A Now-Healthy Mike Woodson Has Rebuilt Indiana's Roster, Raised National Perception
BORDEN, Ind. – Mike Woodson's overarching goal since taking the Indiana job in March of 2021 has always been to bring the Hoosiers back to national prominence.
He's not shy to remind players and fans of this aspiration by pointing to Indiana's Big Ten title and national championship banners hanging inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. And while he hasn't achieved these benchmarks in his first two seasons, Woodson has made significant progress bringing what defines college basketball's best to Indiana: high-end talent.
Understanding that this could be a reality took some convincing at first – even within his own staff – but in just over two years, Woodson has raised Indiana's national perception in multiple ways. From sending players like Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino to the NBA, to replenishing the roster with two McDonald's All-Americans, Mackenzie Mgbako and Kel'el Ware, Woodson is showing the rest of college basketball that Indiana is a destination for top recruits.
"Well, back in the day, it was always that way," Woodson said Wednesday at Huber's Orchard, Winery and Vineyards during his first public media appearance this offseason.
"When I took the job, I made it clear to my coaches that we deserve to sit at the table with the best players," Woodson continued. "We kind of squabbled a little bit early on because they didn't think we were in the position to be able to do that, and I thought we were based on Indiana basketball and the history of it. So I didn't accept no for an answer, and I told them that I wanted to be able to sit at the table with the best players and compete with the Kentuckys, the Kansas, the Dukes, teams like that. All they can do is tell us no, but we've got to get there. And we've been able to get there some, so it's kind of nice."
Indiana saw a major chunk of talent from the 2022-23 roster that went 23-12 and reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 as a No. 4 seed leave, including Hood-Schifino, Jackson-Davis, Miller Kopp, Race Thompson, Tamar Bates, Jordan Geronimo and Logan Duncomb.
Losing NBA-caliber players like Hood-Schifino and Jackson-Davis – the 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American, respectively – diminishes Indiana's on-court talent level for next year, but they proved Indiana can be both a one-and-done path to the NBA and a school with a coach who develops players over multiple years.
"You're hearing both guys could possibly go in the first round," Woodson said. "That would be huge for our program, and they deserve to be in the first round."
Seeing "Indiana" next to two NBA Draft picks' names will pay long-term dividends in recruiting, and it's possible that the duo's success already has.
Indiana made an early recruiting splash this offseason by landing Ware, a versatile 7-footer who's ranked second among all transfers this offseason. Athletic, 6-foot-9 forwards Anthony Walker from Miami and Payton Sparks from Ball State followed Ware's lead to Indiana, then Woodson won a recruiting battle over Kansas for Mgbako, a 6-foot-8, top-10 recruit recruit that can score anywhere on the court.
Mgbako's commitment caught the eye of Dylan Harper, a five-star guard in the class of 2024.
“It was Indiana? I knew it,” Harper told Rivals’ Rob Cassidy at a Nike EYBL event in Dallas. “Coach Woodson is going to put him in position to succeed.”
Indiana is in the mix for other five-star 2024 prospects like Montverde Academy trio Liam McNeeley, Asa Newell and Derik Queen, as well as Kokomo's Flory Bidunga, the 2023 Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year, and others. Putting together an elite 2024 class would build on Woodson's rare accomplishments the last two years, something McNeeley, in particular, has noticed.
“That’s obviously a huge pickup,” McNeeley told Rivals about Mgbako. “He’s going to come in and have an impact right away. If Coach Woodson can get him to the league in one year, that’s encouraging for me. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Counting both high school recruits and incoming transfers, Indiana's 2023 newcomers – freshmen Mgbako, Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton, plus transfers Ware, Sparks and Walker – rank No. 10 in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. In 2022, Indiana's high school recruiting class – Hood-Schifino, Malik Reneau, Kaleb Banks and CJ Gunn – also ranked No. 10 in the nation.
