Indiana Basketball: How the transfer portal will affect the Hoosiers

Indiana basketball has already been pretty involved in the transfer portal with some players leaving, and others having interest in the Hoosiers.

In what is one of the most common offseason discussions, the transfer portal is at the top of the news again with a lot of big names looking to move elsewhere, and the Indiana basketball program is heavily involved in it as well.

With news breaking over the last couple of weeks of the transfers of Clifton Moore, Jake Forrester, and Vijay Blackmon, Indiana will most likely lose all three players. I say most likely, because even though they have entered their name in the portal, it is meant for a way to notify their school as well as others, their desire to look elsewhere.

In most circumstances it does indeed mean that they leave the program, but just recently Alabama guard John Petty decided to stay with the school after the coaching change and took his name out of the portal.

So what does this all mean for Indiana and their roster for next year?

Player’s Leaving

First, they now have two more additional scholarships to use, and with their heavy involvement with Trendon Watford, Harlond Beverly, and Lester Quinones, it gives them the ability to stay in the race for those prospects.

Additionally, it allows Archie Miller to get more of his players to come to Bloomington. Although Jake Forrester was a Miller recruit, Clifton Moore was not. Moore was recruited by Tom Crean before ultimately staying on board after Miller took over the coaching duties. Albeit productive in his limited minutes, Moore just never seemed to be the traditional Archie Miller big man.

Miller has always liked undersized, athletic and versatile bigs. While Moore was athletic to an extent, he didn’t fit with the rest of the roster mold. With the productivity of De’Ron Davis, the improved health of Race Thompson, and now the addition of Trayce Jackson-Davis, Moore would not have been able to break into the rotation as a guy who would see around 15 minutes a game.

For Jake Forrester, it was more of the same, although he may have been someone who could have developed into a crucial role player down the line, it just wasn’t a great match after only seeing action in 13 games this past season.

Potential Additions

While the loss of Clifton Moore and Jake Forrester is unfortunate, it does bring way for some nice additions in the transfer portal.

One such being Butler grad transfer Joey Brunk.

While Brunk has yet to make a decision on his future, he has already been on campus for an unofficial visit as well as had an in-home visit with the Hoosiers.

An Indianapolis native, Brunk has close ties with the state of Indiana as well as Indiana University, and it seems like the Hoosiers have the upper-hand in his recruitment.

He is a veteran who would be able to come in a play right away, providing added depth in the post. A true post player, he would be a crucial member of the front court who has shown flashes at times in his Butler career what he can provide in increased minutes.

Though he may not have the versatility of some of the more hybrid bigs that Miller likes, Miller has seen the importance of big bodies in the post when it comes to Big Ten play. Since De’Ron Davis has been injury prone throughout his career thus far, and a freshman center who is unproven at the college level, it is extremely vital that they get another big body that will allow Miller to have options in the front court.

Using the transfer portal for your advantage is crucial when it comes to graduate transfers, especially those who have more than one year of eligibility left. This allows for a ‘veteran’ recruit to enter the program with an already built college basketball body and mindset.

Though it is always nice bringing in five-star players, veteran talent is what will win games down the stretch and take you farther come tournament time.