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BB RECRUITING

Indiana Basketball Mailbag: Key transfer targets, Big Ten style of play & more

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Jan 28, 2023; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Mike Woodson in the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. (Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports)

The Indiana basketball program is in the midst of a new era and this offseason is one that has a lot of question marks. Indiana moves on from consensus First-Team All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis and the main question now is — what style of play will Indiana have?

“Trayce Jackson-Davis is the first center that I’ve ever coached in my career where I had to utilize my center as a post-up player,” Woodson said. ” … it’s the first time in my coaching career that I’ve had to coach a young man starting out on the block and expanding his game. I don’t know where we’re going to be next season in terms of how our style of play will be. But we’ve got to get better. I do know that.”

A major roster overhaul is going to be in store for the Hoosiers. Most of that will be through the transfer portal.

Indiana has already landed one portal commitment, from Ball State forward Payton Sparks. Now, it is pushing hard for some notable players. The two biggest needs — front court depth and shooting.

Here are some key questions answered in the this installment of HoosierIllustrated.com’s Indiana basketball mailbag.

Q: Thoughts on Ware and what are the chances of landing him (@iuhoosiersfan2)

The biggest name on Indiana’s transfer board is Kel’el Ware. The 7-foot Oregon transfer is also ranked as the No. 2 overall transfer in the 247Sports transfer rankings. Ware visited Indiana this week and then cancelled his visit to Alabama that was set for this weekend.

Coming into the IU visit, Indiana was sitting in a good spot. Throughout the visit, the confidence of Indiana continued to grow — almost to the point of a potential commitment. Now, it seems that confidence is even higher.

Ware is an extremely athletic center with great length and size. He has a good ability to finish at the rim with his athleticism, but doesn’t have great touch and is still raw offensively. He has the ability to step out on the perimeter but hasn’t been consistent thus far. But, his high motor and terrific rebounding and shot blocking ability is elite.

He would be a tremendous addition to that Indiana front court.

Q: Knecht visit next week possibly? Or this weekend? (@Hoosierfan1971)

Dalton Knecht is the top priority on the perimeter for the Indiana basketball program. The Northern Colorado wing is a terrific shot maker and scorer. This season he averaged 20.2 points per game and shot 38.1 percent from three on 6.3 attempts per game.

Indiana had a zoom call with Knecht earlier this week and the next step is moving into a campus visit. The next recruiting dead period (no on-campus visits) takes place from April 10-13. With Easter on Sunday, it’s likely this visit will not happen until after the dead period. So, the earliest he can be in Bloomington would be the end of next week and moving into the weekend.

At this point, I think it’s likely that visit happens. When? That’s to be determined, but Indiana has a need for his shot making and Knecht sees that. Look for a visit to be set up shortly after the dead period.

Q: Does IU still have a shot with Timberlake? (@Hoosiernation2)

Nick Timberlake from Towson was one of the top priorities for Indiana early in the portal. Quickly Indiana had an in-home visit but since then things have slowed a bit. Timberlake has taken visits to North Carolina and is on a visit to Kansas this weekend. After that, he is expected to head to UConn.

Indiana sits a tier below those three programs at the moment. A lot can change, but Timberlake is looking elsewhere at the moment and I wouldn’t focus too much on him moving forward. That’s another reason for the recent push with Dalton Knecht.

Q: Any update with Shedrick? (@bball992)

Kadin Shedrick was a name that popped up immediately as someone who would be a strong Indiana basketball target. The Indiana staff had a zoom call a day after he entered the transfer portal. At the moment, Shedrick is still in the early stages of his portal recruitment and is still taking zoom calls. No on-campus visits have been set up, although that process is slowly getting underway.

Indiana is still in a good spot to get Shedrick for an on-campus visit. The likes of Duke, Florida State, Kansas, Texas and others are all after Shedrick.

If Indiana lands a player like Kel’el Ware, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Indiana and Shedrick. At the moment, it seems like one or the other, but not both.

Q: Does Big Ten Officiating hold Big Ten Teams back in the Tournament? (@Jon__McClane)

The easy answer would be yes, but I don’t think that’s entirely the case. My biggest issue with the Big Ten and the lack of NCAA Tournament success is due to style of play.

College basketball is won by guard play and perimeter shot makers. The lack of big time playmaking wings in the Big Ten is notable. You can go through every single roster in the conference and outside of a few players like Brice Sensabaugh, Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard, there aren’t many NBA-level wings in the league.

Most Big Ten teams are led by a dominant big guy or a lead guard. If you look around the country, the best teams have playmaking wings. 6-foot-7, 6-foot-8 wings who can get a bucket when needed.

Follow Hoosier Illustrated on Twitter @Indiana_FRN to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. 

