For the third straight offseason, Indiana’s core group of players who could return will return.
Coach Mike Woodson still has plenty to prove, including better roster construction and a higher level of success on the court, but it seems clear the main players who see the floor and experience success under this staff are happy to come back.
And in this era of unrestricted player mobility, that’s no small thing.
Following the 2021-22 season, reserves Michael Durr, Khristian Lander and Rob Phinisee all transferred. And while he started for a season at IU, Parker Stewart only averaged 6.2 points per game and transferred back to a lower level.
Following the 2022-23 campaign, reserves Jordan Geronimo and Logan Duncomb transferred. Tamar Bates was a reserve as well, although his decision to transfer was driven by circumstances — he had a daughter who lived eight hours away. He’s the headline transfer loss during the Woodson era to this point, and an efficient shooting guard certainly would have come in handy this past season. But that still wasn’t about a good player being unhappy in Bloomington.
And this year, again the transfers are reserves — C.J. Gunn, Kaleb Banks and Payton Sparks.
The transfer portal isn’t the exclusive resource of the players. Coaching staffs can and do nudge people into it. And that’s all we’ll say about that.
But when it comes to Indiana’s stars, so far under Woodson, it’s almost exclusively been return to IU, or head to the NBA. And whatever you think about the rest of the Woodson era, that in isolation is pretty healthy sign.
Following the 2021-22 season, top three scorers Trayce Jackson-Davis, Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson all came back.
Following the 2022-23 season, Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino were drafted, while Miller Kopp played in the G League and Thompson got an NBA summer league opportunity before suffering an injury. Meanwhile, the next three leading scorers — Johnson, Trey Galloway and Malik Reneau, all came back.
And now following following the 2023-24 campaign, Ware is off to the NBA where he’ll be drafted, and the other top scorers — Reneau, Mackenzie Mgbako and Galloway — are all returning.
In an era when every player is in effect a free agent every year, the ability to return a core group of players is foundational. It’s also a sign of a healthy culture.
Another sign is what Woodson’s former players say about him. Jackson-Davis has been effusive in his praise for Woodson on multiple occasions. And the latest unsolicited endorsement come from Ware when he announced his decision to enter the draft.
“In April of last year Coach Woodson and I sat in his office and he told me he was going to help me get to the next level, and if there is one thing we know about Woody, is that he is true to his word,” Ware told 247Sports. “I owe a lot to Coach Woodson and the entire coaching staff, Coach Yasir, Coach Kenya and Coach Brian.”
The recently turned 66 Woodson has a 63-40 record over three years at IU, and he’s just 31-29 in the Big Ten. No one is going to say that’s good enough at Indiana. The proverbial hump has not been scaled.
But there are clear signs that things aren’t bad at IU under Woodson either, as further evidenced by a late five-game winning streak after the season had ostensibly cratered. Woodson’s team didn’t quit midseason, and they aren’t leaving in droves.
And in the coming months we’ll see if lessons have been learned, and if he can silence the doubters this time by building on another solid foundation.
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