IUWBB’s Mackenize Holmes selected 26th overall by the Seattle Storm in the WNBA Draft
Indiana’s Mackenize Holmes was selected as the 26th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft to the Seattle Storm. For the third straight season, Indiana has a player picked in the WNBA Draft as Holmes becomes the sixth player in school history to be selected. Grace Berger went seventh overall in 2023 and Ali Patberg was picked as the 33rd overall in 2022, both to the Indiana Fever. Other players selected in the WNBA Draft include Jori Davis (2011, 33rd pick, Indiana Fever), Jill Chapman (2002, 21st pick, Detroit Shock), and Quacy Barnes (1998, 22nd pick, Sacramento Monarchs).
A unanimous All-Big Ten First Team, All-Big Ten Defensive team and USBWA and AP All-American this season, Holmes led Indiana (and second in the Big Ten) in scoring with 19.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and shooting a league-best 65.0 percent from the floor in 32 games. She scored in double figures in 30 of 32 games including 17 20-point games and two 30-point efforts along with a team-high six double-doubles. Nationally, Holmes finished third in field goal percentage, 13th in field goals made (260), 24th in points per game, and 32nd in points (633).
She was a Top 5 finalist for the 2024 Lisa Leslie Award, which honors the nation’s top center and appeared on a variety of national player of the year lists as a candidate including the Wooden Award, Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy and USWBA Ann Meyers Drysdale award. The Gorham, Maine native finished her IU career as the Women’s all-time leading scorer and second leading Hoosier scorer, with 2,530 career points. She also finishes with the program’s best field goal percentage for a career, shooting 63.9 percent from the floor while pulling down 990 rebounds, and finishing second in all-time blocks with 258. She finished as the program’s all-time winningest player with 123 career victories and in the top five of 11 different statistical categories.
Indiana University Football adds Cornerback Cedarius Doss from Austin Peay
Indiana has made a spring addition via the transfer portal. Austin Peay cornerback Cedarius Doss announced on Sunday he is transferring to IU. He should have two seasons of eligibility remaining. The 5-foot-8 and 176-pound Doss was a 2023 PFF FCS All-America, and the highest-graded corner in FCS. He’ll be reunited in Bloomington with his former Austin Peay teammate, linebacker Josh Rudolph. Doss ranked 27th in the FCS and second in the UAC with three interceptions during the 2023 season, that mark also led Austin Peay. Doss ranked fifth in the UAC with 10 total passes defended and ranked 14th in the league with seven pass breakups.
Doss had two interceptions against Stephen F. Austin and was one of 57 players in the FCS with a multi-interception game last season. He was one of just eight players with a multiple-interception game that included a pick-six. Doss totaled 35 tackles – including 22 solo stops – to go along with 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble from the cornerback position. He also blocked a field goal against Chattanooga. Doss should be the eighth scholarship corner on the team following Nic Toomer’s move to safety. Doss will join Jamier Johnson, Kobee Minor, JoJo Johnson, Jamari Sharpe, Dontrae Henderson, Josh Philostin, and Christian Peterson.
Six Former Indiana University Men’s Basketball players get ready for the NBA Playoffs Six former Indiana basketball standouts are set to take center stage in the 2024 NBA postseason.
OG Anunoby, New York Knicks -A midseason trade sent Anunoby, the 23rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, from the Toronto Raptors to the New York Knicks. In 23 games with the Knicks, Anunoby averaged 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per contest while playing 34.9 minutes a night. The former NBA All-Defensive Team selection shot 48.8% from the floor, 39.4% from the 3-point line, and 74.5% from the free throw line after the trade. The Knicks wrapped up the second seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 50-32 and will await the results of the 2024 SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament to determine their first-round opponent.
Thomas Bryant, Miami Heat- Bryant, a seven-year NBA veteran, appeared in 38 games for the Miami Heat and averaged 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game. Miami earned the eighth seed and will play the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers at 7pm on Wednesday on ESPN. The winner of that game will secure a spot in the playoffs and a series against the second-seeded New York Knicks.
