I actually liked the energy Sparks brought. If DeVries thought he could make a useful player out of him, it would be interesting to see if he couldn't get some minutes out of him.
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Portal Options
- Thread starter TJ Inman
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Does he have any eligibility left? 2 at BSU, 1 at IU, and then back to BSU for a year? Was never injured so should not have a RS year. IF he would be willing to come back and has eligibility, he would be the type I would like for the 3rd big to add. That said, no idea how he could get a 5th year
I thought he was coming off his freshman year at BSU when he came to IU? Doubtful, I'm just saying I thought he had more to offer than what we got out of him.
Nope left after 2 years the first time
Payton Sparks College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Payton Sparks - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more
www.sports-reference.com
I'm not hung up on him, but think he's the type of player that we could get useful minutes out of without breaking the bank. I didn't think it would have been likely anyway, but I felt like he took a lot of heat on here at times, but I liked that he came in and played hard and with emotion even if he was maybe overmatched or misused.Nope left after 2 years the first time
Payton Sparks College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Payton Sparks - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much morewww.sports-reference.com
Solid multiple year guy. I like it. Beat out St John's too... if he's a typical Pitino guard, we're gonna like him, I'm sure.Jason Drake Joins IU's Growing Roster
The roster for the 2025-2026 Indiana Hoosiers continues to take shape as IU beat out St. John’s for the commitment ofindiana.rivals.com
I agree, I think he would be the ideal 4th big who plays vs certain matchups and plays really hard and physical and would be better if coached right, and put into the proper situations with few expectations. If he is our 4th with Bailey, Fredricko, and Curtis (or similiar types) I would be good with it!
Payton Sparks does not have eligibility left. Like many others, he is entering the portal on the off-chance that a lawsuit against the NCAA limiting eligibility is successful and results in another year. His career is likely over but IF the lawsuit goes against the NCAA, these guys want to have entered the portal so they would have options. Nearly every school is proceeding as if those players will not be eligible and are not pursuing them.
A quote I saw on X from Jason Drake:
“They’re not getting all the high level guys, they’re getting guys that are trying to win and are about the right thing and everybody is pretty selfless. I feel like that’s the way you build a winning team and winning culture.”
“They’re not getting all the high level guys, they’re getting guys that are trying to win and are about the right thing and everybody is pretty selfless. I feel like that’s the way you build a winning team and winning culture.”
Well, I hope the part about "not getting high level guys" is just poor wording!!! I agree not getting the big NAME guys, but I really hope the one we have can play at a high level!
That said, I am sure it was not meant as a slight to who we have and meant more to say not getting the biggest name guys and going with guys with a chip on their shoulder who want to win
He doesn't fit. Slow footed low post player, and from what I've seen from DD teams that's not something he uses much, if at all. Ideally his bigs need to run the floor and be able to shoot. Players like Sparks, can't do that. Coach is firmly in 2025 on team building and offensive philosophy, not stuck in the 90s power post era.
Hope we have a real chance at Curtis and Fredricko as bigs. Maybe a back up PF yet.Sill have 5 left I think.
I'd love to have the guy you describe, but there are precious few at this point. Dollars to doughnuts we sign a couple guys who have more limited offensive abilities but are rugged and can defend and rebound. Won't surprise me at all if we end up with a guy or two who physically are very similar to Payton Sparks. 6'8"/9"+, 240+ who are physical and bangers. That's what makes the kid who decommitted from ASU so interesting, he has 5 size but appears to be able to fit in with the offensive philosophy you mention. But, given the late hour he's assembling this years roster and that it seems light on frontcourt guys anyway, I think he's going to to sacrifice on offensive/perimeter skills and get some guys who can defend and rebound.
I'm excited to watch our Mid-Major Allstar Team next season. Chip on their shoulders, selfless passing, great shooting. As DeVries has said in interviews, with the right mindset, an average defender can become a good defender. Looking at the assist rates and shooting percentages of this team, it's highly likely they will play hard for each other on both sides of the court.
IU Basketball: Cancer-free since March 18th, 2025
IU Basketball: Cancer-free since March 18th, 2025
Packline defense and those players really don't fit well either, they can't recover off a hard hedge with them, so they can't hard hedge effectively, they have to play drop coverage.. Which opens Hope Solo like gaps in the middle of the defense, which is not good for a packline defense. He hasn't always hedged ballhandlers, probably due to personnel but it would be nice to have the option.
