Mike Woodson has Hoosiers dreaming big: ‘I expect us to play at a high level and win’

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana — The date was April 22. Just hours after Illinois wing Luke Goode announced he was entering the transfer portal, several coaches began to reach out to the 6-foot-7 senior from Fort Wayne, Indiana. But out of the flurry of messages that Goode was trying to sift through, one name popped up in his DMs that stood out above the rest: Trey Galloway.

Indiana’s senior captain was taking an active role in recruiting, trying to ensure the Hoosiers would have a different ending to the 2024-25 campaign than they did a season ago when they missed the NCAA Tournament.

“When I put my name into the portal, he was one of the first people to reach out,” Goode told FOX Sports. “When you have a player reaching out to you about your program, it means a little bit more. It means more to hear somebody tell you right away, ‘We want to be teammates with you,’ especially when that person is a three-year starter with the program.”

For Goode, who played 20 minutes per game for an Illinois team that reached the Elite Eight last season, the opportunity to play for the Hoosiers was personal. His dad, Craig, played football as a defensive back and wide receiver at Indiana from 1994-96, while his uncle, Trent Green, played quarterback for the Hoosiers from 1991-92 and is in the university’s athletics Hall of Fame. All of those personal connections, combined with his relationship with Galloway — the two played at nearby high schools and squared off against one another in the AAU ranks — made Galloway say “yes” to the school he grew up rooting for.

“I’m from an Indiana family, and I was a massive IU fan growing up,” Goode said. “I was getting candy-striped pants for Christmas as a kid.”

Goode has vivid childhood memories of watching former Indiana standouts like Eric Gordon, Yogi Ferrell, Cody Zeller and Jordan Hulls, who currently serves as the program’s recruiting coordinator. He recalls the success those individuals had during their time at Indiana, and the success he has enjoyed during the past three years at Illinois, where the program posted a combined 72-32 record with three NCAA Tournament appearances.

“Being at Illinois the last three years, I’ve seen success. I know what it looks like,” Goode said. “I can take that away from Coach [Brad Underwood], he knows how to win. He’s a winner and that’s a fact. I’m taking that now and trying to bring it to here, a place that hasn’t had the success at the level it should have, as a top brand and program in the country, and that was really important as well. I wanted the challenge of coming to a historically known program to get it back to where it should be.” 

The Hoosiers entered the 2024-25 campaign with big expectations, ranked No. 17 in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll and coming in at second in the Big Ten preseason media poll. They have lived up to those lofty expectations through the opening two weeks of the season, racing out to a perfect 3-0 mark with an upcoming matchup against UNC Greensboro at 6:30 p.m. ET Thursday on FS1.

“We’ve got a very talented team, and I want to go out a winner,” Galloway said. “Last year was not a season we played to our standards here. … You want to be put in those positions to be ranked and to have all of these things that are expected of us. It should be expected at Indiana because this is a great program. All the success we used to have, we want to bring that back and have it ourselves. 

“Putting on an Indiana jersey, it means something. It’s special to have those moments, and now we have a big opportunity to show what we’re about this year.” 

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When Mike Woodson walked into Assembly Hall for practice on a late October afternoon donning a black Hoosiers warmup and a whistle around his neck, it instantly signaled to his players that it was time for work. What ensued over the next several hours was an intense practice session that started with individual drills, ramping up into situational simulations, and capped off with 5-on-5 basketball. The main takeaway: If you’re not defending, you’re going to hear it from the former Hoosiers All-American who is in his 26th season as a coach — nine of which have been spent as a head coach in the NBA and four in college — all at Indiana.

“Fellas, I don’t give a damn about all your scoring highlights right now!” Woodson shouted. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to get in a stance and work your ass off to get a stop, then get the rebound. That’s what you have to do if you’re going to play for me.”

There’s nothing loose about the 66-year-old Woodson’s practice. He understands what it takes to be successful in the sport, making three Eastern Conference semifinal appearances during his time as a head coach in the NBA — two with the Atlanta Hawks (2009 and 2010) and one with the New York Knicks (2013). After a stint with the LA Clippers, and then returning as a Knicks assistant under Tom Thibodeau from 2020-21, Woodson was called by his alma mater, a place that he has unwavering support for. 

Now three games into his fourth season in Bloomington, Woodson holds a 66-40 record with a 31-29 mark in the Big Ten and one NCAA Tournament win. This is a pivotal year for both Woodson and the Hoosiers, but despite that pressure and his demanding nature, Woodson makes it a point to incorporate plenty of laughter and smiles throughout the team’s rigorous practice. He admits that this year’s team “feels different” because these are “his kind of guys.”

