Indiana Hoosiers basketball history: Best transfers over past 30 years

The transfer portal has transformed college basketball. Roster turnover today is at an unprecedented level. But player movement is far from new.

Over the past 30 years, Indiana basketball has welcomed in 27 transfers, while seeing 56 players head the other direction. While the grass isn't always greener, there are some success stories.

Here are the top 10 incoming transfers for the Hoosiers in the past 30 years.

We gave weighted credit for postseason success.

(Years at IU in parentheses)

Stats: 5.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.7 apg, 40% FG, 33% 3FG (2 seasons)

Stemler, who began his college career at Bradley, started 19 times for a Hoosiers team that won 21 games and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. He averaged 6.6 points a game and was the team's third-leading rebounder (4.1). He scored in double-figures in five of his first six games, but then just five more times in the next 24 games.

As a senior his production dipped across the board, but he started 15 times for a team that finished 25-8 (14-4 in the Big Ten), but cratered after Kelvin Sampson's firing, culminating with a first-round NCAA tournament loss to Arkansas.

Stats: 9.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 38% FG, 35% 3FG (2 seasons)

Dumes, who began his college career at Eastern Michigan, was one of only two players (Kyle Taber the other) on IU's 2008-09 roster with Division I experience. And it showed. Tom Crean's first team at IU after the Kelvin Sampson debacle won just six games and finished 1-17 in Big Ten play. The six wins were the program's fewest since 1915-16... when IU only played 13 games.

Dumes, a Decatur Central grad who set a Vincennes record for 3s in a season (109), led those undermanned Hoosiers in scoring (12.7) and 3-point shooting (38%). In IU's lone Big Ten win that year over Iowa, he scored a career-high 27 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including 5-for-5 from behind the arc.

His role diminished the following year when more reinforcements arrived in the form of Jordan Hulls, Maurice Creek and Jeremiah Rivers (a transfer himself). Dumes didn't start a game, averaged 6.6 points per game and saw his 3-point percentage drop to 30.7%.

Stats: 8.1 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.6 rpg, 41% FG, 31% 3FG (2 seasons)

Filling the shoes of Yogi Ferrell was never going to be easy, but Newkirk started 56 times for the Hoosiers and led them in assists as a junior and senior. He served as the point guard for Tom Crean's final IU team and Archie Miller's first. Neither season ended in the NCAA tournament.

Stats: 7.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 42% FG, 41% 3FG (2 seasons)

Kopp started all 70 games he played for the Hoosiers and while he never replicated his Northwestern scoring exploits for IU, he was still an important piece on a team that returned the Hoosiers back to the NCAA tournament in 2022, and again in 2023.

Kopp's 44% shooting from 3 would have led the Big Ten this past season had he shot enough to qualify. And therein probably lies the biggest frustration IU fans had with Kopp. Someone shooting that accurately from behind the arc shouldn't rank 25th in the conference in 3-point attempts. He never developed into that third-consistent scorer IU needed, but his defense improved and only Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino played more minutes in a season that saw IU post its first Big Ten winning record in seven years.

Stats: 6.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 45%FG, 43% 3FG (2 seasons)

"They have a need for shooting, and I can supply that," Zeisloft said at the time of committing to IU.

Oh, what IU fans would do these days for a sharpshooter like Zeisloft. Primarily a bench player, the son of an IU alum hit 128 3s over two seasons at a 43% clip. As a junior, he led the Big Ten in 3-point percentage in league games (51.4%), and as a senior on the 2015-16 Big Ten title-winning team, Zeisloft had a clear role and fit it like a glove. He hit multiple 3-pointers in 18 of IU's 35 games that year, including four or more six times. He moved into the starting lineup for the season's final seven games, which included NCAA tournament wins over Chattanooga and Kentucky.

He played for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants before a brief playing career overseas in Lithuania, Italy, Spain and Greece.

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Stats: 7.6 ppg, 3.4 apg, 2.8 rpg, 47% FG, 33% 3FG (2 seasons)

Calloway began his career at New Mexico State before going the JUCO route back home in Atlanta.

