How a year can change things.

Around this time 365 days ago, Indiana men’s basketball appeared to have some positive momentum for the first time since… 2016? Maybe the Archie Miller honeymoon phase?

The Hoosiers locked up a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Trayce Jackson-Davis was a consensus All-American. Jalen Hood-Schifino guided the team to a sweep of Purdue and was NBA-bound.

Vibes around the program, all things considered, were pretty good. Last offseason presented a massive reload with a lot of talent from the transfer portal and boom or bust potential for the 2023-24 season as a result.

But this wasn’t a boom. It may not have been a bust even, at least on the court.

Indiana got blown out, a lot, but still ended up with 19 wins and sixth place in the Big Ten, which is exactly where the preseason media poll had them finishing. How they got there was very, very weird but it happened regardless.

Off the court? Oh man.

Fan chatter about Mike Woodson’s job status turned into an online fervor that was loud enough to prompt a report that he’d remain for next season. The lone 2024 signee requested out of his letter of intent one day later.

It’s important to remember with inside reports that information is power and when it’s released or delivered in a certain way, it’s usually meant to serve a purpose beyond informing the audience.

Had Indiana collapsed down the stretch to finish below .500, there’s probably a far different conversation to be had. That obviously didn’t happen though, with a five-game winning streak creating a really odd on/off court juxtaposition as to how the program looks instead of everything looking bad.

Does a blowout loss in the Big Ten Tournament change that at all? Maybe a little, but not nearly that much.

Things have gone wrong though. Indiana enters the offseason as the only team in the Big Ten without an incoming freshman recruiting class. That hasn’t happened in years and is usually the kind of thing that comes with a coaching change.

The futures for both Woodson and Indiana as a program hang in the balance in the next month. Moves made in these next few weeks will make, or break, the 2024-25 season.

Woodson cannot afford to be on the outside looking in again when March Madness rolls around next year. Ask Juwan Howard and Chris Holtmann what two years without a tourney bid does to your job.

Indiana has to build a team through the portal. Again.

Last year’s efforts weren’t entirely in vain, adding an All-Big Ten caliber center with NBA lottery upside and a key reserve forward with the kind of athleticism and quickness Woodson likes to have on defense.

But it’s what they didn’t go after, guards, that ultimately caused problems when the season arrived. The Hoosiers had all of one reliable passe and scorer, Trey Galloway, in the backcourt all season.

They’re gonna need someone that can score and multiple players who can shoot, ideally at least one that reaches around 40% from deep. Depending on what could happen with player movement out of the program, portal or NBA Draft, they could need rim protection and general depth in the frontcourt.

The good news? Indiana has plenty going for it in the recruiting process. The facilities are world-class, there’s a coach with NBA connections and a growing track record of sending talent to the next level and NIL is in a really good spot.

The bad news? It’s not difficult to negatively recruit against Indiana given that Woodson enters next year on the hot seat, the offense isn’t particularly modern and there is not a single freshman signee on the way to Bloomington.

The resources probably outweigh that, at least slightly. Indiana will be able to get players out of the portal, it just needs to get the right ones and set them up for success next season and for the future.

If not? The fervor will return, only without a “he’s safe” report to stem the tide of fan outrage.