@iunorth What would you consider overpaying for Kwame Evans?
@tjinman1987 ?? I thought Haralson might be gettable for 1 million... which seemed fair comparing his output to some other 1 million ish dollar men this past year, and not being dominant or anything, on a very bad ND team... But evidently that likely won't touch it for Haralson? I'd have said 2 ish million on Evans? So I'm guessing the market is dumb this year and he's probably double that or something.
@iunorth The market is probably very dumb money and I am trying to think of things in terms of % of budget instead of "X number of dollars". For instance, I really like Finley Bizjack as a role player and I'd be very comfortable paying him 10% of my budget, maybe even up to like 12% of it. I would far less thrilled with the addition if I knew that Bizjack was getting 15 or 18% of my budget. An elite point guard or big? I'd be very comfortable paying either one of them (or both) 20% of my budget.
I don't know what Kwame Evans is going to be commanding but I do like him. My "dream scenario" would be IU getting somebody like Kwame Evans or Aidan Sherrill from Alabama (Thomas Carr has a connection here as does Rod Clark) and pairing them with a legit rim protector like Somto Cyril of UGA. Obviously, that is probably far-fetched but it would be fun! Evans is a good player with a ton of high-major experience and I would not be surprised to see him get north of $2 million.
@mushroomgod I feel like our first "announced" roster commit needs to be big (i.e. a big name, not physically big. Could be both of course). That will set the tone for what we are building.
I don't know that this is realistic nor should it be a requirement. Different players are going to make decisions on different timetables. We need multiple players next year, not all are going to be the main go-to guys nor a big. The staff should not be sitting on their hands just to push a narrative on the direction of the roster. Kids will commit when they commit.
@tjinman1987 Yeah, I think that's a better way to look at it. But I really hope they establish rough percentage parameters, and if they get in on any of the truly elite guys that might be out there. Okorie, Bidunga... whoever... I hope that they raise the overall budget for guys like that, rather than keep a fixed budget and tie up 30+ percent of it.
Example... Any elite, high major all conference level bigs or PGs... both 22-25% of overall budget... but if you get in on Bidunga, and it takes 5 million to get him... do it... and figure out how to raise the budget by a million or two. Obviously you can't have that same mentality for every roster spot, but for a handful of guys, like Bidunga, you gotta swing for the fences, but figure out how to build adequately around them.
With ALL of this... It's up to Carr and CDD to also build the best mixture of talents and personalities, that will most likely mesh well, AND come in and compete like crazy. No Kentucky or BYU type rosters.
@mushroomgod I feel like our first "announced" roster commit needs to be big (i.e. a big name, not physically big. Could be both of course). That will set the tone for what we are building.
I agree. Get the momentum rolling hit and heavy out of the gate
@mushroomgod I feel like our first "announced" roster commit needs to be big (i.e. a big name, not physically big. Could be both of course). That will set the tone for what we are building.
I agree. Get the momentum rolling hit and heavy out of the gate
Potential interesting news concerning Sananda Fru, 6 11 245 lbs from UL, now in the portal.
Per another site, fwiw, we are involved with our connection being new asst coach Carr, formerly at UL.
Good news first? or bad? Good news is he is a former pro player from the highest level German league, where he started. Had PER 40 minute averages of 16 pts+/11 rebs this past year. Shot nearly 76% on 2s, #2 in ncaa. Blocked some shots. Entirely an inside player. 61% on FTs.
Now the bad.....his production tapered off late in the year to the point that he did not start the last 6 games. Suggestions from UL fans that he is soft, and one particular comment from Kelsey did indicate some frustration with him. No indication he is a problem child tho.
247 rates he and K. Evans as 10 & 11, or vice versa, presently in the portal.
I like the thought of getting both Evans & Fru.......Their games are entirely different, so I think there would be the possibility of playing them together some. Fru was a 22 minute/game guy at UL, so there would still be a need for a back-up center. When all is said & done they'll probably be in the mid-20s as far as portal rank.
