Indiana males’s basketball coach Mike Woodson took the rostrum this morning in Minneapolis for Massive Ten media day.
The occasion, which was held on the Goal Middle this 12 months, options press conferences from all 14 of the league’s coaches.
Right here’s video plus a transcript of all the things Woodson stated at Tuesday’s press convention:
? Coach Woodson on the mic.#B1GMediaDays | #IUBB pic.twitter.com/vWvrTvRlIj
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) October 10, 2023
(Transcript through ASAP Sports activities)
THE MODERATOR: Please welcome from Indiana College Head Coach Mike Woodson. Coach Woodson is coming into his third season with the Hoosiers after main this system to back-to-back NCAA Event appearances. Coach Woodson, we’ll start along with your opening assertion.
MIKE WOODSON: Good morning. It’s good to be again. I’m trying ahead to a different nice 12 months with our ball membership. Plenty of work on our arms. We fielded ten new gamers this summer time, and it’s a piece in progress proper now. So I’m fairly happy and blissful the place we’re as a ball membership as we stand immediately, however we’ve obtained a protracted option to go.
So with that being stated, I’ll open the ground up for statements.
THE MODERATOR: Questions for Coach Woodson.
Q. You might have the 4 new groups coming in. What do you assume that provides to the league, and what issues, if any, do you could have about journey and scheduling connected to that?
MIKE WOODSON: It’s competitors. I imply, I’ve all the time been a coach and participant that loves competitors.
The 4 groups which might be coming in are well-coached, proficient gamers, and I feel it might do nothing however improve what we have already got.
The Massive Ten is loaded with nice coaches, man, and nice gamers. So I have a look at it as competitors. Plenty of work. You bought to get your ball golf equipment able to play.
Q. How does your offensive teaching philosophy change once you lose guys like Trayce and Jalen who had the ball of their arms a lot final season?
MIKE WOODSON: I feel again to once I began this journey two years in the past. We had the put up Trayce Jackson-Davis. It being such a brand new group for me, that was the suitable factor to do.
Then final season all people thought we posted him most likely greater than the primary season, and we didn’t. You realize, we ran extra pick-and-rolls versus posting the ball.
So I feel you need to have a little bit little bit of each. I don’t assume I wish to be a group to only depend on capturing threes. I feel you’ve obtained to take the ball inside and maintain the protection sincere that approach as properly.
So proper now I don’t know what sort of group we’re going to be offensively. We put in a number of issues right here over the summer time and since we began official follow. We’ve obtained a protracted option to go, however I just like the make-up of our ball membership.
Q. You might have in Kel’el Ware a really unusual participant, the size, the physique kind. You don’t see plenty of guys like him. How do you make the most of what he brings to the ground and kind of take him away from no matter hassle his body can create?
MIKE WOODSON: Properly, he’s a really skillful participant. The primary time I’ve coached a 7’2″ man after all of the years I’ve spent within the NBA. It’s only a matter for him I consider getting snug with the Massive Ten and dealing laborious.
I feel plenty of these younger gamers, they honestly imagine they work laborious, and I’ve all the time felt there’s one other degree that you could all the time attain as a participant. I’ve obtained to get him to that degree.
He has been working. He caught round this summer time and put in plenty of time. I’m happy together with his work ethic, however he nonetheless has a protracted option to go I feel.
Q. My query about MacKenzie Mgbako and the freshmen that you’ve, it seems you’ll be relying on them to do some issues for you guys this 12 months. Simply the influence that he can have and in addition that freshman class.
MIKE WOODSON: Properly, once more, we have been excessive on him when he got here on the board by way of being recruited. As soon as he made the dedication to us, he has come on this summer time and actually labored.
Nice shooter. He can actually shoot the basketball. However, once more, highschool — that soar from highschool to school is a giant soar, identical to the soar from school to the NBA. He has plenty of work that he has to place in to get to the place he must go by way of serving to us win basketball video games.
I imply, once more, I’ve obtained a bunch of younger gamers that I’ve obtained to show. A few sophomores that have been freshmen final 12 months, that I’m anticipating large issues from, however he’s a bit to the puzzle that we’re hoping that may step in and play instantly and do some good issues for our ball membership.
Q. You talked about a number of the sophomores now. Malik is certainly one of them. How have you ever seen him develop because the finish of final season?
MIKE WOODSON: Properly, the truth that he’s obtained his physique — his physique is in significantly better form than it was his freshman 12 months. Once more, plenty of that needed to do with the truth that he caught round this summer time. Most of my guys stayed in Bloomington this summer time and put the work in, which they wanted to do. I’m anticipating large issues out of him as a result of he’s very proficient and might do plenty of issues on the ground. So he’s simply obtained to proceed to work.
I’m happy the place he’s immediately as properly as a result of he has been working his butt off, however we’ve obtained a few different sophomores with C.J. and Kaleb Banks that I’m anticipating some large issues. I can’t wait on them. I would like them to be able to play this season.
THE MODERATOR: Coach Woodson, thanks on your time.
MIKE WOODSON: Thanks, guys.
Filed to: Mike Woodson
