BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana coach Mike Woodson spoke to local media on Wednesday during the program’s annual media day at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Woodson shared his thoughts on the Hoosiers’ newcomers – Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, Oumar Ballo, Luke Goode, Bryson Tucker, Langdon Hatton and Dallas James – and what he expects from returning players like Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Gabe Cupps, Anthony Leal and Jakai Newton.
Here’s everything Woodson said.
On what Indiana can do differently after adding new players…
Woodson: “Well, we’re a little bit deeper than we’ve been in past years with our ball club. We still have an inside presence with Ballo and Malik and LT [Langdon Hatton], we can post some as well. We got guards now that are a lot quicker than we’ve had in the past. X was probably the quickest guard we’ve had since we’ve been here, but I think Myles and Kanaan bring a totally different look. And then Goode, Bryson being the young freshman who’s very talented, still gotta learn the college game but has played extremely well I think this summer for us. But Goode brings us some shooting. We can get Gallo back and get him back in the form that he shot the ball a couple years ago, that will help. Mackenzie has shot the ball well, and Myles and Kanaan can make shots. So I mean, it just brings us a totally different look and we’re still in the process of putting it all together.”
On what he learned last year about building cohesion with a new roster…
Woodson: “Well again, I don’t really want to focus on last year because it’s behind us and you know I’m moving forward and kind of focus on the players that we have coming into this season. This summer was a lot of work that we had to put in because we had six guys that left our ball club and went to the draft, two that graduated and three to the portal. So there was a lot of work that had to be done this summer to field our roster, and I thought we did a pretty good job in putting a roster together. Our summer play was great, guys were on time and did what was expected of them. It’s been a carry over to our fall play, so it’s a lot of work, man, when you add pieces and all the things that you gotta do on both ends of the ball to get better. It’s time consuming and a lot of work that’s gotta be done.”
On recruits saying that Indiana will play differently this year and what that will look like…
Woodson: “Well, you know, the fact that we are a quicker team and I think that we can hopefully shoot the three-ball better and make free throws. But I’d like to play a little bit quicker this year, where we’re not walking it up. There were times we had fast break points that we made off of turnovers with our defense, but I’d like to play a little bit faster on makes. That’s something we’ve been working on since we put this team together this summer.”
On how Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau fit together:
Woodson: “Well again, I mean, Ballo has shown that when you throw him the ball down there, he’s a load. And Malik has graduated from his freshman year. I mean, he made a major jump last year, and he didn’t shoot very many threes, but he made a few, and he did a lot of his work around the bucket. We’ve tried this summer to move him away from the bucket a little bit and play inside and outside, and he’s kind of held his own. His biggest challenge is gonna be guarding smaller players at that position, but that’s something that we’ve been working on when he has to match up against Mackenzie and Goode in practice at the four spot.”
On what has stood out the most about Myles Rice…
Woodson: “His speed. It changes the game for us, along with Kanaan, and the fact that he can score the ball. His biggest challenge right now is just really being a solid point guard and making sure he understands there are other players around him that can also help, too. That’s a learning process for a lot of point guards when you’re that young. You gotta include everybody and figure out how to make everybody happy when you got the ball in your hands. It’s just not him, it’s everybody who has the ball because we have a number of guys now that can make plays with the basketball. That helps you.”
On if he anticipates Trey Galloway being ready for the first game and the importance of his leadership:
Woodson: “He’s been great. He’s just been spending time trying to get back healthy. He’s been doing a lot of our conditioning work. He’s not on the floor doing five on five physical contact, but he’s done drills and things of that nature. So we’ve kind of brought him along slowly based on how he’s feeling. But we’re hoping – we open up next week – we’re hoping he’s able to bang a little bit and get back going and playing at a level where he played last season.”
On the importance of returning Galloway, Leal and others…
Woodson: “Well, it’s very important. Our seniors play a major role, and I’ve always believed that in college because they’ve been around the longest. We got a number of seniors now with Ballo and LT and Gallo and Anthony and Goode, and we’re gonna have to lean on those guys to show leadership and step up and play.”
On Gabe Cupps’ offseason growth…
Woodson: “Well, he’s had a good summer program. He played well throughout the summer, and he’s come back this fall and he’s played well. He’s holding his own. He’s competitive. He’s a kid that likes to compete. He’s one of the first kids in the gym and one of the last to leave, so he’s gonna be in the thick of things. He’s gonna force coach to have to play him. That’s what it’s about, competition, and we’ve got plenty of it now.”
