A closer look at the Luke Goode addition and his value to Indiana
In late April, a familiar name to Indiana fans joined the program via the transfer portal: Luke Goode.
After three seasons at Illinois, the Fort Wayne native opted to look for a new home to finish his career. And Indiana took little time to surface as a potential destination for the 6-foot-7 shooter.
Goode committed to Indiana on April 26, and the program confirmed his addition on April 30.
Goode’s family has strong ties to the university. His father, Craig, played football at IU from 1994 through 1996. His mom also attended Indiana and his brother is a student in Bloomington. His uncle is former IU standout quarterback Trent Green.
Those family ties to IU and Goode’s perimeter shooting prowess made it surprising that former IU coach Archie Miller didn’t even offer him a scholarship out of Homestead High School.
But rather than letting him get away a second time – Goode said over the summer there were four or five schools he was willing to consider in the transfer portal – Indiana quickly prioritized him and secured his services.
So what will Goode bring to Indiana? Here’s what Mike Woodson said about the addition in a press release in the spring:
“Luke is a knockdown 3-point shooter that provides length and rebounding ability from the wing position,” Woodson said in a release from IU. “He comes from a very athletic background with deep family ties to this University. He has competed at the highest level of the Big Ten and is a player we will count on to help us stretch the floor. We are excited to bring his family back to Hoosier Nation.”
Goode should impact the Hoosiers in various ways as he utilizes his final season of eligibility.
His engaging personality will fit seamlessly into the locker room. He earned his degree at Illinois in three years and was named All-Academic Big Ten multiple times. He will be a leader in the locker room.
But he will also impact winning as Indiana looks to bounce back from a disappointing 19-14 record in Woodson’s third season.
Like Oumar Ballo, Goode is no stranger to winning at a high level. Last season, he was one of just six Illinois players to appear in all 38 games. He’s also won a Big Ten tournament championship (2024) and a Big Ten regular season championship (2021-22). No other player on the Indiana roster can claim a similar resume in league play. He’s also one of two players (Ballo is the other) who has advanced beyond the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament.
“My favorite thing to do is win — win championships,” Goode told Sleepers Media in an interview earlier this summer. “So I think this team has a good chance to win a championship this year.”
On the floor, Goode helps address Indiana’s clear area of deficiency: perimeter shooting. The Hoosiers haven’t had nearly enough 3-point shooting since Tom Crean was dismissed in the spring of 2017.
Last season, Indiana ranked 255th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage at 32.4. The Hoosiers scored just 20.9 of their points on 3s, which ranked 355th in the country. Just 27.8 percent of IU’s field goal attempts were 3-pointers last season. That ranked 351st nationally.
It’s to be determined if Indiana will increase its 3-point volume in any meaningful way next season, but the Hoosiers are better equipped to make more perimeter looks with Goode on the roster.
He shot 61-for-157 on 3s last season for Illinois, good for 38.9 percent. No Indiana player made more than 50 3s last season. In Miller Kopp’s second season at IU, he shot 63-for-142 from distance. Goode told Sleepers Media that Woodson wants to help him expand his game like he did for Kopp. Last season, Kopp played for the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA’s G-League.
Indiana was often dominant in the post last season with Malik Reneau and Kel’el Ware. But when the ball came out of the post, reliable shooting and scoring were elusive for the Hoosiers.
With the return of Mackenzie Mgbako, Trey Galloway coupled with the additions of Goode, Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle, Indiana will have options when teams choose to double team Ballo or Reneau.
“You kind of always got to have a shooter on the floor, in my opinion,” Goode told Sleepers Media. “You got to be able to space the floor in today’s college basketball game, especially with big guys. If we’re going to potentially play Malik and (Ballo) at the four and five, then you got to have guys around them that can shoot.”
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