“I really do love this group. I am having as much fun as I’ve had coaching a team,” Woodson told FOX Sports. “When you put a roster together, you go to sleep at night hoping like hell it’s going to work, man. There’s a ton of work that goes into that process, and I am having fun. I’m having fun because these guys are working and doing what’s asked of them on and off the floor, and they’re having fun while doing it.

“This group has done more in terms of bonding than any group I’ve had at Indiana. This summer was very pivotal in them doing that. That’s why I probably smile a little bit more now. But again, we still have a lot of work ahead of us and only time will tell. But I like everything about this basketball team.” 

There’s plenty to like about the roster additions Woodson made this offseason, which includes former Arizona standout Oumar Ballo, a FOX Sports Preseason Second Team All-American, who averaged 12.9 points and 10.1 rebounds on a Wildcats team that was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season. Woodson fell in love with the 7-foot center from Mali when Indiana played Arizona back in 2022 in Las Vegas. The Wildcats won that game, 89-75, and Ballo controlled the paint with 15 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.

Through three games this season, Ballo is averaging 13 points and a team-high 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game.

“He’s been everything that I thought he was,” Woodson said of his new big man. “I remember a couple of years ago when we played him in Vegas, he was a man-child. I didn’t ever think I’d get him in an Indiana uniform and that day, I didn’t like him because hell, he played his ass off and beat us. And then, when we were able to get in the mix this summer, when he went into the portal to bring him to Bloomington, he got down here and was such a pleasant young man. He’s well-rounded, very professional about his approach to the game, and he works.”

Woodson made it a point to have some very pointed conversations with Ballo ahead of the season, which included getting his weight down — he was listed at 265 pounds at Arizona — and making clear the work ethic that he expected of him.

“He’s worked his butt off with that in getting [his weight] down, and we’re benefiting from that,” Woodson said of Ballo. “But again, he’s got to continue to work as well, because I’m demanding, and I want more. I’m going to keep pushing him until we get to where we need to go.”

Another offseason addition through the transfer portal, Myles Rice, has been tasked with taking over the point guard reins for the Hoosiers this season. Rice, who helped power Washington State to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008, was a Freshman All-American and All-Pac 12 selection last season after averaging 14.1 points, 3.8 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 44% from the floor.

In practice, Rice and Woodson showed they have a rich bond, with the two engaging in honest dialogue throughout the session and the Indiana head coach challenging his new point guard: “I’m only going to keep pushing you because I know what I’ve seen on tape, brother. You wanted to level up here. Let’s level up, Myles Rice!”

Those were the words of Woodson to his 6-foot-3 point guard, who took that criticism time and again at practice and proceeded to make a play, time and again. After making a picture-perfect pass and then a bucket off the dribble, Rice turned to his head coach with a smirk.

“Don’t get full of yourself now kid,” Woodson said. “There’s no trophies handed out at practice.”

Rice has shown to be the type of floor general Woodson has always desired at Indiana. He is fresh off the best performance of the young season, scoring a team-high 23 points while adding four rebounds and three assists in an impressive 87-71 win over South Carolina.

And as good as the incoming transfers have been for Indiana, it’s a pair of returning players who have led the way so far this season: Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako.

Reneau, who was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection last season, is putting up 15 points and 5.3 rebounds per game through the first three contests, while Mgbako, a former high school All-American, is averaging a team-high 22 PPG, in addition to grabbing 7.7 rebounds per contest and shooting 71.4% from the field.

“My main goal is to dominate whoever’s in front of me,” Reneau said. “It’s been really fun playing with Oumar [Ballo] because he plays so aggressively and with so much energy. He gives people that fear aspect, and that’s something we’re trying to put in opponents’ minds. Coach Woodson is telling us every single day what we’re here for, and that’s to win a Big Ten and a national championship. Those daily reminders are constant from him.”

So, what’s the key for this Indiana team to reach those heightened expectations?

Perimeter shooting.

Last season, the Hoosiers’ lack of outside offense doomed the team, as they ranked 12th out of 14 Big Ten teams in 3-point percentage, shooting a measly 32% from downtown. Woodson heard the noise from last year and believes Goode, Mgbako and Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle, among others, can be key in that regard.

“It’s going to be pivotal for us to knock them down,” Woodson said. “When you have any team with consistent low post play, perimeter players have got to do their job too. And it’s not just in the halfcourt. We have to be able to get out in transition and knock them down.

