Hahah- he showed some signs last yr- struggled w defense and admitted as much when season ended - said he needs to get stronger
the kid was a starter on a national champ Montverde team
What you are saying may well be accurate. Jeff Rabjohns has reported Indiana is done with the "heavy lifting" on the roster. TJ Inman has also been very consistent in reporting that major additions to the current 10 aren't expected. TJ posted the following on the forum ---I hope the staff is serious about these last 3 positions. I hope they are not satisfied, but I fear they are. Prove us all wrong, and we won't question you in the future.
Seriously? I've read this closing blurb a dozen times and EVERY time I laugh out loud. In what bizarro world or alternate reality do you reckon that the staff of a program like IU isn't serious about roster positions? A reality where a second year head coach that eked out a record 4 games over .500 and missed the NCAA is somehow satisfied with 3 spots left to fill? A world where they give any sort of shiites or fecks about the "questioning" of some random "us or we" clamoring to be proven wrong?
I'm not sure what leads you to believe any of this, but if it's drugs I'll have what you're having...
Well.....I've got 5 pieces of evidence that support my suspicion that DeVries doesn't care much about positions 10-13: they are named Drake, Harris, Ristic, Acimovic, and Wang.
In mid-January 2026, CDD indicated that Harris & Drake would likely be back playing in short order. He never mentioned them thereafter. He was positive in his public statements about Acimovic & Ristic. Thereafter they were basically treated as walk-ons. Now we're talking about taking a kid that does not have sufficient talent to be a 5-10M rotation player in a position of need. Why would we do that?
About 2 weeks ago, at the conclusion of the portal haul, Jeff Rabjohns tweeted out a message to the effect that IU 'had its roster,' any additions thereafter would be less than dramatic.......essentially this is it, don't get your hopes up for much more. He is known to be friends with Carr. Since then there has been an continuing discussion on BTB whether he had inside information or was essentially full of shit.
What I have noticed since his message has been an almost complete lack of reported interest is any remaining quality players in the portal. I did read that we were talking with Josiah Parker of FAU, a PF rated 95th on the 247 portal. He would be a nice addition, but I've seen nothing further about him.
This is where the addition of Wang comes in. It makes no sense if there is serious interest in improving the position to add the depth to move us up 2-3 positions in the BT. I think most IU fans see 3 remaining positions of need: a back-up 4/5 to play 5-10M/game; a taller wing; and a back-up PG, and assume we would be serious about putting together a better roster. And that the only reason we would not do so is because we are now broke. However, Wang is perfect if the intention is to add roster filler while keeping the fans pacified. We can't keep three roster positions open. Isn't that what happened last year?
There are other factors at play here, namely dealings with the portal players and their agents, and recruits. If you introduce serious competition to guys like Harris, Lindsay, and Mustaf, or decide not to play guys like Moody & Karvala (Manhertz is redshirting), you risk pissing them off, breaking ties with agents and losing recruits to the portal next spring. DeVries is a player-first coach that talks a lot about his team being connected. Why rock the boat by pushing for more competition? Why not be happy with what you've got? And you have a lack of resources as a ready-made excuse. So I am concerned that there might really be NO interest in further improving the roster, other than to add practice players. That we have our roster, and will run with it. "Establish our culture". And that the focus will be on finishing 6th-9th in the BT and making the tourney, and everybody keeps their jobs and stays fat & happy for another year.
"I don't expect Indiana to grab any more headline type players. IU is going to round out the roster and fill all 13 scholarships..
I would not be surprised if one or two of those additions are international prospects.
One thing to note: true proven depth is nearly impossible to get right now. As expensive as starters are right now, it is incredibly tough to get and retain depth pieces that you have confidence in. Look around at rosters of most schools and you'll see that VERY few programs have proven depth. You have to quickly develop guys like Trent Sisley, Prince Alexander-Moody, Vaughn Karvala and Trevor Manhertz and get positive impacts from a couple of them."
Very possible the current 10 players fight out for the 8 or 9 man rotation spots.
Agree- let the frosh, who are highly touted, be the back up guys- keeps them happy, develops them, and you possibly get everyone back- especially if the new rules are in place- fill the last 2-3 spots w decent 1 yr guys that can play 5-8 minutes if needed and they leave next yr making room for a few hs recruits