**** Official 2026 MBB Spring Transfer Portal Thread ****

[Drew0311]

If we get Johnson and either Bond or Prather, then I wouldn't mind Milan taking his time to make a decision.

Toure, Batemon, Johnson, Wiggins, Bond or Prather would be a good rotation at the 1-3 spots, with Singleton (hopefully), Buchanan, Pleta and Rinaldo-Komlan covering the 4-5 spots. That's a 9 man rotation. Plus we still have Mitchell. Not sure if he will stay or if he would contribute much. We will have Gray as well, but probably too much depth for him to play, assuming we get Johnson.

Speaking of Mitchell. Is TJ trying to keep him? I know he was injured but does he have enough talent? Suprised he has not hit the portal yet. Maybe he stays and can contribute.

 

[isucy86]

Agree on Singleton but like Prather next due to his size, scoring, and assist/turnover ratio.

Guess if I had to prioritize it would be:

1. Singleton
2. Bond
3. Manning

The above assumes Momcilovic & Mitchell return. And we hold some money back for Momcilovic (or his replacement).

 

[Cyclonepride]

Yeah I'm all for letting them play and generally allowing more contact is probably better then being super strict, but if we are going to introduce a "cylinder foul" then there should be no world were teams are able to do what they did to Milan without getting a few fouls per game as a result.

Yeah, they weren't just inside his cylinder, they were inside his jersey. Way, way too much contact.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I think we HAVE to have freshmen produce. Where would we have been without this year’s freshmen?! Get ‘em in and let TJ and the staff coach’em up!

You do, but I think you want to have at least the top 6 or 7 as experienced guys who are known quantities and if the freshmen can push past them, then they're just adding to your team's potential.

 

[Frak]

Camden Heide in the portal. From MN and has now played at Purdue and Texas. A really good 3 and D guy. Shoots a great % at 6'7

Camden Heide College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Camden Heide - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

If we do lose Milan, this would be a good replacement. Not offensively for sure, but a 3 and D guy you can park in the corner does add some value. You'd just need to get your scoring from somewhere else. That's a little bit scary thinking you don't have much for scoring ability out of 3 of your starting 5.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

I despise Dan Hurley but I agree with what he said on the DP show the other day.

"Unless it absolutely makes total sense for you to go and you know you're a lottery pick guaranteed to go top 15-18, the biggest mistake you can make right now as a college basketball player is going to the draft too early"

I love Milan, but right now he’s not top 18 in the draft. If we can give him $2 mil next year he’ll likely walk out of ISU with $5 Mil + in the bank after his 4 years here. Which is just slightly better than the $30K debt I walked away with.

If TJ is able to bring in some of the guys he’s targeting in the portal, we won’t be too far off where we were last year. Milan could likely build up his draft stock with a solid performance next year and be the main man on the team.

I agree with all of this. Especially the despising Dan Hurley part.

 

[isucy86]

If we do lose Milan, this would be a good replacement. Not offensively for sure, but a 3 and D guy you can park in the corner does add some value. You'd just need to get your scoring from somewhere else. That's a little bit scary thinking you don't have much for scoring ability out of 3 of your starting 5.

If we lose Milan, I hope we swing big. Spend the cash on a 15ppg level player.

The nice thing, Singleton is a 3/4 guy if he can become an average 3pt shooter.

 

[Texbudman]

You do, but I think you want to have at least the top 6 or 7 as experienced guys who are known quantities and if the freshmen can push past them, then they're just adding to your team's potential.

Yeah I agree. Michigan was all transfers. I was speaking more about us needing to have freshmen contribute as we can’t afford as many high cost transfers. Used to love watching freshmen contribute and get excited about watching their progress over the next 3-4 years. Those days I’m afraid may be gone

 

[GP4ISU]

Another thought on Milan. It was rumored that Hy-Vee was giving him a big NIL deal. Maybe $1.5M from ISU and $1.5M from Hy-Vee. Maybe its possible that Hy-Vee keeps that deal but TJ says if he decides, late, ISU can only offer $500K.

