Indiana men’s basketball offseason check-in
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The AC Golf Classic was on Monday and both Indiana men’s basketball head coach Mike Woodson and Director of Player Development Calbert Cheaney were there to participate. News 8 sports reporter Angela Moryan caught up with both of them to talk about how the offseason is going.
They’re in the middle of an eight week summer program with the whole roster in Bloomington. After that, the players will get a few weeks off before returning to campus for the start of the school year.
There was a lot of work to be done earlier in the offseason though to put together the roster for the season. IU had three players transfer out (CJ Gunn, Payton Sparks, and Kaleb Banks), two players graduate and run out of eligibility (Xavier Johnson and Anthony Walker), and one player leave early for the draft (Kel’el Ware).
They filled those spots with five transfers, including Oumar Ballo from Arizona, Myles Rice from Washington State, Kanaan Carlyle from Stanford, Luke Goode from Illinois, and Langdon Hatton from Bellarmine. They also got a freshman late into the recruiting cycle, with Bryson Tucker committing after the end of the season.
Ballo is the headliner for the newcomers, ranking second in 247Sports’ transfer rankings. Woodson said Ballo brings toughness to the group. Woodson also said Ballo runs the floor well, is good around the basket, and has good shot blocking skills.
“Number one, he was excited about coming to Indiana, and that’s a major plus,” Woodson said.
Ballo hurt his foot early on in the summer program, but got back on the court on Monday. He averaged 12.9 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game, and 1.3 blocks per game last year.
When asked who has been the most impressive so far this summer, Cheaney wasn’t able to choose just one.
“All of them,” Cheaney said. “Every last one of them. They’re all about winning.”
Ballo won two regular season conference championships, two conference tournament championships, and made the Sweet 16 twice while at Arizona. Goode won a regular season conference championship, a conference tournament championship, and made it to the Elite 8 at Illinois.
Cheaney also talked about Mackenzie Mgbako, saying he has improved his basketball IQ since last year. He cited playing better defense and knowing where his shots are coming from as specific improvements.
With six new faces in the fold, the summer is a great time to build chemistry and get to know each other. The team went fishing together last week with Director of Athletic Performance Clif Marshall.
After a disappointing season last year, Woodson was asked what fans should expect from this team.
“It’s hard to gauge it this early in the game, but we’ll be very competitive,” Woodson said. “I promise you that.