Great haul the last few days. If Goode gets a waiver I think IU needs 2-3 athletic wings and a couple bigs. Maybe another high school commit.
Roster
- Thread starter edub72
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The roster is definitely shaping up nicely. Looks as though we will have plenty of punch on the offensive end. Need to definitely fill some holes defensively now. So far, I’m very impressed.
Agree on all points.
Curious what kind of 5 everyone would like…
A vertical Kelel Ware type or horizontal space eating Ballo type for our hopeful stud to be 5?
What kind of player would fit better?
Ballo type absolutely does not fit CDD system. Need one more like Ware.
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Honestly, I haven't really dug in and gotten a decent handle on what DeVries likes to run.
My assumption, based off a guy like DeVries anchoring the "4" position for long stretches, is we probably need a long, bouncy, rim protecting guy that's also pretty good defending pick and rolls and stuff. Thinking of guys like Tugler or Francis at Houston, Condon or Chinyelu at Florida...I know those guys aren't options, but guys like them.
I'd love to get Overton as well.
I think a starting lineup of Conerway, Wilkerson, Overton, DeVries, and then a big like Tugler (JUCO big maybe?)... would have the potential to be very good on both sides of the ball.
And then bring in guys like Bailey, Miles, Enright...etc... off the bench. Probably need another elite defender for some bench depth, maybe a marksmen shooter like the Lafayette kid or the Oregon State wing. Or Goode if he gets his waiver.
Get Sisley, and any other underclassmen you might end up with, some meaningful minutes here and there to fill out the depth.
You would always take a Ware. But I’d settle for an athletic rebounding, rim protecting, rim rolling, mobile, screening, lob dunking guy with lots of length and good hands. An enforcer type.
Not asking for much, am I?
It sounds far fetched...but they're probably more common than we realize. Houston had 2-3 of them, Florida had 2-3 of them, Auburn had a couple of them...Duke...not sure, obviously Maluach fits that bill, not sure if they had any behind him, though I'm sure they did... Without going through all the top 50-100 programs... just judging from the top 4, there are probably more than a few of them in the portal right now, and it appears we need at least one of them to even entertain being Final Four worthy.
Bailey is big enough to defend most 5s I'd assume so he already adds a frontcourt guy who can step out. I think we'll see a couple guys who are not very offensively gifted but are rugged on D and the glass. If he can find someone who has 3 or more years left, it might be worth stashing a guy on the bench to develop too. We have 7 now correct? I think 4 of the remaining slots ideally would go to frontcourt spots.
I think he wants versatility in his roster. 2 kinds of bigs depending on opponent. He will go after and get a raw athletic rim protector. You need skilled bigs but you need one of them for defense on more traditional bigs like we see in the B1G(although not as many). Depending on who he gets you will see 4 out most of the time. With Bailey at the 5 he will stretch the floor. Not sure how much we see of him at that spot though.
With the elite teams... the depth and versatility, basically at all types of positions... is what stood out. Lead guards...need defenders, shooters, scorers, distributors. Wings need snipers, defenders, rebounders, scorers. Bigs...need shooters, shot blockers, dunkers, rebounders, post and perimeter defenders. Its then up to the coach to push all the right buttons, use them correctly, substitute them correctly, etc... But you have to have all the tools in the tool box.
The thing that stood out to me about both Florida and Houston is just how hard those guys went at it. Hoping that's what we see out of a CDD team, although it might take a few years to get that fully developed. But I hope to see much more defensive intensity than we've seen in recent years.
Right now we've got 6 guys who will 'expect' time. 5 that will think they should start, plus Enright who will get about 15M per game.
Lets say Wilkerson, Conerly, Devries all get 30M, Bailey 25,, Miles 20, Enright 15, Sisley 5 That's 155M out of 200 potentially accounted for.
With all that firepower we can get by with two running, defending, rebounding bigs who are offensively challenged getting 15M each.. Don't know the names. Or, if we're lucky, Freeman and one big. That pretty much eats up the time, but add in some for injury. Almost every team will have at least one player sidelined at any given time.
People won't agree with me, but I'd like Dylan Darling, the little guard from Idaho State. I believe he has two years remaining and averaged about 20/7 and was PofY in the Big Sky conference. Obviously you can't do that if you promised Enright and Conerly no more point guards.....don't know the dynamics there. .And he might expect to start. I don't expect Goode to get another year, but if he does and CDD wants him he could give protection against injuries.
As far as names go, Mitchell from Cincy (don't know we're looking at him) would be another to look at. I know there are a bunch of others being looked at, just haven't focused on them.
To get to 13.....take flyers on lesser known portal guys with at least 2 years left or sleeper HS recruits. It might also be wise to save 1 for emergencies/surprises later on.
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It's probably been mentioned somewhere, but it's very interesting that CDD is taking the Cig approach, and getting all over-achieving guys from lesser programs v. under-achieving former 4 and 5 stars...........wonder if he and Cig talked when he was hired?
Think that is part of what drew Dolson to CDD. Same mentality. Tough, hard nosed worker.
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Here's my thinking about Darling.....if either Enright or Conerway get injured, we have no other player who could be a back-up PG. Also, Darling is a 2 year guy. If he's really legit, he's be in position to start next year. Also, Conerway can play some 2 guard. He's not an outside shooter, but he is a scorer and distributor.
To me...with a guy like Darling, or even Malik Mack, its all about what you've communicated with Conerway and Enright, and then what Darling or Mack's expectations would be. If all of them are genuinely on board with adding a 3rd lead guard to the 1/2 rotation... either of them could be hugely important. I kinda doubt that'd be the case, but obviously have no clue. I'm sure all 3 of them would stand to make more money than they ever have before...but I personally wouldn't want a guy that's purely motivated by the money. But adding depth for the lead guard responsibilities is something that's needed yet. Could be a guy like Darling...but also could be a wing that has shown they can handle the ball when needed.