We'll see what he brings in the next few weeks. Fairly mobile long defender/rebounder is my guess and slow footed power dinosaurs not ..
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On what basis is there a claim for more eligibility? Simply that they've already allowed other players to have extra years? They probably should have seen that would come back to bite them.
I don't know BPM from BLT but I wonder about the (minus) 1.7# you reference. What I read was that 0 to minus 2.0 generally signals bench player, over (minus) 2 signals long bench player....and that a negative BLM means that a minute of his time when he played at Drexel is less valuable than an average minute from all the other combined minutes.
Seems strange in this situation given that his 3 point and FT %s were very good, and his rebounding, assist, and TO #s weren't bad.
His % on 2 pointers was only 44%, and he didn't get to the with frequency, so there is that. But his eFG% was 49.3, which isn't bad.
Thing is, for a mediocre team, Drexel had a # of pretty good players.............
Anyway, although this guy is a 'no-name' nationally, I kind of like his addition. He's a thick (190 lbs) true combo guard who appears to have some upside and no glaring weaknesses, I'm sure he didn't use up a lot of NIL $, and he's got the right attitude.
We've got 8......you really need 12 to run effective practices, don't you? If we're operating on a $10M budget, we should have about $2.5---$2.7 left......get the two best bigs you can find that fit your scheme, and then take a real flier on 2 of some combination of portal guys with 3 years left who haven't done much yet and HS recruits. Nothing to lose there and maybe one would surprise.
6'11 215lbs
| Season | Team | Conf | Class | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | Florida State | ACC | FR | F | 15 | 2 | 17.3 | 1.8 | 3.8 | .474 | 0.5 | 1.9 | .250 | 1.3 | 1.9 | .690 | .535 | 0.2 | 0.7 | .300 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 4.3 | |
| 2023-24 | Florida State | ACC | SO | F | 33 | 32 | 24.8 | 2.8 | 6.2 | .449 | 0.7 | 2.5 | .293 | 2.1 | 3.7 | .553 | .507 | 1.3 | 2.4 | .557 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 7.6 | |
| 2024-25 | Florida Atlantic | AAC | JR | F | 34 | 34 | 30.0 | 4.1 | 8.5 | .486 | 1.1 | 3.4 | .342 | 3.0 | 5.2 | .580 | .553 | 1.9 | 2.9 | .643 | 1.5 | 5.5 | 7.0 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 11.3 | |
| Career | 82 | 68 | 25.6 | 3.2 | 6.7 | .471 | 0.9 | 2.7 | .313 | 2.3 | 4.0 | .579 | .534 | 1.3 | 2.3 | .588 | 1.2 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.6 | 8.5 |
I’m going to do a summary of things tomorrow, people seemed to enjoy that. For now, IU has been in contact with:
Federiko Federiko - Texas Tech
Baba Miller - FAU - tantalizing talent with somewhat underwhelming performance but if you can unlock his potential, he’s an NBA player.
Stephon Payne - Jacksonville - depth forward
Neoklis Avdalas - Greece - 6’8” forward that is unsure if he’s going to college or to the NBA. Very skilled for an 18 year old.
Federiko Federiko - Texas Tech
Baba Miller - FAU - tantalizing talent with somewhat underwhelming performance but if you can unlock his potential, he’s an NBA player.
Stephon Payne - Jacksonville - depth forward
Neoklis Avdalas - Greece - 6’8” forward that is unsure if he’s going to college or to the NBA. Very skilled for an 18 year old.
god I hope not, good kid but if we need him, we will suck
Don't know him from Baba O'Riley, but in TJ's description directly above your post he says "somewhat underwhelming performance"... at FAU? Maybe CDD can reach him and get him to play hard, but that's not a trait that is usually taught. Might be why he took a step down from a defensive-minded program like FSU to FAU. He sounds like a backup option to me, so maybe he and FF.
I still think we'll end up with a guy or 2 who are a bit undersized, but will defend and rebound. Don't have to look any farther than his WVU team last year. Hansberry I think was his starter most of the year and he's 6'8" and 240.
I wasn't necessarily saying him, but someone like his size. I think guys that are a bit undersized but still have the strength and aggressiveness to play in the post might be a bit easier to find at this late date.
