Indiana head coach Mike Woodson spoke to the media this week, a little over a month since the last time we spoke. He touched on the upcoming summer schedule, summer workouts and then his current roster.
Indiana will begin summer workouts on June 10.
One of the biggest takeaways was how he is building his roster and his mentality when it comes to the players on it. Woodson is going to recruit the best players and play the guys who come to work everyday prepared to help the team. There will be no 'favorites' and with the depth and talent he has, he can do that.
"I'll still recruit, but I know a lot of these players, they think, Well, are you going to recruit over me or on top of me. And I can't tell a kid that I'm not going to recruit on top of him. I'm going to try to recruit the best talent available that fits what I'm trying to do. I think competition, and if you're any kind of competitor, that's how you get better as a ball club and as an individual player.
"So, I mean, I've never ran away from competition. I just wanted to go play and try to make myself known. Those are the kinds of kids I'm trying to recruit here, but I'm trying to sit at the table with some of the top players."
On Jerome Hunter, Mike Woodson provided a little more clarity on the decision for Hunter to leave the program.
"Again, I won't get deep into this because I like keeping stuff like that in house. He decided -- we decided to part ways and he landed on his feet in Xavier, so I'm excited about that. Talking about shooting, he was a guy that could make it but his percentage didn't show that.
"We just didn't -- we didn't mix the way I think I wanted it to be between he and I. That's no knock against him. I think he's an excellent kid, and we decided to part ways. He understood. I understood. He left here and still landed on his feet at Xavier."
We will have more stories from his press conference in the next few days.
More on shooting remaining a priority: https://indiana.rivals.com/news/shooting-remains-a-top-priority-for-indiana-and-mike-woodson
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Two big dates are quickly approaching for the college basketball world and those are June 1 and then June 15. College coaches will finally get back out on the road and watch prospects in person starting June 1. This will be the first time in 14-15 months that coaches will be allowed on the road. June 15 comes when college coaches will be able to contact class of 2023 recruits directly. Until then, it has been through a parent or coach.
As for class of 2023 recruits, we had previous confirmation on two prospects visiting in June, Jeremy Fears and Xavier Booker.
Fears, the La Lumiere (IN) guard, is one of the top 2023 point guards in the class and is very high on Indiana. He will be visiting June 9.
Booker, the Cathedral (IN) center, is an interesting big man in the class. He didn't play a ton as a sophomore but is very skilled. He is seeing his recruitment start to build steam. He is visiting June 23.
In the past day, Indiana received news that there will be two more class of 2023 recruits to visit campus in June.
TheHoosier.com has confirmed that a top in-state prospect, Jalen Hooks, will be visiting Indiana at the end of June. The Crispus Attucks (IN) wing is extremely versatile. 6-foot-7 who can play on and off of the ball. Terrific athleticism. Good ball skills as a playmaker and passer. Much better slasher than shooter at this stage.
Mike Roberts and Brian Walsh have been the main points of contact for Hooks. Obviously Roberts is no longer at Indiana. Hooks has offers from LSU, DePaul, Illinois and Xavier.
He is also planning on visiting Butler, Xavier, Marquette and Illinois this summer.
We will have more on Hooks later today.
As for a new name in the class of 2023, TheHoosier.com has confirmed that Cyr Malonga will be scheduling a visit to Indiana in June as well, per his Athletic Director. Malonga is a 6-foot-11 big man from Evangel Christian (KY). He has offers from Georgia, Illinois and Western Illinois as of now.
Kentucky, Michigan and Memphis are some other programs working to schedule visits this summer.
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As for some 2022's, Ypsi Prep (MI) center Shawn Phillips has now heard from the new Indiana staff and they are continuing to pursue the four-star center. Phillips is ranked No. 42 in the Rivals150. He recently cut his list to a top-7 of: Indiana, Ohio State, Dayton, Florida, NC State, Cincinnati and West Virginia.
He is originally from Dayton, OH.
