Author: Mike Schumann

For the third straight offseason, Indiana’s core group of players who could return will return. Coach Mike Woodson still has plenty to prove, including better roster construction and a higher level of success on the court, but it seems clear the main players who see the floor and experience success under this staff are happy to come back. And in this era of unrestricted player mobility, that’s no small thing. Following the 2021-22 season, reserves Michael Durr, Khristian Lander and Rob Phinisee all transferred.  And while he started for a season at IU, Parker Stewart only averaged 6.2 points per…

A year before Purdue head coach Matt Painter was born in 1970, the Rolling Stones released the song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” In many ways that song became his anthem, not the least of which was Painter’s college basketball recruitment that led him to Purdue and set the stage for his tenure as head coach of the Boilermakers. Painter has been open for years about the fact he was an IU fan growing up, and he spoke about that again on Saturday at a press conference as his team prepares for an Elite Eight matchup against Tennessee.…

Louisville transfer forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield will visit Indiana April 12-14, Joe Tipton of On3 is reporting. In his second season at Louisville, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound big man averaged 12.6 points and 8.4 rebounds on 56.7 percent shooting from the field.  He made 9-of-21 from three and 67.2 percent from the free throw line. Huntley-Hatfield earned All-ACC Third Team honors and finished in fifth place in Most Improved Player votes. Huntley-Hatfield is also planning to visit N.C. State, according to reports. Prior to two seasons at Louisville, Huntley-Hatfield transferred from Tennessee where appeared in all 35 games with 13 starts as…

As Indiana shows interest in transfer portal prospects we’ll provide a quick profile with our transfer portal names to know series. Of course we’ll cover prospects more if things progress beyond initial interest. Next up is another Indiana product, Evansville forward Ben Humrichous. In his first season at UE, Humrichous established himself as one of the best players in the Missouri Valley Conference. He completed the season averaging 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 48.4% from the field. The 2024 MVC Scholar-Athlete of the year finished the season ranked in the top ten in the league in…

There will be a Big Ten reunion in Chicago. C.J. Gunn had one of his better games with Indiana against Ohio State and then head coach Chris Holtmann in January. Now both Gunn and Holtmann are set to join forces at DePaul next season. Gunn announced his transfer to the Chicago-based Big East school on his social media accounts Friday morning. 100% locked in…#bluedemon #escapetheordinary pic.twitter.com/yEHfJUXE4P — CJ Gunn (@CJ_Gunn22) March 29, 2024 The 6-foot-6 Gunn averaged 3.9 points and shot 34.2 percent from the field this season. Gunn delivered some key performances, including an eight-point, four-steal game in a…

Class of 2024 5-star wing Bryson Tucker has committed to Indiana, he announced on Thursday. The 6-foot-7 Tucker chose IU over Kansas and Michigan State, although he was thought to be leaning towards the G League Ignite before that outfit disbanded. The Maryland native is the fifth-highest rated recruit in the rankings era to commit to Indiana.  He is the 34th Hoosier recruit who is a McDonald’s All-American. Tucker is rated as a top-30 prospect by all four main national recruiting sites, and he’s a top-20 5-star according to three of them.  This is how Tucker is ranked by the…

As Indiana shows interest in transfer portal prospects we’ll provide a quick profile with our transfer portal names to know series. Of course we’ll cover prospects more if things progress beyond initial interest. Next up is a player from a family IU fans know very well. Stetson transfer guard Jalen Blackmon is from Marion, Ind., and the younger brother of former IU star James Blackmon, Jr. and walk-on Vijay Blackmon. The 6-foot-3 Blackmon was named First-Team All-ASUN Conference for the second straight season after averaging a career-high 21.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. He shot 42.8% from…

Is Mike Woodson about to pull a spring rabbit out of his hat for a fourth straight year? Class 0f 2024 5-star Bryson Tucker appears to be trending favorably towards the Hoosiers after an official visit this week. Of particular note, On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw placed a prediction for Indiana on Wednesday evening. In a Tuesday report, Shaw says “a source told me Tucker was comfortable with things in Bloomington and his projected role.” Meanwhile over at 247Sports, Colby Giacubeno, who is well connected in Tucker’s native Washington D.C. metro area, also made a Wednesday prediction for Indiana. ESPN’s Paul…

As Indiana shows interest in transfer portal prospects we’ll provide a quick profile with our transfer portal names to know series. Of course we’ll cover prospects more if things progress beyond initial interest. Next up is someone very familiar with IU basketball, Bradley guard Connor Hickman. Hickman is a Bloomington, Ind. native and was a former high school teammate of IU guard Anthony Leal at South H.S. According to the Indiana 247 Sports site, Hickman already has an Indiana visit set up. Hickman helped lead Bradley to a 23-12 record and two-game appearance in the NIT in 2023-24. The 6-foot-3…

While name tags will be helpful this summer, Indiana will have a foundation of returning players to help provide stability in Mike Woodson’s fourth season in Bloomington. Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal got things started on Senior Day when they both announced their returns for fifth seasons. Since then, Malik Reneau, Jakai Newton and Gabe Cupps have all indicated they are returning to Indiana.  That makes five of the 12 scholarship players from this past season who will be back.  Not a lot, but a better scenario than what the message board crowd would have led you to believe. But…