Roundup: Hoosiers on top 100 player lists, preseason accolades for Rice and more – Inside the Hall

On By Littum

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 rounded up some of the IU-related content below:

Four Hoosiers on CBSSports.com’s Top 101 Players list

Last week, CBSSports.com ranked the 101 best 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 herebut here is what Adam Finkelstein wrote about Ballo:

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

Isaac Trotter of CBSSports.com as well ranked the 101 best downloads 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 recently ranked the top 100 players in college basketball. 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 Sunday at Tennessee:

“Mike Woodson has told reporters that 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 biggest asset may 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 made a ranking of the top 50 newcomers (transfers or freshmen) in college basketball. Ballo came in at No. 10 and Rice at No. 33.

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

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

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

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 top 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, Rutgers’ Dylan Harper 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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