Speaking with Sactown Sports, Woodson says Indiana has better personnel for shooting 3s this season.
Indiana men’s basketball’s 3-point shooting woes have been lamented by the fanbase for years now.
Guys like Devonte Green, Al Durham, Armaan Franklin, Parker Stewart and Miller Kopp have come and gone. Kopp is the closest Indiana has come to a knockdown shooter from deep, but he was slightly limited as more of a catch-and-shoot guy.
Last year, Indiana was largely dependent on then-freshman Mackenzie Mgbako for much of its 3-point production. Trey Galloway and Gabe Cupps chipped in some on limited attempts with Kel’el Ware getting a few looks to go down.
This year, Indiana is hoping for improved numbers from all three with an emphasis on Mgabko, who shot the ball much better in Big Ten play than his overall season numbers would indicate.
The staff also secured transfer portal commitments from Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, Luke Goode, Oumar Ballo and Langdon Hatton alongside a late freshman signee in 5-star wing Bryson Tucker.
Of the guys listed above, Goode enters with a reputation of being a knockdown shooter in a bit of a Miller Kopp role. Rice and Carlyle didn’t shoot well from deep in their respective freshman seasons at their previous programs, but other numbers indicate the two have room for improvement.
Speaking with Sactown Sports, Woodson noted that the modern emphasis on 3-point shooting came around while he was coaching the New York Knicks. His 2012-13 team broke the NBA record for 3-pointers attempted and attempted in a season.
“I didn’t think that record would ever be broken, then here comes James Harden and Steph Curry,” Woodson said. “They changed the whole game in terms of where we are today.”
“I’m not against it,” Woodson said on shooting “a lot of threes,”. “You’ve just gotta have the right personnel when you’re doing that. I think we’ve kind of assembled some of that this year. We’ve lacked shooting the last three years that I’ve been here at Indiana but I think we’re in a better position this coming season with guys and personnel to be able to shoot threes as well as post the ball some and have some inside game as well.”
Woodson was also asked about former Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis falling to the Golden State Warriors in last year’s NBA Draft.
“Well I couldn’t understand that either,” Woodson said. “I spoke to a lot of NBA teams back then. The big knock was he can’t make a three. Well, he can rebound. He defends. he can handle the ball. He passes the ball. He finishes at the rim with both hands. He runs the floor. Though he can’t make a jumpshot.”