I think...at this point...you're finishing out the roster with a good blend of building depth and attempting to build some continuity for the following year with guys with multiple years of eligibility.
The JUCO big checks a ton of boxes... we need a rim protector, and he has multiple years of eligibility.
Nyk Lewis would also check multiple boxes... an added depth guy for the lead guard duties, and multiple years of eligibility.
Darling also checks a couple boxes...to your point, as would Malik Mack.
Kevin Overton...another guy that checks a bunch of needed boxes.
If the next 3 commitments were JUCO big (I gotta find and remember his name, ha ha), Nyk Lewis, and Kevin Overton... man... that would be soooooo incredible.
I've hoped our new coach will reach out to other IU coaches, but I doubt he and Cig have sat down and had substantive conversations beyond introductions. Both have a ton of stuff on their plates and would guess that won't happen until summer if it does.
And, I don't think that's just Cigs philosophy. You don't have to look farther than Florida for a team that did the same. I doubt many were excited when UF signed a guard from Iona and a couple other no-names, and look where it got them. Having 13 spots to fill, I think it was almost a necessity for CDD to target lesser known guys, to stretch his NIL and fill a roster.
One word of caution with the Florida situation...it did take Golden a few years...and many of his players this year were returning players, including Clayton. So...how do we all handle a bubble type season this next year? Obviously depends on what they look like, what it looks like we'll be returning, etc... But Duke is really the only FF team that was built in one offseason, essentially...probably one of the few Sweet 16 teams even.
I think I read that the JUCO big, Opurum, signed with Auburn. But yeah - plenty of good bigs left.
Every time I mentioned him, I was wondering if that might be the case. I knew he was visiting there, and Pearl has had some success with similar sized guys recently. He was intriguing because of the length, bounciness, and that he had multiple years of eligibility left. I'm sure there are others that check similar boxes. Hopefully CDD gets in on one or two of them soon.
It’s not surprising though. He did this already twice before. Also Florida, UK, Louisville and Michigan did this too. Dolson saw the trend I’m assuming. Come November they will get to prove it. We saw the team full of underperforming 4/5* already.
I haven’t been this excited about IU basketball in a long long time.
Coach seems like he is executing a plan. And that’s one of my favorite parts about life…execution of plans.
I’m a huge Cubs fan and I think they’re pretty good. But I’m watching Indiana basketball more than anything.
Coach seems like he is executing a plan. And that’s one of my favorite parts about life…execution of plans.
I’m a huge Cubs fan and I think they’re pretty good. But I’m watching Indiana basketball more than anything.
Let's be fair, many on this board were excited at this time last year too. We had a great portal haul on paper. Need to see how the product on the floor comes together.
I am certainly going to temper my excitement until I see us on the court I fell for that trap too many times in the last 15 years. Fool me once, twice, etc. I think there is no doubt he will be better than woodson but that is a low bar honestly.
Oh I agree. But that wasn’t about an execution of a plan. It was about a culmination of talent.
I don’t have an issue with Coach Woodson.
I’m just more excited about the future than I’ve been.
I have to admit...I was in the group that thought Woodson did a great job in the portal finding guys he needed to succeed.
As poor a coach as I thought he was...I had no idea, this time last year, just how bad he really was.
Heck people were talking elite 8 and even final 4 about lasts year team from what I remember. I am glad you are excited but I will take a wait and see approach. Been burned too many times in the past.
What does being excited have to do with any of this? We have a new coach...who has shown he can win in college...who seems to be assembling a roster that should be really fun to watch...
We definitely have recent examples of why we shouldn't be overconfident of much of anything, right now. But that doesn't mean we can't, or shouldn't, be excited about IU's future?!
I did not say not to be excited I said I will temper my own expectations until I see us on the court. Be as excited as you want I never said not to be.
My concern is with the lateral quickness of Tucker, Conerway, and Lamar. I would feel a lot better if we had a rim protector. That said, DeVries Packline sheme may negate the necessity of a rim protector to some degree. In a perfect world, Tucker and Bailey would split time at the 4.
Baily is considered a SF, the BT has several teams where he will be 3" to 7" shorter, and giving up major weight, he will struggle against most 5's.
He's currently 230lbs. Some sites didn't update his freshman weight.
I thought Woodson was a decent coach. I will always appreciate him as a great Hoosier.
He lost me with the way he’s treated some situations I’ve read about. I’m on the outside so I’ll never know what exactly is true, but Coach Devries seems to be welcoming anyone who wants to be on board. And that’s difficult as a coach because you will always be scrutinized.
I am already a big fan. I have the right to change my mind, but I am really excited right now.
I was excited about the talent but skeptical if it could overcome Woodson’s coaching.
Have seen a few comments about getting a High school player, how many are left that haven’t signed that we might want? CDD has said it’s hard to get a new HS recruit to come unless coach recruited him at his old school
Just leave... good lord. Bailey is 6'10", 230...
Bailey is listed at 6'10". The trend for most teams has been towards smaller centers. In the recent F4, I think only Duke had a 7'er in the starting lineup. I know it's hard for you to keep up and process multiple ideas at once, but I've been saying we need another post 5 to be more flexible and deal with bigger 5s, but Bailey should be able to handle many 5s, we'll face, especially out of conference. And, that will give us a different look with his perimeter skills. Purdue last year for most of the year played with TKR at the 5, and that's the type of roster and 5 I think he could defend.
I think Conerway, Wilkerson, and Miles are going to get it up the floor quick. Devries as a trail three point shooter makes sense. I think this coach is building a really fun team.