Neither seems to be a trouble-maker, but both have had questions raised about their motor. Give CDD the talent and tell him 'its your job to get everything out of them', and surround them with guys with an attitude like Orme & the Bizjak kid.
Evans; Fru; 2 pgs; Vaaks, Orme; Bizjack; back-up center (Harris, if healthy?); Sisley; the 3 freshmen. That's 12.
Vaaks, Evans & Fru are a lot to ask for, but I think all will be outside the top 13 or so when the portal is full. (Vaaks may be 15 or so).
@mushroomgod I feel like our first "announced" roster commit needs to be big (i.e. a big name, not physically big. Could be both of course). That will set the tone for what we are building.
I agree. Get the momentum rolling hit and heavy out of the gate
Potential interesting news concerning Sananda Fru, 6 11 245 lbs from UL, now in the portal.
Per another site, fwiw, we are involved with our connection being new asst coach Carr, formerly at UL.
Good news first? or bad? Good news is he is a former pro player from the highest level German league, where he started. Had PER 40 minute averages of 16 pts+/11 rebs this past year. Shot nearly 76% on 2s, #2 in ncaa. Blocked some shots. Entirely an inside player. 61% on FTs.
Now the bad.....his production tapered off late in the year to the point that he did not start the last 6 games. Suggestions from UL fans that he is soft, and one particular comment from Kelsey did indicate some frustration with him. No indication he is a problem child tho.
247 rates he and K. Evans as 10 & 11, or vice versa, presently in the portal.
Should have said announced as a portal guy, as portal opens 4/7.
@mushroomgod Sorry for the delay in getting to the Fru news...I was coaching soccer last night and had some family stuff that prevented me from posting in here. Anyway, Sananda Fru is (in my opinion) currently a heavy favorite to be a Hoosier and I imagine he's the starting center for the 2026-2027 roster. Is he a perfect player? No. Is he a good fit for what IU wants from a center and a really good get? I think so. His raw numbers don't look amazing but he had an effective field goal percentage of 75.3%, 7.7 BPM (#1 on Louisville...a team that was significantly better than IU was this season), 131.3 offensive rating (#1 on Louisville) and he's 6'11" with good length and size. He was good against top 100 competition (7.6 BPM) and his strengths fit IU's offense: good screener, efficient as a finisher around the rim, good rebounder, effective as a lob guy on rolls off of screens and he is at least capable of knocking down a three here and there. Plus, he's a much better rim protector than anyone had this past season.
If IU lands him, Thomas Carr would be paying dividends right away. Assuming he's a Hoosier, what kind of player would you want to pair him with? I think you want a backup center that is either a high-ceiling freshman (Sayon Keita) and you swing for the fences OR you bring in a solid lower cost option that you'd feel good about playing 10-20 minutes per game. A player that could play the 4 if you went really big or 5 as a 3rd/4th big...guys like Cooper Bowser (Furman), Amael L'Etang (Dayton), Baye Ndongo (Georgia Tech) are names I've previously mentioned that make sense here. Given the other roster needs, I think the latter option seems like the more logical path to take.
Plenty of complexities for the coaching staff to build a starting team from the portal: budget, fit, player assessment, etc. Got to be a great deal of salesmanship going on as well. Indiana is not a recognized winner so all that can be done is sell on the hope of winning based on the coaches and the players on the roster. For example, looking back the last 10 years the Hoosiers have ranked in the bottom half of the Big 10 with a conference record of 90-105. I can see where Carr and the coaches with all these connections with various networks and players is essential.@mushroomgod Sorry for the delay in getting to the Fru news...I was coaching soccer last night and had some family stuff that prevented me from posting in here. Anyway, Sananda Fru is (in my opinion) currently a heavy favorite to be a Hoosier and I imagine he's the starting center for the 2026-2027 roster. Is he a perfect player? No. Is he a good fit for what IU wants from a center and a really good get? I think so. His raw numbers don't look amazing but he had an effective field goal percentage of 75.3%, 7.7 BPM (#1 on Louisville...a team that was significantly better than IU was this season), 131.3 offensive rating (#1 on Louisville) and he's 6'11" with good length and size. He was good against top 100 competition (7.6 BPM) and his strengths fit IU's offense: good screener, efficient as a finisher around the rim, good rebounder, effective as a lob guy on rolls off of screens and he is at least capable of knocking down a three here and there. Plus, he's a much better rim protector than anyone had this past season.
