2024-2025 IUBB Updated Depth Chart After Oumar Ballo Commitment

What a weekend it was in Bloomington. Not only was it the commencement of the annual Little 500 weekend, but the Hoosiers snagged 2 big time commitments from the transfer portal.

First, it was reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Myles Rice coming over from Washington State to help shore up the point guard position at Indiana. Next, it was his fellow Pac-12 mate Oumar Ballo, the #1 ranked player available in the portal, electing to bring his bruising style of play and 7-foot stature to B-Town.

In a matter of days, Mike Woodson has significantly patched up two primary positions of pessimism for this roster. Furthermore, Woody has heavily elevated the outlook of this Hoosier team as we look ahead to next season.

With Ballo now in the mix up front, this depth chart has officially catapulted from "decent" to "dangerous". If they can shore up a few remaining areas of need using their remaining 4 scholarships with a few shooters and at least 1 more big man, they could be promoted to the "dominant" end of the preseason hype spectrum.

As of the typing of this article, the updated depth chart projection looping Ballo in should look something like the following:

PG | Myles Rice (6'3", 180 lbs | Sophomore), Gabe Cupps (6'2", 175 lbs | Sophomore)

SG | Trey Galloway (6'5", 205 lbs | Senior), Anthony Leal (6'5", 200 lbs | Senior), Jakai Newton (6'3", 205 lbs | Sophomore)

SF | Mackenzie Mgbako (6'8", 220 lbs), Bryson Tucker (6'7", 185 lbs | Freshman)

PF | Malik Reneau (6'9", 235 lbs | Junior)

C | Oumar Ballo (7'0", 260 lbs | Senior)

With Ballo manning the middle, the Hoosiers now have a bonafide rim protector (1.3 BPG in each of the past 3 seasons) and someone who can singlehandedly control the glass (10.1 RPG in 2023-2024). His arrival does not immediately full-on offset the loss of Kel'el Ware, but when Ware arrived via the portal prior to the start of last season nobody was expecting him to completely compensate for the loss of Trayce Jackson-Davis. Now, Ware seems like a shoe-in to go in the 1st round of June's NBA draft.

Now that IU has secured the services of a starting-caliber big man, the immediate attention has to be shifted to shooting. This team ranked 273rd out of 363 qualifying NCAA Division 1 basketball teams in 3-point shooting in 2023-2024 (32.4% collectively), and that is about the biggest red flag you can find in the modern era of basketball (college or pros, men's or women's).

A few weeks ago everything seemed extremely bleak when forecasting the 2024-2025 season for Mike Woodson's Indiana Hoosiers, but the tables have undoubtedly turned. Let's see what Woody's got up his sleeve next.

Welcome to the cream and crimson family, Oumar!