“There are a lot of ways to shoot the 3-ball, and we’re going to shoot more 3s with this team. We’ve got to make them. If both the 3s and the post are clicking, then we could have a pretty good basketball team.”

Goode backed up his coach’s thoughts, adding how important perimeter shooting will be if this team wants to get to where it wants to go this season.

“This Indiana team is a lot different from the ones I faced,” Goode said. “When we’re scrimmaging for 20 minutes, we’re shooting 25-30 3s. We’ve got a bunch of guys that are confident.

“Last year, when we were scouting Indiana, we were going under every single screen. Every screen. We were going to let them shoot the ball, and if they beat us shooting 3s, good for them. It’s going to be a different vibe with this team with much better spacing.”

Not to be lost in the personnel additions, true freshman Bryson Tucker also possesses unique physicality and burst off the dribble. Many inside the program believe the 6-foot-6 wing might have the most pro upside of any player on the roster. That elite skill set was on display in the Hoosiers’ 90-55 win over Eastern Illinois back on Nov. 10, when the talented freshman came off the bench to score 12 points and grab six rebounds in 21 minutes.

Whether it’s Tucker or the additions Woodson and his staff brought in via the portal, it comes down to what Woodson refers to as a “complete collaboration” with the existing pieces who chose to return to Bloomington in order to be part of a redemption season.  In fact, Woodson likened it to the professional level, and with NIL dollars and what is essentially free agency ruling the offseason, for good reason.

“It’s no different than it is in the NBA, because when you go out and field guys for your ball club through free agency or trades, you always go to guys that have been with you that are going to continue to be with you,” Woodson said. “I don’t know if that’s always been the college way, but for me, it was kind of enlightening to talk to my players.

“Trey [Galloway] came to me after having conversations with Malik [Reneau] and Anthony [Leal], guys that have been here, about guys that we were looking to bring into our program. Once [Luke] Goode entered the portal, he was a priority to get him to come to Bloomington. Gallo [Galloway] could have turned his nose up at a guy who could partially take his role, but he didn’t. He helped recruit him.”

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The vibes on Indiana’s campus can be easily summed up by one word: glorious.

In addition to the basketball season getting underway and the Hoosiers off to an impressive 3-0 start, Curt Cignetti’s football team has taken the college football world by storm. The Hoosiers sit at 10-0, ranked No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, and are in place to play in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

While the football team gets set to travel to Columbus, Ohio for a massive top-five showdown against Big Ten foe Ohio State this weekend, the basketball team is looking to carry its own good vibes into a non-conference tilt with UNC Greensboro on Thursday night at Assembly Hall.

The goals for the Hoosiers men’s basketball team are simple: contend for the top spot in the Big Ten, make a conference tournament run in Indianapolis, and make a run in the Big Dance. The Hoosiers have not made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2016.

“Expectations are super high, and being here every single day with this group, the sky is in fact the limit,” Reneau said. “We’re going out there to get the Big Ten title, do well in the conference tournament and make the push in the Big Dance. I really believe in this team.”

Galloway was quick to back up his teammates’ point, referencing the program’s rich tradition.

“Those banners are up there every day for a reason,” Galloway said as he looked up at the five-time NCAA Tournament champions signage. “That’s to show the rich history that this place has. Just looking up there and seeing that, it gives you motivation. You want to be a part of that history. Looking at that and knowing what’s at stake is really cool. Every day, our focus is to reach the goal.”

Woodson, who ranks in the top six in program history with 2,061 career points and was a member of an Indiana team ranked No. 1 in the preseason heading into his senior year, understands the spotlight and the standard the late Bob Knight held the program to better than anybody. He knows the pressure and admits to there being plenty of sleepless nights this past offseason. But the veteran coach embraces the challenges and those doubters of his program. He knows and understands what it’s like to have success in March Madness. And at its core, that’s the expectation for Indiana basketball.

“I’ve never run away from expectations,” Woodson said. “I don’t care where you’ve coached or what team it is. People expect good things. That’s just the nature of sports. It hasn’t changed after all of these years.

“Our fan base is the best in college sports, and they expect to win. They should expect to win, and I expect to win. Nobody wants to win more than me. I played here. I sweated here. I put the time in here and I know the dynamics that this program presents. I expect us to play at a high level and win. That’s the only thing I’m in it for. It’s not about me. It’s about these players doing the right things on and off the floor and putting a product on the floor that our fan base loves and respects, and to win. That’s the only reason why I’m back here.

“I want to win, and to do it at a high level. I believe we have a group that can do it.”

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.

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