Jack’s Take: Mike Woodson Returns Important Core But Needs Transfers to Fill Holes

Getting starters Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau back for next season marked important roster retention wins for Mike Woodson, and now he must add key pieces through the transfer portal.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Recruiting for college basketball coaches used to mean adding high school talent and perhaps a transfer or two each year. Now more than ever, it also means recruiting your own players to return to school. 

The ability to transfer as many times as a student-athlete would like without having to sit out a year, coupled with players legally being paid now, has led to an immense rise in transfers – 1,142 have entered the transfer portal since it opened 15 days ago, according to Jeff Goodman. Indiana is among 12 Big Ten schools – out of 18 heading into next season – that have had at least three players enter the transfer portal following the 2023-24 season.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson has a ton of work to do heading into the 2024-25 season, and there’s no guarantee those additions will translate to winning. But Woodson has succeeded when it comes to roster retention so far this offseason. Moving forward, it’s about filling in the roster around those coming back, as transfer portal recruiting now rivals the importance of high school recruiting.

Indiana returns three starters who could have left Bloomington and had great options elsewhere. Starting guard Trey Galloway had a bonus fifth year of eligibility due to COVID, and other coaches would certainly welcome his veteran experience talent. Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year Mackenzie Mgbako has been on the NBA’s radar for years. He could have declared for the draft, worked his way through the G-League, or transferred as a hot commodity. After averaging 15.4 points per game in his breakout sophomore year, Malik Reneau would have been one of the most highly sought after transfers in the nation with two years of eligibility. 

Instead, they chose to return to Indiana and play for Woodson, a major boost to the 2024-25 roster. All three fill different roles, inside and out, and their experience playing together last season is something to build on and benefit from moving forward.

Purdue’s Braden Smith is the only All-Big Ten first team player from 2023-24 with eligibility for next year, and a big chunk of the second and third-team members will be gone too, graduating or transferring. We’re a long way away from knowing every Big Ten team’s roster for next year, but Galloway, Mgbako and Reneau comprise a promising core for Indiana. Other returners include Anthony Leal, Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton.

Indiana’s outgoing transfers aren’t creating significant holes on next year’s roster. The portal is filled with players as good or better than the three Indiana lost. CJ Gunn and Kaleb Banks never panned out after two seasons in Bloomington despite ample chances. Payton Sparks didn’t do enough in his lone season as a Hoosier for Indiana to feel good about him playing big minutes next year. 

Gunn is headed to DePaul to help former Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann embark on a massive rebuild. Sparks is transferring back to Ball State, where he was a two-time All-MAC player. Banks remains undecided. 

Indiana also lost Xavier Johnson and Anthony Walker to graduation, and projected first-round pick Kel’el Ware is headed to the NBA. Ware, a second-team All-Big Ten center who averaged nearly 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks per game, was Indiana’s biggest loss of the offseason, should he stay in the draft.

That left Woodson with seven open scholarships heading into next season, and that number has already been trimmed to six with the addition of five-star freshman Bryson Tucker, who’s competing in the McDonald’s All-American game Tuesday night. At 6-foot-7, Tucker’s versatile game should help Indiana on the wing, perhaps even in an immediate starting role. But Woodson’s roster construction obviously can’t, and won’t, stop there. 

Indiana ranked 12th in the Big Ten and 273rd nationally with a 32.4 3-point percentage, and its 15.5 attempts per game ranked 356th out of 363 teams. Adding several players capable of knocking down 3-pointers should be a top priority, and Indiana has been in contact with plenty already. 

After playing off the ball for much of his college career, Galloway improved significantly as a point guard last season. His 3-point percentage dropped roughly 20%, but his assist numbers grew from 2.1 to 4.6 a game while he kept his turnovers to a reasonable number. His position is another decision Woodson must weigh.

Losing Ware, Walker and Sparks also depleted Indiana’s front court and made rebounding and shot-blocking other priorities. Reneau is a skilled scorer with crafty footwork and a developing 3-point shot, but his six rebounds per game is low for someone his size at 6-foot-9. Plus, Reneau blocked just 19 shots last season and was in foul trouble far too often.

With just over half of Indiana’s scholarships filled, Woodson has some flexibility from a stylistic standpoint heading into next year. There were times that playing Mgbako at power forward – along with Reneau or Ware at center and three guards on the outside – helped Indiana’s offensive flow. But questions surrounding Mgbako and Reneau’s defense and rebounding could lead Woodson to look for a starting center to replace Ware instead of settling for adding bigs to bring off the bench. 

Fortunately for Woodson and Indiana, the transfer portal has made it easier than ever to spur a quick turnaround. Veteran transfers were prevalent throughout the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight teams over the weekend. 

Woodson has a strong core to build around, and now it's about adding the right pieces that fit together. He’s been more successful in short-term recruitments of transfers and decommitments, like Johnson, Reneau, Mgbako, Tucker and others, compared to drawn out high school recruitments. 

At the same time, relying on the portal to fill six spots is a risky proposition that reduces Indiana’s margin for error. Woodson cannot afford many miscalculations, and last season proved how difficult it can be to get a team with six new players to gel and how lacking fit and chemistry can neutralize top-end talent.

It’s a new time in college basketball, and Indiana’s recruiting in the coming months will go a long way toward determining the success or failure of next season.

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• INDIANA BASKETBALL TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER: The college basketball transfer portal is in full swing. Here you can find all the Indiana basketball transfer portal news, including incoming and outgoing transfers, players with interest from Indiana, NBA draft entrants and a scholarship chart for next season. CLICK HERE