The Inside the Hall Mailbag: 2024-25 season superlatives, the biggest challenges for IU and more
The Inside the Hall Mailbag is a collection of questions sent to us via X (@insidethehall), via email, submitted via our community and our Facebook page. Submit your questions and we’ll answer as many as we can.
David Macer writes: How much PT will Bryson (Tucker) get?
The expectation is that Bryson Tucker will be part of Indiana’s rotation as a freshman. A McDonald’s All-American, Tucker was one of the top 20 recruits nationally in the class of 2024 and a solid late addition to the recruiting trail for the Indiana coach staff.
Minutes-wise, 12-15 per game is a fair range to expect. A lot of it will depend on how well Tucker can defend. That’s always the biggest challenge for freshmen. We saw it last season with Mackenzie Mgbako, who struggled early but found his footing and finished the season strong.
The talent with Tucker is undeniable and like most newcomers to college hoops, he’ll have his ups and downs. It’s also important to remember that Tucker will be one of the younger freshmen in the Big Ten, having just turned 18 in early July.
George McLaren writes: The Hoosiers seem loaded up with talent this year. What’s the biggest challenge they have in putting together a successful season?
The talent on this roster is plentiful – Mike Woodson recently said this team has the most talent of his four rosters thus far in Bloomington – but there are a lot of new pieces.
Oumar Ballo, Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, and Luke Goode are all expected to be significant parts of IU’s team and all four are new to the program. Integrating all of the newcomers will involve a learning curve.
The biggest challenge, however, will be striking a balance with the style of play offensively. The Hoosiers have two of the best post players in the Big Ten in Ballo and Malik Reneau. The post will be a significant part of the offense. However, the guard play is vastly improved with Rice, Carlyle and Trey Galloway in the fold. Indiana needs to take – and make – more 3s. It must also shoot much better from the free-throw line and become a better rebounding team.
HoosierFan 76 writes: What is the minimum level of success IUBB will need to achieve as a team for Coach Woodson to continue in his role and do you see anybody moving the goalposts (forgive the mixed sports metaphor) to allow him to remain if that success is not achieved?
As much as fans (and media) want to define expectations for a program or team and keep or fire a coach based on whether those expectations are met, there’s nuance when leadership is evaluating a situation.
Woodson has said he aspires to bring Big Ten and national championships to Bloomington. That’s how he should feel and what he should be striving to achieve. The first two seasons of Woodson’s tenure were favorable because it was the first time the Hoosiers made the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons since 2015 and 2016. The Hoosiers also finished second in the league in his second season. Those are notable facts.
Last season was full of missteps, including a poorly constructed roster and an injury situation with Xavier Johnson. This season is an opportunity to put that in the rearview and get the momentum headed back in the right direction.
As for your question, it’s likely not being viewed as a cut-and-dry situation where specific objectives must be met. For example, what if IU finishes 9th in the Big Ten and then makes the Sweet Sixteen? Or what if the Hoosiers win the Big Ten and are upset in the second round of the NCAA tournament?
The goals for this season should be to finish near the top of the league and advance to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.
BL 4IU writes: Your projection for this year’s starting five? This year’s scoring leader? This year’s best 3-point shooter (considering attempts per game and percentage made)? This year’s best perimeter defender?
Starting five: Myles Rice, Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo
Leading scorer: Malik Reneau
Best 3-point shooter: Luke Goode
Best perimeter defender: Myles Rice
Greg Quinn writes: In terms of the top 40 player rankings, is Braden Smith the worst #1 or perhaps the lowest upside (no chance of playing in the NBA) of all the #1 players in the history of your rankings?
There was a lot of discussion generated as the result of Braden Smith being ranked as the top Big Ten player entering the season in our recent exercise with UMHoops.
For the record, Inside the Hall and UMHoops both had Smith ranked No. 1 on our respective lists. He was the best point guard in the Big Ten last season and the only returning player who made first-team All-Big Ten. Yes, there are questions about Smith in the post-Zach Edey area at Purdue. But there’s no denying Smith was excellent last season as Purdue won the Big Ten easily and advanced to the national championship game.
As for his standing compared to past preseason No. 1 players, plenty of guys have been past No. 1s with little NBA upside. For the 2019-20 season, Cassius Winston was the No. 1 player in the preseason. Ethan Happ was also once a preseason No. 1, as was Melo Trimble.
Chicago Hoosier writes: How important do you think the chief decision makers weigh regular season Big Ten success, BTT success, and NCAA tournament success… there are those who feel we need a second week result but winning the big ten is still very important in my view… and a consistent regular season product helps alleviate some of the blowback when results in a single elimination tournament don’t go your way.
As alluded to in the earlier question from HoosierFan 76, the whole picture has to be examined. The regular season Big Ten title certainly means a lot. And you are correct that winning the Big Ten can help alleviate some of the blowback from an NCAA tournament loss.
However, winning in March is very important. Tom Crean won the Big Ten in 2012-13 and while there are moments from that season that are remembered fondly, most fans associate the season with the Syracuse loss in Washington D.C.
NCAA tournament success should be the top factor to consider, followed by regular season success, with Big Ten tournament success much further down the list.
@DJFreddie10 writes: Are the “Fear of God” jerseys back this year? Any new collaborations in a similar vein?
There is no word on whether the “Fear of God” jerseys will return this season. However, Indiana has frequently partnered with Adidas for an alternate uniform in the past. Given that IU and the three stripes just agreed to a new contract, expect the collaborations to continue with alternate jerseys.
Filed to: Inside the Hall Mailbag