Christian Gurdak from Virginia Tech went in the portal. Solidly built 6'10" 260 pounder that just completed his frosh season: 17 mpg, 5.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg. Highly touted recruit, offered by Iowa, Maryland, Penn State, Clemson, Louisville, Butler and ND. Shared his name as he played in the EYBL for Team Takeover and with Paul VI and Gonzaga in high school. Could be some connections on the IU basketball staff but don't know if there would be an interest.
new leader for best portal big man! Somto Cyril- if I recall, had IU interest out of hs? Would be a great pick up
IU basketball has been a circus for many years now! Who better to be a main attraction in a circus than tallest player ever in Olivier Rioux!? Perfect fit!
For those wondering about how crazy the portal market is going to be for big men...Sananda Fru is reportedly asking for $3 to $3.5 million. The crazy part is not Fru wanting that amount (I would like that amount as well). The crazy part is that a team will inevitably convince themselves to pay that amount for Fru. I do not believe Indiana will be that team. I don't know this for certain but I believe IU is willing to spend that kind of money and possibly a bit more for players with multiple years of eligibility that can also be instant impact guys. Examples would be Stefan Vaaks, Jalen Haralson. Those are just examples. You probably only have the budget to splurge like that on two and MAYBE three guys. If the determination was made that Fru was not worth being one of those guys, I certainly get it. That written, that important center position still needs filled and you'll have to spend on someone!
@tjinman1987 Man... further evidence on how difficult navigating this whole thing is. IU desperately needs players like Fru, he's a guy they probably could lock up here early on, but they just can't pay him what his market value might be... that'd set an unsustainable precedent for this portal cycle for IU. Probably all because a "BYU like program", or two, are telling his people they'll pay him 3 million+. CDD, and IU bball as a whole for that matter, have put themselves in a very tough spot by having the types of years we've had the last few years. They're either going to have to strike gold on more than one under valued player, or they're going to have to figure out how to inflate their budget and "overpay" for guys...or both.
Wow, that's insane money but this whole portal process is insane. I've got to imagine guys like Fru can ask for mega-bucks because there are a limited number of big men in the portal. It's that old economic principle coming into focus, supply and demand.For those wondering about how crazy the portal market is going to be for big men...Sananda Fru is reportedly asking for $3 to $3.5 million. The crazy part is not Fru wanting that amount (I would like that amount as well). The crazy part is that a team will inevitably convince themselves to pay that amount for Fru. I do not believe Indiana will be that team. I don't know this for certain but I believe IU is willing to spend that kind of money and possibly a bit more for players with multiple years of eligibility that can also be instant impact guys. Examples would be Stefan Vaaks, Jalen Haralson. Those are just examples. You probably only have the budget to splurge like that on two and MAYBE three guys. If the determination was made that Fru was not worth being one of those guys, I certainly get it. That written, that important center position still needs filled and you'll have to spend on someone!
With the kind of money some of these players will be paid, one would think schools would try to use some sort of contractual agreements to tie in the younger players for multiple years. Don't quite understand all the portal legalities so this might not be allowed.
From what you and others have reported, Indiana has a healthy budget for portal expenditures but the reality is they will once again need to fill many roster slots.
As of today, Iu only has room for 3 guys - IF the budget is actually what has been rumored, you play this guy and go win. As I said, we only have room today for 3 dudes, and if the budget is 15-18 million, we can and should grab these high profile dudes.
As of today, Iu only has room for 3 guys - IF the budget is actually what has been rumored, you play this guy and go win. As I said, we only have room today for 3 dudes, and if the budget is 15-18 million, we can and should grab these high profile dudes.
You think we're only getting 3 guys from the portal? Thats not even close to realistic.
@surjay No - but, there has been zero talk of anyone leaving so far, so I guess there is a slim chance IU only needs 3-5 guys? Who knows. names go in every day so we shall see.
... They're either going to have to strike gold on more than one under valued player, or they're going to have to figure out how to inflate their budget and "overpay" for guys...or both.The first part. Let's hope Carr has hit the ground running.
So three guys at 3-4 million each. And for a couple of the returnees - a bag of basketballs... Then a few more portal guys at more modest amounts.
I hope we get discounts from some who didn't play, for the loyalty Coach showed them. They still got paid last year.
We should have a pool to guess how many players IU will get from the portal.As of today, Iu only has room for 3 guys - IF the budget is actually what has been rumored, you play this guy and go win. As I said, we only have room today for 3 dudes, and if the budget is 15-18 million, we can and should grab these high profile dudes.
You think we're only getting 3 guys from the portal? Thats not even close to realistic.
I'll say 7 but would be shocked if it was less than 6.
Strike gold on a player or 2 and coach up the roster.@tjinman1987 Man... further evidence on how difficult navigating this whole thing is. IU desperately needs players like Fru, he's a guy they probably could lock up here early on, but they just can't pay him what his market value might be... that'd set an unsustainable precedent for this portal cycle for IU. Probably all because a "BYU like program", or two, are telling his people they'll pay him 3 million+. CDD, and IU bball as a whole for that matter, have put themselves in a very tough spot by having the types of years we've had the last few years. They're either going to have to strike gold on more than one under valued player, or they're going to have to figure out how to inflate their budget and "overpay" for guys...or both.
Numbers keep going up. I keep thinking this bubble has to pop but so far it hasn't. We're looking at a scenario where the top 10-12 programs (basically the ones who are 1, 2, or 3-seed in the tournament) will buy up all the good players and everyone else will be left with the remains. To be relevant you'll need to have top-10 NIL resources.
I keep going back to stuff Barkley said during the UK game. He said we've gone completely crazy with NIL. Even pros don't get paid like this. Pros sign a contract, they can't jump from team to team every year chasing ever-higher payouts.
We might as well go to a full-on draft, where teams can trade players and draft picks to get what they need.
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