A lightning-quick point guard ("Flat out the fastest player I've ever played with anywhere," teammate A.J. Ratliff said), Calloway got off to a slow start at IU. He came on late in the season and started 11 of IU's final 12 games in 2005-06. He played his best in the NCAA tournament, posting 18 points, six steals, three assists and four rebounds in IU's first-round NCAA tournament win over San Diego State and nearly producing a triple-double in the second-round loss to Gonzaga (13 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds).

As a senior, Calloway led the Hoosiers in assists (4.3) and steals (1.2) and helped lead IU back to the NCAA tournament, this time beating Gonzaga in the first round, before falling to No. 2 seed UCLA. In four career NCAA tournament games, Calloway averaged 13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists.

After an impressive season with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Calloway went overseas for a lengthy pro career and was granted Bulgarian citizenship to compete for its national team.

Stats: 8.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 55% FG (2 seasons)

A JUCO addition, Gladness had what he termed an "up and down" IU career. He brought ruggedness to the frontcourt and played a bigger role (26 starts in 1997-98) after Jason Collier transferred to Georgia Tech nine games into the season. He averaged 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds as a junior for an IU team that won 20 games and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

In 1998-99, Gladness led the team in field goal percentage and was second in rebounding and steals as IU finished 23-11, tied for second in the Big Ten and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Gladness, who didn't play high school basketball, overcame a lot of adversity in his life to play major college basketball. He was shot as a teen in a drive-by shooting and played at IU with a bullet lodged in his spine.

"It's still in there," Gladness told IndyStar's Terry Hutchens in 1999. "I think about it from time to time. But I also think about how my brother wasn't nearly as lucky."

Gladness played his senior season with a heavy heart. His brother, Nathan, was shot and killed back home in West Memphis, Ark. on the night of Hoosier Hysteria, and a few months earlier, Gladness' dad had died from a heart attack.

Gladness died in 2008 after a bacterial infection. He was 34.

Stats: 11.6 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.6 rpg, 41% FG, 38% 3FG

The book on Johnson's IU career is not finished after the point guard was granted a sixth year of eligibility in April. Johnson missed almost all of IU's Big Ten schedule during the 2022-2023 season.

When healthy, Johnson was IU's floor leader, who found a groove in the pick-and-roll game with Tryace Jackson-Davis. He was the Hoosiers' most consistent threat from behind the arc (38% with IU) and best perimeter defender. His injury in mid-December thrust freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino into a bigger role, one which Hood-Schifino for the most part thrived in. But the senior guard was still sorely missed.

Stats: 8.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 52% FG, 38% 3FG (1 season)

After playing three seasons (in four years) in Ann Arbor, Bielfeldt was told to find a new home by U-M coach John Beilein. So, Bielfeldt found one at IU. But the Wolverines coach wanted Bielfeldt out of the conference and leaned into the Big Ten's now-defunct rule prohibiting intra-conference transfers. "I don't think people should be able to transfer within their league at any time," Beilein said. Well, the Big Ten approved Bielfeldt's appeal, and he became a Hoosier – a pretty valuable one.

Bielfeldt provided 3-point shooting, rebounding and leadership in a season that ended with a Big Ten championship and IU's last trip to the Sweet 16. For his efforts, Bielfeldt was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year (he started just five of his 35 IU appearances).

Stats: 17.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 54% FG (1 season)

Killingsworth arrived in Bloomington on the heels of a second-team All-SEC junior season, and much was expected. He's No. 1 on the list, so it's not like he didn't produce, but it wasn't perfect. Killingsworth started all 31 games in his one IU season and led the Hoosiers in scoring and rebounding, but he was often exposed defensively and looked out of shape at times.

He is most remembered for the 2005 ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup against No. 1 Duke when he scored 34 points, including a dunk that ranks among the loudest moments in Assembly Hall history. The Hoosiers were ranked much of the season, peaking at No. 9 in January, and Killingsworth was an AP All-American honorable mention selection. IU finished 19-12, losing to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Killingsworth went on to have a lengthy overseas playing career and was a three-time All-Star in Israel.