On Jakai Newton’s injury…
Woodson: “Well last year, he didn’t get to do a whole lot. So basically, his learning sessions came in film and just watching practice. And he still hasn’t fully recovered. He’s had some good days, but we can’t consistently keep him in practice and on the basketball floor yet. And that’s been frustrating for him. But he’s just got to keep working through it, that’s all I can tell him. And medical people are telling him the same thing, that you’ve just got to keep working until you can get back to where you can constantly stay on the floor and play basketball. That’s kind of been his hang up right now.”
On Mackenzie Mgbako…
Woodson: “Again, it’s all about growth, man. You make a jump, there’s always another jump in basketball that you got to try to reach. And he’s played well this summer. He’s improved from last year. It took him to some time, which we thought it might take him some time. And once he started to figure out some things, he became a pretty good player for us. But this summer, he’s made another jump, which I expect him to make that jump. So only time will tell, with all of our guys, when we start playing, where we go with our ballclub.”
On the rotation and if he’d play 10 or 11 guys all year…
Woodson: “I wish I could play 12 guys. But that’s just not the nature of this business in college basketball or NBA basketball. It’s tough playing 12 guys. I got away with it in New York, when I played 10 guys, because we were deep. And we are deep this year. So only time will tell, man. If I can play 10 guys, I’m going to play them and give everybody a shot to play. But they’ve got to produce. You just don’t give minutes to be giving them. It’s so competitive in practice right now that everybody’s fighting to play, and I get it. That’s how it should be. So only time will tell.”
On if improved guard play on roster can offer new wrinkles team can utilize…
Woodson: “Well, I’d like to get to some small ball this year, like I’d had in New York, where Mack and Goode can play some four, and we can still be athletic enough out on the floor with one of the bigs to compete at a high level. I’ve experimented with it a little bit this summer into fall play. Only time will tell, man. That’s where I’d like to get to, where we don’t have to constantly pound the ball a lot. Play some small ball and get up and down the floor some.”
On developing young guys…
Woodson: “I’m not saying Gabe and Bryson won’t play. They’ve been very competitive since we’ve had them. And Bryson has come in and shown that he belongs. So I mean, it’s… Hey, it’s going to be tough. I got a tough job this year, but that’s OK, man. But at the end of the day, I feel good about, when I turn over there and put somebody in the game, that they’re ready to come in and produce. And like I said, only time will tell.”
On assimilating the transfers and freshmen…
Woodson: “Well, it’s not been a big challenge. I mean, we did a lot of things this summer from a bonding standpoint, so these guys can kind of get to know and be around one another. And that’s been probably the most we’ve done since we’ve been here. And that helps. But it starts in practice, it starts in conditioning, guys pushing one another, and doing what’s asked of them. And I have really no complaints with this group. I mean, they seem to like each other and they’re all pushing for the same thing, man, to basketball games. And that’s where it starts. And doing that, I think we put ourselves in a nice position once the season starts to get off to a good season and see where it leads us.”
On Indiana’s defense…
Woodson: “I’m going to always preach defense, cause I truly believe that’s what wins games. It keeps you in ballgames when you’re struggling to score the basketball. And that’s been a big challenge. I thought this summer, our offense was so ahead of the defense, because we hadn’t put all of our things, from a defensive standpoint, in. And now that we’re starting to put defense in, it’s been a struggle for guys to really score, break loose and score. And it’s kind of give and take. Either way, you’re going to have to build a good defensive team, and offensively, you’re going to have to be sufficient enough to the point where you score the basketball. And I think we can do both. But only time will tell. We’ve got to make it work for us and keep working in practice and building it.”
On Trey Galloway’s role…
Woodson: “It’s not going to change. The way we play, everybody’s capable of handling the basketball. And we struggled in that area a little bit last season, with certain players. And Galloway can handle it, Carlyle can handle it, Myles can handle it, Goode’s now even handling the basketball, Bryson can handle it, Gabe can handle the basketball, Mackenzie’s gotten better. So I mean, that’s important, with the style of play and how we want to play. Everybody’s got to feel comfortable in handling the basketball. I have no problems with our bigs. LT has never really handled it that much like he’s doing now. Ballo has handled it at two various stops, playing five out as well as posting the basketball. So I feel comfortable with him. And Malik has always been skilled enough to handle the basketball. That helps, when you’re talking about building a good offense, because you trust guys to try to make right play. So we just got to make sure our system, once it’s in play, everybody’s doing what’s asked of them.”
