2026 Indiana Basketball Portal Shopping List

Mar 11, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; The Indiana Hoosiers cheerleader during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images Darian DeVries’ first season as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers was a disappointment. After replacing Mike Woodson and turning the roster entirely over, fans had hoped IU would safely make the NCAA Tournament but the season again ended at the Big Ten Tournament with no postseason berth. While the defeat to Northwestern in Chicago was the final nail in the coffin, IU fans can point back to blowing a 16-point second half lead in a loss to Nebraska, losing at Minnesota in December and an inexcusable late season loss at home to Northwestern thanks to an extended scoring drought as reasons that led to yet another missed NCAA Tournament. In reality, the die was cast on this season last April as the roster DeVries and his staff assembled did not have enough athleticism, speed, depth or size to truly compete in the Big Ten. The need to upgrade was tacitly acknowledged by the hiring of Ryan Carr to oversee scouting and help with roster construction and then head coach Darian DeVries explicitly admitted the changes that are needed ahead of a pressure-packed year two in 2026-2027. “I think the biggest thing that we took from this year, even looking back at last year, is the bigs at the four and five spot, the size and girth in the Big Ten and just the physicality is a lot different,” DeVries said at the conclusion of the regular season. “That’s been the number one thing of where we got to really build that depth is on the interior at those four and five spots. That will certainly be a priority of ours as we’re putting together the roster for next year.” Of course, the interior will not be the only area for the Hoosiers to try and improve. Indiana is expected to return only a few players from this year’s roster and there are three incoming freshmen (guard Prince Alexander-Moody, wing Trevor Manhertz and wing Vaughn Karvala) that will be added. Depending on what decisions are made on players like Nick Dorn, Josh Harris and Aleksa Ristic, Indiana will realistically be adding between five to eight new players (beyond the three freshmen) to the roster. As Ryan Carr, Darian DeVries and the assistants get to work, what will the portal “shopping list” need to look like for IU to ensure they are included in next season’s NCAA Tournament instead of again watching it from the sidelines? Point Guard Conor Enright and Tayton Conerway had their moments. Conerway looked good early in the season, Enright always played hard and had a memorable three-pointer to seal the win over Purdue. That written, while the lack of size and rebounding for Indiana is often discussed, the point guard position was perhaps just as much of a problem. Conerway clearly lost the trust of the coaching staff as his lack of attention on defense and turnover rate both skyrocketed. His minutes dwindled and IU relied almost exclusively on Conor Enright as the primary ball handler and distributor. Enright was undersized and a complete non-threat on offense in most games and his lack of offense allowed teams to leave him alone. That left IU playing 5-on-4 on offense and made things harder for every other player to excel. The two combined to shoot 43 of 134 (32.08%) from three and that poor percentage came on mostly wide-open looks. Indiana needs a drastic upgrade and I think they will probably take a pair of primary ball-handlers. Prince Alexander-Moody projects as a player capable of giving Indiana minutes at point guard and it’s possible IU brings in one true point guard plus a couple of combo guards instead of two true “PGs”. Qualities Needed – Solid defender, size (length, strength), offensive threat that defenses must respect Players That Could Make Sense – (DISCLAIMER: this is a small sample of potentially obtainable players that have a statistical profile that would make them positive additions for IU, it is not a complete list of players that would achieve the stated goals): Jackson Shelstad – Oregon – 2 Years Left – missed most of the 2026 season but led the 2025 Oregon Ducks to a 25-10 record and a 5-seed. 66-174 (37.9%) from three, turnover rate of only 13.3% and 43.9% from 3 in conference games. He’s proven it in the Big Ten and would be a quality starter. A player of this level or better seems like a requirement. Daniel Freitag – Buffalo – 2 Years Left – missed most of February but he was Buffalo’s best player (by far) and is only a sophomore. Freitag shot 37.2 from three, takes great care of the ball and does a great job getting to the foul line (169 attempts this season). He’s