Indiana forwards Kaleb Banks, Payton Sparks enter NCAA transfer portal

Indiana basketball has lost a pair of players to the transfer portal as Kaleb Banks and Payton Sparks have entered the portal, On3 has learned.

Banks appeared in 21 games for Indiana this season, averaging 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He signed with the Hoosiers as a four-star recruit in the class of 2022. Banks was ranks as the No. 110 overall player in the country, according to the On3 Industry rankings.

Sparks appeared in 24 games with two starts this past season. He averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Sparks came to Indiana after transferring in from Ball State last March. He averaged 13.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game at Ball State in 2022-23.

The 2023-24 season was a tough one overall for the Hoosiers. Indiana finished with a 19-14 record in Year 3 under Mike Woodson, missing out on the NCAA Tournament.

Indiana made the NCAA Tournament in each of Woodson’s first two years but was unable to go on much of a run, failing to reach the Sweet 16 either season.

This is an important offseason for IU as it looks to build a roster that can compete for Big Ten titles. Indiana is likely to be heavily involved in trying to add players from the portal.

Tom Crean passionately condemns teams for declining NIT invitation

Indiana had an opportunity to continue its season by playing in the NIT but chose not to.

Among the teams that turned down NIT invitations were Indiana, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Memphis, St. John’s and Pittsburgh. The sheer number left one former coach and current college basketball analyst fuming: Tom Crean.

“There’s no question about it,” Crean said on ESPN. “I would want to coach, I would want to develop my team. You’ve got bigger staffs than you’ve ever had. There’s plenty of time for the portal. There’s plenty of time to talk to recruits. There’s plenty of time to negotiate NIL deals.

“There’s not plenty of time to play. There’s not plenty of time to get your players on the floor and give them a chance to get better. There’s not plenty of time for guys to continue to play that may never get to play again. And that to me is absolutely ridiculous.”

That’s not to say that every decision is made equally. Each team has different circumstances.

Take Ole Miss, for example. The Rebels currently have a player, Jamarion Sharp, whose mother is in critical condition. Sharp has taken some time away from the team already to be with his mother, but surely it was taxing trying to play college basketball games knowing she was fighting for her life.

Still, the proliferation of teams declining NIT bids citing a focus on the transfer portal could easily become a trend. There are several teams this year who opted to cut their postseasons short.