Bloomington – Indiana Basketball The transfer portal currently ranks second in the country, according to 247 Sports.
Coach Mike Woodson reworked the roster after falling short in the NCAA Tournament last season, but the portal was busier than ever, with Big Ten teams equally active.
Here’s a list of the top transfers IU will face during the 2024-25 season (presented in alphabetical order), it’s a list that will grow in the coming weeks as some big names are still on the market and the Hoosiers finalize their non-conference to schedule:
More: IU Insider Mailbag Q&A: On frontcourt depth issues, Adidas, fan frustrations, scheduling
Top Transfers Indiana Basketball Will Face During 2024-25 Season
Kylan Boswell, PG; Illinois (Arizona)
Kylan could be an emerging player in the Big Ten. He was solid in Arizona, but he is one of the youngest players in his class and still showed a lot of potential. He can shoot (37.9% from 3-point range last season), effectively run the pick and roll, and is a plus defender.
Aaron Bradshaw, C; Ohio State (Kentucky)
The former consensus five-star put up modest numbers as a true freshman at Kentucky with 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, but missed the entire preseason while recovering from a foot injury and played limited minutes (13 .7 per game with just 10 matches) . The athletic 7-foot-1, 225-pounder will likely see more playing time in Columbus. Indiana will play the Buckeyes twice in 2024-25.
Frankie Fidler, SF; Michigan State (Omaha)
Michigan State was the only Power Five team that did not sign a transfer in 2022 and 2023. Coach Tom Izzo hopes Fidler can provide a boost to an offense that averaged just 72.9 points per game last season. Fiddler averaged 20.1 points (his third straight year averaging double figures) and 6.3 rebounds per game last season while shooting 45% from the field. He also shot 35.4% from 3-point range for his career.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, PG; Maryland (Belmont)
Gillespie was Maryland’s highest-rated transfer signee. He was a dynamic talent coming out of the Missouri Valley Conference, coming off an impressive sophomore campaign – he made the All-Conference second team, the All-Defensive team and the Most-Improve team. He filled the stat sheet with 17.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. In two seasons, he shot 51.1% from the field and 38.7% from 3-point range in 2023-24. He will provide an intriguing 1-2 strike alongside freshman forward Derick Queen.
Vladislav Goldin, C; Michigan (FAU)
Dusty May brought with her a familiar face to Ann Arbor. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Russian helped FAU reach the Final Four in 2022-23 as the team’s only player to start all 39 games. He shot 62.5% from the field, averaging 10.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Goldin improved his overall numbers last season, including that impressive field goal percentage (67.3%). He’s not a guy with range — he never attempted a 3-pointer during his college career — but he’s a fighter that May knows how to get the most out of.
Kobe Johnson, SF; UCLA (USC)
He’s not the most imposing offensive player – he has a career shooting percentage of 42.3% and has averaged just 1.7 free throw attempts per game – but he’s an impressive defender who can challenge Mackenzie Mgabko. Johnson made the All-Pac 12 defensive team in consecutive seasons. He had a 4.1% steal rate last season (ranked 30th in Division 1, according to KenPom).
Great Osobor, C; Washington (state of Utah)
One of the best attacking players in the transfer portal. Osobor reportedly received $2 million in NIL deals for signing with Washington after winning the Mountain West Conference player of the year award. He will be an interesting matchup for IU’s new big man Oumar Ballo. The 6-foot-2, 250-pounder averaged 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists last year with 15 double-doubles in 35 games (33.7 minutes per game). He spent the first two seasons of his career at Montana State.
Danny Wolf, C:Michigan (Yale)
New Michigan coach Dusty May was as active as Mike Woodson in the portal during the offseason, with an emphasis on increasing volume at the position. Wolf, who has international experience playing for Team Israel at the 2023 FIBA Under-20 European Championship, averaged 14.1 points (47.2%), 9.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a sophomore. He helped Yale pull off a first-round upset over Auburn in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. He runs the court and passes well for his size.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all of its coverage clicking here.
This article originally appeared in The Herald-Times: Who are the top transfers Indiana basketball will face in 2024-25?
