesses of others.
On any player that commits, I will do my best to do a thorough analysis of the strengths, potential concerns and overall fit within the roster/program. After all, stats without context are just random numbers.
That's been the trend recently. I think the FF runs probably inflate those metrics, a little. But having a top 30 ish offense AND defense is what all of us should desire for IU bball (as a benchmark, obviously hope for better on both) That's the type of team that can make runs in March. You can win November Natty's, even contend for the B10, with one side of the ball not being elite. But being a legit FF and Natty contender requires elite on both sides.
Being FF good in year 1 might not be overly realistic, for DeVries. But as he's building the roster, I'm hopeful he gets enough guys that are capable of guarding, to help offset Tucker's potential deficiencies in that area.
Listing defensive metrics would be awesome...whenever you have them. Continued thanks for the updates.
Thought it would be worth doing a reset of where things stand at the official "mid-April" mark:
Committed
Tucker DeVries, Conor Enright, Trent Sisley, Reed Bailey
Visited and "Commit Watch"
Committed
Tucker DeVries, Conor Enright, Trent Sisley, Reed Bailey
Visited and "Commit Watch"
- Lamar Wilkerson - 1 year left - Sam Houston - choosing between IU and UK, commitment expected within the next day or two
- Tayton Conerway - 1 year left - Troy - choosing between Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and IU after recent visits
- Jasai Miles - 6'6" wing - 2 years left - North Florida - visiting IU on April 15
- Kevin Overton - 6'5" wing - 2 years left - Texas Tech - recently entered portal, played for DeVries at Drake in 2023-2024
- Emeka Opurum - 7'0" C - 4 years left - Butler Community College - IU has been in contact, Opurum just visited Auburn
- Duke Brennan - 6'10" C - 1 year left - Grand Canyon - IU has been in contact.
- Ante Brzovic - 6'10" C - no eligibility unless granted waiver - Charleston - contacted by roughly 100 schools (barely exaggerating)
- Yohandry Ortiz - 6'5" guard - 4 years left - Miles College (JUCO) - IU has contacted him, might not be a hard pursuit
- Elyjah Freeman - 6'8" wing - 3 years left - Lincoln Memorial (DII) - has visited IU and several others including Auburn
- Kimani Hamilton - 6'7" forward - 1 year left - High Point - IU contacted him but we do not know if it will go anywhere
- Duke Miles - 6'2" guard - Oklahoma - 1 year left - Oklahoma - IU has reached out to him but he's already visiting schools and IU is not listed as getting a visit
- Adam Miller - 6'3" guard - 1 year left - Arizona State - from Illinois and IU has reached out
- Jevin Muniz - 6'6" wing - 1 year left - FGCU - IU is one of several schools that have reached out
- Tayshawn Comer - 6'1" guard - 1 year left - Evansville - IU has contacted him but there is a likelihood the Hoosiers are much more focused elsewhere
- Bryce Lindsay - 6'2" guard - James Madison - 3 years left - IU is one of the schools interested but it's likely he goes to Maryland
- Dylan Darling - 6'2" guard - 2 years left - Idaho State - MVP of the Big Sky has been in contact with IU. If IU misses on Wilkerson and Conerway, the pursuit of Darling will ramp up considerably
- Tyrell Ward - 6'6" wing - 2 years left - LSU - Ward is originally from DC so Kenny Johnson would be connected to him. He sat out last season and is down to WVU, Maryland, NC State, UVA, VCU and IU.
- Malik Mack - 6'2" guard - 2 years left - Georgetown - Malik Mack has not entered the portal but there are a whole lot of rumors that he is strongly considering it. If he did, IU will have a choice to get involved. Mack was awesome as a freshman at Harvard but was inefficient last season for Georgetown. He still has a high ceiling but has struggled defensively. Kenny Johnson would make IU a serious contender for Mack if he entered the portal and if DeVries wanted to pursue.
- Nyk Lewis - guard - 4 years left - Xavier decommit is from the DMV area and Kenny Johnson could get IU in the door with him.
- Acaden Lewis - guard - 4 years left - Kentucky decommit - IU is rumored to not be one of the primary options for Lewis after decommitting from the Wildcats.
Exactly right. Don't just grab onto any guy just because he's a highlight film. Guys got to fit together and be willing to play their asses off all the time. And there's nothing to say that year over years they aren't going to improve, especially if the coaching is better.
I watch a whole lot of college basketball and I do my best to really study the guys IU is pursuing. I always try to be as honest and sincere as possible and I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching and studying Tayton Conerway. I will plant my flag on Conerway being a player that truly impacts winning. He's not a great perimeter shooter and he hits free throws at a rate below what you would prefer for a guard but man, he does everything I would want in a basketball player on my team. He plays with intensity and effort on BOTH ends at ALL times. He shares the ball and puts his teammates into good positions for them to succeed. He makes the opposition uncomfortable with ball pressure on defense and by physically attacking the rim on offense. Conerway plays with a toughness and ferocity I feel like IU has lacked. He can slide in seamlessly as an on-ball or off-ball guard and would, to my eyes, complement several types of players that could excel next to him because of his "stat stuffer" mentality and ability.
If you cannot tell, I really like Tayton Conerway's game and I really hope we get to watch him at IU next season. I feel good about that occurring but can't say it definitively. Here's to hoping.
If you cannot tell, I really like Tayton Conerway's game and I really hope we get to watch him at IU next season. I feel good about that occurring but can't say it definitively. Here's to hoping.
That's been the trend since the late 90s. Glad you caught up.
Every champion since the 30 sec clock has been top 10 or lower in offense, every champion since kenpom started with the exception of 3 or 4, have been also. Def generally ranges higher. The trendline seems to be 3% off/6% def. or something like that.
Last edited:
Yeah, but I think often the O is top 20, or top 10 but the D sometimes is more like top 50/60. Don't know how often, or if, it's happened that all 4 were top 20 in both.
Not sure. For final four teams it's all over the place, but with champions it's a clear trend.
Last 6 champions as a snap shot.. Florida followed the trend. In the last 6 years it top 2% off. Previous years also follow this .. IIRC two top 15ish, and a UConn team were the outliers outside the top 10.
Year | | K-Off | K-Def |
2018 | Villanova | 1 | 11 |
2019 | Virginia | 2 | 5 |
2021 | Baylor | 2 | 22 |
2022 | Kansas | 6 | 17 |
2023 | Connecticut | 3 | 7 |
2024 | Connecticut | 1 | 4 |
TJ, really appreciate your summaries! Great info about each player and current status! I like Conerway too and hope we land him this week! Think he would pair well with Wilkerson and the other pieces.
If we get Conerway, we can then focus on bigs...I will be honest, have not watched bball much the past couple of years after being a HUGE fan for decades. Will be watching again next year.
As great a get as Wilkerson is, I almost think Conerway might be even better, especially for a team that needs more defense.
And I may be a minority of one, at least in the IU fanbase, but I feel there are several promising center prospects in the portal that DDV should be able to make a run at in the coming days.
Similar threads