I’d switch my alliance away from the Fareway meat counter if that was true….

 

[clone52]

Physical & hands-on defense is part of the current college game.

Not sure TJ is going to lead the charge on teams being physical with Momcilovic, because ISU's defense is physical.

On thing during Michigan's title run that wasn't highlighted by TV folks was how physical their defense was. They were shoulder & hip chucking cutters. And their guards were stiff-arming opponent ball handlers.

Iowa State's defense is not bear hug a player around every screen. There was a big difference over what refs let teams get away with on Milan.

Iowa State does get away with a lot of cylinder fouls that don't get called, though.

 

[clone52]

I’d switch my alliance away from the Fareway meat counter if that was true….

I'm just speculating on amounts and I thought I had heard he had something in Hy-Vee. I know he has big signs in Jordan Creek mall for some bank.

 

[1UNI2ISU]

He was the MVC Defensive Player of the Year and his nickname is "Bully." Would be a HUGE get offensively and defensively. Perfect for TJs system.

Had Bradley won one more game, he would have been POY too.

He's a really good player and a better kid. You want him in your program.

 

[Klubber]

Man, hint of a guy leaving and we point out every flaw he has. We obviously take him back and are better with him. All that needs to be said. Everyone of our guys has flaws. Up to TJ to determine cost / benefit if it gets to that point.

But to say that he was a no show in certain games applies to every player on the planet.

In the age of NIL, of course fans will be hyper critical, as will coaches deciding whether to portal someone in and/or run off a current player. The whole process is cut-throat now because of the money involved. And we as fans are being asked to give more and more money to help support the whole thing. Guys are making money that few of us can even imagine at that age, or any age for that matter. So if a guy's making a few million as a top player, he needs to deliver, because there are many other player options out there.

Milan's not showing up in big games has been an issue his previous 3 seasons. Everyone has bad games at inopportune times (as you said) but he's made a habit of it especially in really big games.

And again, I like him as a player and hope he comes back because we're better with him. But you can't ignore the obvious holes in his game currently.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Shot-fake sidestep for 3 is an even more valuable move and he barely missed it for 3 months straight. But I guess some fans don't consider that creating a shot.

I would like to see us give it to him in the post and let him back guys down. He's never going to be a dribble drive guy.

But this is what scouts are going to tell him to work on if he wants a shot at the first round.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

For Milan to back guys down, then Pleta & Buchanon are going to need to develop a consistent free-throw area jump shot.

A big reason our half-court offense struggled this past season was Arizona, BYU, Cincy could have their 7' post guy play a one man zone, because they didn't need to fear Buchanon or Pleta shooting in the high post.

This is a big off season for Pleta. If he can show that mid range game that completely changes everything.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

I agree with all of this. Especially the despising Dan Hurley part.

I'm not gonna sit here and pretend like that d!ck hole Dan Hurley is the only coach in college hoops that understands this... Literally every coach in America is telling their guys this.

 

[cyputz]

I will say, the lack of foul calls when he was face guarded last year was criminal. Constantly grabbed, hugged and impeded. It was really, really pathetic officiating.

I agree with your statement above, however, iSU needs to learn to battle with the toughness (see Mich/Ucon). Guard play has to be vicious on there drive (no bounce back shoulders). Physically will become more the game as money comes more into play.
Most players get dribble and shoot - not many can handled being abused. Sense the officiating and push the envelope.

 

[cyputz]

Don’t count out Pleta or Buchanan - their growth has been good. Both will become stronger, and develope an outside game.

 

[Cyclonepride]

This is a big off season for Pleta. If he can show that mid range game that completely changes everything.

He seems to have the skillset to develop into a really good stretch 4

 

[Clone95]

I agree. However, I don't think Prather adds anything that our two incomming freshman bigs can't provide. Maybe he is a good leader though. So I am down to take four of them and if one or two don't get playing time, no biggie.

Huh? You must be talking about Manning from KSU. Prather is a wing with pretty good 3 pt shooting on good volume.