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‘You want a shot at it’: Mike Woodson facing high expectations head on with Indiana basketball — He also has his best roster yet to achieve them.

It’s clear, this is the most talent Mike Woodson has had with Indiana basketball. So expectations are high. Can he meet and exceed them?

Published

1 week ago

September 8, 2024

Alec Lasley

It's clear, this is the most talent Mike Woodson has had with Indiana basketball. So expectations are high. Can he meet and exceed them? (Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports)

As Mike Woodson enters his fourth season with the Indiana basketball program, one of the biggest questions is can IU take the next step and prove to be a real contender in the Big Ten and make noise in the NCAA Tournament. It’s a question that remains from day one when Woodson took over the program and making it quite evident — he came back to Bloomington to compete for Big Ten Titles and National Championships.

After missing the NCAA Tournament in year three, more questions arose, this time revolving around whether or not Woodson was the right man for the job. The summer months for the program were clearly going to be the most critical few months of his tenure at Indiana. He knew it, fans knew it and nearly everyone knew it.

He and his staff went out and secured one of the best transfer classes in the country. But, the more important part was this was clearly the most talented roster he’s had in his now four years. On paper, that is. And because of that, expectations are now the highest they’ve been in his four years, following the worst season of his young IU coaching career.

“It is. There’s no doubt it’s the best talent and best roster we’ve had,” Said Woodson on the ‘College Hoops Today’ podcast with Jon Rothstein. “And that’s not taking anything away from the last three previous seasons. But we’re deeper than we have been in the past and that’s important. I think when you go through a grueling season, especially the Big Ten, I feel good now if somebody happens to trip a little bit and can’t play, there’s someone there to back him up and give him some support until he’s able to get back.”

That depth that Woodson is referring to is evident. It’s also not the first, or the last, time it’ll be discussed this season. Indiana went out and landed three starters from power five teams, including a consensus top-3 player in Oumar Ballo. In total, seven transfers made their way in joining the Indiana basketball program this summer.

Where does Mike Woodson believe Indiana basketball got better?

“Perimeter play, shooting, and I think we’ve got all of that,” Woodson said. “Losing (Kel’el) Ware, we had to make sure we found another big and we basically picked up three bigs in the portal. I’m hoping and feeling good about us addressing our shooting from the perimeter by bringing (Luke ) Goode and getting Mack (Mackenzie Mgbako) back and I think getting Kanaan Carlyle and guys like Myles Rice can knock shots down. Gabe (Cupps) is shooting the ball really well this summer.

Shooting. Shooting. Shooting. That was the biggest need IU had to improve this summer. While that is still to be determined, a player like Illinois wing Luke Goode does finally provide the Hoosiers with a legitimate knockdown shooter. Between his impact and the desire to be more of a pick-and-roll team that can open up more space than the last three years is a way Mike Woodson is hoping the shooting will improve.

“We got good looks from the perimeter, we just didn’t knock them down,” Woodson said. “I’m hoping this year, we are going to get some of the same looks — I’m looking and hoping to run more pick and rolls this year and utilize Malik (Reneau) and big fella Ballo on the inside when we have to. So it should open the doors a little bit when they are double teamed to get good looks and knock them down.”

Indiana has won 20+ games just three years since IU’s last Big Ten regular season title in the 2015-16 season. That also coincided with it being Indiana’s highest-scoring team since 1992-93 at an 82.6 point per game average.

The Hoosiers have failed to average more than 75 points per game during Mike Woodson’s tenure. Opponents points per game average have also gone up in all three seasons under Mike Woodson. In this day and age of basketball, you win and lose because of your offense. It’s evident — now more than ever. And, this offseason did prove that Woodson and Indiana were making a shift in that thinking — for the better.

“Competition and putting enough talent on the ball club has helped in play its way out in terms of who plays and who doesn’t play a whole lot,” Woodson said. “This summer play we’ve had — it’s been very competitive

“This summer for us was very productive. We’ve put in a lot of work.”

So when it comes to expectations for Indiana this season, what does Woodson think? Well, there’s still time to see things through and have everything play out, but he understands the goal(s) and what needs to be done in order to get Indiana basketball back to the national stage. Something he’s been striving to do since day one.

“We have to come together as a ball club and believe we can do that,” he said. ” … Every year expectations are high here at Indiana and they should be that way. I’ve never doubted that. That’s the only way you should want it.”

And, there’s no question he hated the way last season ended. With a sour taste in his mouth. Something he doesn’t want to experience again.

“Wasn’t fun, my man. Not at all,” Woodson said of missing out on the NCAA Tournament. “I made it very clear to our ball clan when we realized we weren’t going to make the tournament — ‘I’m not going to sit another year and watch basketball on TV during March Madness’. We had to go out and get better as a ball club and come back and put it all together and we’ve had a good summer, so it’s gotta be a carryover to official practice and the start of the season … you don’t play basketball to watch it on TV during March Madness. you want a shot at it.”