‘I’m not going to talk about recruiting’: Mike Woodson won’t talk recruiting or the portal. But, at some point he needs to answer for the failure of the last 12 months

There is no way around it — the past 48 hours (ish) for the IU basketball program has been quite the rollercoaster ride. Not only on the court but off, this season has been a disappointment on many, many levels. But, Thursday night may have been the tip of it and opened up the floodgates … if they weren’t already open.

Almost 24 hours to the minute after IU basketball announced it would be retaining Mike Woodson for the 2024-25 season, it was announced that IU’s lone 2024 commit and signee Liam McNeeley would be asking for a release from his NLI with Indiana and re-opening his recruitment. Not only was he a five-star prospect who was going to make up for a lot of holes Indiana has in its system next year, but it was also Indiana’s only incoming player.

It’s March. That’s inexcusable. But what’s even more inexcusable is the lack of vision and inability to see a real path forward.

Yes, Mike Woodson did some of what he was brought back here to do. He took the program back to the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons, beat Purdue three of four games, finished second in the Big Ten regular season and started to land some five-star talent.

But this year has been an utter failure — in many lights.

I’m not the first to say this — and won’t be the last — but with Indiana’s NIL, it’s easier than ever to win in Bloomington. So why isn’t that coming to fruition?

Stubbornness. Mike Woodson wants to play his way and his way only. While that works to a certain extent, you need the players on the roster to do so. This year, especially, has felt like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

His lack of adaptation is significant.

Indiana added six players this past offseason, including three starters. But looking ahead to next year — that number will likely have to be closer to nine.

IU basketball will lose Xavier Johnson and Anthony Walker to graduation. Kel’el Ware is more than likely gone to the NBA as a first round draft pick. Then, questions remain around Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal and if they will use their covid years. As of Friday morning, Mike Woodson did not know if either would participate in senior day activities on Sunday.

Then, the wildcards of Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako. Reneau has been publicly criticized by name numerous times by Mike Woodson. While his usage rate is extremely high and his development is evident this season, it’s clear there is some frustration. There have also been ‘rumors’ about Reneau’s future at IU. Will Mgbako go pro? He came into his freshman year on draft boards but after a disappointing first month of the season, he slipped off. His play over the last two months is evident, however, that he will have numerous options — pro or in the portal.

Then your rotational pieces. Kaleb Banks fell out of the rotation midway through the season and has barely sniffed the floor since January. CJ Gunn, while he’s had his moments, has seen inconsistent playing time in his two seasons in Bloomington as well.

And, in this day and age, you can never be sure who will stay or go.

So that potential leaves Indiana basketball with seven or more spots to fill. That wouldn’t be as difficult if there were already a few incoming freshmen. Now, without a single commit for 2024, the task of rebuilding this roster and making it a competitive team for next year has become even more daunting.

But, Woodson doesn’t want to talk about the skillset he needs next year or the inability to land key players … not before, not now and probably never.

“I’m not gonna discuss that (the portal). I mean, right now, we’re in the thick of the rest of the season,” Woodson said following IU’s win on Wednesday. “We got Michigan State coming in this week, which is a big game for us, and then we got to start prepare after Michigan State for the (Big Ten) Tournament. So the portal is what it is. When we sit down and start discussing that — and we’ve had talks amongst ourselves — we just have to figure it out as we get down the road.”

Not only does Woodson need multiple players, he needs multiple high-impact and dynamic playmakers. He whiffed last portal season and he hasn’t had a ton of recent success with high school prospects either. Indiana’s last high school commit, who actually played a game for IU basketball, is Gabe Cupps — back in October of 2022.

You’re heading into the spring with 0 commits and 0 real targets … that’s a massive issue. But again, Mike Woodson doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Again, I’m not going to talk about recruiting with you guys. I’m just not,” Woodson said on Friday. “It’s something we got to do and this is going to be a big summer for us. We got to go out and get feel players. You can lose players. You just never know. That’s what the portal presents.

“That’s just how I feel about it at this point.”

Mike Woodson doesn’t want to talk recruiting but if he wants to save his job, he needs to answer up for the disaster that the last few months has become.

SEE ALSO: ‘I feel good in my skin in terms of my job’: Mike Woodson with firm reaction about news he’ll return as IU basketball head coach next year

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