Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers pick up transfer Parker Stewart

Indiana basketball has a new player.

Archie Miller landed his second big transfer during his time in Bloomington today. Former UT-Martin guard Parker Stewart announced his decision to become a Hoosier:

Stewart decided to transfer after the tragic passing of his father, Anthony Stewart. His father was the coach at UT-Martin, where Parker played one season, averaging 19.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.

Before his time at UT-Martin, Stewart was a three-star recruit out of Union City, TN (near UT-Martin). He committed to Pittsburg to play under Kevin Stallings but transferred to play for his father after Stallings was fired.

The redshirt junior is 6’5″ with natural scoring ability and will immediately add shooting to the Hoosier backcourt. Stewart averaged just over eight threes attempted per game last season and made 35% of them. He shot just 41% from the field overall, but that number should increase as he will be playing less of a do-it-all role for IU.

There is a possibility Stewart is granted immediate eligibility to play for the Hoosiers. If this were to happen, it would be curious to see where he would play in the lineup. Armaan Franklin has looked stellar so far this season and Al Durham is a senior leader. There is a world where Stewart could replace Rob Phinisee in the starting lineup, leaving Durham and Franklin to share the majority of the ball-handling load.

This is an amazing get for Archie Miller. Five-star recruit Aminu Mohammed will announce his commitment on Monday, December 21st, and I would be shocked if he picked Indiana. Stewart doesn’t have Mohammed’s talent, but he is a turn-key player with experience and attributes to help Indiana’s weaknesses.

We will have to wait and see if Stewart is able to play this year. Whether he is or not, this is a great pickup for the Hoosiers.