This episode was recorded on Thursday, September 17th.

In this episode of The Assembly Call, Andy Bottoms, Ryan Phillips, and Brian Tonsoni break down Indiana’s newly released Big Ten schedule and debate whether it gives the Hoosiers a favorable path through conference play. They also discuss IU’s newest recruiting commitment and share early impressions of the football team.

The schedule appears manageable early, but the closing stretch is another story. The guys explore:

• Where Indiana has its best opportunity to build momentum

• The road games that may be tougher than they look

• Why playing the Big Ten’s best teams at home matters

• Whether IU can withstand a brutal finish

Also, Ryan offers an initial scouting report on Indiana’s new seven-foot commitment, while the crew considers what the addition says about the program’s recruiting strategy. They also touch on preseason Big Ten projections and strong starts across IU Athletics.

The show closes with early reactions to Indiana football’s 2–0 start, including Josh Hoover’s encouraging play and the questions that remain before conference competition begins.

It’s a great time to be a Hoosier. Brian Tonsoni is joined by Ryan Phillips and Bob Moats to break down Indiana basketball’s newly released non-conference schedule, sort through the latest eligibility questions, and get ready for the defending national champion football Hoosiers to open the 2026 season against North Texas.

• Sam Alexis’ eligibility remains unresolved, sparking a broader discussion about the NCAA, professional contracts, Summer League participation, and where college eligibility rules should ultimately draw the line.
• Victor Oladipo is attempting an NBA comeback, while a new documentary celebrates longtime Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer.
• Indiana volleyball earns a huge five-set victory over defending national champion Texas A&M, while IU men’s soccer continues its strong start.

The guys dig into a schedule featuring five power-conference opponents, including neutral-site matchups with Syracuse, Arkansas and Kentucky, plus home dates against UCF and Missouri. Add exhibitions against Butler, North Carolina and Western Kentucky, and IU will have plenty of opportunities to learn about itself before Big Ten play.

• Why the Arkansas-Kentucky back-to-back could provide an early measuring stick.
• How marquee games at Madison Square Garden and Lucas Oil can help Indiana build its NCAA Tournament résumé.
• Why the schedule feels appropriately ambitious for a veteran roster—and why the Big Ten alone can’t be counted on to provide enough quality opportunities.
• The overlooked value of games against teams like Bellarmine and Tennessee Tech, whose styles could give IU useful early-season tests even if they aren’t marquee opponents.
• And what would constitute a successful record in those five biggest non-conference games.

Finally, attention turns to Memorial Stadium as Curt Cignetti and the defending national champions begin another season. Expectations have changed dramatically: IU has reloaded, the entire home schedule is sold out, and simply getting to six wins feels like ancient history.

The guys discuss what to watch against North Texas, why nobody should overreact to the first game, and how football success is changing the entire Bloomington experience—from ticket demand and hotel prices to the atmosphere surrounding every home Saturday.

In this episode of The Assembly Call, Jerod Morris and Ryan Phillips take stock of where Indiana basketball stands in mid-August after the Peru trip, Sam Alexis’ return, and the first real glimpses of this rebuilt roster.

They dig into the reasons for cautious optimism, what this team’s identity could eventually become, and which questions still need to be answered before the games start counting.

• Why Sam Alexis’ return may matter more than a typical late-offseason roster addition—and what it changes about Indiana’s frontcourt options.
• What Bart Torvik’s early projections say about Indiana and a Big Ten that already looks brutally deep.
• The biggest lesson from Peru wasn’t any individual stat line, but what the roster suggested about how these pieces might fit together.
• What could define Indiana’s identity on both ends of the floor—and why this roster may offer Darren DeVries more ways to attack than he had a year ago.
• Which freshmen have raised expectations, which veterans may be getting overlooked, and how much we should really trust anything we see in August.
• A closer look at whether Indiana’s supposed depth is actually different this time—and why developing the back end of the rotation early could matter later.
• Does IU football’s incredible success take pressure off the basketball program… or quietly raise the standard for what fans will tolerate?

Jerod and Ryan also work through listener questions about pace, rotations, roster fit, player development, and how this group compares with some of the recent Indiana teams that looked promising on paper.

And with football season almost here, the show closes with some well-earned IU football talk, including what Ryan trusts most about the defending champs—and the biggest question he still has entering the season.

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Indiana 120, Virgin Islands 63

Indiana's summer tour rolled on with another lopsided win, but the score wasn't what had the Assembly Call crew talking afterward. Coach Brian Tonsoni, Ryan Phillips, and Bob Moats discuss a handful of standout performances, some intriguing lineup combinations, and why this team continues to look a little different from what Hoosier fans have grown accustomed to in recent years.

It's still July, and everyone is appropriately cautious—but there were enough flashes in this one to make for another entertaining postgame conversation.

• Which Hoosier stole the spotlight with a performance nobody saw coming.
• Why the roster's overall depth continues to stand out, regardless of the opponent.
• Early signs of what Darren DeVries wants Indiana basketball to look like on the offensive end.
• The newcomers and freshmen generating the most buzz through the first few games.
• A discussion about the players who could quietly become fan favorites this season.
• Areas where the Hoosiers still have plenty of work to do before November arrives.
• One unexpected eligibility question that sparked an interesting conversation late in the show.

With tougher competition still ahead, the guys resist the urge to overreact while acknowledging that this team has given fans plenty to be excited about. Summer basketball may not tell the whole story, but it's certainly making the wait for the regular season a little easier.

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Indiana's summer debut gave fans their first extended look at Darren DeVries' latest roster build, and there was plenty to discuss after Team USA's exhibition win over Team Canada.