Recruiting has never been an Indiana coach's biggest problem, – six former Hoosiers from three different coaching staffs played in the NBA this season – but Woodson's back-to-back top-10 classes is something Indiana hasn't done since the 2012 and 2013 offseasons.
"I've got a wonderful staff," Woodson said. "We're beating the phones down, and when guys come available, we try to get in front of their parents and whoever's their representative. We're doing all the necessary things to get them to campus and close the deal. This has been a great summer for us in terms of recruiting, and again, I give a lot of credit to my staff and them getting me in front of the people we're trying to recruit, the player, and it's starting to pay off for us."
Discussing these recruiting wins put a smile on Woodson's face Wednesday night at Huber's, especially now that he's back to full strength after dealing with a knee injury for years. Woodson joked with Indiana play-by-play broadcaster Don Fischer that he can outrun him now.
"I'm so blessed to even be standing here because I went through a tough time," Woodson said of he knee replacement. "I was still working, guys, when you guys thought, 'Well why am I having knee surgery during recruiting time?' I had no choice because I put it off all these years and struggled to get around. So I feel like a new man. If you asked me would I do it all over again, I don't know if I would or not because I had some complications and had to go back into the hospital for some time. Lost a lot of weight, starting to get it back, but I feel 100 percent better."
Moving forward, Indiana has one scholarship available for the 2023-24 season, and Woodson is still open to adding to his roster. Midnight on Wednesday is the deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA Draft, which could open the door for Woodson to make a late move.
"Based on a lot of the players tonight that might pull out, there might be a player that falls through the cracks," Woodson said. "I'm watching it closely, and I'm always looking to better our team. If we can pick up someone based on who falls through the cracks, we'll pursue it and and see what happens."
But even if Indiana stands pat with its current roster, which could still arguably use another established 3-point shooter, the new opportunities excite Woodson.
Woodson mentioned Wednesday, again, that Jackson-Davis was the first true low-post player he's ever coached, which forced him to adapt as a coach. Of course, every coach would want Jackson-Davis on their roster for another year, but his departure allows Woodson to revert back to his NBA coaching days with the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks.
"I can pretty much go back to my comfort zone and how we somewhat played in New York, which we kind of spread the floor," Woodson said. "That's not to say our bigs, if I've got mismatches and our bigs are early running, I expect them to try to post and get early strikes that way and we try to get easy buckets right off our initial thrust, but it's going to be a little different."
Woodson pointed to a roster he built in Atlanta, which consisted of mostly 6-foot-7 to 6-foot-9 players with defensive versatility. He sees some of that in Indiana's 2023-24 squad.
"I think you've got to always build a defensive system first and then figure it out offensively, and that's what we did in Atlanta. We switched a lot and became a pretty good defensive team. I caught a lot of hell for our team switching, and hell, now everybody switches. I'm not saying I set the stage for it, but I look at high school, I look at AAU ball, I look at college, I look at the pros, everybody switches then basically forces you into making a decision based on the switch. So yeah, we were kind of on to something, and I thought it helped us. The fact that we've added a 7-footer, a 6'10 guy, a 6'8 guy, I mean that helps us defensively when we do switch and it helps us at the rim, it helps us rebounding. I mean, a lot of things come along with adding longer, athletic and rangy guys on your team, I think."
Woodson described the summer as a major trial for his ball club, as players work to build chemistry and Woodson tinkers with different lineups and rotations.
"I've got really seven new players, and I've got to figure it out in terms of how we're going to play and who can do what," Woodson said. "So I'm kind of anxious to see come this next week. A lot of the guys are coming back this weekend and getting them in the gym and see who can do what."
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- WOODSON EXPECTS IMMEDIATE IMPACT FROM MGBAKO: After beating Kansas for the commitment of five-star recruit Mackenzie Mgbako, Mike Woodson shared his thoughts on Mgbako's potential impact at Indiana next year. "He’s a tremendous offensive player who gives us athleticism, length and the ability to be an inside/out threat." CLICK HERE