We touched on four-star Montverde (IN) guard Jalen Hood-Schifino earlier this week and he and Indiana are working on setting up a June visit as well. Hood-Schifino was recruited by Indiana with the prior staff, but Mike Woodson has made him much more of a priority.
Of Indiana: "They want me to come in and be me -- you know, play my game, get the ball out and go."
Hood-Schifino is ranked No. 32 in the Rivals150. He is hearing most from Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Georgetown, Oregon and Pitt. He is from the Pittsburgh area and was originally committed to Pitt.
More on Hood-Schifino: https://indiana.rivals.com/news/indiana-continues-pursuit-of-top-50-guard-jalen-hood-schifino
Four-star big man Tarris Reed has also been hearing from the new Indiana staff. He is still pretty early in his recruitment and has nearly 20 offers.
He plays for Chaminade (MO.) High School and Mokan Elite (MO) on the AAU circuit, the same AAU program former Indiana forward Juwan Morgan played for. Seeing how well Morgan was developed at IU and how it has translated to the NBA has definitely left a good mark on Reed.
On Juwan Morgan: "We play for the same AAU team and the same position. That leaves a great impression for me knowing a guy at my position that played on the same AAU program excelled at IU and went on to the NBA."
On his game: "I am that 4 to 5 man that has the ability to create on the perimeter as well as dominate down low. I play an inside out game, start to get my points down low and as the defense adjust I will adjust. Either that the mid post or outside on the wing. I’m comfortable shooting the three ball in transition or off ball screens."
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As for the new Rivals150 rankings for the class of 2022, there was tons of movement for Indiana targets. In all, there are 13 players in the top-100 that IU is after pretty hard.
Some of the notable names who saw big rises are:
Jalen Hood-Schifino: No. 32 (+10)
Seth Trimble: No. 34 (+75)
Shawn Phillips: No. 42 (+19)
Kyle Filipowski: No. 48 (+69)
Justin Taylor: No. 54 (+15)
Noah Clowney: No. 55 (NR)
Rodney Rice: No. 57 (+20)
Indiana commit CJ Gunn checks in at No. 149.
Here is the full rankings list: https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2022
Indiana will begin summer workouts on June 10.
One of the biggest takeaways was how he is building his roster and his mentality when it comes to the players on it. Woodson is going to recruit the best players and play the guys who come to work everyday prepared to help the team. There will be no 'favorites' and with the depth and talent he has, he can do that.
"I'll still recruit, but I know a lot of these players, they think, Well, are you going to recruit over me or on top of me. And I can't tell a kid that I'm not going to recruit on top of him. I'm going to try to recruit the best talent available that fits what I'm trying to do. I think competition, and if you're any kind of competitor, that's how you get better as a ball club and as an individual player.
"So, I mean, I've never ran away from competition. I just wanted to go play and try to make myself known. Those are the kinds of kids I'm trying to recruit here, but I'm trying to sit at the table with some of the top players."
On Jerome Hunter, Mike Woodson provided a little more clarity on the decision for Hunter to leave the program.
"Again, I won't get deep into this because I like keeping stuff like that in house. He decided -- we decided to part ways and he landed on his feet in Xavier, so I'm excited about that. Talking about shooting, he was a guy that could make it but his percentage didn't show that.
"We just didn't -- we didn't mix the way I think I wanted it to be between he and I. That's no knock against him. I think he's an excellent kid, and we decided to part ways. He understood. I understood. He left here and still landed on his feet at Xavier."
We will have more stories from his press conference in the next few days.
More on shooting remaining a priority: https://indiana.rivals.com/news/shooting-remains-a-top-priority-for-indiana-and-mike-woodson
---
Two big dates are quickly approaching for the college basketball world and those are June 1 and then June 15. College coaches will finally get back out on the road and watch prospects in person starting June 1. This will be the first time in 14-15 months that coaches will be allowed on the road. June 15 comes when college coaches will be able to contact class of 2023 recruits directly. Until then, it has been through a parent or coach.
As for class of 2023 recruits, we had previous confirmation on two prospects visiting in June, Jeremy Fears and Xavier Booker.
