BLOOMINGTON – Securing a number of key returners from last year’s 19-win team, Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson used last spring to reinforce his roster with key additions from both the high school ranks and the transfer portal.
The result was a roster on paper as talented as any in the Big Ten, perhaps capable of competing for a conference title and at the national level as well. How Woodson blends and deploys the remade rotations available to him will determine how high the Hoosiers climb in 2025, but this might be the best roster, front to back, he’s had in Bloomington, and it’s certainly packed with promise.
We’ll take a player by player look at that roster, starting at the top numerically and working our way down.
Jakai Newton, No. 0, redshirt freshman guard
Newton’s entire outlook this winter revolves around his health. After missing last season due to the lingering effects of a knee injury suffered in high school, the Atlanta-area native is back on the floor and hoping to contribute this season.
Mike Woodson said at Big Ten media day IU’s staff is still limiting Newton in some respects, eager not to reaggravate his knee problem. But Woodson’s comments also suggest Newton might be as strong and athletic as any player on his team. With so much of his career still ahead of him, Indiana can afford to protect Newton, but not stifle his development.
Myles Rice, No. 1, redshirt sophomore guard
Perhaps Indiana’s highest-profile addition in the spring portal window, Rice brings immediate impact and an impressive resume. He was voted Pac-12 freshman of the year last season, steering Washington State to its first NCAA tournament appearance in well over a decade.
Rice actually got more effective distributing the ball as the season wore on in conference play. Metrics rated him one of the best point guards in the country in ball-screen situations, making him an ideal fit for Woodson’s offense. If he can improve his 3-point shooting, he could land among the contenders for Big Ten player of the year.
Gabe Cupps, No. 2, sophomore guard
Woodson said many times last winter he was playing Cupps more than he would have preferred, that injuries and rotation issues put too much on the freshman’s shoulders. Cupps isn’t a freshman anymore, and IU possesses the depth to spread ball-handling workload more efficiently among its backcourt.
Last year’s uphill climb becomes this year’s experience and savvy. Even with the additions of Rice and Kanaan Carlyle, Cupps should figure meaningfully into Woodson’s rotation. The lack of ball handlers last winter should not be a problem in this one.
Anthony Leal, No. 3, fifth-year senior guard
The Bloomington native expanded his role significantly as last season wore on, his contributions crucial in wins over Iowa and Ohio State. Leal’s most-important moment might have come during his senior night speech, when his honest and impassioned appeal for cooler heads to prevail helped set the tone Indiana carried into a productive offseason.
It was the kind of moment befitting a leader and a captain. Whether Leal is one in name this winter, that is the kind of respect his voice commands within his locker room now. Woodson would do well to count on that.
One of just two Hoosiers to start all 33 games last season, Reneau set single-season career bests in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and minutes played. He also hit 15-of-45 3-point attempts, Reneau’s first push to add to his offense away from the basket producing meaningful results.
With Oumar Ballo now alongside him in the post, Reneau’s task will be expanding his ability to work away from the rim. He’s already an excellent post scorer and passer. He’s gotten better at rebounding at the college level. And he trimmed his fouls-per-40-minutes average significantly from his freshman to his sophomore seasons. Reneau must keep pushing his limits at both ends of the floor. The more he can operate effectively away from the basket — offensively or defensively — the more dangerous this team becomes. He is a key to this season.
Behold, the first (numerically anyway) Hoosier of this new post-one-through-five jersey era. Tucker was a McDonald’s All American who some thought might go the G League Ignite route out of Virginia powerhouse Bishop O’Connell. When the Ignite program shut down, IU jumped in and landed Tucker in the spring.
His bonafides are excellent. Standing 6-6, Tucker possesses a versatile offensive game and the kind of athletic tools you’d expect from a five-star prospect. He also played prep basketball in the hypercompetitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference that sent players like Victor Oladipo and Stanford Robinson to Bloomington, so the adjustment period to college should be shorter. Tucker likely figures into Woodson’s rotation right away.
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If you’re looking for an x-factor, you might find it here. Carlyle, one of three Atlanta natives on the roster, grabbed All-Pac-12 freshman team honors last year doing a little bit of everything at Stanford. He averaged 11.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists, making 77.6% of his free throws (music to Indiana fans’ ears). His 32% mark from behind the 3-point line is promising for a freshman but will need improvement as a sophomore.
