2024-25 IU basketball player profile: Kanaan Carlyle

  • Oct 7, 2024 7:52 am
 

With the start of college basketball season approaching, we’ve moved from our look at other Big Ten programs to our player-by-player previews of the 2024-25 Indiana roster.

Today, our player profiles continue with sophomore Kanaan Carlyle.

Previously: Bryson Tucker, Jakai Newton, Myles Rice, Mackenzie Mgbako, Gabe Cupps

The Indiana coaching staff prioritized guard play in the transfer portal last spring.

The Hoosiers were coming off a disappointing 19-14 season and the first NCAA tournament miss in Mike Woodson’s three-season tenure in Bloomington.

Xavier Johnson’s graduation and CJ Gunn’s transfer left Gabe Cupps, Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal as the lone returning guards on the roster as of late March.

In the span of eight days in the middle of April, Indiana landed two significant upgrades for its 2024-25 backcourt rotation. The first was Myles Rice, an All-Pac 12 point guard from Washington State. Just over a week later, Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle followed suit, giving the Hoosiers a dynamic scorer who can play on or off the ball.

The 6-foot-3 Carlyle, an Atlanta native, got off to a rocky start as a freshman in Palo Alto. He missed the first eight games of his freshman season for a non-injury issue and didn’t debut until a December 17 contest against Idaho.

Once he got on the floor, Carlyle quickly showed his tremendous talent and potential.

On Dec. 31 against Arizona, he exploded for 28 points in a 100-82 upset of the Wildcats. That performance earned him AP national player of the week honors. A few weeks later, Carlyle scored 31 points in a loss to Rice and Washington State. Over his first 11 games at Stanford, Carlyle averaged 15.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists and was playing like one of the best freshmen in the country.

But as many freshmen do, Carlyle faced adversity late in the season.

Over his final 12 games, he averaged only 7.9 points and had more turnovers (35) than assists (31). Stanford also bottomed out as a team, losing nine of its last 13 games and finishing 105th in KenPom. Jerod Haase was dismissed and Carlyle went into the transfer portal.

Now a sophomore in Bloomington, Carlyle is excited to bring a more uptempo pace to the Indiana backcourt.

“The plan this year is to play at a faster pace,” Carlyle said at IU’s media day last month. “Me and Myles together on the defensive end being able to pick up the ball 94 feet and then being able to push the ball on offense, get to the rim, make plays for each other and our other teammates.”

As he prepares for his sophomore season, there are several key areas for Carlyle to improve upon. While he had several scoring outbursts last season for the Cardinal, his efficiency numbers were low. Carlyle had the worst offensive rating among freshman guards at the high-major level last season, with a usage rate of over 20 percent (22 players).

Although he’s not expected to play point guard primarily, he’ll need to become a better distributor and decision-maker. He finished his freshman season with more turnovers (66) than assists (62).

His 3-point shooting should improve if Indiana can put him in more catch-and-shoot situations rather than isolation spots where he’s forced to take a difficult shot. Carlyle shot 34.5 percent last season on 3s in conference play and attempted 4.6 triples per game. But many of the attempts he got were late in the shot clock or contested. That shouldn’t be the case in Bloomington with Rice by his side and plenty of other scoring options on the floor like Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Oumar Ballo.

Carlyle was excellent at drawing fouls and converting at the line as a freshman. He had the 12th-best free throw rate in the Pac-12 and made 78.1 percent of his free throws. For an Indiana offense that needs its guards to be more dynamic and aggressive, Carlyle can be a difference-maker.

Bottom line: Carlyle is on the NBA radar because he’s a two-way guard who can score in various ways and be disruptive as a defender. He can pressure the ball, get into passing lanes and score in transition, a welcome addition for an Indiana defense that too often let opponents dictate the style and pace of play a season ago. Whether he starts alongside Rice at the two or comes off the bench behind Trey Galloway, the expectation is for Carlyle to play starter-level minutes for the Hoosiers.

Quotable: “Kanaan is a dynamic player with the ball in his hands with the length and skillset to create scoring chances for himself and others. His ability off the bounce pairs nicely with his shooting stroke. His length, quickness, and mentality give him the capability to be a high-impact defender for our ballclub.” – Woodson last spring after IU announced the signing of Carlyle.

Media day interviews with Carlyle:

Category: Commentary

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