Jack’s Take: What Should Indiana Do With 2 Remaining Scholarships?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The bulk of transfer portal recruiting for Mike Woodson and the Indiana staff is done, and so far it’s been a productive offseason.

The Hoosiers’ incoming transfer portal class ranks No. 2 in the nation, behind only Arkansas, according to 247 Sports. Add five-star freshman Bryson Tucker, and Indiana’s overall class is ranked No. 14 nationally.

Woodson filled Indiana’s biggest needs in the backcourt with Washington State point guard transfer Myles Rice, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and Stanford guard transfer Kanaan Carlyle, who averaged 11.5 points per game as a freshman. Illinois wing transfer Luke Goode should help the Hoosiers’ 3-point shooting, and Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo makes a strong case to become the Big Ten’s top center.

Add key returning players Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau, along with depth pieces like Gabe Cupps, Anthony Leal and Jakai Newton, and Indiana’s roster is nearly set. The Hoosiers significantly improved their guard and wing play from last season, while maintaining balance with dominant inside scorers like Ballo and Reneau.

Still, Indiana has two open scholarships heading into next year, and front court depth remains its biggest need. With Ballo and Reneau likely in the starting lineup, Indiana should have one of the best one-two punches down low in the Big Ten, and perhaps nationally.

Ballo is coming off back-to-back first-team All-Pac-12 seasons, and he ranked top-20 nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage last year. Reneau has developed well in two years under Woodson, going from 6.1 to 15.4 points per game from his freshman to sophomore seasons.

However, the concern with both Reneau and Ballo is whether they can play extended minutes. Reneau has struggled mightily with foul trouble during his Indiana career, fouling out seven times in 2023-24 and picking up four fouls in nine other games. That limited him to 28.7 minutes per game as a sophomore, and it’s possible he would have played more than 14.9 minutes per game as a freshman if he didn’t pick up at least three fouls in 19 games.

Ballo started 71 games for Arizona the past two seasons, but he played just 27.6 and 26.0 minutes per game during his junior and senior seasons, respectively. He’s incredibly efficient when on the court, though, as his averages translate to roughly 20 points and 15 rebounds per game on a per-40 minute basis.

The reason Ballo doesn’t play 30-plus minutes per game is not necessarily due to foul trouble like it has been for Reneau, who averaged 3.1 fouls per game last season. Ballo averaged just 2.1 fouls in 2023-24 and 2.3 the previous season. Across two full seasons as a starter, he picked up four fouls in 11-of-71 games and fouled out just once, way back in November 2022.

Ballo can get tired at times carrying his 7-foot, 260-pound frame, especially when he plays long stretches in the second half. He’s also a poor free throw shooter at 56.4% across his career and just 49.5% last season. If he’s on the court late in games, teams could like their chances of intentionally putting him at the free throw line.

Past seasons suggest Woodson will have to divide front court minutes in a different manner with Reneau and Ballo. Kel’el Ware played 32.2 minutes per game last season, and Trayce Jackson-Davis provided even more at 34.5 the year before. Reneau would have to significantly cut down on fouls, and Ballo would have to improve his conditioning and free throw shooting to reach those averages.

Assuming Ballo and Reneau stay closer to their career averages in minutes, valuable minutes are available in the front court off the bench. Some of that time could be filled by Mackenzie Mgbako and Luke Goode playing power forward in smaller lineups, but Indiana will likely use one or both of its available scholarships to reinforce the front court.

Three transfers that have heard from Indiana since entering the portal are forwards Langdon Hatton (Bellarmine), Issa Muhammad (UT Martin) and Nikita Konstantynovskyi (Monmouth), each of whom stand between 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-10. They all have starting experience at the mid-major level and now look to jump to a higher level.

In 2023-24, Hatton averaged 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, Muhammad averaged 11.1 points and 9.4 rebounds, and Konstantynovskyi averaged 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds. There’s not much of a difference in their shot-blocking ability. Each had between 20 and 24 blocks last season, with a block percentage between 2.6% and 3.2%, Muhammad being the lowest.

Muhammad and Konstantynovskyi have a rebounding advantage over Hatton based on last season. Konstantynovskyi ranked second in the CAA in both offensive (13.3%) and defensive rebounding percentage (25%), while Muhammad was top four in the OVC in both categories, 10.6% and 22.1%, respectively. Hatton is a bit further down at 15th (7.6%) and 10th (19.5%) place among Atlantic Sun rebounders.

The difference maker in Hatton’s favor appears to be in his offensive versatility. He made 15-of-45 3-point attempts last season, a solid 33.3% for a big. Konstantynovskyi has attempted just one 3-point shot in his college career, and Muhammad is 7-for-26, or 26.9% across the last two seasons.

If Indiana looks outside these three players, 28 of the top 100 power forwards in the transfer portal remain available, per On3’s rankings, and 32 of the 104 centers that went in the portal have not yet committed to new schools. Indiana already landed the No. 1 ranked transfer center, Ballo, and returns Reneau, an All-Big Ten caliber power forward, so finding a transfer that fits its roster and is satisfied with coming off the bench could be challenging.

Last season, first-year transfers Anthony Walker and Payton Sparks played the vast majority of minutes as Indiana’s backup power forward and center behind Reneau and Ware. Walker played well in several nonconference games, but in 14.1 minutes per game he wasn’t much of a difference maker during Big Ten play.

Sparks fell out of the rotation and only played 24 games, then decided it was best to transfer back to Ball State, where he was a double-double machine for two seasons to begin his career. Largely ineffective play from Walker and Sparks was part of the reason Indiana lacked depth last season, and plucking a transfer to fill that role for seven to 15 minutes per game is of underrated importance heading into Woodson’s fourth year.

Indiana could also go after another guard or wing with 3-point shooting prowess, though minutes at those positions could be more difficult to come by compared to backup power forward and center minutes. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see Indiana leave its 13th and final scholarship open, like it did last season, after landing one more front court player.

Even without the last piece or two, Woodson has put together what looks like a top-25 team for 2024-25 after missing the NCAA Tournament in his third season. Indiana is ranked No. 15 by Jon Rothstein, No. 16 by ESPN and No. 17 by CBS Sports– close behind reigning Big Ten champ and national title runner-up, Purdue.

Indiana is among the biggest winners of transfer portal recruiting this offseason, and Woodson could still enhance his incoming class by landing a quality backup big man.