Assume for a moment that improvement comes. Woodson has had a variety of types of players in his three years at IU. What he’s probably never had is a volume-scoring two-guard he didn’t really have to ask to do much else. Teammates rave about Carlyle’s scoring ability, and NBA scouts have an eye on him as well. With some of last year’s duties taken off his plate this season, Carlyle could be a crucial cog in the offensive wheel in Bloomington.
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Luke Goode, No. 10, senior forward
The clearest offseason signal Woodson wants something different offensively, it was telling when Indiana prioritized Goode — a versatile stretch forward — before and over greater depth inside. One of the most consistent 3-point shooters in the Big Ten across the past three years, Goode, a Fort Wayne native, hands Woodson both experience and flexibility.
With Ballo and Reneau on the roster, IU figures to start with its familiar two-big lineups. But between Tucker, Goode and Mackenzie Mgbako, Woodson has three players he can stretch to the three or the four when he wants to go smaller, faster and more spread out. Goode is the canary in the coal mine for a program trying to adjust its offense.
‘We’ve got everything we need.’ Why Luke Goode is a key piece to new-look IU
Oumar Ballo, No. 11, sixth-year senior center
Another of Indiana’s big wins in the portal, Ballo brings an outstanding resume to Bloomington. The one-time Arizona Wildcat made 71-straight starts over his last two seasons in Tucson. Ballo was a two-time All-Pac-12 first-team section, with 73 double-figure scoring games and 34 career double-doubles.
There might not be a better player in the country six feet and in, at both ends of the floor. IU must fit Ballo into its new-look offense, which means adjusting some roles around him (see: Reneau). And the Hoosiers would be glad to see him improve his free-throw shooting percentage given how often he’s fouled. But he stands next in line behind Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kel’el Ware as centerpiece bigs around which Woodson can build a team.
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Another in-state player added via the portal, the North Harrison grad comes to Bloomington after three seasons split between Bellarmine and William & Mary. His most recent was his best, Hatton averaging 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds across 31 games, all starts. He mixed in a 3-point shot, hitting 15-of-45 attempts from distance.
Hatton hands Woodson veteran depth behind Ballo and Reneau, backstopping against injuries, matchups and foul trouble.
One of the keys to any projection of Indiana as a Big Ten contender, Mgbako found his 3-point shot during the back half of last season and it made a tremendous difference. He shot 32.7% of distance overall but 37.8% in Big Ten play, with most of his best scoring performances coming later in the calendar as well.
Mgbako also made tangible strides defensively, and he was by some distance IU’s most reliable free-throw shooter. Now, he must take the next step, improving again on defense, sharpening his shot selection and spending more time defending bigger fours. Mgbako is one of the central figures in Woodson’s attempt to make his roster more versatile.
Trey Galloway, No. 32, fifth-year senior guard
Questions will need answered first about Galloway’s health. A spring surgery to fix a late-season knee injury sidelined the returning captain for much of the summer. Woodson still has some limitations on Galloway in practice settings, though both the player and his coach said at Big Ten media day those restrictions are loosening.
Galloway emerged as a remarkably efficient creator for IU last season. Some of his single-game assist totals — and the number of times he reached certain marks — rival career bests even among the Hoosiers’ greatest all-time point guards. Yet, in asking more of Galloway, there was regression in his 3-point shooting accuracy. With Rice, Carlyle, Cupps and others in the fold, Indiana may not need to ask Galloway to do quite so much. The right balance between the two would make him one of the most versatile two-way guards in the Big Ten.
Dallas James, No. 42, fifth-year senior center
James is the mystery among Indiana’s scholarship players. He wasn’t added until late in the transfer cycle, Indiana only announcing his arrival in late June.
The son of longtime NBA veteran Jerome James, Dallas James started 33 of the 49 games in which he appeared over the last two seasons at South Carolina State. He’s just one point shy of 100 for his career and at 7-foot, he’s got size few on this roster can match. What kind of depth and competition for minutes he can provide should bear out over the preseason.
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