Mike Woodson hopes transfers will help Indiana Basketball improve its three-point shots

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana's 3-point shooting woes last season contributed to Indiana missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three tries under coach Mike Woodson.

Indiana made 32.4% of its three-pointers in 2023-24, ranking 12th in the Big Ten and 269th out of 363 teams nationally. The Hoosiers' 513 three-point attempts ranked 349th and their 166 three-pointers ranked 344th — both worst numbers in the conference.

Indiana's strength and most efficient scoring method was through the post with Kel'el Ware and Malik Reneau combining for 31.3 points per game on 57.1% shooting. Had the team, which lacked shooters, attempted more three-point attempts, their record might have been even worse than the 19-14, 10-10 result.

Frustrated With his team watching March Madness from home, Woodson entered the offseason with the firm intention of addressing three main aspects of the 2024-25 roster: perimeter play, shooting and finding a starting center to replace Ware. He accomplished the latter by signing Oumar Ballo, Langdon Hatton and Dallas James. But focusing on the first two factors is perhaps the main reason why Indiana considered a top 25 team start the season.

“I hope and feel good that we can improve our three-point shooting by [Luke] Goode and Mack get [Mgbako] back, and I think Kanaan Carlyle and guys like Myles Rice can block shots,” Woodson said at the College Hoops Today with Jon Rothstein Podcast.

“Gift [Cupps] throws the ball extremely well this summer, and then we have [Trey] Gallo and Anthony [Leal] and Jakai Newton is coming back. So, I mean, I'm happy with our perimeter game. We just need to put it all together and make them feel comfortable being on the court and shooting baskets.”

From a percentage perspective, Goode is the best three-point shooter Indiana has signed this offseason. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native hit 38.8% of his 219 three-point attempts in three seasons at Illinois, including a career-high 61 threes last season. At 6-foot-1, Goode is positionally versatile and has seen plenty of action against top competition, helping Illinois reach the Elite Eight last season.

“Goode has played extremely well for us this summer,” Woodson said. “So I'm hoping for big things from him because he's a senior and has experience in Big Ten play.”

Rice and Carlyle are the other additions from the transfer portal that Woodson hopes will bolster Indiana's long-range shooting. Rice, a 6-foot-3 point guard, was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-Pac-12 first team in 2023-24.

Rice made 33% of his three-pointers in his first 26 games, including three games with four or more three-pointers. However, he made 0 of 22 three-pointers in his final five regular-season games and two Pac-12 Tournament appearances. Rice made 2 of 6 three-pointers to help Washington State reach the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. He finished his first season as a player with a 27.5% shooting percentage from beyond the three-point line.

Like Rice, Carlyle was an inconsistent shooter. In the fourth game of his career, the 6-foot-3 guard made 6 of 8 three-point attempts in a 28-point game against Arizona and capped the regular season by shooting 4 of 5 three-pointers. But he also made 2 of 9 against USC and 2 of 11 against Colorado, contributing to his season mark of 32%.

Rice's 36 three-pointers and Carlyle's 32 would have ranked second among the Hoosiers last season, but their percentages still leave room for improvement. Indiana hopes they can gain more consistency as sophomores.

Similar to freshmen, Indiana's improvement in three-point shooting percentage has come from Mgbako maintaining his best for longer periods of time. The 6-foot-8 forward struggled with three-point shooting early in his freshman season, shooting 8-of-38 (21.1%) in his first 11 games. But in January, he shot 37.2% three-pointers in the final 18 Big Ten regular-season games and was named co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Woodson didn't want to have too high expectations for Mgbako's second season, but was proud to see the 6-foot-8 forward's progress over the course of his freshman year and hopes that trend continues.

“Only time will tell, man. I'm not sitting here predicting anything,” Woodson said. “He still has to practice. He has to develop every day in practice and there has to be a transfer to the game. But I expect big things from him. Last season he got off to a little bit of a slow start and was able to turn that around based on his performance. He continued to work hard in practice and got better as the season went on, which is pretty nice to see.”

Woodson also said Cupps has been shooting “extremely well” this offseason after hitting 14 of 39 shots, or 35.9%, as a freshman. At 6'2″, Cupps struggled to create his own shot off the dribble as a freshman, but he was reliable in catch-and-shoot situations. He was a strong 3-point shooter as a State champion and winner of Ohio Mr. Basketball In high school, he shot 39.5% in his senior year and 44.3% in his third year.

Galloway led the Hoosiers in 2022-23 with a 46.2% shooting percentage from 3-point range, but that number dropped to 26% last season. In 108 career games for the Hoosiers, he made 30.1% of his 3-pointers. The Hoosiers need their fifth-year senior guard to get back to the numbers he put up during his junior year.

The performance of returning Hoosiers like Leal and Newton from distance is somewhat of a mystery due to their limited production. Newton redshirted last season due to a knee injury and Leal has made 25 of 71 three-point attempts, or 35.2%, in his four-year career, never making more than nine in any season.

Woodson had dominant post players in Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kel'el Ware in his first three seasons, constantly drawing double coverage in the box. There should be a similar dynamic this season with Ballo and Malik Reneau, creating the opportunity for kickouts and open shots on the perimeter.

This time, Woodson is confident he can take advantage of these opportunities.

“When I look at the last three years, we've had good chances from the three-point line and just haven't knocked them down,” Woodson said. “I hope we get some of the same opportunities this year.”