On Wednesday the Indiana men’s and women’s basketball programs hosted their third annual institutional media day. Head coach Mike Woodson addressed the media at 3 p.m. followed by head coach Teri Moren. Players from both sides then addressed the media on the Cook Hall practice courts. This was the first opportunity for the media to be exposed to Woodson and Moren as well as both teams’ rosters since last season's conclusion in the spring.
Here are my three takeaways.
Mike Woodson plans for this team to look different than any team he’s had at Indiana so far
Woodson used the term “quick” multiple times throughout his 16-minute press conference and it is evident that he won’t be stuck in his ways with this roster.
“I’d like to play a bit quicker this year where we’re not walking it up,” Woodson said. “There were times we had fastbreak points that we made off of turnovers with our defense, but I’d like to play a little faster on makes.”
This will start with redshirt sophomore point guard Myles Rice, the transfer portal addition from Washington State. Rice averaged 14.8 points and 3.8 assists in his lone season with the Cougars.
This is something Woodson hopes he can repeat at Indiana.
“His speed, it changes the game for us, along with Kanaan (Carlyle), and the fact he can score the ball,” Woodson said.
The Hoosiers were 182nd in the nation in percentage of shots taken in transition and 205th in fastbreak points scored last season.
Rice considers himself “more quick” than fast, but did make it clear that he is at Indiana to “do whatever it takes to win.”
Minutes will be competitive throughout the roster
The Hoosiers enter this season with a roster of 13 players, seven of whom are newcomers, which creates a tough position for Woodson to be in with how he distributes playing time.
With multiple additions, players such as Gabe Cupps and Anthony Leal who averaged 21.7 and 14.7 minutes per game last year, seem to be guys whose minutes will be decreased, but according to Woodson, it isn’t that easy.
Woodson, when asked about Cupps, said, “he’s a kid that likes to compete and is one of the first ones in the gym and the last to leave, so he’s going to be in the thick of things. He’s gonna force coach to have to play him.”
Cupps will seemingly come off the bench for Rice, but will fight to get minutes as the season goes on, similar to players such as Jakai Newton and Luke Goode.
Newton, who missed last season with injury, expects to be back to full health by the start of the season. The message to him from Woodson was very simple.
“Stay healthy,” Woodson said. “That’s it.”
Oumar Ballo looks to continue Indiana’s streak of dominant 7-foot centers
Following in the footsteps and attempting to fill the shoes of Trayce Jackson-David and Kel’el Ware is a tall task to complete, but one that Oumar Ballo seems primed and ready for.
Ballo, standing at 7-foot and 260 pounds, is a redshirt senior with a career that has been filled with accolades. Ballo is a two-time all-Pac-12 player as well as a one-time Pac-12 defensive team member while averaging 11.2 points and 7.7 rebounds in his time at Arizona.
The 7-footer now joins Woodson and the Hoosiers ready to compete against some of the best centers in the Big 10 including Maryland’s Julian Reese and fellow transfer Danny Wolf at Michigan.
Ballo’s rim protection will be an integral part of Woodson’s defensive gameplans similar to when Jackson-Davis and Ware were the frontcourt stars. Jackson-Davis averaged 2.9 blocks per game his senior year while Ware provided 1.9 in his lone season as a Hoosier.
“For us to be a great defensive team,” Ballo said, “we need to have rim protection and that’s what I’m here for and that's what I’m going to do.”
Jackson-Davis and Ware were also selling points for Woodson on Ballo’s visit to Indiana while still in the portal. The coach had a film session with Ballo showcasing the improvement in both players' games under his coaching.
Ware’s progression was a major difference maker in Ballo’s decision to come to Indiana.
“I played against him (while Ware was at Oregon),” Ballo said, “and in the span of nine months he was a completely different player and stuff like that isn’t a cheat code it’s just work and the coaching staff does stuff to help guys out and that for sure affected my decision coming here.”
Ballo now looks to receive the same coaching from Woodson and his staff in preparation for the season.
The Hoosiers will open their season on Oct. 18 in a charity exhibition game in Knoxville, Tennessee against the Tennessee Volunteers.
