Mike Woodson gets his 3-point shooter.
3-point shooting.
It’s been the thesis of just about every Indiana men’s basketball season of the last decade. In a state full of high schoolers known for shooting prowess, Indiana has been unable to shoot the basketball at a consistent rate.
Which is why it’s confounding that Luke Goode wasn’t a Hoosier until now.
Goode hails from Fort Wayne, Indiana, has multiple relatives who have suited up for the football program and grew up opening bags of candy striped warmup pants every single Christmas. And, of course, he shot the ball well.
Coming out of high school when Archie Miller was leading the program? No offer from the Hoosiers.
Instead, Goode took his shooting to Big Ten rival Illinois and provided valuable spacing there off the bench for multiple years until he entered the transfer portal this past offseason and quickly made a decision to commit to Indiana.
Why he’s here is obvious: He’s shot 37.2%, 42.1% and 38.9% in the past three seasons of his career at the Big Ten level. That’s what he’s going to do here and he’ll have plays drawn up to get him the ball, Mike Woodson has said as much.
But it goes deeper. Goode has been on winning teams, Illinois has been on a multiyear run of success that has seen the Illini win the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships and even make it to the Elite Eight this past season.
Goode knows what winning basketball looks like and he’ll bring that insight to a group that’ll need it with all the new faces and returning talent looking to bounce back from last year’s disappointment.
Beyond shooting, Goode is an impact rebounder who gets after boards with a purpose. If he pulls one down he’ll immediately look to get it to a playmaker to get points on the board, which was huge for the Illini’s incredibly efficient offense last season. He’ll have guys like Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle this year.
Goode won’t start, but don’t underestimate the impact he’ll have on the team this season.