If IU lands him, Thomas Carr would be paying dividends right away. Assuming he's a Hoosier, what kind of player would you want to pair him with? I think you want a backup center that is either a high-ceiling freshman (Sayon Keita) and you swing for the fences OR you bring in a solid lower cost option that you'd feel good about playing 10-20 minutes per game. A player that could play the 4 if you went really big or 5 as a 3rd/4th big...guys like Cooper Bowser (Furman), Amael L'Etang (Dayton), Baye Ndongo (Georgia Tech) are names I've previously mentioned that make sense here. Given the other roster needs, I think the latter option seems like the more logical path to take.
Not my money and I don't know the plan but in addition to Fru, Indiana must add 2 more bigs to the roster.
Can't beat up a player on a one game assessment but Fru got owned by Michigan State in the Eastern Regional. Fouled out in 18 minutes and scored a bucket.
@tjinman1987 For me, with nearly all the signings, it would all come down to how big of a chunk is he getting of the overall NIL budget. If he's down in the 10 ish % range, he's probably a great get. If he's pushing 20%... ehhhhhh...
He wouldn't turn our biggest weakness this past season, in to an elite strength, by himself... but he sure would be a decent start towards solidifying it. And to your questions at the end of your post... I think with how the big man market has gone with how quickly the top ones get plucked... as much as the game is still driven by guards and wings, I'd still be focusing on as many impactful bigs as I could early on here, if I were CDD/Carr. Don't get caught holding the bag like last portal season. Get at least one more starter level big, that fits your program and style... and push like crazy to get a main rotation level foreign kid, or late HS signee, AND get a solid 10-20 minute rotation guy... And just trust that your program will attract enough perimeter players, and you'll have enough money, to land a few really good, and impactful guards.
I guess they should actually be able to mult task, and target and land players at any/all positions, at the same time. I just think making sure they have impactful post play, and post depth... is the most critical early task they have.
Some context on Fru...among high major centers, he slotted in as follows: 6th highest offensive rating, 1st in effective FG%, 1st in true shooting percentage, 12th in offensive rebounding %, 44th in defensive rebounding %, 22nd in block rate, 19th in assist rate, 9th in total BPM.
If you are expecting IU to land much better than that, I think you'll end up sorely disappointed.
fru also had 5 offensive rebounds in that game and the refs were pretty one sided (and i say that as an msu bettor). msu out shot them 19-6 at the line and louisville had 10 more fouls called on them.
fru would be an elite rim protector and rebounder. if he was on iu last season with alexis, they are probably in a similar spot to iowa (edit: in terms of tournament seeding) even with horrible guard play because they would have had a real rim protector.
@tjinman1987 Sounds like $$$, to me. Any guesses on what he'd command? One thing that will be nearly impossible for any of us to have much of a clue about... how is he wired? I don't love that he finished the year on a decided downward trend in minutes, role, effectiveness. We need the opposite of that. But he did have some really solid games against good competition, too.
With his familiarity with the new assistant, and the fact that he's pretty obviously a very solid center... if he isn't getting 20% of our budget, he's probably a very good get. I'm sure you could do a blind comparison with other bigs nationally, using similar stats to what you just posted, and there would be a handful most of us would be clamoring for that don't have nearly as good of stats as Fru had.