BB RECRUITING

IU basketball recruiting beginning to click on all cylinders: ‘I wanted to be able to sit at the table with the best players’

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Mike Woodson won't 'accept no for an answer' when it comes to recruiting and building his IU basketball roster. (Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times-USA TODAY NETWORK)

When Mike Woodson took the job as the head coach of the IU basketball program two years ago — his message was clear. He wanted to get Indiana back into the national conversation by competing for Big Ten and National Championships.

The only way to do that was to bring in high-level talent. Not just local, but from around the country.

The message has always been that Indiana has the best talent in the country — but recently, that hasn’t been the case. The previous staff did a good job of recruiting the state but failed to land top talent from outside of Indiana — or even the midwest — on a regular basis. That resulted in IU basketball failing to make an NCAA Tournament for six years.

So, when Woodson stepped back on campus on day one, it was about getting the best talent in the country — no matter where — to come to Bloomington.

“When I took the job, I made it clear to my coaches that we deserved to sit at the table with the best players,” Woodson told reporters on Wednesday. “We kind of squabbled a little bit early on because they didn’t think we were in that position to be able to do that.

“Well, back in the day, it was always that way.”

Last year saw four scholarship players from Indiana. The year before was five.

Next season will be quite different. There will only be two players from the state of Indiana on scholarship.

A main reason for that is because of what Woodson stressed — and knowing what he wanted for his roster.

“I thought we were based on Indiana basketball and the history of it,” Woodson said. “So, I didn’t accept no for an answer and I told ’em (my staff) that I wanted to be able to sit at the table with the best players and compete with the Kentucky’s, the Kansas’, the Duke’s, teams like that.”

While Woodson just wanted a seat at the table, he’s done more than just sit there.

In the last two years, Woodson has landed four five-star prospects either from high school or through the transfer portal. It resulted in having two McDonald’s All-American’s on the roster this upcoming season for the first time since 2016.

In addition to the two five-star commitments in the past two months, the IU basketball program has also seen a one-and-done five-star prospect move his way into a projected lottery-pick in the upcoming NBA Draft in Jalen Hood-Schifino. That is notable to recruits — and Woodson knows it.

“It’s done a lot, you know,” Woodson said on Hood-Schifino’s development. ” … Not to say he was a one-and-done, but he put himself in that position and was able to do a lot of nice things for our ball club and you know, our program benefited from it.”

A large reason for the (recent) uptick in the national relevancy for IU basketball in the recruiting world is because of Woodson and his NBA pedigree — yes. But, it’s the entire staff that he’s put together that has built their reputations on relationships and honesty — something hard to come by in today’s recruiting world.

“I got a wonderful staff and, you know, we are beating the phones down and when guys come available, we are trying to get in front of their parents and whoever’s their representative and we are doing all the necessary things to get ’em to campus and close the deal,” Woodson said. “And this has been a great, great summer for us in terms of recruiting and, again, I give a lot of credit to my staff and them getting me in front of the people that we’re trying to recruit, the player and we’re starting to pay off. It’s starting to pay off for us.”

And in recruiting, in order to get a yes, you’re going to get a lot of no’s. But, that’s okay and what’s needed in order to reach the next level as a program.

“All they (recruits) can do is tell us no, but we gotta get there and we’ve been able to get there some, so it’s kind of nice.”

SEE ALSO: IU basketball senior guard Xavier Johnson gives update on his health: ‘I’m 100 (percent)’

ake sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated on Twitter @Indiana_FRN and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. 

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BB RECRUITING

Indiana basketball in top five for Dayton transfer Mike Sharavjamts

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The Indiana basketball program made the top five for Dayton wing Mike Sharavjamts, who pulled out of the NBA Draft on Wednesday. (Lee Luther Jr.-USA TODAY Sports)

The Indiana basketball program made the top five for Dayton transfer wing Mike Sharavjamts on Wednesday afternoon. The rest of his top five includes Pitt, Memphis, Nebraska and San Francisco.

Sharavjamts was testing the NBA draft waters but decided to return to school after receiving feedback.

According to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, Sharavjamts will be announcing his decision ‘within the next week’.

Sharavjamts is a 6-foot-8 and 180-pound wing who averaged 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game as a freshman at Dayton. He shot 38.8 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from three (29-of-92). He started 20 out of 32 games played.

Sharavjamts spent time at Legacy Christian (OH) and Prolific Prep (CA) in high school before playing at International Sports Academy (OH) for his final year. He was AAU teammates for one season with incoming Indiana freshman guard Gabe Cupps on Midwest Basketball Club.

He averaged 10.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 24 games in 2021-22 for the International Sports Academy. He shot 51.2 percent from three (44-of-86).

