What we heard from Indiana basketball at Big Ten Media Days: ‘We got to come out blazing’

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson told reporters at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday he wants his team to get off to a “blazing start” this season.

“We got to come out playing at a high level,” Woodson said. “There’s no reason why we shouldn’t is kind of how I look at it.”

Woodson feels like the influx of talent from the transfer portal — Oumar Ballo (Arizona), Myles Rice (Washington State), Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford) and Luke Goode (Illinois) — combined with some key returning veterans (Trey Galloway, Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako) gives the Hoosiers no excuse to struggle out of the gate like they did last year.

Indiana faces a series of close calls at Assembly Hall in wins over Florida Gulf Coast, Army and Morehead State in games all decided by eight points or less that were the cause for some concern. The Hoosiers would go on to miss the NCAA tournament with a 19-14 record.

“We could have lost the games,” Woodson said. “Those guys, the Maliks, Gallos, and Mackenzie, they found ways to win along with Ware. I’m just hoping this year we don’t put ourselves in that position.”

Here’s what we heard about the new-look Hoosiers at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday:

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Meet IU’s ‘influencer’ Myles Rice

Myles Rice earned the right to represent Indiana at Big Ten Media Days with his vocal leadership throughout the team’s offseason workouts.

“From day one, the way he came in and just took over as a leader, it’s amazing to see,” Galloway said. “…There’s no one like him that I’ve played with ever. The way he’s able to talk to guys, and be that influencer on the court is very special to see.”

Rice, who was sitting right next to Galloway, reacted with a wide smile.

“I appreciate that, big dawg,” he said.

The camaraderie on display is what both players said it’s been like in the locker room for IU in recent months despite adding seven new faces to the fold. Rice’s willingness to speak up as a newcomer played a key role in the group quickly developing chemistry.

“It’s hard for guys to speak up cause everyone is kind of new, people are shy obviously, but he’s not,” Galloway said. ”That’s a good quality to have, he’s able to kind of bring guys together. That’s one thing I’ve noticed, there’s plenty of times this summer we needed someone to be vocal and he was that guy.”

The Washington State transfer’s impressive resume and play style doesn’t hurt either. He was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, set more than a half dozen freshman school records and led all freshmen in the conference in scoring just months removed from finishing treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

“At that position, you got to demand respect from the players and the players will respect what you do on the floor,” Woodson said. “Myles has been a nice addition cause he’s a game changer with his ability to push the ball up and down the floor and make shots.”

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Malik Reneau was one of Indiana basketball’s offseason standouts

The Hoosiers director of athletic performance Clif Marshall highlighted Reneau’s transformation earlier this week on social media.

He posted a before and after photo of Reneau from the offseason along with some of his improved testing numbers — he’s reduced his body fat by 3.5%, improved his vertical jump by 4.5 inches and improved 14 reps on the bench press.

“He’s done a really good job of getting his body right, and really trying to focus on staying in shape,” Galloway said. “There were a lot of times he would get tired and there would be a lack of discipline, we would see that a lot.”

That lack of discipline often led to early foul trouble. Reneau fouled out seven times (six in conference play) and finished the season ranked among the top 50 players in most personal fouls (103).

“He wants us to hold him accountable as well,” Galloway said.

Reneau was IU’s second-leading scorer (15.4 points) and rebounder (6.0) last season. He shot 55.8% from the field and showed improved range while averaging 1.4 made 3-pointers on 33.3% shooting.

He started all 33 games and doubled his playing time from the 14.9 minutes he averaged as a freshman to 28.7 minutes per game.

“Malik is a special talent and everyone has known that,” Galloway said. “He’s very special, the way he can play.”

Reneau showed he was capable of scoring points in bunches.

One of his more memorable performances came against an upset-minded Kennesaw State team. With Kel’el Ware sidelined, he scored a career-high 34 points on 13 of 19 shooting in the 100-89 win.

He had stretches like that in Big Ten play as well like when he helped IU escape Columbus with a 71-65 win over Ohio State later in the year. He scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half including a key layup in the final 90 seconds to keep it a two-possession game.

“Now physically, he’s really committed to the work out, eating habits, all of it,” Woodson said. “His body has changed. His summer was pretty good, and he’s playing pretty good basketball for us now.”

Why Trey Galloway got the Carmelo Anthony treatment

Woodson sought out Galloway’s thoughts on who Indiana should add in the transfer portal after last season. He likened it to his time in New York when he would routinely keep his key contributors like Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler updated on the team’s personnel moves.

“Trey he gets that latitude, he’s been with me from Day One,” Woodson said.

One of the names on Galloway’s list was Luke Goode. He played AAU ball with the Illinois forward who is from Fort Wayne. Goode provides IU with a much-needed shooting touch — he averaged 1.6 made 3-pointers last season while shooting 39.7% from long distance.

Woodson said the plan is to take advantage of Goode’s range by running sets designed to get him the ball.

Jakai Newton: ‘Probably the best explosive athlete on the team’

While Indiana redshirt freshman Jakai Newton told reporters he was “good to go” at the program’s media days in September, Woodson isn’t letting him practice every day as he works his way back from multiple knee injuries that sideline him for two-plus years.

“We are basically slow walking him back,” Woodson said.

Woodson can be patient thanks to the team’s improved depth. He talked about his team’s depth multiple times on Thursday and how fierce the competition will be for playing time.

The good news for Newton? He’s had some flashy moments in practice that caught Woodson’s attention.

“The days he’s been out there have been pretty impressive,” Woodson said. “Probably the best explosive athlete on our team in terms of playing above the rim. It’s scary how good he is in that regard. We just got to get him back fully healthy, he’s just not there yet.”

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball: What we heard at Big Ten Media Days