BORDEN, Ind. -- Indiana is, for the most part, officially done with the 2019 class.
Barring a player becoming available who is an "impactful decision," IU head coach Archie Miller plans to carry over the two remaining scholarships from 2019 into the 2020 recruiting class.
"We’ll be able, for the first time since I’ve been here, to have some roster flexibility with our scholarship situation,” Miller said at Wednesday's annual On the Road with the Hoosiers fan engagement event at Huber's Orchard and Winery. “It’s never good in 2019 to have 13 guys on scholarship. It just doesn’t work at this level. You have to have some flexibility to do what we want.
"We would only use one if it was an impactful decision. We’re not going to use one just to be hasty. We’ve had all spring to evaluate things, but going into the 2020 class with some more windows to add some more bodies in that class is something that we’ve looked forward to."
Offseason roster attrition has Indiana at 11 scholarships, two below the NCAA limit which Miller alluded to above. Initially, though, that wasn't the plan.
The Hoosiers pursued five-star forwards Keion Brooks Jr. and Trendon Watford as well as four-star guards Anthony Harris and Lester Quinones this spring in an attempt to fill those scholarships, but those four ended up going in different directions. Brooks signed with Kentucky, Watford with LSU, Harris with North Carolina and Quinones with Memphis.
Counting the addition of Butler grad transfer Joey Brunk, Indiana ended up with a three-man class in 2019 that also features four-star Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and Rivals150 guard Armaan Franklin. Those spots were previously occupied by Romeo Langford, who announced earlier this week that he is staying in the NBA Draft, and Evan Fitzner and Juwan Morgan, both of whom graduated from IU this spring.
The two open spots - a product of freshman forward Jake Forrester and sophomore forward Clifton Moore choosing to transfer - plus the graduations of senior guard Devonte Green and senior forward De'Ron Davis next spring will give Indiana four scholarships to work with next season.
Miller didn't rule out potentially using a scholarship on a grad transfer later this summer. Right now, though, he seems content with an 11-man roster heading into the upcoming season.
“Sometimes when you have 13 guys on scholarship, if (Player) 12 or (Player) 13 aren’t redshirting or injured, you have some dynamics you have to deal with with playing time,” Miller said. “To be able to go into this season a little thinner on that, to me, gives guys more of a light at the end of the tunnel where they have a real purpose and can see themselves being a part of things for the long term.”
Hunter Still Rehabbing Lower Leg Condition
A topic of conversation with both media and fans Tuesday - Miller was asked about it during both his press availability and speech to the Huber's crowd, Jerome Hunter's availability for the upcoming season is still a ways away from being determined.
The redshirt freshman forward is still recovering from a "lower leg condition" that forced him to miss all of last season, and a more firm status update likely won't come until later this summer.
"He's been elevated in terms of his activity level, he's doing a lot more individual stuff, but he's far, far away from having any indication or any final decision on where he goes from here," Miller said. "We're probably looking towards July and August in seeing what he's capable of doing as we continue to progress with what the doctors and the training staff have done with his plan."
Hunter is a former national top 60 and four-star prospect. If he's available this winter, his scoring ability would address a key need at the wing position with Langford moving on to the NBA.
"We're excited to get him back on the floor," Miller said. "He's doing a lot more individual work, he's doing a lot more weight training and conditioning, so it's good having him back and being active."
Brunk Will Bring Much-Needed Personality To Locker Room
Indiana's frontcourt departures via graduation and transfers necessitated the group's depth being addressed this spring. That need was filled in the form of Brunk.
The 6-11, 230-pound Indianapolis Southport product will add Big Ten size, but more importantly, a psyche that the Hoosiers desperately need.
"I think Joey's got a really, really good personality that's much-needed in our locker room," Miller said. "He's got a great personality, a voice, he competes. I think he's going to bring a different element to what we have. We need some personality with these guys to juice them up a little bit.
"I'm really, really happy that Joey decided to join us. That's an experience level in another guy that's played at a high level."
Brunk started in 13 of the 33 games he appeared in during his final season at Butler. He averaged 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and an assist and also shot 61.7% from the floor, making 95 of 154 field goal attempts.
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