BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana suffered another early exit from the NCAA Tournament, ending the legendary college career of Trayce Jackson-Davis and ushering in a new era for Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers.
Losing Jackson-Davis and star freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino makes this a tough offseason, but the program managed to land a big fish in the transfer portal when former Oregon center Kel'el Ware committed to the Hoosiers for his second college season.
Ware joined the Ducks as one of the most highly regarded freshmen in the country last year, but he managed to averaged just 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while his playing time dwindled as the season went on.
Despite pedestrian numbers from last year, the fit at Indiana is a promising one according to Locked on College Basketball host Andy Patton and guest Leif Thulin of the Locked on NBA Big Board.
"I think they'll play high low with Ware being high and [Malik] Reneau being low," Thulin said. "I imagine this will allow Ware to shoot more threes. Offensively he'll play the four and defensively he'll play the five...I can see why that was an appealing fit because of Malik Reneau in particular."
Ware was considered by many to be a potential lottery pick in the 2023 NBA draft, but his poor performance at Oregon saw him sliding down boards - and he wisely made the decision to return to school and look for a program that better suits his skill set.
There is still a lot of roster churn to come in college hoops, but a Hoosiers frontcourt with Ware and Reneau could be among the better ones in the Big Ten, and would allow Ware to showcase his outside shooting and shot blocking skills while giving Indiana a quality big to help replace the giant hole left by Jackson-Davis.
For more on the Indiana basketball offseason, check out the Locked on Hoosiers podcast!