REPORT: Indiana to Visit Two Players in Transfer Portal

Mar 22, 2023 - 9:54 PM

According to a report by Inside the Hall, Indiana is scheduling visits with two players in the transfer portal, Towson’s Nicolas Timberlake and Harvard’s Chris Ledlum. Both were named in 24/7’s most recent ranking of the best 25 players in the portal.

Both players are also graduate transfers with only one year of eligibility remaining, which means they won’t take up roster spots reserved for the class of 2024. The class of 2024 could be a big one for Indiana considering the number of visits its gotten from some of the most highly-rated high school prospects.

Here’s a look at each player:

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Chris Ledlum

Chris Ledlum was Harvard’s biggest offensive threat last year, by far. He averaged 18.9 points per game while the next closest player finished at 9.7 per game.

Ledlum shot 47.3% from the field on 15.6 attempts per game last season, including 29.4% from three-point range. He isn’t quite the shooter that some Indiana fans want, but as a 6’6” forward who can create his own shot, he brings something Indiana has lacked sorely over the last few seasons.

Despite being listed as a forward, he plays more like a shooting guard, capable of creating for himself from the perimeter with his handles and athleticism. He has an inside game too, with a willingness to post up smaller forwards or face up less athletic bigs from outside the key.

Ledlum also has experience against high-major opponents, including a 17-point game against Kansas this past season that kept Harvard within ten points of the then No. 4 Jayhawks.

Overall, he looks like the kind of player that reflects an awareness of Indiana’s need to get more athletic at every position if it wants to succeed in the NCAA tournament.

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Nicolas Timberlake

Nicolas Timberlake is the shooter that Indiana fans have wanted. Last year at Towson, he hit 41.6% of his 221 attempts. Miller Kopp, Indiana’s leading 3-point shooter last year, only took 142.

At 6’4”, Timberlake also has the size that Mike Woodson has shown a preference for in his guard recruiting. He plays like a shooting guard, able to create shots for himself and drive with both hands. He’ll even throw down a dunk or two in transition.

Most importantly, Timberlake does not require a ton of time or space to get his shot off. He’s comfortable taking contested threes or threes off the dribble when his feet aren’t totally set. In case his athleticism doesn’t stand out as much against the Big Ten, he should have no issue finding his looks.

Over the entire course of last season, Timberlake’s fewest 3-point attempts in a game came against South Alabama, when he made both of the two shots he took from deep. On the other hand, there were seven games in which he took 10 or more 3-pointers.

It’s easy to see how a player like Timberlake would fit into Mike Woodson’s offense, which has struggled with getting enough 3-point attempts up even as the team shooting percentage has gone up.