He is the first Mongolian citizen to play Division I men’s basketball.

Coming out of high school, Sharavjamts was ranked No. 93 in the 2022 247Sports composite rankings. He had offers from Dayton, Rutgers, Providence and others.

He is currently the No. 34 overall transfer.

The Indiana basketball program currently has one available scholarship. It has a transfer class that includes Oregon center Kel’el Ware, Miami forward Anthony Walker and Ball State forward Payton Sparks.

SEE ALSO: Kel’el Ware ready to make big impact for Indiana basketball: ‘(I’m ready) to prove everybody wrong’

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated on Twitter @Indiana_FRN and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. 

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BB RECRUITING

2024 five-star point guard Boogie Fland eyeing Indiana basketball visit

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2024 five-star point guard Boogie Fland is eyeing an Indiana basketball visit (Eugene Rapay/The Journal News-USA TODAY NETWORK)

The Indiana basketball program is expected to have multiple notable prospects on campus this summer. One of those players is 2024 five-star point guard Boogie Fland.

Fland is looking to visit Indiana in June, HoosierIllustrated.com was told. There is no date set in stone, but the expectation is he will be on campus next month.

Fland is from Archbishop Stepinac (NY) and PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL circuit.

He is ranked No. 6 overall in the 2024 class and ranked as the No. 2 point guard in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

The Indiana basketball staff had been involved with Fland back in the winter but not much had progressed until recently.

Fland was a perceived heavy North Carolina lean but after the Tar Heels landed five-star guards Elliot Cadeau and Ian Jackson, the Fland to UNC talk subsided a bit. North Carolina is still heavily involved.

Fland has taken two official visits. His first to North Carolina in the fall and then to Michigan this May. Other programs involved are Kentucky, UConn, Alabama, St. John’s, Auburn, Miami and others.

The development of Jalen Hood-Schifino was significant for Fland and his relationship with the Indiana basketball program. Though they aren’t identical players in terms of skill set, the responsibility and development Hood-Schifino had in his freshman season is notable.

“Jalen Hood-Schifino, that is something you can see. he’s a big guard who can play on and off (the ball), can defend the 1, can defend 2. Similar height, 6-foot-4 ish. I can see that. Indiana played Hood-Schifino and Xavier together,” PSA Cardinals head coach Joe Brown told HoosierIllustrated. “He was playing as a freshman and in the rotation. He had a significant role before the injury to Xavier. So that shows that Mike Woodson doesn’t have a problem playing freshmen. There are young guys in the rotation consistently … You can see the fact that coach Woodson definitely trusts Hood-Schifino.”

Because Fland can play both with and without the ball in his hands, going to a place where he can do both is ideal.

Whether that be with another point guard like Hood-Schifino and Xavier Johnson did, or just another potential ball handler, that’s a situation that would give Fland the chance to showcase his versatility on the offensive end.

“His versatility allows him to do both. A place where there is an equal balance. Playing in the backcourt with another point guard is something he’s done his whole life. He’s always played with another point guard, so ideally that would be a good space for him. Playing with a guard who can shoot the ball so you’re not just locked in to playing off the ball because you’re a better shooter. It’s not just the system but the personnel as well.”

Fland is a terrific scoring guard who has great explosiveness. Fland is always in attack mode and can score at all three levels on the floor. He is best with the ball in his hands and making plays for himself or teammates. Fland has a very good mid-range game and utilizes a lot of different moves in the paint to create separation and get his shot up.

With good size as well, at 6-foot-4, he’s a long and rangy guard who is a very talented defender. He has the tools to be a lockdown on ball defender as well as talented off the ball defensive player.

“His athleticism is getting better and he’s playing above the rim now a lot more … he did a good job physically getting stronger (this year) and you can see that with his explosiveness now,” Brown added of Fland’s improvements. “From a maturity standpoint, he’s taken leaps and bounds. His ability to run a team more, he’s been able to showcase that … And being more consistent as a three-level scorer. Getting accustomed to having the game slow down to where he knows where his shots can come from.”

Through 16 games on the EYBL Circuit this summer, Fland is averaging 15.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He’s shooting 45.3 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from three (31-of-91) and 79.1 percent from the free throw line (53-of-67). He has two 30+ point games this summer.

As a junior, Fland averaged 18.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He shot 34.6 percent from three (62-of-179). They finished 22-10 and second in their league.

SEE ALSO: ‘It’s going to be my job to bridge the gap’: Mike Woodson’s vision for Indiana basketball is coming to life

Make sure to follow Hoosier Illustrated on Twitter @Indiana_FRN and YouTube to stay up to date on all of the news, updates and coverage of Indiana University athletics. 

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