Ball State transfer forward Payton Sparks has signed with Indiana. IU formally announced his addition to the basketball program on Friday morning. Here’s the release from Indiana, including a quote from head coach Mike Woodson: ——————- PAYTON SPARKS JOINS INDIANA MEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAM ONLINE ROSTER BIO: https://iuhoosiers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/payton-sparks/17642 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – IU men’s basketball coach Mike Woodson has announced that Indiana native Payton Sparks, a 6-9, 240-pound, center will join the program as a transfer and have two seasons of eligibility. He comes to IU from Ball State where he was a two-time All-Mid-American Conference performer and was the 2022 MAC Freshman…
Author: Mike Schumann
If Indiana is looking for perimeter players who are unafraid to let it fly in a variety of ways, then they may need to look no further than Rice transfer guard Quincy Olivari. IU head coach Mike Woodson had a Zoom meeting with Olivari earlier this week. In his fourth season at Rice, Olivari started all 35 games at guard, leading the Owls with 18.7 points per game to go with 5.6 rebounds. He shot 36.4 percent from beyond the arc this season and is a 37.8 percent 3-point shooter in his career. The 6-foot-3 Olivari is Rice’s all-time leader…
IU men’s basketball senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was one of 10 players named to the John R. Wooden Award All-America Team, presented annually by the Los Angeles Athletic Club, on Thursday. He also is one of five finalists for its Men’s Player of the Year Award. Senior women’s forward Mackenzie Holmes has also been named to the 2023 John R. Wooden Award All-American team. The women’s Wooden Award All American Team is comprised of five student-athletes who were the top vote-getters in the quest to earn college basketball’s most prestigious honor. As insisted upon by Coach Wooden at the award’s…
It was a season full of historic accomplishments for IU women’s basketball. And the program’s leader was recognized for it all by the national media on Thursday afternoon. IU head coach Teri Moren has been named the Associated Press National Coach of the Year, Indiana announced. Moren received the award in a ceremony at American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Thursday. She is the first IU women’s coach to earn that honor. In her ninth season at the helm, Moren led the IU women’s squad to numerous program firsts and record setting numbers during the 2022-23 campaign. The Seymour, Ind.…
When Payton Sparks sat behind the IU bench as a guest of the program on January 26, 2020 as the Hoosiers hosted Maryland, he knew he was where he wanted to be. Not necessarily at Indiana specifically, although that would have been nice, but the then emerging prospect from Winchester, Ind. knew he wanted to play high major college basketball. IU just would have been the cherry on top. But as it turned out, those high major offers never came, and six months later Sparks committed to Ball State, just over 20 miles west of his hometown. When Sparks posed…
Indiana appears to be establishing itself as one of Chris Ledlum’s top options. The Harvard transfer forward is planning to take an official visit to IU according to multiple sources. According to one source, Ledlum did not have any other official visits set up when he set the dates for IU — although that could obviously change. Replenishing the front-court is a high priority for the IU staff after losing five forward/centers following the 2022-23 season. Ledlum could likely see minutes at either the three or four spots at the high major level. This season, the 6-foot-6 and 225-pound Ledlum…
Forward Jordan Geronimo became the third IU basketball player to announce he’s in the transfer portal. Geronimo played in 82 games for the Hoosiers over three seasons in Bloomington. The 6-foot-6 Geronimo averaged 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds over his career at IU. He was efficient inside the arc, making 60.1 percent of his shots, but Geronimo made just 31 percent from three and 52.3 percent from the free throw line. Geronimo entered his third season with an optimistic outlook. He scored 15 points in an NCAA Tournament win over Wyoming last March, and projected to have a more significant…
Indiana’s traditional spring football game is a thing of the past, but coach Tom Allen hopes he has something to offer that the fans will enjoy even more. On April 15, the date of Indiana’s final practice session of the spring, the program is inviting the fans to attend. Here’s what Indiana says to expect: Join us at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, April 15 from 11am-1pm for IU Football’s first ever Spring Football Saturday. This event coincides with the final practice session of IU’s 2023 Spring Football season and will offer you the chance to get the first look at…
Ball State transfer forward Payton Sparks has committed to Indiana. The Winchester, Ind. product announced the news on his Twitter page on Wednesday morning. https://twitter.com/PaytonSparks6/status/1641074649080516611?s=20 The 6-foot-9, and 240-pound Sparks averaged 13.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists for his sophomore season in Muncie. He earned second team All-MAC Conference. Primarily a post player, the left-handed Sparks shot 58.8 percent from the field overall in 2022-23, including 2-of-5 from three-point range. He was third in the country in free throw rate (FTA/FGA), and 16th with 6.8 fouls drawn per 40 minutes. Sparks shot 52.5 percent on 219 free throws this…
Guard Tamar Bates is in the transfer portal after two seasons in Bloomington. The Kansas City, Kan. product was one of three Hoosiers to play in all 35 games during the 2022-23 season. He earned the first two starts of his career and averaged 6.1 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists for his sophomore campaign. Overall, Bates shot 39.2% (76-of-194) from the floor, 37.4% (37-of-99) from the 3-point line, and 88.2% (45-of-51) from the free throw line this season. After arriving at IU with a great deal of promise, Bates struggled to find consistency during his two seasons with the…