Mike Woodson ‘anxious’ but excited for Indiana basketball to play Tennessee and see all the hard work ‘come to light’

Indiana basketball is back on the floor Sunday afternoon and it will offer a glimpse of what this team expects this season. Albeit an exhibition — it’s against a top-12 team in Tennessee and will give the Hoosiers a good test, one that is needed at this stage in the preseason.

Indiana — who brings in seven new faces — will look different when it takes the floor on Sunday. Not only from a personnel perspective, but also with its scheme and style of play. It has been the talk of the offseason; ‘Indiana is going to play quicker and shoot more 3s’.

Sunday at 3:30 pm offers the first test.

“I’m just anxious to see how we fare against someone different,” Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson said on Friday. “Tennessee is not a pushover team. Their team is going to be ranked. They’re well-coached. And I just, I’m anxious to see how we play offensively. I’m anxious to see how we defend. So, all those things play a role in building a basketball team and seeing where you need to improve and continue to grow as a basketball team.”

For Tennessee, there is no more SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht. There is also no Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James. But,  Zakai Zeigler is back and players like Felix Okpara and Chaz Lanier transfer in as expected big time additions for the Vols.

Lanier was one of the best shooters in the nation and a highly-coveted transfer. Okpara is best known for his defensive presence and rebounding ability.

“We’ve kind of revamped our team and they revamped their team,” Woodson said. “They had some guys they lost as well but brought guys in. It will give both teams an opportunity at this early stage to gauge a little bit on where their team is.”

Indiana’s new faces are highlighted by its backcourt — the expected engine of the team this season. Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle enter as two dynamic playmakers on both ends of the floor and look to spearhead the Indiana attack. Sunday will be a great test with the backcourt production and defensive pressure from Tennessee. Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack are two of the better on-ball defenders in the SEC and around the country and take pride in winning their defensive matchups.

What is Mike Woodson looking for when it comes to his backcourt?

“Just growth,” Woodson said. “Taking what we’ve taught them and given them over the last four months since summer play and see how it translates into a real game.

“That’s not just those two, it’s everybody that’s new and the guys that were with me. I’m just anxious to see where we are. We’ve given them a lot and they have been working their asses off. I just want to see if some of this pays off for us.”

While the backcourt is the headliner, Sunday will offer more than just feedback on its guard play.

It’ll offer a look into the physical nature that Woodson knowns he’ll need from his team when Big Ten play gets underway. Overall, its test against Tennessee will give a good snapshot of all of the work that’s been done the last few months, and what still needs to be improved.

“The fact that they are a good defensive team, it will give us an indication of these guys here who hadn’t played in the Big Ten, because in the Big Ten they all play defense and they all get after you,” Woodson explained. “It will give us an indication from a team that’s known for defending and rebounding the basketball and getting after you — to see if you can respond and defend and rebound the ball and get after it. That’s kind of how it’s got to be. It can’t be one way. If they go after you, you have to go after them and see how it plays out in the end.”

And while the result won’t impact the win/loss record and be reflected in the overall season results — it’s a matchup that Woodson and Indiana basketball absolutely want to win.

“Well, you want to win. I don’t think any player or coach goes into a game not wanting to win,” Woodson said. “It is a game where it gives me an opportunity to evaluate the things that we’ve done over the summer and up until this point. You want to see some of those things come to light. That’s why I’m anxious to see where we are against a well-coached good basketball team.”

SEE ALSO: 5 storylines to watch when Indiana basketball faces Tennessee

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