Eric Gordon, Phoenix Suns- Gordon, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, appeared in 68 games for the new-look Phoenix Suns and averaged 11.0 points on 37.8% shooting from the 3-point line. He has also posted 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game in 27.8 minutes. The Suns finished as the six seed in the Western Conference and will take on the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round beginning on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Jalen Hood-Schifino, Los Angeles Lakers- Hood-Schifino, the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, played in 21 games with the Los Angeles Lakers while splitting time with the G League’s South Bay Lakers. The eighth-seeded Lakers will square off with the seventh-seeded New Orleans Pelicans at 7:30pm tonight on Tuesday, on TNT with the winner advancing to face the second-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Golden State Warriors- Jackson-Davis, a 2023 Consensus All-American, made 16 starts and 68 appearances in his debut season with the Golden State Warriors. The 57th overall pick averaged 7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocked shots in 16.6 minutes per game. He shot 70.4% from the floor. The 10-seeded Warriors will square off with the No. 9 seed Sacramento Kings at 10pm tonight on TNT. The winner will take on the loser of the No. 7 versus No. 8 game for the final playoff seed. The winner of the final play-in game will travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder in the opening round.
Cody Zeller, New Orleans Pelicans-Zeller, and 11-year NBA vet, appeared in 43 games for the New Orleans Pelicans. The former No. 4 overall pick averaged 7.4 minutes in a reserve role. The seventh-seeded Pelicans will square off with the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30pm tonight on TNT with the winner advancing to face the second-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Indianapolis Colts Defensive Lineman DeForest Buckner agrees to contract extension
On the field, DeForest Buckner is hard to move. And he won’t be going anywhere for the Indianapolis Colts. The team awarded their defensive stalwart with a contract extension. The 2-year, $46 million extension will make him one of the highest-paid defensive linemen in the league, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It runs through the 2026 season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Colts confirmed the re-signing with a social media post that said, “Extend Buck” followed by a checkmark.
Buckner was in the final year of the four-year contract he signed with the Colts after being acquired via trade from the San Francisco 49ers in 2020. Indy gave up the No. 13 overall pick to get him. A durable, disruptive defensive tackle, Buckner played in 17 games this past season, setting a career high in tackles with 81. He finished with 8 sacks, tying him with Dayo Odeyingbo for third-most on the team. Buckner, 30, consistently draws double teams, freeing up other defenders to make plays. Even then, he remains a force in the middle, consistently clogging running lanes and providing interior pressure. In four seasons with the Colts, he’s averaged more than 8 sacks per year.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection (2018, 2021, 2023) who has earned AP First Team All-Pro (2020) and Second Team All-Pro (2019) honors, he is again expected to play a key role for the Colts’ defense, providing experience, leadership and accountability as a team captain. For the Colts, the extension follows the team’s current strategy of retaining key players. Grover Stewart, Kenny Moore II, Michael Pittman Jr. and Zaire Franklin were among the players who re-signed in free agency or were given extensions this offseason.
Indiana Pacers will face the Milwaukee Bucks in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs
The Indiana Pacers have clinched the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 157-115, in their regular season finale at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday to avoid the NBA Play-In Tournament. Teams that finish the regular season seeded first through sixth automatically make the playoffs, and squads that are seeded seventh through 10th participate in a play-in tournament to determine which franchises will clinch the final two playoff spots.
Myles Turner played a pivotal role in Indiana’s win on Sunday. The 6-foot-11 center racked up 31 points and 12 rebounds in 22 minutes played. Forward Pascal Siakam was the Pacers’ second-leading scorer with 28 points. Indiana will play the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. The Pacers went 4-1 against the Bucks during the regular season, counting a win in the in-season tournament. The first round of the NBA Playoffs will begin on April 20. The play-in tournament will be held April 16-19. More information on postseason matchups and the play-in tournament is available here.
Lawrence North Graduate and former Iowa Player Tony Perkins Transfers to the University of Missouri
There will no final season homecoming for Iowa’s Tony Perkins. The Indianapolis native announced on Monday he will play his final season of college basketball at Missouri. IU was thought to be a strong contender for Perkins before recent developments. The news comes just a couple days after Indiana landed Washington State point guard Myles Rice out of the transfer portal.
Indiana is also a favorite to land Stanford transfer guard Kanaan Carlyle, a strong contender for Bradley’s Connor Hickman, and they already have Trey Galloway and Gabe Cupps returning with experience as primary ball handlers. Rice, and Carlyle if they land him, should give Indiana some semblance of class balance. Both have three years of eligibility remaining, Galloway and Hickman are both entering their final seasons. Perkins chose Missouri over IU, Oregon, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Ole Miss. He’ll join former IU guard Tamar Bates at Missouri.
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