Indiana appears to be prioritizing guards with just a few forwards on the contact list.
The transfer portal has been officially open for a week now with a few entries already looking for potential new homes.
Indiana, which has no signees in the incoming class of 2024, will have to rebuild its roster entirely through the portal while keeping pieces it’d prefer to have in Bloomington in an era of player movement.
Here’s how the first week went for the Hoosiers:
Departures
Indiana had a few exits through the portal, all from the bench:
Gunn and Banks are still in the portal while Sparks returned to Ball State.
Returners
Arguably the biggest news of the week was Malik Reneau stating that he’d be returning to Indiana for his junior season.
He was an important piece on offense this past year but the foul trouble that plagued him as a freshman showed up again in the last few weeks. He’ll look to develop even further as the staff works to turn him into more of a power forward after he played center throughout high school.
It was also reported that freshman guard Jakai Newton, who was out with an injury for the entirety of the season, will be back on the roster next season. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of role he assumes next year.
Others like Kel’el Ware and Mackenzie Mgbako have NBA decisions to consider. Ware is in the first round of a variety of mock drafts while Mgbako was hoping to go professional after his freshman year.
Contacts & Notes
It’s important to remember that this is just the first week of portal season. There will be more entries and movement on this front in the future. For now, we can only rely on who the Hoosiers have reportedly been in contact with.
Our list based on others’ reporting has Indiana as having been in contact with around 14 portal prospects. Of those 14, only about three could be described as frontcourt players.
With Anthony Walker out of eligibility, Sparks entering the portal and Ware having an NBA decision to make, the Hoosiers only have one confirmed returner with experience at the four or five, Reneau.
Mgbako is listed as a forward and definitely has the size to play the four, but spent almost all of 2023-24 at the wing. I’d imagine that’s the ideal spot for him if Reneau stays at the four next year.
Aside from that? All guards or wings. Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal and Jakai Newton are all returning, either announced or reported, and Gabe Cupps will likely be a presence in the backcourt.
But Indiana absolutely needed and needs a scoring boost from its guards. The only reliable option there this past year was Galloway, who was often more focused on his role as a distributor.
Indiana will reportedly host EKU guard Leland Walker for a visit next week. Walker starred at North Central High School in Indianapolis before committing to Eastern Kentucky.
Walker is a bit small, listed as 6-1 on ESPN, but impressed with the Colonels with 15.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game this past season. He also shot 34.2% from deep.