Iup basketball

[Ship69]

Well said. Jake Biss just became the third Ship player in recent years to sign a contact with a European pro team. The odds of any player from the PSAC making an NBA roster are very slim. All it takes is a look at the percentage of college players who end up in the NBA to realize that.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Armoni is gone. Like it or not. I'm thankful those who stayed are still here. Teams would have been salivating over Porterfield and Sulaiman.

As for 22-23, I'm more worried about guard depth on June 15.

[IUPalum]

[IUPNation]

[IUPalum]

[IUPNation]

So you don't consider the MAC a step up from the PSAC?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

This 'could' be Joe's last big run of this current span.

I say that because Porterfield and Sulaiman will certainly both be candidates to go up after this season. If they stay, he'll be loaded up for the next couple years.

As good as Porterfield was this year, I suspect -- fully healthy -- he'll be even better this coming season. He got that bad, lingering illness last year and it really took a toll on him. I remember from opening night to about mid-January he must have lost 30 pounds. He was throwing up every game and looked pale as a ghost there for a long stretch. To his credit, he played through it. You could see that last month his health was coming back. I think we too often forget he was only a sophomore last year and was named the Regional MVP. He had two legendary sequences at the end of the season ... the 11 straight FTs to beat Mercyhurst and then the corner trey in the regional final to sink the Vulcans. That three was the loudest moment I've ever heard at an IUP basketball game. To have a 6'9" player being one of the top three-point shooters in all of D2 is just such a luxury.

Brandon Norfleet hit a similar shot to win the regional down at WL, but doing it inside the KCAC was incredible. And, of course, his interview afterward when he sounded like Ollie (Hoosiers) when he said "I knew that was going in". LOL. Joe gave him that famous smirk and David and Armoni started laughing. That was hilarious.

[IUPalum]

So playing in the MAC, against a handful of BIG10 schools and playing in the Islands for the season opening tourney isn't going to get him the exposure he's looking for? He's looking to get exposure to play at the next level. Not only do I think he accomplished that, he accomplished playing close to home where his family can make the shorter trips to watch.

[Ship69]

Hated to see him go, but I understand it. He's been in Indiana for a long time. Buffalo is a step up in competition.

Joe's still going to be very strong this year but obviously they'd have been terrific had Armoni stayed.

Even though it's now mid-June I still think they are going to add a depth guard.

As of right now the four guards in the rotation will be Shawndale, Morris, Polce and Dillard. It would sure seem Dillard is now the starting PG, which is his natural position. So, Polce will be the 6th Man. Obviously Ethan and Sulaiman are the other two starters.

The immediate bench would be Polce, Diop and Brooks.

They are very excited about the two incoming freshmen. We'll see if either crack the floor this year.

Let's just hope for a healthy season. They've had two major, season-ending injuries early in both the past two full years.


The West will be down this year. To be fair, last year was probably the strongest West division in PSAC history. Consider the team that finished fourth in the West made the Regional Final.



My 'way too early' West prediction:

1. IUP - Joe's post players will be too much for most to handle. Add to it an experienced guard rotation and deep bench. If Shawndale Jones is back 100%, they'll be a Regional contender once again. Joe has his two stars underneath in Porterfield and Sulaiman, but the breakout player this year could be Damir Brooks. He redshirted last year and will give them a really big muscle guy under the basket. He's bigger than Sulaiman and can jump out of gym. Ousmane Diop deciding to stay also gives them an athletic 6'10" guy off the bench.

2. Mercyhurst - Gary lucked out when two of his three portal entrants came back. Size has hampered them the last two years. I'd imagine that was Priority One this off-season.

3. California - The two stars are gone along with the gritty Boswell, but a lot returns.

4. UPJ - Life after Fred Mulbah will be interesting. Everybody else returns but he was such a dynamic playmaker for his teammates. Their fate likely gets determined by whomever is the new PG.

