Mike Woodson and the Indiana basketball staff are making a noticeable presence on the recruiting trail — and they had to

Mike Woodson and the rest of the Indiana basketball staff heard the noise — they had to. From fans to local media or national media. There was a heavy dose of criticism that came their way following a near disaster during a six month span last season. Not only did Indiana fail to make the NCAA Tournament, it also went into the offseason with zero incoming players. There was a real concern that the ‘Mike Woodson can’t recruit’ narrative could rear its head once again.

“Again, I’m not going to talk about recruiting with you guys,” Woodson said this spring. “I’m just not. It’s something we got to do and this is going to be a big summer for us.”

But, things have changed. At least for now. After a terrific summer in the transfer portal and replacing one McDonald’s All-American (Liam McNeeley) in 2024 with another (Bryson Tucker) there seemed to be momentum leading into the critically important 2025 recruiting class.

Ever since Mike Woodson took over in 2022, all eyes have been on this offseason and this class of talented in-state prospects. From Trent Sisley to Jalen Haralson to now Braylon Mullins. Three extremely talented players who Indiana basketball has a tremendous shot of landing.

Then add in a few out of state players like five-stars Bryson Tiller and Mikel Brown and IU has a real core group of 2025 prospects that could be emerging as serious Bloomington-bound players.

So when the recruiting period opened up this week, Mike Woodson and his staff made it evident — they understand the importance of this upcoming year’s class and, whether they admit it or not, heard all of the criticism that had been in their shadows since this time last year.

Indiana started by sending its full staff to see Haralson at La Lumiere — on the heels of his official visit to Indiana last weekend. Haralson has been a priority target for Woodson and his staff ever since he arrived in Bloomington. But, things seem to have shifted more to the side of the Hoosiers over the last few months. It’s evident after starting with Haralson — he should know where he stands among IU targets.

Indiana’s staff didn’t stop there on Wednesday. It then went down the state to Greenfield-Central to see one of the biggest risers this summer in Braylon Mullins. Mullins rose nearly 70 spots in the updated 247Sports rankings this summer and solidified himself as a top-25 prospect in the class. Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky sent staff members — sometimes even the head coach. But, it was Indiana that sent its entire coaching staff.

Mullins heads back to Indiana for a visit on Sept. 20 in what could be the deciding moment for his recruitment.

In an action-packed week in the recruiting period, a statement was needed. Indiana and Mike Woodson did exactly that, starting in the state that they need to win when it comes to certain recruitments.

The IU staff then made its way down south, making three different stops on Thursday — all notable as well.

Indiana began its day at Overtime Elite in Georgia, watching top-15 prospect Bryson Tiller. Tiller has flown under the radar nationally and has not been a name widely discussed on the recruiting trail due to a tight-lipped circle.

Tiller took a visit to Indiana last year.

From Tiller, the Indiana basketball staff went to see 5-star point guard Mikel Brown down at DME Academy in Florida. Brown has been a name floating around the IU radar for quite some time but one that never really moved up — or down — the board until recently. Brown is expected to be up in Bloomington next weekend.

From there? Another full staff visit to see four-star wing Trent Sisley. Sisley transferred from Heritage Hills (Ind.) to Montverde (Fla.) Academy this summer. Sisley, like Mullins, will be on campus for his Indiana visit on Sept. 20.

During all of the visits, it was reported that four-star center Eric Reibe would be moving up his Indiana official visit to join Mullins and Sisley in Bloomington. That’s a significant development for the only legit center that IU is targeting in the 2025 class. Reibe recently cut out Kentucky and North Carolina from his list — narrowing in on UConn, Kansas and now Indiana.

There’s no question Indiana will land significant talent out of the group it’s targeting. It will also miss on some notable targets. But, one difference between this summer and those of previous years — the Indiana staff is making sure every single member is being seen and being seen together to make its presence even more notable.

It took time, but this summer could dictate the future of the program. A talent influx was needed after last year and they got it this offseason. Now, 2025 looms large and Indiana needs to take yet another jump — and a big one.

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