Author: Mike Schumann

17 years after he was fired by Indiana, Kelvin Sampson came up short in a grueling national championship game. Sampson’s Houston Cougars lost 65-63 to Florida Monday evening in San Antonio after leading by 12 in the second half.  Houston committed four straight turnovers to end the game. It was Sampson’s fourth trip to the Final Four and first appearance in the national title game. The 69-year-old Sampson remains at 799 career wins, but he’s come a long way since his time in Bloomington. On Feb. 22, 2008 Indiana forced Sampson out after he was accused by the N.C.A.A. of…

With everyone looking ahead towards Indiana’s new coaching staff and roster, it’s easy to lose sight of the people impacted by the change. Most, if not all of Mike Woodson’s IU staff is looking for a fresh start after the upheaval of the last two months. Former assistant coach Yasir Rosemond has found a good landing spot.  He was announced on Monday as an assistant coach at LSU where he’ll work under head coach Matt McMahon. “I’m beyond excited and incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join the LSU Basketball program,” Rosemond said in an LSU release. Rosemond was on…

Indiana will need a long, athletic, rim-protecting big man who can dominate the glass on Darian DeVries’ first roster. But it won’t come in the form of former in-state high school phenom Flory Bidunga.  He announced on Sunday a return to Kansas after a brief stint in the transfer portal.  Multiple national outlets said Indiana was a potential landing spot for Bidunga, along with Auburn.  That speculation grew when IU hired Drew Adams as an assistant coach.  Adams’ family has a connection to Bidunga. But in the end a return to Kansas was in order, and IU’s search for a…

Indiana is pursuing Sam Houston transfer shooting guard Lamar Wilkerson. He might be a name familiar to Hoosier fans.  Wilkerson played against IU in Bloomington this past season and scored 18 points (8-of-18 from the field overall, 2-of-4 from three), a scoring output that was below his season average. Wilkerson, a two-time first-team All-CUSA selection, ended the season as the league leader in scoring at 21.2 points per game during conference play for Sam Houston. The senior guard scored in double figures in all 32 games this season and 20 or more points in nine of the 18 league contests.…

Will a sixth year finally be what connects Indianapolis native Nijel Pack and IU basketball? The Hoosiers are one of a handful of schools focusing on Pack for his final season of eligibility.  According to a report by Jeff Goodman, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Clemson and Kansas State are the main schools after Pack. Over 122 games, Pack has compiled a highly productive college basketball career that started with two years at Kansas State before the last three at Miami (Fla.). The 6-foot and 185-pound guard has scored 1,745 points and has a 14.3 points per game career average with 121…

Davidson transfer forward Reed Bailey announced his commitment to IU on Sunday afternoon. The Atlantic 10 Conference’s top scorer in 2024-25, Bailey was named the league’s Most Improved Player and to the A-10 First Team. He has one year of eligibility remaining. As a junior this season, the 6-foot-10 and 230-pound Bailey averaged 18.8 points and added 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 47.7% overall including 41.5% from three on 41 attempts. The focal point of Davidson’s offense, Bailey was one of the highest-utilized players in the nation in 2024-25.  He used 32.1% of their possessions, which ranked No.…

Indiana will be seeing more of Myles Rice next year, but he’ll be playing for the other team. Rice announced Sunday he’s transferring to Maryland and their new head coach Buzz Williams.  He’s the second recent IU player to stay in the Big Ten and transfer to Maryland, following Jordan Geronimo, who exhausted his eligibility in 2025. The Hoosiers hosted Maryland in 2025, meaning they’ll likely be traveling to College Park next year.  Rice has two years of eligibility remaining, so he’ll probably end up playing a game in Bloomington if he sticks with the Terps. Coincidentally, Rice was central…

Indiana is a contender for one of the top players in the Atlantic 10 Conference — Davidson transfer forward Reed Bailey. The Atlantic 10 Conference’s top scorer, Bailey was named the league’s Most Improved Player and to the A-10 First Team. He has one year of eligibility remaining. As a junior this season, the 6-foot-10 and 230-pound Bailey averaged 18.8 points and added 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 47.7% overall including 41.5% from three on 41 attempts. He turned in 14 20-point games and scored in double figures 30 times. He was one rebound shy of a triple-double…

In some respects, Curt Cignetti and Julio Jones helped launch each other’s careers. Cignetti was the receivers coach at Alabama on Nick Saban’s first staff, and he helped propel Jones to a Hall of Fame caliber NFL career. They were together for three years, and Cignetti has mentioned Jones as a source of pride on his coaching resume. Jones played at Alabama during Cignetti’s second through fourth years in Tuscaloosa. Jones was the SEC freshman of the year in 2008. In a video released by Jones on Friday announcing his retirement, he mentioned Cignetti as one of the key figures…

Indiana currently has just one signee in its 2025 freshman class, but they’re actively involved with several prospects. A new name that emerged on Friday is Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga four-star point guard Nyk Lewis. Lewis decommitted from Xavier last week.  Sam Kayser is reporting Lewis is hearing from IU, along with Iowa, Vanderbilt, Seton Hall, VCU and Texas. The 6-foot-1 guard is the No. 51 overall prospect in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.  He’s the No. 7 overall point guard. Lewis requested and received his release from Xavier after head coach Sean Miller left for Texas.…