5-7. These three are likely interchangeable this season: Gannon, Slippery Rock, Edinboro. All took some big losses. Check back on this after rosters post.

8. Seton Hill - The Griffins lost a lot of depth after the coaching change but did retain their top players. They will have a nice starting guard trio this winter. Their two big guys underneath are both nice players but have struggled to stay healthy.

9. Clarion - Gerald Jarmon stayed, which surprised many. But, Lawrence Lemon graduated and Connor Ferrell left via the portal. Jarmon can be a beast, but his supporting cast doesn't appear strong enough.

Agree with your analysis, although I think "very strong" understates where IUP is this year. I don't see a team in the league that will touch them if they stay healthy. They lost Foster, but a healthy Jones would make up for him, and as IUP fans pointed out you really didn't have Foster at 100 percent for much of the year. ESU is probably about the only PSAC team that returns as much of its talent as IUP, and the Warriors aren't as talented overall as IUP.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Hated to see him go, but I understand it. He's been in Indiana for a long time. Buffalo is a step up in competition.

Joe's still going to be very strong this year but obviously they'd have been terrific had Armoni stayed.

Even though it's now mid-June I still think they are going to add a depth guard.

As of right now the four guards in the rotation will be Shawndale, Morris, Polce and Dillard. It would sure seem Dillard is now the starting PG, which is his natural position. So, Polce will be the 6th Man. Obviously Ethan and Sulaiman are the other two starters.

The immediate bench would be Polce, Diop and Brooks.

They are very excited about the two incoming freshmen. We'll see if either crack the floor this year.

Let's just hope for a healthy season. They've had two major, season-ending injuries early in both the past two full years.


The West will be down this year. To be fair, last year was probably the strongest West division in PSAC history. Consider the team that finished fourth in the West made the Regional Final.



My 'way too early' West prediction:

1. IUP - Joe's post players will be too much for most to handle. Add to it an experienced guard rotation and deep bench. If Shawndale Jones is back 100%, they'll be a Regional contender once again. Joe has his two stars underneath in Porterfield and Sulaiman, but the breakout player this year could be Damir Brooks. He redshirted last year and will give them a really big muscle guy under the basket. He's bigger than Sulaiman and can jump out of gym. Ousmane Diop deciding to stay also gives them an athletic 6'10" guy off the bench.

2. Mercyhurst - Gary lucked out when two of his three portal entrants came back. Size has hampered them the last two years. I'd imagine that was Priority One this off-season.

3. California - The two stars are gone along with the gritty Boswell, but a lot returns.

4. UPJ - Life after Fred Mulbah will be interesting. Everybody else returns but he was such a dynamic playmaker for his teammates. Their fate likely gets determined by whomever is the new PG.

5-7. These three are likely interchangeable this season: Gannon, Slippery Rock, Edinboro. All took some big losses. Check back on this after rosters post.

8. Seton Hill - The Griffins lost a lot of depth after the coaching change but did retain their top players. They will have a nice starting guard trio this winter. Their two big guys underneath are both nice players but have struggled to stay healthy.

9. Clarion - Gerald Jarmon stayed, which surprised many. But, Lawrence Lemon graduated and Connor Ferrell left via the portal. Jarmon can be a beast, but his supporting cast doesn't appear strong enough.

[Ship69]

So you don't consider the MAC a step up from the PSAC?

[IUPNation]

Armoni is signing with Buffalo.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There is a good article in The Buffalo News about Armoni's transfer to Buffalo.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There's one big player left unsigned from the WPIAL (Jake DeMichele) but I don't think IUP went after him.

He has offers from West Liberty and a slew of other PSAC and MEC schools. I get the impression he was holding out for a D1 offer.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not much of a secret anymore but I'd say it's 99.9% confirmed that Ousmane Diop has decided to return to IUP.

So, that puts the roster as of today at 14 players. The post is set. I could still see them add a transfer guard.