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Indiana Pacers have battle underway for final roster spot ahead of regular season

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Indiana Pacers have battle underway for final roster spot ahead of regular season


INDIANAPOLIS — While the Indiana Pacers are currently pushing through a training camp marked by continuity, a few new players on the roster are involved in a roster battle for the final spot(s) on the team.

As it stands right now, the Pacers have 19 players under contract. When the regular season starts, that number has to be 18, at most — a maximum of 15 players on standard contracts and three players on two-way deals. By October 19, Indiana will have to cut at least one player so they clear the waiver process by the Monday before the regular season starts.

Multiple Indiana players are signed to contracts that are not fully guaranteed for the coming. Kendall Brown and the newly-added Cole Swider won’t earn money unless they are on the Pacers roster come opening night. “He’s a guy competing for the 15th spot,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Swider. James Wiseman ($500k) and James Johnson ($750k) have partial guarantees in their contracts for the 2024-25 season. In theory, any of them could be involved in the battle for the last spot on the roster.

In reality, it likely comes down to Swider, Brown, and perhaps the players on two-way deals. Currently, the guys on a two-way contract in Indiana are Quenton Jackson, Tristen Newton,and Enrique Freeman.

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Freeman has shown the most among that group. He stood out during summer league play, and Indiana signed both Jackson and Newton to a two-way deal at the same time. The Freeman agreement came a few weeks later only after other considerations were sorted out, which suggests that the Pacers were considering him for a standard contract before agreeing to a two-way deal.

As things stand now, though, it would appear as if the Pacers battle for the 15th and final roster spot comes down to Brown vs Swider, with other players in the mix pending extreme performances during training camp and preseason — good or bad.

Indiana Pacers wing Cole Swider

Indiana Pacers wing Cole Swider speaks with reporters after a practice on October 2, 2024. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Pacers On SI) / Tony East

Production will matter in the coming weeks to settle the battle for the final roster spot(s). “Just how all these all these guys competing for it play,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the key factors involved in the decision. “How they compete, how they manage game situations when they have chances to play.”

Both Swider and Brown are technically two-way eligible, so there are a lot of moving parts, but their willingness to take a two-way deal is unknown. Their contracts can’t be directly converted. As it stands, Swider’s expert shooting ability and Brown’s athleticism and potential are competing to stand out during upcoming action. Even before the blue and gold added Swider, Brown’s summer league play created questions about the back end of Indiana’s roster.

The 21-year old Brown was drafted by the Pacers with the 48th overall pick in 2022. They have seen him develop across the last two seasons, which were both spent primarily on two-way contracts. In March, he inked a three-year deal with the franchise, but only the first year contained guaranteed money.

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Swider, meanwhile, has been with other teams (the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat) on two-way deals in recent seasons. Both players are inexperienced. Swider is older and more of a specialist — his three-point shooting has been exceptional in the G League and during summer league outings. Brown is fast and can jump out of the gym, and his game is being built out from his athletic tools.

“Whether it’s him (Swider), whether it’s Kendall, or whether it’s one of the guys that’s presently on a two-way [deal]. That’s kind of where that is,” Carlisle said of the Pacers final roster spot. “I’m anxious to see how these guys compete.”

Swider’s cap hit is ever so slightly smaller than Brown’s, but that difference is negligible for the Pacers’ planning. They will be under the luxury tax with either player — and if a two-way player earns the final roster spot, their cap hit would be even smaller. Financially, there is no issue for Indiana, and they can reconsider things ahead of the league wide contract guarantee date in January.

“It’s not [certain] that we [will] keep a 15th person. Someone’s got to earn that spot,” Carlisle said.

Tonight, the Pacers begin preseason play. It’s one of the first chances for the players competing for a spot to show what they can do, and the battle for the Pacers final roster opening will be a story throughout training camp.

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FBI thwarted ‘ISIS-inspired plot’ at Indiana school, but won’t say where

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FBI thwarted ‘ISIS-inspired plot’ at Indiana school, but won’t say where


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At some point in 2025, the FBI helped a local police agency foil an “ISIS-inspired plot” that at least one minor planned to carry out at an unnamed central Indiana school, according to an annual summary released by the federal agency’s Indianapolis field office on Jan. 5, 2026.

FBI agents “disrupted an ISIS-inspired plot targeting a Central Indiana high school through rapid coordination with local partners,” according to the news release.

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Beyond that, the agency provided few details, sharing neither the name of the school involved nor the city or town in which the school was located. Nor did the agency clarify why the report characterized the plot as ISIS-inspired.

Chris Bavender, an FBI spokesperson, declined to answer an IndyStar request for additional information about the foiled attack, responding in an email that “this matter is ongoing.”

“Because the student had immediate access to firearms, FBI Indianapolis worked closely with the high school and our local law enforcement partner to remove all firearms from the house, and the student was expelled from school. DOJ did not file charges as the individual is a juvenile,” Bavender wrote.

Bavender did not provide any information on whether the student is facing charges in the juvenile justice system.

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Although high schools in both Mooresville and Westfield were the site of high-profile threat investigations in 2025, neither matched the details mentioned in the FBI report.

