ESPN report: Mike Woodson has made a sincere promise to the Indiana team.
How the head coach of the Hoosiers approached the offseason by drawing on his NBA expertise.
Before accepting the Indiana position back in 2021, Mike Woodson coached in the NBA for the whole of his coaching career.
That experience was a benefit in his hiring and has manifested itself in a number distinct ways. He has sent two players to the NBA Draft, and this year Kel’el Ware will also hear his name called. League scouts can preview potential players on the roster by attending the program’s preseason pro day.
Now that we are in our fourth year, this offseason was crucial.
During his first three offseasons as the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, Woodson has demonstrated proficiency in short-term recruiting, bringing in Mackenzie Mgbako, Tamar Bates, and Malik Reneau in back-to-back spring cycles. This time around, the Hoosiers pursued Bryson Tucker as their lone freshman recruit.
His transfer portal experience before this summer was more about acquiring pieces than rebuilding. Thanks to a huge freshmen class and numerous returners, he signed commitments from Xavier Johnson and Miller Kopp during his first offseason without using the portal in his second. Ware and a couple bench items from the previous year. Up until now, he has not had to build.
So Woodson relied on that NBA experience when it counted.
At Huber’s Winery, Woodson remarked, “We sat down at the end and I kind of treated it like I was when I was back in the NBA.” “I have our guys rank among the top 10 players in their respective positions.” Following that, I decide who we should go grab. And because all they can do is say no, we have to give it a go if it’s the best player.
This was particularly applicable to Oumar Ballo’s situation. Woodson claimed that after learning that Ballo was expected to enter the portal shortly and realizing the need for a center, he instructed his employees to get ready to push for Ballo. The program secured his first visit after he arrived, which turned out to be his last one. It’s logical to assume that Indiana also had Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle on their list, with the former taking home the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award.
All five of Indiana’s new transfer additions made their commitments during or shortly after the tour, requiring only one visit overall. The Hoosiers zeroed in and swiftly recognized their targets.
In addition, Woodson discussed the present state of the sport, stating that although it would be ideal to be able to develop through four-year high school players, it isn’t necessarily how it operates these days.
“Those days are gone, man, but I would love to build a team with high school kids who stay with me for four years,” Woodson remarked.
