Indiana Basketball Newcomer Focus: Senior wing Luke Goode

The Indiana basketball program is going to look a whole lot different with many new faces coming in this season, with all 13 scholarships filled for the upcoming year.

In total, Indiana basketball will bring in 7 new faces, replacing 6 departures from a season ago. Mike Woodson and his staff did a phenomenal job in the transfer portal addressing the needs of guards, shooting, and front court depth.

We have already looked at all of the returning players from a season ago in our “Indiana Basketball Returner Focus” series now, it is time for our “Indiana Basketball Newcomer Focus” series to continue our trend of looking at each player of the 2024-25 roster and preview what they bring for the Hoosiers.

Today, we look Illinois transfer senior wing Luke Goode and look at where he comes from, and what his role will be for Indiana basketball this season.

Other players in the series: Oumar Ballo, Langdon Hatton, Dallas James

Where He Comes From

When it comes to newest additions for this Indiana basketball team this season, Goode is one of the two transfers, along with Langdon Hatton, that is actually and native of the State. Goode comes from Fort Wayne, Indiana where he played and had a successful career for Homestead High School.

He averaged 19.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and shot 40.4 percent from three as a senior at Homestead. He finished his high school career as the winningest player in Homestead history while being ranked No. 2 on the school’s career scoring list (1,480 points) and No. 1 in made 3-pointers (232).

Out of high school, Goode committed to another Big Ten schools in Illinois, where he played three years at. Goode was recruited by a host of other Big Ten schools such as Michigan State, Northwestern, Maryland as well as others school such as Louisville and Xavier. Surprisingly, Indiana basketball never offered the standout wing. During his high school career, the head coach of the Hoosiers was Archie Miller so Mike Woodson never really got a chance to go after Goode when he became the head coach of Indiana.

During his time at Illinois, Goode excelled in his role for the Fighting Illini. This past season, he led Illinois in three-point percentage and was second in made 3s while averaging 5.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and shooting 38.9 percent from three in 20.1 minutes per game. He made 1.6 3s a game and 61 for the season with 87.7 percent of his shot attempts this season coming from three. Goode had 29 games with at least one made three and 17 games with at least two 3s. He only attempted 22 twos this past season which shows that he is much more comfortable playing behind the arc. His 61 made 3s ranked 15th in the Big Ten this past season.

He proved to be one of the more unselfish players you would see in the Big Ten conference. While he was obviously billed as a shooter, Goode would accept any role that was given to him by Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. The most important thing that Goode wanted to accomplish during his time at Illinois was to win and help anyway that he could.

“All Luke does is want to win,” Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said during their NCAA Tournament run this past season. “He’s continued to work and accept whatever role has been his. He’s had a four-or five-game stretch where he really fought an ankle sprain and some knee tendonitis and didn’t play as much. He’s that guy who can fill any role. He’s versatile, can play multiple positions and he’s the consummate glue guy.”

After graduating from Illinois, Goode opted to enter the transfer portal and use his final year of college eligibility. After a few rumblings when he entered the portal, Goode would officially come home to the state of Indiana and choose to play his final year of school for the Hoosiers.

Related: ‘That just leaves spaces for guys like me to come in there and shoot’: Luke Goode shared insight into his role and much more on the new look IU Basketball

Role for 2024-25 Season

Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 1 need for this Indiana basketball team this offseason was shooting, so the fact that Mike Woodson and his staff went hard after Luke Goode made all the sense in the world. Not only was Goode one of the top shooters in the transfer portal, With Goode’s ties to the state and university, it was almost a perfect for between the two.

Goode has numerous connections to Indiana. His brother currently goes to Indiana. His uncle is Trent Green, former Indiana football quarterback and his dad, Graig, played football at Indiana. When he entered the portal, you almost knew that Indiana basketball was going to be a player regardless of the outcome.

“My dad played football [here], my mom went to school [here], and my brother’s actually at school here now. So it was one of those things,” Goode said during an interview with The Sleepers during their Draftapalooza NBA Draft Live Show. “I helped win a couple of championships at Illinois, got my degree, and it was time to move on and I went to a spot that I’ll have a lot of opportunity and fill a big need for a team that has the potential to be really good next year.”

The role for Luke Goode when it comes to the 2024-25 Indiana basketball is simple, be the spot up shooter that the Hoosiers have not had since Miller Kopp.

Mike Woodson has once again emphasized that he plans to play his inside-out style once again this year. While some fans may not be too thrilled at the idea, the team that Woodson has put together makes that style work with dynamic guard play and elite shooting. Luke Goode is a very important part of making that system work this season.

Goode is a career 38.8% three-point shooter going 61-of-157 from behind the arc. When it comes to current college basketball players, the 6-foot-7 wing is in the 77th percentile (56 EFG%) when it comes to shooting off the catch.

He is an experienced perimeter player that can flat out make shots from behind the arc knows what it takes to do in the Big Ten Conference. Besides missing the majority of his sophomore season with a broken foot, he has gotten better as an overall player along with maintaining a high IQ on the floor.

While likely won’t be in the starting lineup for Indiana basketball this season, his game and versatility as a player allows the Hoosiers to be able to play him in multiple type of lineups depending on matchups. Likely, Goode’s role will be backing up the likes of Mackenzie Mgbako and whoever Indiana’s starting two guard will be. However, don’t be shocked to see him play alongside Mgbako if Woodson elects to go with a smaller front court. Having both Goode and Mgbako on the floor at the same time could make Indiana basketball an extremely dangerous shooting team.

Perhaps other than the additions of Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle in the back court, you could make a strong case that Goode was the most important addition of the offseason for Indiana basketball. Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers desperately needed to improve their three-point shooting and Goode does that.

Mike Woodson brings in a winner of a player and someone that is going to help Indiana be one of the more versatile teams in the country this upcoming season.

“My favorite thing to do is win championships and I think this team has a good chance to win a championship this year,” said Luke Goode.

Notable Quote

“Luke is a knockdown 3-point shooter that provides length and rebounding ability from the wing position,” Mike Woodson said when Goode signed with Indiana basketball. He comes from a very athletic background with deep family ties to this University. He has competed at the highest level of the Big Ten and is a player we will count on to help us stretch the floor. We are excited to bring his family back to Hoosier Nation.”

SEE ALSO: One question facing all 12 Indiana basketball players entering the summer

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