In February 2025, Trinity Shockley, 18, was arrested after sharing plans for a Valentine’s Day school shooting at Mooresville High School. Though the investigation into Shockley began after the FBI received a tip, Shockley was not a juvenile at the time of her arrest. Nor did court documents filed in her case reference any connection to ISIS.

The Mooresville Police Department did not immediately respond on Jan. 5 to a request for comment.

In September 2025, Westfield High School was placed on lockdown after a “potential threat.” Billy Adams, the assistant chief of the Westfield Police Department, said there’s no indication the lockdown “had anything to do with an ISIS-inspired plot.”

IndyStar reached out on Jan. 5 to multiple police agencies in central Indiana, including the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Southport Police Department, the Speedway Police Department and the Beech Grove Police Department.

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Officials for IMPD, Southport, and Speedway police said their agencies handled no such threat. Beech Grove’s police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.



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Unseasonably mild temperatures for central Indiana this week | Jan. 5, 2026

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Unseasonably mild temperatures for central Indiana this week | Jan. 5, 2026


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Temperatures in Central Indiana are expected to remain above normal through late this week, with highs near 60 degrees expected by Thursday and Friday. Rain showers are predicted from Thursday through Friday night, with the possibility of isolated thunderstorms.

Today:

Dry and mild, with high temperatures ranging from the mid 40s to low 50s. Just a mix of sun and clouds with light winds should make for a pleasant afternoon.

Tonight:

Lows in the mid 30s to low 40s, with patchy drizzle or fog possible late.

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Tuesday:

Mostly cloudy skies and breezy conditions with wind gusts of 20 to 25 mph, elevating highs into the lower to middle 50s. A few light showers will be possible through the day as well.

Wednesday:

Should be the best day of the week, featuring more sunshine and lighter winds, with highs in the low to mid 50s.

Late week storm system:

Highs on Thursday and Friday are set to approach 60°, which will be pushing a few records across the state.

A warm front moving through Thursday evening will spark scattered showers and possibly some thunderstorms across the area starting Thursday afternoon.

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A stronger storm or two can’t be ruled out.

Showers will continue into the first half of Friday, before the cold front pushes out of the state later in the day.

As the weekend approaches, the cold front will move through, leading to a significant drop in temperatures. Conditions will become cooler and breezy, with spotty flurries possible as temperatures return to seasonal norms for this time of year.

Looking ahead, the weekend is expected to bring a return to cooler temperatures and near-seasonal norms, with potential light snow flurries in the forecast as a cold front passes through Central Indiana.



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Indiana football adds explosive running back out of transfer portal

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Indiana football adds explosive running back out of transfer portal


BLOOMINGTON — Curt Cignetti reinforced his running back rotation, which will need an offseason makeover due to eligibility related attrition, on Sunday with the commitment of Boston College running back Turbo Richard according to multiple media outlets.

Richard helps relieve the stress created by the departures of Kaelon Black and Roman Hemby, the Hoosiers’ leading rushers in 2025, both of whom will exhaust their eligibility at the end of the current season. Cignetti and his staff add Richard to a running back room already anchored around Lee Beebe Jr., returning from injury, and Khobie Martin, the one-time Fishers star who flashed meaningful potential this season.

Here’s what to know about IU’s newest running back:

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Turbo Richard provides proven production

Indiana has, in Cignetti’s two seasons in Bloomington, shown a repeated desire to add skill players who’ve shown impact in numbers and film. Richard fits that bill.

Across two seasons in Chestnut Hill, he posted 1,027 yards and 11 touchdowns on 200 carries, with another 275 yards receiving and two more touchdowns through the air.

Last season, Richard accounted for 962 total yards and 11 scores.

He’s shown explosiveness too: Richard posted at least one carry of 10-plus yards in seven different games last season, with single-game highs of 18, 43, 46 and 71 yards.

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How much eligibility does Turbo Richard have remaining?

Cignetti often refers to players with more than one year of eligibility remaining as more valuable in the portal. His program will get as many as two from Richard.

Additionally, the Charlotte native played right away at Boston College, in 2024, meaning he has a redshirt year if he needs it for any reason as well.

Fit to type

Listed at 5-8, 207 pounds, Richard looks on film a lot like the kind of back Indiana has had success with in Cignetti’s tenure.

He’s quick and nimble enough to get involved in the pass game, but powerful enough to make an impact between the tackles. He also shows excellent burst — as evidenced by those explosive numbers — potentially replacing the second- and third-level burst that made Black and Hemby so dangerous this season.

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Indiana led the Big Ten in rushes of 10-plus yards in 2025. Richard profiles as the kind of back that can help sustain that production into 2026.

Back rotation settled?

It’s not clear exactly where Beebe stands in his recovery from a season-ending injury suffered in September. If IU is confident in his return to form, coupled to Martin’s development, this could wind up as Indiana’s running back rotation into next season.

The Hoosiers have reportedly hosted other portal running backs, so it’s possible IU isn’t done here. But especially given Martin’s flashes this season (74 carries, 463 yards, six TDs), if Indiana is settled here, then the Hoosiers appear to have handed position coach John Miller another healthy stable of backs to build a run game around.



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