There’s a lot of energy around Indiana basketball heading into the 2024-25 season. Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson recruited heavily in the offseason, showcasing a roster of eight new players including seven transfers and one true freshman.
Woodson, entering his fourth season as the head coach of Indiana basketball, now displays one of his deepest rosters in his era as the coach of the program. Woodson’s team has received projections to not only finish near the top of the Big Ten conference, but also to make a potential postseason run in the March Madness Tournament.
The 2023-24 season didn’t end in the way Indiana wanted it to, finishing the season 19-14 overall, while holding a mediocre 10-10 record in Big Ten conference play.
Woodson appeared at Big Ten Basketball Media Days in Rosemont, Illinois, Thursday afternoon, giving insight on what to expect from his revamped roster this season.
The expected impact from returning players from last year’s rotation
Indiana’s team has a different look this season after losing Kaleb Banks, CJ Gunn and Payton Sparks to the transfer portal, Xavier Johnson and Anthony Walker to eligibility, and Kel’el Ware to the NBA Draft.
Despite the loss of a handful of impactful players, Woodson was able to retain five of his daily rotational players in Gabe Cupps, Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal, Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau.
Woodson spoke on what he needs to see from his five returners.
“We need them to lead. Make another jump.”
Woodson highlighted what his message is towards each player when recruiting.
“We got to have leadership. That position requires leadership. You got to demand respect from your players and then the players got to respect what you do.”
Returning players have taken a charge, making sure to build team chemistry with new teammates outside of practice.
Redshirt sophomore transfer Myles Rice described the events the team did together throughout the summer.
“We had a lot of team bonding activities over the summer where we went fishing, we had like nice pick-outs and everything so we’re just trying to just build that team chemistry. That’s the most important thing for us.”
Rice quickly added the benefits on the court he’s noticed from the strong relationships built between all of the teammates.
“We translate onto the court and we trust one another, we know each other’s going to be at the spot and just ultimately have that trust back there.”
The newest faces within the program
Woodson and his coaches killed it in the offseason, bringing in several experienced players from power five conferences, all having strong backgrounds of success.
Woodson spoke on the impact he and his staff made for their program in the offseason.
“Well, we had no choice. I mean, I lost three players to the portal… I had to go out along with my staff and start, you know, really working to try to build our team back. We were able to come and get Big (Oumar) Ballo, as you mentioned, and Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle.”
Oumar Ballo, one of the biggest names in the transfer portal this offseason, transferred to Indiana after playing one season at Gonzaga and three seasons at Arizona.
Ballo, a seven-footer, averaged 13 points per game and 10 rebounds per game last season with Arizona. Ballo was a major force in Arizona’s March Madness run in 2024, putting up 15 points and 15 rebounds in their Sweet Sixteen loss to Clemson.
Carlyle and Rice both transferred to Indiana as current sophomores, bringing long term potential to the program.
Carlyle played one season at Stanford, serving an immediate impact as a freshman, averaging 11.5 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Woodson spoke highly on what he has seen in practice thus far from Carlyle.
“Kanaan has come in and shown that he can defend on the ball and he can score a little bit for us, so that’s a bonus.”
Rice was another player who made a large impact as a freshman, playing at Washington State, where he earned the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award after averaging 15 points, three rebounds and four assists.
The biggest task this offseason for Woodson and his staff was getting Rice back to full strength.
“We just got to get him back healthy and one hundred percent playing.”
Woodson touched base on the two big gets he got later on in the transfer portal.
“Then we were fortunate enough to get (Luke) Goode to come back home, which he is a Bloomington kid. Then we got a freshman in Bryson Tucker, who kind of fell in our laps late.”
Luke Goode is a player Indiana basketball has grown to know, after playing three seasons at conference rival Illinois. Goode is recognized as a strong shooter, shooting 38.8% on 219 attempts from beyond the arc during his time with Illinois.
After playing against Goode for the past three seasons in conference play, Woodson gave his perception on what he noticed from Goode’s game.
“The kid can shoot the ball and he’s been everything we thought he was coming over. A nice addition to our ball group.”
After winning a Big Ten title at Illinois last season, Goode will bring a veteran presence to Indiana, gearing up to play in his fourth season of college basketball.
“Guys like Myles and Kanaan and Bryson (Tucker) and Gabe and Jakai (Newton), these guys are all young players, so you’re going to need leadership at the top to direct traffic, to make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to do.”
Woodson reflected on the overall state of the team after bringing in the new transfers and recruits, expressing a lot of positivity.
“I like the pieces that we have. Everybody’s working and trying to do the right thing, so I mean that’s kind of nice.”
The emergence of Myles Rice
Rice has shaped up to not only be a huge piece on this new Indiana team, but also be a leader on the floor in just his first season with the program.
Woodson credited Rice for what his game and mentality brings to the team.
“Myles has been a nice addition because he’s a game changer with his ability to push the ball up and down the floor and make shots.
Woodson gave Rice an extremely impressive NBA player comparison, heavily praising Rice.
“There’s a little Iverson, in terms of how he plays. I think Allen Iverson is the greatest scorer that ever played in the NBA.”
Rice quickly created a special bond with Woodson, highlighting the presence Woodson made towards Rice and his family during his official visit.
“He really treated me like a grandson. He treated me, my mom and dad like family.”
Players hold a unique connection with Woodson while playing under him
Woodson coaches the game on and off the floor the right way, which allows his players to develop a strong relationship with him.
Galloway, a senior guard, is now entering his fifth season at Indiana, playing his past four years under Woodson.
Galloway’s relationship with Woodson became so tight over those years that Woodson turned to Galloway for opinions on who to target in the transfer portal this past offseason.
“Gallow had his list of guys and we struck out on some of his guys. But the one guy he did have on the list was (Luke) Goode.”
Woodson later added why he gives Galloway a voice in recruiting.
“He gets that latitude. He’s been with me since day one. Him and Anthony are the two last survivors based on when I came in here.”
The style of play to see on the floor from Indiana
The addition of Goode adds a new play style to Woodson’s coaching scheme, now running plays with a true shooter beyond the arc.
When comparing Goode to Miller Kopp based on shooting ability, Woodson predicts a difference in the three-point heavy plays run this season.
“We didn’t run a whole lot for Miller. Goode we will.”
Woodson gave an idea of what some plays would look like with Goode on the floor.
“We’ll do a combination of sets and then we’ll open the court up a little bit, that’s kind of how it would play.”
Aside from shooting, a lot of possibilities have been brought up as to who would see the most time at the five, between Ballo, Mgbako and Reneau.
Ballo is a player who averaged just 25.9 minutes per game last season with Arizona. Woodson defended the idea of keeping that minute line similar this season.
“He doesn’t have to play thirty minutes, not on this team. The fact that he’s only played about twenty five minutes, we might keep that. I don’t think Ballo has complained about one thing since he’s been with us, he just wants to win.”
With Indiana embracing a lot of changes this upcoming season, Galloway voiced the quickness on the floor from Indiana’s new roster.
“One thing we’re going to look at this year is being able to play really fast. That’s one thing we’re going to change a lot.”
On an endnote from Woodson’s interview, he announced his new strategy going into each game for Indiana basketball.
“We got to come out blazing, we got to come out playing at a high level.”
Woodson and his program will unveil their new team with a tough exhibition match at Tennessee on October 27th, playing in the Charity Exhibition, supporting the John McLendon Foundation.
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