Woodson Hopes Transfers Help Indiana Improve 3-Point Shooting

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s 3-point shooting woes last season contributed to its first missed NCAA Tournament in three tries under coach Mike Woodson. 

Indiana shot 32.4% from 3-point range in 2023-24, which ranked 12th in the Big Ten and tied for 269th out of 363 teams nationally. The Hoosiers’ 513 3-point attempts tied for 349th, and their 166 3-pointers made tied for 344th, both conference-worst numbers.

Indiana’s strength and most efficient route to scoring was through the post with Kel’el Ware and Malik Reneau, who combined for 31.3 points per game on 57.1% shooting. Had the team that lacked shooters hoisted even more 3-point attempts, its record may have been even worse than the 19-14, 10-10 outcome.

Frustrated that his team was watching March Madness from home, Woodson approached the offseason determined to address three main aspects of the 2024-25 roster: perimeter play, shooting and finding a starting center to replace Ware. He did the latter by landing Oumar Ballo, Langdon Hatton and Dallas James. But focusing on the first two factors is perhaps the biggest reason Indiana is viewed as a top-25 team heading into the season.

“I’m hoping and feeling good about us addressing our shooting from the perimeter by bringing [Luke] Goode and getting Mack [Mgbako] back, and I think Kanaan Carlyle and guys like Myles Rice can knock shots down,” Woodson said on the College Hoops Today with Jon Rothstein podcast. 

“Gabe [Cupps] is shooting the ball extremely well this summer, and then we got [Trey] Gallo and Anthony [Leal] and Jakai Newton coming back. So I mean, I feel good about our perimeter play. Just gotta put it all together and get them comfortable when they’re out on the floor making shots.”

From a percentage standpoint, Goode is the best 3-point shooter Indiana added this offseason. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native shot 38.8% on 219 career 3-point attempts across three seasons at Illinois, including making a career-high 61 threes last season. At 6-foot-7, Goode has positional versatility and plenty of reps against top competition, helping Illinois reach the Elite Eight last season.

“Goode has really played extremely well for us this summer,” Woodson said. “So I’m hoping for big things out of him because he is a senior and he has experience playing in the Big Ten.”

Rice and Carlyle are the other transfer portal additions Woodson hopes will bolster Indiana’s outside shooting. A 6-foot-3 point guard, Rice was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and made the All-Pac-12 first team in 2023-24. 

Rice shot 33% from 3-point range in his first 26 games, including three games with four or more threes made. But he went on an 0-for-22 stretch across his final five regular season games and two Pac-12 tournament appearances. Rice made 2-of-6 3-point attempts as he helped Washington State reach the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, ending his freshman season with a 27.5% mark from beyond the arc.

Like Rice, Carlyle was a streaky shooter. In the fourth game of his career, the 6-foot-3 guard made 6-of-8 3-point attempts in a 28-point game against Arizona, and he capped off the regular season by sinking 4-of-5 3-pointers. But he also went 2 for 9 against USC and 2 for 11 against Colorado, which contributed to his season-long mark of 32%.

Rice’s 36 made 3-pointers and Carlyle’s 32 would have ranked second among Hoosiers last season, though their percentages leave room for improvement. Indiana will hope they can find more consistency as sophomores.

Similar to the newcomers, Indiana’s 3-point shooting improvement relies on Mgbako sustaining his best performances for longer stretches. The 6-foot-8 forward struggled from beyond the arc to begin his freshman season, going 8 for 38, or 21.1%, in his first 11 games. But as the calendar flipped to January, he shot 37.2% from beyond the arc in the final 18 Big Ten regular season games and was named co-Big Ten freshman of the year.

Woodson resisted putting expectations on Mgbako’s sophomore season, but he was proud to see the 6-foot-8 forward improve throughout his freshman year and hopes that continues.

“Only time will tell, man. I don’t sit here and predict anything,” Woodson said. “He’s still gotta go through practice. He’s still gotta develop each and every day in practice and there’s gotta be a carry over in the ball game. But I’m expecting big things out of him. He got off to a somewhat slow start last season and he was able to flip it based on the body of work and he continued to work hard in practice and he got better as the season went along, which is kind of nice to see.”

Woodson also said Cupps has shot the ball “extremely well” this offseason after going 14 for 39, or 35.9% as a freshman. At 6-foot-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 Ohio Mr. Basketball winner in high school, shooting 39.5% as a senior and 44.3% as a junior. 

Galloway led the 2022-23 Hoosiers by shooting 46.2% from 3-point range, but that figure dropped all the way to 26% last season. He’s a 30.1% 3-point shooter in 108 career games for the Hoosiers, who’ll need their fifth-year senior guard to trend back toward his junior year numbers.

Outside shooting production from returning Hoosiers like Leal and Newton is more of a mystery due to their limited production. Newton used a redshirt last season due to a knee injury, and Leal is 25 for 71, or 35.2%, on 3-point attempts across his four-year career, with no more than nine made in any season.

Woodson had dominant post players in his first three seasons with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kel’el Ware, who constantly drew double-teams in the paint. There should be a similar dynamic with Ballo and Malik Reneau this season, creating the possibility for kick-outs and open shots on the perimeter.

This time, Woodson feels better about capitalizing on those opportunities.

“I look at our last three years, we got good looks from the perimeter and we just didn’t knock them down,” Woodson said. “I’m hoping this year, you’re going to get some of the same looks.”