Mike Woodson knew Indiana basketball had to ‘get better’. His transfer class echoed that and ‘boosted their stock’ this spring

After a disappointing 2023-24 season for Indiana basketball, Mike Woodson had to go back to the drawing board and come up with a clear and concise plan on how he was going to attack the transfer portal. Indiana entered this offseason with seven scholarships available after the departures of Kel’el Ware to the NBA, graduation of Xavier Johnson and Anthony Walker, and then the transfers of CJ Gunn, Kaleb Banks and Payton Sparks. Indiana already had one open scholarship from the year prior.

So, to say there was work needing to be done was an understatement. Indiana finished last season 19-14 and failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Mike Woodson’s three years.

Expectations are never low in Bloomington, but after the first two years of Woodson’s tenure, it seemed he had turned the corner and the momentum from two straight NCAA Tournament’s was going to be enough to keep carrying them to the next step in the progression. That wasn’t the case. Issues with roster construction, injuries and overall talent all reared its head last year.

Coming into the spring, one thing was for certain and Woodson knew it — ‘The bottom line is we’ve got to get better’, he said.

That translated into the No. 2 overall transfer class, including landing the 2nd ranked transfer in Arizona center Oumar Ballo. In total, IU added four pieces including guards Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle and wing Luke Goode.

So it’s no surprise Indiana is a team that ‘boosted their stock’ this spring.

“Indiana lost three players to the transfer portal this offseason, but none found homes in the Power Four ranks,” 247Sports analyst Grant Hughes wrote. “The Hoosiers have added the No. 2 class in the nation, headlined by former Arizona center Oumar Ballo, the No. 2 player in the portal.”

Woodson has been able to land significant pieces through the portal in his previous two years, but nothing like the expectations that come with this class.

A main reason for that is the versatility he now has in his backcourt and on the perimeter.

Both Rice and Carlyle bring skillsets that allow them to play both on and off the ball. More importantly, however, both can make plays for themselves and are extremely good athletes. Then adding in Goode — a career 38.8 percent three-point shooter — adds a true knockdown shooter on the wing that Indiana basketball needed.

These pieces ‘fit’. There’s no question about it. Ballo replaces Kel’el Ware. Rice replaces an inconsistent Xavier Johnson. Luke Goode replaces CJ Gunn. And, Carlyle rounds out the talented group that will bring a lot more than what IU lost.

Because of that, Hughes believes Indiana’s backcourt could be one of the top in the Big Ten next year.

“Top-ranked combo guard Kanaan Carlyle adds versatility to Mike Woodson’s backcourt and could push for starting minutes in a backcourt that returns Gabe Cupps and Trey Galloway,” Hughes added. “Four-star guards Luke Goode and Myles Rice add more depth to a Hoosiers backcourt that projects as one of the Big Ten’s best next season.”

From a talent standpoint on paper, Indiana is clearly a top-25 and even a realist top-15 team to start the season.

Next season won’t be about talent — rather the ability to make sure the chemistry exists.

Woodson’s goal was to ‘get better’. They did. Now, it’s an important summer ahead because Woodson knows what the goal is, at a minimum, next year.

“I don’t want to sit here this time next year and not be playing in the (NCAA) tournament,” he said.

Woodson won part one of the offseason, not it’s on to part two. Getting everyone on campus — let the learning and teaching begin.

“I came back to try to put this team in the best position possible,” Woodson said last year. “And I’m going to continue to do that.”