6-Banner Sunday: IU basketball will play exhibition games in Puerto Rico in August

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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.

The first chance to see this new-look IU squad will be earlier than usual. This is because the team will play exhibitions in Puerto Rico this summer.

With little other news directly related to the current team, a couple of former Hoosiers continue their series in the NBA playoffs. Besides this, roster and recruiting updates. As usual, we will conclude with weekly shows and a look at other Indiana sports, led by baseball’s season ending more prematurely than expectations predicted.

Here is what is in this week’s edition:

• Hoosiers to play exhibitions in Puerto Rico
• Bryant and Pacers have the upper hand on Anunoby and Knicks in Eastern Conference finals
• IU basketball roster updates
• IU basketball recruiting updates
• Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows
• Hoosier Roundup

Banner #1 – Hoosiers to play exhibitions in Puerto Rico

For Hoosier fans wanting to get a peek at head coach Darian DeVries’ new-look squad, they will have an earlier chance than usual. This is because the team will take a trip to Puerto Rico to play a series of exhibition games between August 6 and August 11.

The opponents will be BC Mega and the Puerto Rico All-Star Team. More details will follow later, but this is the first such trip since former coach Mike Woodson’s squad went to the Bahamas in 2021.

Banner #2 – Bryant and Pacers have the upper hand on Anunoby and Knicks in Eastern Conference finals

The two former Hoosiers facing off in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals continued in their series. The players going head-to-head are O.G. Anunoby and Thomas Bryant.

Anunoby competes for the New York Knicks and is easily the more successful of the two who once donned the Cream and Crimson. He is a starter and averaged 18 points a game for his squad during the regular season.

However, Bryant is part of the team that competes in Indiana and is just up the road from Bloomington. While he serves as the backup center to Myles Turner, he plays a crucial role off the bench for the Pacers at times.

Many Hoosier supporters are getting their ideal scenario with Anunoby playing quite well with 16 points in each of the first two contests, while the in-state Pacers have come out victorious in both matchups, with the series shifting to Indianapolis. However, Bryant has only four points combined in the two games.

Either way, though, a former IU player will be playing for an NBA Championship in June, and right now the Pacers look like they will be the ones making their first finals appearance since 2000. If one of these squads is raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy, it will be the first time since the 1970s (and in the Pacers’ case, this was in the ABA).

In other news involving a former Hoosier player, a different one received an honor. This involved newcomer Kel’el Ware being named second-team all-rookie by the league.

Banner #3 – IU basketball roster updates

Once again, no new players joined the Hoosiers this week. However, there was still some news regarding the roster.

With player personnel now mostly set across the country, Inside the Hall looked at each Indiana player in detail. This included Trent Sisley, Tucker DeVries, Conor Enright, Reed Bailey, Lamar Wilkerson, and Jasai Miles.

With so much turnover, ESPN Joe Lunardi is not yet optimistic about IU’s outlook for next season. He has Indiana just barely outside the NCAA Tournament for 2026.

Banner #4 – IU basketball recruiting updates

With the roster for this coming season nearly complete, DeVries has turned to high school recruiting. DeVries has offered scholarships this week to multiple elite players for future years. They also have visits upcoming with a couple of prospects and another one has the Hoosiers as a finalists with his college decision nearing.

Banner #5 – Podcast on the Brink and Back Home Network shows

Podcast on the Brink returned this week. On it, Crimson Cast’s Scott Caulfield crossed over to discuss the DeVries hire.

The Back Home Network was also on air multiple times this week. Crimson Cast itself had several shows about a variety of topics over the last few days.

Banner #6 – Hoosier Roundup

• Baseball was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament after two games. As a result, their season has ended and they will miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. This is despite coming into the year with expectations of being a national contender and two high-round MLB draft picks. One of these was Devin Taylor, who is a semifinalist for an award that goes to the nation’s top hitter. Also, a few other players were honored by the league.

• Rowing finished fourth at the conference championship and was selected to their third straight NCAA Tournament. As a result of this success, one of their newcomers was honored by the league.

• Swimming and diving had strong results at the USA Diving National Championships.

• Track and field competed at the Big Ten Championship..

• Softball’s Taylor Minnick was named an All-American.

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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