A name that is rumored to be getting IU interest and potentially visiting: Nick Dorn from Elon. He's a 6'7" wing that has two years remaining.
Dorn is from Charlotte and averaged 15.2 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, shot 35.1 percent from three (on 8.4 attempts per game) and 80.5 from the line (4.5 attempts per game). He had a 1.91 BPR and was a positive offensive and defensive player. Low assist rate but he doesn't turn it over much either. The two years of eligibility makes him particularly appealing.
CONFIRMED: Nick Dorn is at IU today for a visit.
Dorn is from Charlotte and averaged 15.2 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, shot 35.1 percent from three (on 8.4 attempts per game) and 80.5 from the line (4.5 attempts per game). He had a 1.91 BPR and was a positive offensive and defensive player. Low assist rate but he doesn't turn it over much either. The two years of eligibility makes him particularly appealing.
CONFIRMED: Nick Dorn is at IU today for a visit.
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Not exactly the big IU could use, but his highlights are good. I think Sisely will have to play a lot at the 4.
The offense will be potent next season. Defense? Not so sure.
Not good to be counting on a freshman for minutes. Gotta believe CDD will be adding 3 guys to the frontcourt still.
I hear that, but Sisley played well for Montverde. He's better prepared than most incoming freshmen.
This IS NOT a very good apples to apples example...but it does give me a little pause from being "TOO" worried about not getting a bunch more bigs...
One of the best singular lineups in modern basketball history was Golden State's "Death" lineup. Draymond Green, Durant, Curry, Klay, and I think Iguodala.
Couple of points on that...
1) They didn't play that way ALL the time, they still needed Looney for long stretches, and against certain teams.
2) Durant, Green, and Iggy all had really good length for wings.
Just something to throw out there for discussion. I, for sure, think he needs to get some true post depth, at this point. But this latest guy is the type of guy that could bridge that gap, maybe, and lessen that need, a little bit.
And I know that GS lineup included 3-4 future Hall of Fame players on it, so again, not apples to apples...but the point was, playing without a big can work if you have the right kinds of guards/wings doing it.
Say we only get 1 more big, but are able to sign a couple more impactful guard/wings.
Potential starting lineup
Conerway, Drake, Wilkerson, DeVries, Bailey
5 guard lineup, sub someone like Dorn and/or Sisley, for Bailey, slide DeVries or Sisley to "5"...depending on who we're playing, that could provide 10-15 minutes or so of effective minutes, here and there.
Fouls, potential injuries, practice competitiveness, etc... are obvious reasons for needing to get more than 1 more big. But if the last few spots are comprised of 6-6+ wing types, that are good, B10 level wing/guards, its not like we won't be able to field an effective team or anything.
Potential starting lineup
Conerway, Drake, Wilkerson, DeVries, Bailey
5 guard lineup, sub someone like Dorn and/or Sisley, for Bailey, slide DeVries or Sisley to "5"...depending on who we're playing, that could provide 10-15 minutes or so of effective minutes, here and there.
Fouls, potential injuries, practice competitiveness, etc... are obvious reasons for needing to get more than 1 more big. But if the last few spots are comprised of 6-6+ wing types, that are good, B10 level wing/guards, its not like we won't be able to field an effective team or anything.
He's not a big.
Baba Miller is a Spanish basketball player, Baba O'Riley is a song created by and performed by two serial posers.
Fwiw - He's been underwhelming everywhere he played, was on pro draft boards when he first signed with FSU and has never met that lofty expectation. I'm talking about his offensive skill set.
Yes, Hansberry was the starter at 5, he's also mobile and capable of shooting and passing. Which are the two traits I like in Miller. Both had 3pt ratio above 40%, both had assist rates above 10% and neither are slow footed dinosaurs stuck in the low block.
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Maybe he meant guys that know what teamwork and unity mean. Not a bunch of me,me ,me guys.
I am sure that is probably it, but it can be interpreted otherwise when he says we did not get "high level guys" I think most on here would interpret it as not highly ranked portal guys, but in the some guys could take that as a slight
Where are rebounds and post defense play gonna come from to stop 6-11 and 7-0 beefs from posting on them down low? Sisley or Dvries aren't big enough to stop bigs guys pushing them back down low for easy buckets. Gotta get two bigs that can defend and rebound to kick out on fast breaks.
But IU just did get 3 fairly high rated portal guys in Baily,Wilkerson and DeVries. So we good.
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