Nojus Indrusaitis Enters the Transfer Portal

FriendlySpartan

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This. We have to gamble on HS players and hope that in the event they actually pan out they will be bought into TJ and Iowa State enough to stick around for less than what they could get by transferring.

The coaches from blue blood schools saying they are basically done with HS recruiting is indeed the right strategy if you have 6 mil banked to hand out.
Yeah everyone still needs freshman and often it isn’t until a prospect gets to be fully on the team if you can tell if their style/ethic will fit in with what the coach/system wants.

Plenty of teams also go heavy on the transfer route and it doesn’t pan out at all, just look at Kansas.

There is also this weird idea that somehow top talent freshman (top 50ish) are some how cheaper then transfers. They really aren’t, they might be cheaper then the elite transfers going around but that top talent is still commanding good NIL deals.

Keeping talent around means you have to show them they have a future and how they will fit in and for some teams (especially with how offensive focused many young guys are) that fit just isn’t going to work.
 

Clonefan32

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The CBS talking heads were discussing playing time after one of the tourney games this past weekend. Barkley said that he advises young players to go where they will get playing time. He says it is a waste of college experience to sit on the bench.

Of course these days, a huge NIL deal may have some bearing on the matter.

It's the absolute truth. I've said it in other threads as well but freshmen are cheap labor. You need practices guys and getting a recruit in that 50-150 range isn't going to command huge money. Get them here and if they kill it great. If they don't and they are here for a year, fine. Like Pitino said a month or so ago, you're going to really, really struggle to win big with 18 year olds in this landscape.
 

ClonerJams

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Yeah everyone still needs freshman and often it isn’t until a prospect gets to be fully on the team if you can tell if their style/ethic will fit in with what the coach/system wants.

Plenty of teams also go heavy on the transfer route and it doesn’t pan out at all, just look at Kansas.

There is also this weird idea that somehow top talent freshman (top 50ish) are some how cheaper then transfers. They really aren’t, they might be cheaper then the elite transfers going around but that top talent is still commanding good NIL deals.

Keeping talent around means you have to show them they have a future and how they will fit in and for some teams (especially with how offensive focused many young guys are) that fit just isn’t going to work.
I think if you get outside of the top 15 ranked freshman then they still are quite a bit cheaper than transfers. Now of course Cooper Flagg is probably making as much as anyone
 

1SEIACLONE

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Ames Iowa
Was really hoping he would stay another year, but the amount of playing time he was getting, I wonder if he was just a poor fit for ISU. Not a good sign when you get beat out for playing time by a walk on.
 

PantherCyclone

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So the solution is just don't recruit a freshman and not try? For every Nojus or Omaha there is a Tamin or Milan where it works. Every player wants to play and should be able to find a good situation for them.

ISU is trying to become a consistent top 15 team every year and thus need to be honest if a player is going to be recruited over. Taking Bateman and Toure the writing was on the wall.
Your ratio is a bit off, and I don’t know that Tamin is really relevant there. He got playing time well before he was expected to because of injuries and transfers out. I think it would be incredibly interesting to have a crystal ball and see whether or not he would’ve played at all without unforeseen circumstances. If he doesn’t play as a freshman, does he stay? Probably, because it’s Tamin. Most won’t. It seems like we are valuing the playing time of transfers at a higher level than high school kids who may have the same contributions if given an opportunity. I can’t think of a single transfer who has sat out in the same way that the high school recruits have. At some point, high school recruits will stop coming. How are we going to fill a practice squad, let alone get the right players and place that could contribute in case of injury or illness. I am a TJ supporter and am grateful reigniting basketball in Ames. That being said, I don’t think it would’ve hurt us in most of the games that we played this year to give Nojus or Watson a few spot minutes to keep them engaged, hungry, and developing skills that would allow them to contribute.
 
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PantherCyclone

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The days of keeping freshman that need a couple years are over

It’s like GMs and low round draft picks. Hope you steal a starter and contributor. Cut the ones that are misses.

Freshmen are for cheap upside. You know a lot more about whether that low investment will hit big after a year. Certainly after two.

And space needs to be made to keep playing the freshmen lottery
You’re not wrong. I just don’t expect freshmen to keep playing this lottery like they are now without a coach that legitimately shows a willingness for it to be worth recruits’ time.
 

Clonefan32

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Am I correct that Toure and Pleta can't take NIL as international players? That may be some of the reason we are seeing this push towards foreign players.
 

FriendlySpartan

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It's the absolute truth. I've said it in other threads as well but freshmen are cheap labor. You need practices guys and getting a recruit in that 50-150 range isn't going to command huge money. Get them here and if they kill it great. If they don't and they are here for a year, fine. Like Pitino said a month or so ago, you're going to really, really struggle to win big with 18 year olds in this landscape.
Pitino hasn't made it out of the first weekend in a decade and just got rocked by a 10 seed. Not the best source to be quoting but the best teams always need a good mix unless the freshman class you brought in is absolutely loaded and balanced like Duke this season.
 

FriendlySpartan

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I think if you get outside of the top 15 ranked freshman then they still are quite a bit cheaper than transfers. Now of course Cooper Flagg is probably making as much as anyone
Depends on the transfer, but that number is a bit higher than the top 15. Most top 50 recruits are going to good to great P4 schools plus UConn. The money is there.
 
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FinalFourCy

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You’re not wrong. I just don’t expect freshmen to keep playing this lottery like they are now without a coach that legitimately shows a willingness for it to be worth recruits’ time.

TJ can point to three freshmen starters in his first 4 seasons. That’s competitive
 

Acylum

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Rock should probably be considered as a 2024 recruit as it was always the plan to redshirt at college instead of playing his final year in high school.
Not really but it doesn’t matter. The numbers don’t change.
 

cyclonehomer

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Pitino hasn't made it out of the first weekend in a decade and just got rocked by a 10 seed. Not the best source to be quoting but the best teams always need a good mix unless the freshman class you brought in is absolutely loaded and balanced like Duke this season.
I'm of the opinion that Purdue is a wayyyy better program to try to emulate when you want to be consistently competitive. They're almost entirely built on prep recruiting.

Pitino is both old (does not care if things fall apart within 3-4 years because he's done soon anyway more than likely) and able to command significant NIL resources that ISU cannot. I genuinely could not care less what he thinks or how he runs his program.
 

SolterraCyclone

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I’ve been beating the drum the last couple days, but ISU needs to try and retain some of these freshman to stay at least 2 or 3 years to serve as depth pieces at a minimum.

I keep going back to King and Hamilton, but one or both of those kids would have played important roles on this year’s team, given our injury situation, if we could have retained them (big IF). We were able to do this with Watson and he kept us afloat when Milan went out.

Having to play Kelderman important minutes in a NCAA Tourney game is a failure. Only having 1 of our last 7 HS recruits reach sophomore eligibility is unsustainable.
 

Acylum

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Depends on the transfer, but that number is a bit higher than the top 15. Most top 50 recruits are going to good to great P4 schools plus UConn. The money is there.
You don’t consider the Big East a Power conference in MBB? Okay I guess.