Players who have transferred in over the past 30 years:

Miller Kopp, Northwestern (2021-23)

2 seasons; 7.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 42% FG, 41% 3FG; 70 games/70 starts

Xavier Johnson, Pittsburgh (2021-current)

2 seasons; 11.6 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.6 rpg, 41% FG, 38% 3FG; 45 games/40 starts

Parker Stewart, UT-Martin (2021-22)

1 season; 6.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 37% FG, 39% 3FG; 34 games/31 starts

Michael Durr, South Florida (2021-22)

1 season; 1.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 38% FG; 30 games/0 starts

Joey Brunk, Butler (2019-20)

1 season; 6.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 52% FG; 32 games/31 starts

Zach McRoberts, Vermont (2017-19)

3 seasons; 1.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.9 apg, 38% FG, 33% 3FG; 85 games/25 starts

Evan Fitzner, St. Mary's (2018-19)

1 season; 3.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 46% FG, 31% 3FG; 31 games/0 starts

Josh Newkirk, Pittsburgh (2016-18)

2 seasons; 8.1 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.6 rpg, 41% FG, 31% 3FG; 65 games/56 starts

Freddie McSwain, JUCO (2016-18)

2 seasons; 3.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 45% FG; 62 games/9 starts

Max Bielfeldt, Michigan (2015-16)

1 season; 8.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 52% FG, 38% 3FG; 35 games/5 starts

Nick Zeisloft, Illinois State (2014-16)

2 seasons; 6.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 45%FG, 43% 3FG; 69 games/15 starts

Evan Gordon, Arizona State (2013-14)

1 season; 5.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 40% FG, 33% 3FG; 32 games/3 starts

Jeremiah Rivers, Georgetown (2009-11)

2 seasons; 4.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.2 spg, 42% FG, 22% 3FG; 63 games/47 starts

Devan Dumes, Eastern Michigan (2008-10)

2 seasons; 9.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 38% FG, 35% 3FG; 57 games/25 starts

Tijan Jobe, Olney Central College (2008-10)

2 seasons; 0.3 pp, 0.7 rpg, 44% FG; 44 games/2 starts

Jamarcus Ellis, Chipola Junior College (2007-08)

1 season; 6.8 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 41% FG, 26 3FG; 32 games/30 starts

DeAndre Thomas, Chipola Junior College (2007-08)

1 season; 3.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 47% FG; 32 games/6 starts

Lance Stemler, Southwestern Illinois Junior College (2006-08)

2 seasons; 5.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 0.7 apg, 40% FG, 33% 3FG; 63 games/34 starts

Mike White, Lee College (2006-08)

2 seasons; 2.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 47% FG; 51 games/18 starts

Earl Calloway, Georgia Perimeter College (2005-07)

2 seasons; 7.6 ppg, 3.4 apg, 2.8 rpg, 47% FG, 33% 3FG; 58 games/39 starts

Marco Killingsworth, Auburn (2005-06)

1 season; 17.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.9 apg, 54% FG; 31 games/31 starts

Lewis Monroe, Auburn (2005-06)

1 season; 3.4 ppg, 2.3 apg, 2.2 rpg, 40% FG, 35% 3FG; 28 games/19 starts

William Gladness, Carl Albert State College-Okla. (1997-99)

2 seasons; 8.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 55% FG; 65 games/50 starts

Rob Turner, JUCO (1997-99)

2 seasons; 6.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 49% FG, 32% 3FG; 61 games/23 starts

Haris Mujezinovic, Joliet Junior College (1995-97)

2 seasons; 4.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 47% FG; 62 games/25 starts

Lou Moore, JUCO (1995-96)

1 season; 1.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 20% FG; 3 games

Chris Rowles, JUCO (1995-96)

1 season; 1.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 42% FG; 24 games/0 starts