Fears, the La Lumiere (IN) guard, is one of the top 2023 point guards in the class and is very high on Indiana. He will be visiting June 9.
Booker, the Cathedral (IN) center, is an interesting big man in the class. He didn't play a ton as a sophomore but is very skilled. He is seeing his recruitment start to build steam. He is visiting June 23.
In the past day, Indiana received news that there will be two more class of 2023 recruits to visit campus in June.
TheHoosier.com has confirmed that a top in-state prospect, Jalen Hooks, will be visiting Indiana at the end of June. The Crispus Attucks (IN) wing is extremely versatile. 6-foot-7 who can play on and off of the ball. Terrific athleticism. Good ball skills as a playmaker and passer. Much better slasher than shooter at this stage.
Mike Roberts and Brian Walsh have been the main points of contact for Hooks. Obviously Roberts is no longer at Indiana. Hooks has offers from LSU, DePaul, Illinois and Xavier.
He is also planning on visiting Butler, Xavier, Marquette and Illinois this summer.
We will have more on Hooks later today.
As for a new name in the class of 2023, TheHoosier.com has confirmed that Cyr Malonga will be scheduling a visit to Indiana in June as well, per his Athletic Director. Malonga is a 6-foot-11 big man from Evangel Christian (KY). He has offers from Georgia, Illinois and Western Illinois as of now.
Kentucky, Michigan and Memphis are some other programs working to schedule visits this summer.
---
As for some 2022's, Ypsi Prep (MI) center Shawn Phillips has now heard from the new Indiana staff and they are continuing to pursue the four-star center. Phillips is ranked No. 42 in the Rivals150. He recently cut his list to a top-7 of: Indiana, Ohio State, Dayton, Florida, NC State, Cincinnati and West Virginia.
He is originally from Dayton, OH.
We touched on four-star Montverde (IN) guard Jalen Hood-Schifino earlier this week and he and Indiana are working on setting up a June visit as well. Hood-Schifino was recruited by Indiana with the prior staff, but Mike Woodson has made him much more of a priority.
Of Indiana: "They want me to come in and be me -- you know, play my game, get the ball out and go."
Hood-Schifino is ranked No. 32 in the Rivals150. He is hearing most from Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Georgetown, Oregon and Pitt. He is from the Pittsburgh area and was originally committed to Pitt.
More on Hood-Schifino: https://indiana.rivals.com/news/indiana-continues-pursuit-of-top-50-guard-jalen-hood-schifino
Four-star big man Tarris Reed has also been hearing from the new Indiana staff. He is still pretty early in his recruitment and has nearly 20 offers.
He plays for Chaminade (MO.) High School and Mokan Elite (MO) on the AAU circuit, the same AAU program former Indiana forward Juwan Morgan played for. Seeing how well Morgan was developed at IU and how it has translated to the NBA has definitely left a good mark on Reed.
On Juwan Morgan: "We play for the same AAU team and the same position. That leaves a great impression for me knowing a guy at my position that played on the same AAU program excelled at IU and went on to the NBA."
On his game: "I am that 4 to 5 man that has the ability to create on the perimeter as well as dominate down low. I play an inside out game, start to get my points down low and as the defense adjust I will adjust. Either that the mid post or outside on the wing. I’m comfortable shooting the three ball in transition or off ball screens."
---
As for the new Rivals150 rankings for the class of 2022, there was tons of movement for Indiana targets. In all, there are 13 players in the top-100 that IU is after pretty hard.
Some of the notable names who saw big rises are:
Jalen Hood-Schifino: No. 32 (+10)
Seth Trimble: No. 34 (+75)
Shawn Phillips: No. 42 (+19)
Kyle Filipowski: No. 48 (+69)
Justin Taylor: No. 54 (+15)
Noah Clowney: No. 55 (NR)
Rodney Rice: No. 57 (+20)
Indiana commit CJ Gunn checks in at No. 149.
Here is the full rankings list: https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2022
