Bloomington – Indian basketball coach Mike Woodson learned a hard lesson about roster construction when his team missed the NCAA tournament last season.
The Hoosiers simply didn’t have the depth to compete in the Big Ten.
That thinking informed Woodson’s approach as he entered the offseason with seven open scholarships but without a single signee or verbal commitment.
“I just didn’t want to get caught in that position again,” Woodson said, before an NIL-related event at Huber’s Orchard and Winery on May 29. the portal we liked and when we got involved, they seemed to like us.”
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Indiana coach Mike Woodson’s big bet on Xavier Johnson
Woodson’s vision for IU last season went out the window at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Nov. 26.
Starting point guard Xavier Johnson left an 89-76 win over Harvard with an ankle injury that he spent much of the month trying to overcome. While the injury was unrelated to the one that limited him to just 11 games in 2022-23, he ended up being out until early January.
When he fully recovered, Johnson suffered an elbow injury that cost him six games. His minutes went mostly to true freshman Gabe Cupps both times.
“We’re really counting on Xavier coming back after all the injuries,” Woodson said. “We just thought we had him back.”
Woodson didn’t think it was such a risky bet at the start of the season, considering Johnson was one of the most experienced guards in the country (126 career starts) and hadn’t missed a game due to injury during his first four years or so. from college and ran IU’s offense at a high level, but he just couldn’t stay in the lineup.
He made just 13 appearances and played just 30 minutes eight times. Two of those games came in the Big Ten tournament with Trey Galloway sidelined. Galloway spent long stretches of the season playing out of position as the team’s primary ball handler.
Woodson again praised how Cupps and Galloway handled the unexpected events, but did not soften the impact of Johnson’s injuries.
“It crushed us,” Woodson said. “We never really recovered from that. We were playing catch-up and having to mix and match.”
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Mike Woodson: “One thing I learned is that we need to be deeper in certain positions”
Indiana’s problems went beyond Johnson’s injuries.
Woodson acknowledged that the team’s overall lack of depth was an issue when Kel’el Ware was out of the lineup (foot) in losses to Wisconsin and Illinois.
Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako accounted for 55.3% of the team’s offense during the two games (78 points), while IU’s bench scored 12 total points.
“You have to put pieces around them,” said Woodson at Huber. “They can’t do it alone, we showed a little of that at different points in the season last year. We needed more pieces around them.”
Indiana’s most productive bench player last season was Anthony Walker, who averaged 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 rebounds per game (14.1 minutes). The remaining Hoosiers bench players – CJ Gunn, Kaleb Banks and Payton Sparks – entered the transfer portal after the season.
Woodson hopes all the “really good players” he signed this offseason will give IU’s bench some added impact.
According to 247 Sports’ composite rankings, Indiana signed three of the 25 highest-rated transfers in the country — Arizona center Oumar Ballo (No. 2), Stanford guard Kanaan Carlyle (No. 16) and Washington State guard Myles Rice (No. 25) – as well as the No. 28 overall high school recruit in small forward Bryson Tucker.
It’s a group that Woodson believes gives him more skill and playing flexibilityand one that doesn’t sink or swim based on a player’s availability.
“I’m pleased with the guys we got, I just have to put it to work,” Woodson said, with a wide smile.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all of its coverage clicking here.
This article originally appeared in The Herald-Times: Indiana Basketball Pins Rebuilding Hopes for Greater Depth
