Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, and presented by our friends at Homefield Apparel, where we highlight the five most essential IU basketball stories of the past week, plus take a look at how the other IU sports programs are doing.
While there was not one attention-grabbing headline, a wide variety of topics did make some news in Hoosier Nation. These updates involved the upcoming schedule, recruiting, and former IU players now in the NBA.
Besides this, jersey numbers were revealed, Bart Torvik updated his team rankings for 2024-2025, and Bracketology. We will as usual conclude with weekly shows and a look at other Indiana sports led by the swimming qualifications up in Indianapolis for the Paris Olympics.
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Here is what’s in this week’s edition:
Schedule Update
Recruiting Update
Hoosiers In The NBA Update
Other News For The Upcoming 2024-2025 IU Basketball Season
Weekly Shows
Hoosier Roundup-Indiana Swimmers Qualify For Paris Olympics
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Banner #1: Schedule Update
A few games on the IU schedule had already been revealed previously. This includes a trip to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis over Thanksgiving and early season home contests with Eastern Illinois and South Carolina.
Now it has been reported the Hoosiers will host one of the better Mid-majors in Assembly Hall. While the date is not yet known, the Chattanooga Mocs will reportedly come to Bloomington for a non-conference showdown after being ranked a solid 140 in KenPom last season.
In another update that affects not just Indiana but all squads, the NCAA reportedly will announce changes to exhibition contests and scrimmages. This modification involves allowing two off-campus showdowns that can now be ticketed and publicized. Also, the current exhibition games against a lower level of competition could now be against fellow division one peers.
Banner #2: Recruiting Update
As summer quickly approaches, the college sports season and especially IU basketball have entered a recruiting phase. With the 2024 roster now likely set, the Hoosiers have turned their attention to 2025 and beyond.
The 2025 class in the state of Indiana is one of the best in recent memory and has several top prospects. One of these is Trent Sisley who has narrowed his choices down to five schools and as expected, the Hoosiers were included on his list. Another top target is Jalen Haralson who has set an official visit to Bloomington on August 31. 247Sports released new rankings for this group of players with Haralson coming in at 14 and Sisley at 74 with several others in the top 100 as well.
Finally, the Hoosiers extended two additional scholarship offers for 2025. This was to out-of-state prospects in no. 33 Davis Fogle and no. 34 Acaden Lewis.
Banner #3: Hoosiers In The NBA Update
The one major contributor for IU who departed the team after 2023-2024 is star center Kel’el Ware. This is because Ware played himself into a relatively high draft pick after a phenomenal season in Bloomington. Picks will be announced this week on Wednesday (first round) and Thursday (second round).
New NBA mock drafts were recently released. All of them have Ware going no later than no. 23 while several have him up in the lottery as high as no. 10. One longtime NBA scout Ryan Blake said he could indeed go in the late lottery. As a result of these projections, Ware was invited to the green room with other top draft prospects.
As for the seven former Hoosiers already in the NBA, all but rookies Jalen Hood-Schifino and Trayce Jackson-Davis could well hit free agency. The player set to cash in the most is O.G. Anunoby who will get a lucrative deal. Longtime veteran Eric Gordon could also be an attractive option off the bench somewhere despite being 35 years old.
As for the remaining three, their outlook is less certain. Thomas Bryant has a player option to remain in Miami despite limited playing time. Finally, Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller’s future is very much up in the air after being high picks in the 2013 draft.
Presenting Sponsor: Homefield Apparel
Homefield’s annual Black Friday sale has already begun. Use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY at checkout to get 20% off your entire order.
The item of the week for this week is the new “Hurryin’ Hoosiers” snapback hat. Both
Jerod Morris
and
have it, and can attest to its quality and fit.Plus, how cool is it to have an item celebrating the great teams under Branch McCracken?
Banner #4: Other News For The Upcoming 2024-2025 IU Basketball Season
A few other nuggets happened in Hoosier Nation this week. The biggest sign that the upcoming season is getting closer is the fact that uniform numbers for the entire roster were announced.
As for expectations, they continue to be very high with all the roster additions this spring. Bart Torvik put out new rankings and has Indiana at no. 23 nationally which is fourth highest in the Big Ten. Updated Bracketology from Joe Lunardi has IU in the same range as a four-seed for March Madness in 2025.
Banner #5: Weekly Shows
The Back Home Network had several new shows this week. Doing The Work had Austin Render on to discuss the offseason. Render is the primary radio announcer for baseball and women’s basketball at IU and he started his own show on BHN called The Dribble Drive. The first episode was released last Monday.
Also, Right Up Meridian had a couple of new shows about the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. Finally, Crimson Cast was on-air one time.
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Banner #6: Hoosier Roundup-Indiana Swimmers Qualify For Paris Olympics
Multiple athletes with IU connections are competing at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis with several qualifying for the squad in Paris.
Track and field also has several Hoosiers attempting to qualify for the upcoming Paris Olympics. They also had four of their competitors honored as Academic-All District.
USA Women’s Basketball’s U18 Team continues to dominate under current Indiana head coach Teri Moren.
Softball added an additional freshman and transfer for next spring.
Baseball has six players invited to the MLB Draft Combine.
Field hockey named their team captains for the upcoming fall season.
Thanks for your continued support for The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall. We’ll be back next weekend with a new roundup.
Now go enjoy yourself a 6-banner Sunday.
Aaron (Ari) Shifron
Assembly Call Contributor
The Assembly Call is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.