an attack-first point guard and a profile like this makes sense off the bench. Michael Cooper – Wright State – 3 Years Left – 6’3” combo guard that played at Jeffersonville High School with Tre Singleton. Cooper has a high-ceiling and averaged nearly 14 points per game as a freshman. He shot 37.2% from three on 121 attempts and showed well against good competition (17 against Cal, 12 against Butler, 21 against Miami of Ohio). Backcourt Shooting and Scoring Lamar Wilkerson was the best part of the 2025-2026 Indiana Hoosiers. The Sam Houston transfer was a “hit” in every definition of the word and his production will be difficult to replace. The good news? Darian DeVries’ offensive system has now proven that quality scoring guards are going to get a high-volume of great shots and have every chance to put up good numbers. That, combined with IU’s NIL resources, should open some doors to the Hoosiers. I am projecting Nick Dorn to be one of the few players to return from this season’s roster. Ideally, he would fill a role off the bench. Qualities Needed – Quality high-volume three-point shooter, athletic and capable of defending without fouling and attacking the rim on offense Players That Could Make Sense Darren Harris – 2 years left – Duke – 6’5” wing has carved out a role in Duke’s rotation after playing sparingly as a freshman. He’s was known as a sharpshooter as a product of Team Takeover (Kenny Johnson connection). Harris was a 4-star recruit that checks the boxes as an athlete and potentially as a shooter. IU would offer him an increased role and need to hope he could scale his production with increased minutes. Brett Decker Jr. – 2 years left – Liberty – 6’3” flamethrower from Kentucky. Decker increased his production in a big way from his freshman to sophomore seasons and he’s one of the best perimeter shooters in the country. He’s not a good defender but the comparison to Lamar Wilkerson as a perimeter threat is apt. Ryan Carr will certainly know of Decker, his son is a manager on the basketball team. Quentin Coleman – incoming freshman – 6’4” Wake Forest decommit from St. Louis. He’s not a true portal prospect but IU is interested in adding to the freshman class and Coleman fits the mold of what they’d like in their guards: he has good length, is a tough competitor and has a pure shooting stroke. It seems unlikely that the Hoosiers could beat out Illinois or Kansas for a St. Louis recruit that is coveted but they might make an offer that catches his attention. Adam Atamna – international player, incoming freshman – It definitely seems like IU is interested in dipping into the international market (more on that in the frontcourt section) and 6’5” combo guard Adam Atamna is a name that has been rumored. Atamna plays in the top French professional league (LNB) for a team that qualified for the EuroLeague. He averages 8.8 points, 2.1 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game and was dominant in U18 action with 33 points per game as a 45% three-point shooter. Per PDT Scouting’s Arman Jovic, Atamna struggled against the elite athleticism and age in the EuroLeague but went on to describe him as a quality scoring guard and a tough player with a high motor. Atamna was born in 2007 and is possibly open to making a move to play in college. NBADraft.net’s scouting report of Atamna has him as a “high-scoring guard who turned heads in the international youth circuits last season…he is an elite shot-maker who can score in a variety of ways, whether it’s off the dribble, in pick-and-roll, or as a spot-up shooter.” Wings/Forwards The Indiana Hoosiers did not have much of a presence on the wings this season. Darian DeVries had to play Tucker DeVries at power forward and ended up relying on Nick Dorn to play forward with some minutes contributed by Jasai Miles. Dorn is a streaky shooter and he was a huge reason for a couple of IU victories but he doesn’t contribute much beyond three-point shooting and ultimately only ended up 58-156 (37.2%). If Dorn could develop more as a slasher and start to contribute as a rebounder (his defensive rebounding rate was worse than Conor Enright’s despite being 6’7”), he could be a welcome returner and play a valuable role as a sniper off the bench. The power forward position was occasionally manned by Reed Bailey in “two big” lineups with Sam Alexis at center but often, Tucker DeVries was playing as a stretch 4. DeVries had a solid season but it’s fair to say that IU fans were hoping for much more. He’s only 81-241 (33.6%) from three and was certainly forced to put up a lot of contested shots. The biggest issue might have been that he wore down and was often fatigued from playing against consistently bigger and