{"id":613187,"date":"2026-04-17T15:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613187\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T15:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:43:08","slug":"what-does-iu-basketball-still-need-to-complete-its-2026-27-roster-the-daily-hoosier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/613187\/","title":{"rendered":"What does IU basketball still need to complete its 2026-27 roster? \u2013 The Daily Hoosier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Darian DeVries and his IU basketball staff have made a splash this week<\/a> with one of the nation\u2019s best transfer portal hauls.<\/p>\n

But the Hoosiers still have three open spots<\/a> on the roster as of Friday morning.<\/p>\n

And while they appear to have a solid first six or seven players, there are still some rotational and backstop needs that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

The good news, IU has not only added talent this portal cycle, but they already have a functioning team, with starting caliber players at each position.<\/p>\n

But in at least two ways, Indiana has done the easy part so far.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to sell a starting role, and it\u2019s easy when you have a mountain of cash.\u00a0 But finding competent, Big Ten caliber talent for limited minutes while ostensibly on a budget?\u00a0 Yeah, that\u2019s more difficult.<\/p>\n

But one way or another, IU needs to add depth across the board. Nothing goes according plan, and how they complete this roster may end up defining their ceiling in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

Here are some thoughts on their rotation and needs at each role.<\/p>\n

CENTER<\/p>\n

Samet Yi\u011fito\u011flu from SMU looks like Indiana\u2019s starting center for 2026-27.\u00a0 He may be the tallest player in program history at 7-foot-2.\u00a0 To this point he has not played more than 30 minutes per game on average in a season, and he was called for 4.5 fouls per 40 minutes in 2025-26.\u00a0 So there are open minutes at the five.<\/p>\n

Aiden Sherrell from Alabama looks like a hybrid power forward\/center for the Hoosiers.\u00a0 He\u2019ll almost certainly start at the four alongside Yi\u011fito\u011flu.\u00a0 And at 6-foot-11 and 255 pounds, Sherrell can roll over to the five when Yi\u011fito\u011flu is out of the game.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s it for players who, on IU\u2019s current roster, could even conceivably play the five.\u00a0 If\/when they run into foul trouble or injuries, there\u2019s really nowhere to turn.<\/p>\n

So the top need is more Big Ten size.\u00a0 A rotational 6-foot-10 plus body with a big frame who can absorb contact, rebound and rim protect is still a clear need.<\/p>\n

POWER FORWARD\/STRETCH FOUR<\/p>\n

As mentioned, Sherrell is your starter in this role.\u00a0 But what about when he plays center?\u00a0 What about overall depth at the critical role that helps space the floor in DeVries\u2019 open offense?<\/p>\n

Sophomore Trent Sisley is the top option at the moment.\u00a0 He\u2019s listed at 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds but seems a bit undersized for the role against high major opponents.\u00a0 Sisley is a good rebounder for his size and has a great motor.\u00a0 But he\u2019s a bit of a combo-forward at this level.<\/p>\n

IU is listing freshman Trevor Manhertz at 6-foot-8, so in theory he\u2019s another contender here.\u00a0 But they also list him at 185 pounds.\u00a0 He\u2019s unlikely to be ready for the physicality of college basketball this year, at least at the four.<\/p>\n

Indiana could still use a depth piece in this role to at least compete with Sisley for minutes.<\/p>\n

SMALL FORWARD\/SHOOTING GUARD<\/p>\n

Several players fit the description of off the ball wings.<\/p>\n

Jaeden Mustaf (Georgia Tech), Darren Harris (Duke) and Vaughn Karvala (freshman) fit this description in the classical sense, while Bryce Lindsay (Villanova) and Prince-Alexander Moody (freshman) have combo-guard skills but will likely spend most of their time off the ball.<\/p>\n

Not to mention, Sisley and Manhertz could both play the three at times.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a lot of bodies for two spots.\u00a0 It\u2019s likely the least of IU\u2019s needs at the moment.\u00a0 But it is worth noting that only Lindsay has made threes at a high rate on high volume in college among this group, and that remains a bit of a concern.\u00a0 Harris will likely alleviate those concerns but hasn\u2019t to this point in his career.<\/p>\n

So it wouldn\u2019t come as a total shock if IU took a flyer on a shooting specialist from a lower level of college basketball, or an international prospect, just to add some insurance.\u00a0 Someone with a defensive reputation wouldn\u2019t be the worst idea either.<\/p>\n

POINT GUARD<\/p>\n

Markus Burton from Notre Dame will be the starting point guard for IU.\u00a0 He has averaged 33 minutes per game for his college career, so at most IU is looking for 10 minutes per game for a backup point guard.<\/p>\n

Lindsay slid over to the one when Acaden Lewis was off the floor for Villanova last year, and he\u2019ll likely do the same for Indiana this year.\u00a0 So between Lindsay and Burton, the role should be covered.<\/p>\n

But again, what about when injuries or foul trouble come into play?<\/p>\n

Mustaf has some primary ball handler skills, as does Moody, so they both could be options.<\/p>\n

But IU could still use another classical point guard, who confidently handles the ball against pressure, looks to facilitate first, and can stay in front of opposing ones on defense.\u00a0 There won\u2019t be a lot of minutes here, so this would be a role for an up-and-comer if the staff can find one.<\/p>\n

For complete coverage of IU basketball,\u00a0GO HERE<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Daily Hoosier\u00a0\u2013\u201cWhere Indiana fans assemble when they\u2019re not at Assembly\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Darian DeVries and his IU basketball staff have made a splash this week with one of the nation\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-613187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}