Noteworthy Observations From IU’s Newly Released 2018-19 Men’s Basketball Roster

It is just over a month until Hoosier Hysteria, and one sign that college basketball is returning soon is the annual release of the Indiana men’s basketball roster.

This is the first chance to look for official jersey numbers for newcomers, changes in heights and weights, unexpected turnover, and more.  Here’s what we noted, in numerical order, after taking a pass through the new roster.

• Romeo Langford is wearing jersey number zero.  It has been known for some time that he would don the null, but the release of the roster makes Langford officially IU’s fourth all-time number zero after not having a zero for more than 100 years.  Langford’s height had been widely reported from 6-foot-5 to 6-foot-7 during his senior year of high school.  Officially 6-foot-6, he will be one of IU’s tallest guards in recent memory.
• Al Durham packs on six pounds of muscle.  Durham was honored along with Juwan Morgan as an “Offseason Champion” for his progress working with Director of Athletic Performance Clif Marshall, and the results are reflected in his new weight of 181 pounds.
• Johnny Jager is now No. 2, taking that number over from Josh Newkirk.
• Justin Smith also packed on muscle, adding seven pounds of bulk year-over-year.  The new weight is seemingly beneficial, as supported by his flashy new 48-inch vertical.
• Jake Forrester takes over the popular No. 4 recently worn by Robert Johnson and Victor Oladipo.  Be great Jake indeed.
• Rob Phinisee takes Jager’s old No. 10.  If you believe his 247Sports recruiting profile, he has grown an inch and added seven pounds since high school.
• Devonte Green wins the Seinfeld Award for the roster update about nothing.  To be fair he did drop a pound, but there is otherwise nothing of note to report on.
• Ethan Lasko does not appear on the 2018-19 roster.
• Juwan Morgan checks in at 6-foot-8 and 232 pounds, and he’ll need every one of those pounds to put this team on his shoulders.
• Zach McRoberts is five pounds heavier than last year.  All five pounds should be lost via floor burns by December.
• De’Ron Davis is six pounds heavier than last year.  At 255 pounds, he comes in as the heaviest player on the team.  He shares the tallest honors with Clifton Moore and Evan Fitzner.
• Jerome Hunter takes over No. 21 from Freddie McSwain.  Here’s hoping he doesn’t end up taking over McSwain’s role as starting center.  He has added 19 pounds to what was last reported on his 247Sports recruiting profile.
• Clifton Moore is a full ten pounds heavier than last year.  Probably no player needed the added girth more.
• Damezi Anderson will wear No. 23.  He comes in at 6-foot-7 and 215 pounds.  It is interesting how close in height and weight that Langford, Forrester, Hunter and Anderson are.
• Vijay Blackmon is now eligible and comes in a full ten pounds heavier than last year.
• Race Thompson has put on 8 pounds of muscle since this time last year.  Based on his final 247Sports recruit profile, he has gained 28 pounds since arriving in Bloomington.  That is a year well spent preparing for the rigors of the Big Ten.
• Evan Fitzner will wear No. 55, and comes in at 6-foot-10 and 225 pounds.  Interestingly, everyone else on the team is between jersey numbers 0 and 25, while the California kid sits alone at 55.

You can view the full roster details on our site here.  You can see more including photos and full bios on the IU site here.

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