quicker opposition. Qualities Needed – athleticism, defensive versatility, rebounding, perimeter threat Players That Could Make Sense I am projecting forward Trent Sisley to be one of the few returnees for the 2026-2027 roster and we know that IU will be adding freshmen Vaughn Karvala and Trevor Manhertz so IU will have depth at the forward position. As a result, I think the staff will probably be looking for one or two quality players that can provide quality minutes and allow Karvala and Manhertz to ease into the collegiate game. Tre Singleton – 3 years left – Northwestern – Singleton is from Jeffersonville and drew attention from Darian DeVries after he took the job in Bloomington but Singleton stuck with his commitment to Northwestern and has played 62.2% of available minutes in his freshman season. He’s 6’8”, getting stronger and was a quality rebounder for a Big Ten rookie. Sam Orme – 2 years left – Belmont – The Bruins finished 26-6 and were stunned early in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to end their season. Orme is 6’9” and a native of Carmel that is really blossoming. You’d love to see his rebounding numbers a bit better but he’s an extremely efficient offensive player: 72.9% on close twos, 69.7% on other two-point FGs and 40.7% from 3 on 113 attempts. Donnie Freeman – 2 years left – Syracuse – Freeman would be expensive but he played for Team Takeover and might have a connection to assistant coach Kenny Johnson. He’s 6’9” and had a team-best 4.90 BPR with a very good 22.8 defensive rebounding rate. Jordan Burks – 1 year left – UCF – 6’9” forward originally from Alabama but he played for Georgetown while Kenny Johnson was an assistant. Burks is averaging more than 13 points and nearly five rebounds per game for a likely NCAA Tournament team but he is rumored to be hitting the portal after the season. Center Anyone that has watched this season’s squad for any length of time is aware of the glaring deficiency Indiana has at this position. Improving the frontcourt is a major point of emphasis and I expect Darian DeVries and Ryan Carr to address the position with multiple additions, possibly with an international freshman and a veteran collegiate transfer. Sam Alexis was a steady player and really efficient scorer around the basket but he’s only 6’9” and just average as a rim protector and rebounder. Reed Bailey is just not physically able to play center in the Big Ten and DeVries knows the Hoosiers need more length, height and bulk on the interior. Qualities Needed – Rim protection, plus-level rebounding and legit size Players That Could Make Sense Sayon Keita – international freshman – a native of Mali, Keita plays for European power Barcelona. He’s a tantalizing athlete and is described as “very raw but super twitchy and athletic”. Keita is 7’1” with a wingspan that is estimated at 7’5”. He visited IU last offseason and is now considered one of the top prospects considering a move to the collegiate game. Keita has an expanding offensive game but he’s further along defensively right now and is mainly just a rim runner on offense but his physical gifts give him an extremely high-ceiling. Narcisse Ngoy – international freshman – 7’1” with a 7’7 wingspan, Ngoy is a massive human being. He’s already 21 years old but he’s having a breakout season with Poitiers in the second-division of the LNB in France and averaging a double-double. Ngoy is described as a “force in the paint” and an intriguing late bloomer. His biggest issue is conditioning as he’s been limited to just 24 minutes per game. Ngoy projects as an immediate difference-maker. Luke Wilson – two years left – Appalachian State – 6’9” with a similar build to Sam Alexis but Wilson is bouncier and a better rebounder. His rebounding rates of 12.3% offensive rebounding and 19.8% defensive rebounding are very strong and he has a block rate of 7.7 while being an okay finisher. A profile like this would project as a quality backup. J.P. Estrella – two years left – Tennessee – 6’11” with strong advanced metrics, Estrella projects as a quality starter that could also play at the 4. He would pair really well with one of the aforementioned international players. Estrella is a good finisher and rebounder and Rod Clark was his primary recruiter when Clark was an assistant at Tennessee. Oswin Erhunmwunse – two years left – Providence – Friars head coach Kim English is getting fired and Erhunmwunse is 6’10” with good length. He is a terrific rebounder, very good shot blocker and strong finisher near the basket. The major negative is free throw shooting but he is a solid high major center.

2026 Indiana Basketball Portal Shopping List

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