Coach Tonsoni, Bob Moats, and special guest Andrew Garrison break down the newcomers, the freshmen, and the early signs of what this team could become—with the usual reminder that it's still only July.

• Why Marcus Burton immediately became a major topic of conversation.
• The freshmen who had Assembly Hall buzzing—and why fans are already taking notice.
• Early impressions of Indiana's size, athleticism, and roster construction.
• How Darren DeVries appears to be shaping the team's offensive identity.
• Which players flashed intriguing potential on both ends of the floor.
• Questions that still remain as the team continues building chemistry.
• What Indiana's upcoming trip to Peru could reveal about the Hoosiers moving forward.

In this episode of The Assembly Call, the crew checks in from the quiet part of the offseason—but with plenty to discuss. From the first glimpses of summer workouts to Indiana's exhibition schedule and the ongoing debate around NCAA Tournament expansion, there's no shortage of reasons to start getting excited for basketball again.

The Banner Moment: Summer Workouts Are Here

For the first time, we're getting a peek behind the curtain at this completely rebuilt roster.

• Early practice observations from those in attendance
• Why Coach Tonsoni is suddenly paying attention to practice videos
• What stood out from the first few days in Bloomington
• Looking ahead to Peru and why those games could be so valuable

Breaking Down the New-Look Roster

The conversation digs into what little we've seen—and what it might tell us.

• Why Indiana's roster construction feels more intentional this time around
• The importance of having multiple ways to create spacing offensively
• Which newcomers could quietly become the biggest difference-makers
• A fun exercise: if you're scouting Indiana, who do you try to stop first?

The discussion also explores why this team may simply have more answers than recent IU squads when defenses take away the first option.

Scheduling, Expansion, and the Bigger Picture

The show wraps with a look beyond the roster.

• Thoughts on playing marquee games in Indianapolis versus Assembly Hall
• Whether expanding the NCAA Tournament to 76 teams actually improves the event
• How a larger field could change scheduling philosophy across college basketball
• A few final reflections on the ever-changing landscape of the sport

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The crew opens with something Indiana fans haven’t had in a while during May: actual basketball stuff to look forward to.

Between the Peru trip, summer practices, and a roster that finally looks balanced on paper, there’s a real sense of momentum around the program.

• Why the Peru trip could end up being way more important than just “extra games”
• The hidden value of IU adding “practice body” depth pieces late in the portal cycle
• How Darian DeVries may have quietly overachieved in the transfer portal
• Why this roster feels fundamentally different from some recent IU teams
• The discussion turns into a surprisingly optimistic conversation about fit, shooting, and actual roster construction

There’s also some fun reflection on the current state of IU athletics overall — from football momentum to the feeling that Indiana is finally showing up in national conversations for positive reasons again.

And yes… the guys briefly spiral into memories of the 1992 Final Four loss to Duke, because some wounds apparently never heal.

Segment 2: The Big Ten Schedule Is Out… and IU Might’ve Actually Caught a Break

The conference opponents are officially set, and the panel wastes no time dissecting what’s good, what’s dangerous, and what could become sneaky problem spots.

A few major themes emerge quickly:

• Not having to visit Illinois, Michigan, and Michigan State feels enormous
• Why this schedule may set up well for a first-year roster still learning how to play together
• The road games everyone says are “winnable”… but somehow never feel comfortable
• An unfortunate amount of skepticism about beating Northwestern despite their roster turnover
• Wisconsin in Madison somehow turns into its own emotional subplot

The conversation eventually drifts into way-too-early Big Ten record predictions, and suddenly the panel is casually throwing around numbers that would represent Indiana’s best conference season in years.

Some restraint is attempted. It does not last long.

Segment 3: NCAA Tournament Expansion, College Basketball Chaos, and Coach Wants Golf Partners

The final segment tackles the looming NCAA Tournament expansion debate, and the conversation gets surprisingly thoughtful about what the tournament should actually represent.

Topics include:

• Why expanding the field feels inevitable whether fans like it or not
• The biggest issue with the current “First Four” setup
• A genuinely interesting idea for helping mid-major teams and preserving tournament magic
• Why the NCAA still doesn’t know how to properly treat smaller schools that earn tournament bids
• The guys accidentally workshop better tournament formats than the NCAA itself

And in true offseason fashion, the episode closes with:

• Indy 500 talk
• summer basketball plans
• podcast updates
• retirement excitement
• and Coach Tonsoni openly recruiting Assembly Call listeners to play golf with him around Indiana

Which honestly feels exactly right for a mid-May IU basketball show.

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In this episode of The Assembly Call, we react to Indiana’s massive transfer portal haul and what it might mean for year two under Darian DeVries. After a disappointing season, the tone has shifted quickly—and the conversation wrestles with how much of this excitement is justified versus how much still needs to be proven on the court.

Segment 1: Inside Indiana’s Portal Haul

The discussion centers on just how dramatic this roster overhaul has been—and why it feels different from past offseasons.

• Why this group appears more balanced than recent Indiana teams
• How the pieces might actually fit together in a modern offense
• The significance of adding a true lead guard and legit size up front
• A surprise commitment during the show that adds another wrinkle
• Whether this is finally a roster without an obvious fatal flaw

Segment 2: What It Means (and What’s Still Missing)

The excitement is real—but so are the questions.

• How much of last year’s struggles were roster vs. coaching
• Why this offseason suggests the staff may have learned from year one
• The importance of continuity and multi-year players
• What positions still need to be addressed before the roster is complete
• The big unknown: how it all comes together once games actually start

Bottoms line:

There’s real momentum—and a real plan. But this episode makes it clear: April wins don’t mean much unless they translate to November.

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