6-Banner Sunday: IU’s transfer portal targets are coming into focus
Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Trueblood Real Estate, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.
With the college basketball season over, except for the national championships, the offseason has begun for nearly everyone. From an IU perspective, they continue to look to fill their roster for 2023-2024.
Besides this, Sara Scalia performed well on the national stage, Former Hoosiers in the NBA, postseason results, and weekly shows. We will, as usual, conclude with a look at other Indiana sports led by a turnaround week for the baseball team.
Here is what’s in this week’s edition:
• IU basketball roster updates
• Scalia wins 3-point championship
• Hoosiers in the NBA update
• NCAA and NIT tournament results
• Weekly shows
• Hoosier Roundup
Banner #1 – IU basketball roster updates
The roster for the men’s team remains in flux as the offseason continues. While seven spots are accounted for, Indiana will need to turn to the transfer portal to fill the six open scholarships.
Of the seven known players on the team for 2024-2025, the sole incoming freshman, Bryson Tucker, competed in the McDonalds All-American Game last Tuesday. Who may join him as a newcomer to the squad for next season remains an open question.
While they have no further commitments yet, the IU staff has many irons in the fire. The most well-known name to Hoosier fans is Iowa transfer and Indiana native Tony Perkins who has coming to Bloomington among his six options. Other names to watch are Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle and Drexel transfer Amari Williams, who will both visit campus later this month.
Banner #2 – Scalia wins 3-point championship
While the IU women’s team season is also over, their two outgoing seniors remained in the news this week. The most significant of these was Sara Scalia’s performance on a national stage.
At the Final Four in Phoenix, Scalia was in the three-point championship and won the competition on the women’s side. Scalia then flew to Cleveland for the Women’s College All-Star Game where she was joined by Mackenzie Holmes. This duo was also named All-Americans after leading the Hoosiers to a 26-6 record in 2023-2024.
Banner #3 – Hoosiers in the NBA update
While college basketball is coming to an end, the NBA still has the last week of the regular season and a couple of months of playoffs. All six former Hoosiers are on teams with postseason aspirations.
While O.G. Anunoby has struggled with injury, he has had the best year of the bunch, averaging nearly 15 points a game for the New York Knicks. Eric Gordon is also scoring in double figures for the Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, Thomas Bryant, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and Cody Zeller have more minor roles on the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, and New Orleans Pelicans. Finally, Victor Oladipo is a free agent as his struggles with staying healthy continue.
However, the most noteworthy player is Trayce Jackson-Davis, who donned the Cream and Crimson as recently as the 2022-2023 season. Jackson-Davis has settled into a prominent role on the Golden State Warriors as a rookie, averaging nearly eight points per game. He had the standout performance of his early career this week putting up 20 points against the Houston Rockets.
Banner #4 – NCAA and NIT tournament results
While the Hoosiers are not in March Madness anymore, two other Big Ten teams remain with the national championships in the next couple of days. Arch-rival Purdue will play Connecticut for their first-ever NCAA title on Monday after beating N.C. State in the Final Four.
On the women’s side, Caitlin Clark has Iowa competing for all the marbles today against South Carolina. After taking on the Gamecocks, Clark’s new home will be in Indiana soon when she begins her WNBA career with the Fever.
Also, Indiana State continued to grab headlines locally. They advanced to the NIT Championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis before falling to Seton Hall. The Sycamores now have to regroup going forward as head coach Josh Schertz was hired away by the Saint Louis Billikens.
Banner #5: Weekly shows
The Back Home Network had several new shows in the last few days. The most prominent was Assembly Call’s Thursday radio program breaking down Tucker’s game. Also, Crimson Cast took to the air with two new episodes this week.
Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup
• Baseball got back on track this week with three key top-50 wins in dominant fashion. These games came against Indiana State on Tuesday as well as the first two this weekend in a series against Maryland.
• Softball was swept by Michigan but beat Michigan State in the first two games of that series. Their midweek contests with Purdue were postponed for weather issues.
• Men’s tennis fell to Ohio State and Michigan.
• Women’s tennis fell to Michigan State.
• Water polo lost to Arizona State.
• Men’s golf competed at the Butler Spring Invite and had one of their athletes named Big Ten Golfer of the Week.
• Rowing competed against Ohio State.
• Men’s soccer announced another team of former Hoosiers for the upcoming TST tournament.
• Volleyball’s spring exhibition schedule was announced. Ramsey Gary was also selected for the US under-21 national team.
• Swimming and Diving received multiple postseason awards after their top-five finish at the national championship.
• Wrestling had several athletes named Scholar All-Americans.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
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