Roundup: Hoosiers on top 100 player lists, preseason honors for Rice and more

  • Oct 30, 2024 11:12 am in

Indiana tips off the regular season next Wednesday night against SIU-Edwardsville in Bloomington.

In recent days, a flurry of preseason content has been published from around the country and we’ve gathered some of the IU-related content below in a roundup:

Four Hoosiers on CBSSports.com’s list of top 101 players

Last week, CBSSports.com ranked the top 101 players in college basketball for the 2024-25 season.

Four Hoosiers made the list: Oumar Ballo (No. 18), Myles Rice (No. 43), Malik Reneau (No. 63) and Mackenzie Mgbako (No. 87).

You can read the full list here, but here’s what Adam Finkelstein wrote about Ballo:

“A two-time All-Pac-12 First Team selection, Ballo was one of the biggest prizes to be had out of the transfer portal last spring. He is essentially a walking double-double, who averaged 13 points and 10 rebounds last year, all while finishing with the highest field goal percentage in Arizona program history. A major physical presence on both ends of the floor, he’s an emphatic finisher offensively who thrives when he can get deep post-ups or roll to the front of the rim. The biggest question at Indiana, is what type of spacing they’ll be able to surround him with alongside Malik Reneau and for a program with a notable history of not taking many threes under Mike Woodson.”

Isaac Trotter of CBSSports.com also ranked the top 101 transfers this season with Rice at No. 10, Ballo at No. 20 and Kanaan Carlyle at No. 77.

ESPN.com also ranks the top 100 players in college hoops

ESPN.com also ranked the top 100 players in college basketball recently. The World Wide Leader also had three Indiana players on the list.

The three: Rice (No. 62), Reneau (No. 44) and Ballo (No. 19).

The full ESPN.com list is available here and here’s what was written about Reneau, who scored 21 points on Sunday at Tennessee:

“Mike Woodson has told reporters he believes this year’s Indiana squad could be the best of his tenure. The return of the 6-9 forward who averaged 15.4 PPG last season could help the Hoosiers prove as much. Reneau’s greatest asset might be his patience around the rim, where he excels: He made 59% of his shots inside the arc in 2023-24.”

In addition, ESPN also did a ranking of the top 50 newcomers (transfers or freshmen) in college basketball. Ballo came in at No. 10 and Rice at No. 33.

Hoosiers check in at No. 20 on The Athletic’s preseason top 25

CJ Moore and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic released their preseason top 25 on Tuesday with just four Big Ten teams.

Purdue led the way at No. 15 followed by Illinois at No. 18, Michigan at No. 19 and Indiana at No. 20.

The Athletic’s full rankings are available here and their explanation of Indiana’s rankings suggests they are bearish on the Hoosiers changing their style of play in a meaningful way:

“Mike Woodson made it a point to go find shotmakers after running out one of worst 3-point shooting teams in the Big Ten last season. The Hoosiers went against modern analytics, attempting just 27.8 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, a 3-point rate that ranked 351st in Division I. But do not expect a drastic change in style: Indiana’s strength appears to once again be its low-post scorers in Ballo and Reneau.”

SI.com also ranked every team in college basketball and has Indiana 26th.

Myles Rice named to Cousy Award watch list

On Monday, Indiana redshirt sophomore Myles Rice was named to the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which honors the nation’s best point guard.

The 6-foot-3 guard was one of five Big Ten players on the list, joining Ohio State’s Bruce Thornton, Penn State’s Ace Baldwin, Dylan Harper of Rutgers and Purdue’s Braden Smith.

Last season, Rice averaged 14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game and led Washington State to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 16 seasons.

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