6-Banner Sunday: A look at several offseason IU basketball storylines
Welcome to another edition of 6-Banner Sunday, a joint production between The Assembly Call and Inside the Hall, 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.
From a news perspective, it was a very quiet week for IU Basketball. As a result, Inside the Hall did several in-depth previews for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. This involved the players, the schedule, the Big Ten and recruiting.
Also, as usual, 6-Banner will conclude with weekly shows and other Hoosier sports. This week’s adventure outside of Indiana basketball involved the fall sports of volleyball and football ramping up.
Here is what’s in this week’s edition:
• Offseason player storylines
• Non-conference schedule discussion
• Big Ten power rankings
• Class of 2025 recruiting updates
• Back Home Network shows
• Hoosier Roundup
IU men’s basketball will play several games this upcoming season on Peacock and the women will play a few as well, making the streaming service essential for IU basketball fans. Sign up for Peacock using Inside the Hall’s link to help support the site and also enjoy Big Ten hoops all season long! (The link is an Inside the Hall affiliate link, so a commission will be paid to ITH if you click and subscribe to Peacock.
Banner #1 – Offseason player storylines
With the season approaching, Inside the Hall examined the upcoming 2024-2025 season in several aspects. The first of these was previewing the expected top contributors.
This included Mackenzie Mgbako, whose ability to make a sophomore leap will be pivotal in Indiana’s ultimate fate. The Hoosiers also need big numbers from transfers Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle to return to the postseason and veteran Malik Reneau. ITH also wrote a mailbag that looked at the players among other topics.
Banner #2 – Non-conference schedule discussion
In addition to previewing the players, ITH examined a couple of things from a schedule perspective. This included a preview of the Winthrop game and the Battle 4 Atlantis. With a relatively soft non-conference slate, the performance in the Bahamas against some of the nation’s best will likely make or break the pre-Big Ten resume.
Banner #3 – Big Ten power rankings
After a down year, the Hoosiers look to make a jump in the conference standings. With the roster turnover (see above), IU is expected to make a massive improvement. ITH places Indiana a solid fourth behind Purdue, Illinois, and UCLA, while Michigan State rounds out the top five.
Banner #4 – Class of 2025 recruiting updates
While the upcoming season is imminent, the Hoosiers are already looking ahead and recruiting hard for the summer of 2025. This week, On3 updated its rankings for that class.
As has been the case throughout Indiana’s courting of these players, several continue to be high up in these numbers. This is led by Nate Ament at No. 3. Among top targets, Bryson Tiller is 14, Malachi Moreno 21, Jalen Haralson 25, Braylon Mullins 35 and Trent Sisley 148.
Banner #5 – Back Home Network shows
The Back Home Network was on air twice this week. This included Austin Render’s Dribble Drive Podcast about women’s basketball, which featured USC radio announcer Eli Kleinmann. Also, Xs and Joes was newly released discussing the transfer portal.
Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup
• Volleyball had a flurry of news this week. This included the release of single-game tickets, the TV schedule, the Big Ten’s media day, and two additions to the staff.
• Football had media availability and a few players receiving preseason recognition.
• More athletes with IU connections competed at the Paris Olympics this week.
• Men’s soccer opened preseason practice this week.
• Baseball had one of their key relievers receive recognition for his performance in the summer league.
• Softball had six scholar-athletes.
• Track and field’s legendary coach Ron Helmer was elected to the Coaches Hall of Fame posthumously.
• Men’s golf announced their schedule for the upcoming season.
• Men’s tennis is hosting an alumni event.
• A youth sports day was announced.
Thanks for your continued support of 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
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