Season in review: Logan Duncomb

From the time Logan Duncomb committed to Indiana in early April 2020 as a high school junior to the time he graduated from Cincinnati’s Moeller High School a year later, he climbed from outside of the top 100 nationally in the 247Sports Composite rankings into the top 75, as the No. 2 high school player in his class in the state and the No. 12-ranked center nationally.

As Duncomb prepares to enter a sophomore season in which both members of Indiana’s starting frontcourt, Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis, are returning, as is the team’s top reserve forward Jordan Geronimo, Duncomb is caught in a minutes logjam after a freshman campaign in which he played 20 total minutes across just nine games.

The potential best-case scenario for the sophomore season of Duncomb, who was listed at 6-foot-9 and 234 pounds last season, is to be next in line to replace many of the seven minutes per game vacated by Michael Durr, who’s transferring back to the American Athletic Conference to play for UCF. That type of role might sometimes involve (or might be inherently limited because of) two or three fouls in as many minutes — a bit of a desperation substitution if Thompson or Jackson-Davis faces early foul trouble themselves, especially in a physical Big Ten Conference that seems to be as tied to old-school, back-to-the-basket big men as any conference in the country.

However, Duncomb will also have two former blue-chip recruits in Indiana’s 2022 recruiting class to contend with for playing time. Five-star power forward Malik Reneau (6-foot-8, 210 pounds) could be the first non-Geronimo forward off the bench (or the first, period, if Geronimo proves to be a starter next season) and four-star Kaleb Banks (6-foot-8, 215 pounds) has a similar recruiting ranking as Duncomb did in high school, only he was recruited by Woodson’s staff, not Archie Miller’s.

Duncomb didn’t record enough statistics last season to make any high-level takeaways. He’s not among the 12 players listed on Indiana’s kenpom.com page, where the final roles, based upon usage rate, are labeled “nearly invisible” and “benchwarmers.” Duncomb had six points and six rebounds on the season and his 20 total minutes were 153 fewer than the scholarship player with the next-lowest total, Anthony Leal. Duncomb also faced a three-game suspension early last season, which is never a good sign for a first-year player, especially one playing for a first-year head coach.

Given the amount of returning production and experience in Indiana’s frontcourt, there projects to be a relatively low ceiling on what Duncomb’s role can and will be as a sophomore, and the influx of freshman talent doesn’t guarantee a pathway to major minutes beyond the 2023 season, either.

Michael Durr’s 24 minutes as a fill-in in Indiana’s win against Purdue last season were admirable, especially on defense, and it was the game for which Indiana fans will remember him. Duncomb’s goal as a sophomore should be to position himself on the depth chart to have a similar, even if limited, arc in the 2022-23 campaign.

Be remembered for your performance in one game, if nothing else.

But for now, it’s a matter of waiting and seeing with Duncomb, and the less you see, the more you wonder how long you’ll be willing to wait.

Season in review: Trayce Jackson-Davis | Xavier Johnson | Race Thompson | Jordan Geronimo | Miller Kopp | Trey Galloway | Tamar Bates | Michael Durr | Anthony Leal | Khristian Lander