The new Indiana transfers faced off during Washington State – Stanford last year.
Indiana is looking at a potential starting backcourt of Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle, two sophomores who spent the last year out west before transferring to join the Hoosiers this offseason.
The two provide a higher ceiling for guard play across the starting lineup and roster as a whole than Indiana has had in years. They’ll need to fit together and with other new and returning players, but there’s reason for optimism.
For instance, the two faced off a few times last season when Rice was with Washington and Carlyle was with Stanford. Both put on an absolute show during the Cougars’ trip to California.
Rice finished with a career high 35 points, adding in 8 assists and 4 steals to boot. His first steal, just minutes into the game, came off of a Carlyle drive.
He found a few ways to score against the Cardinal but he was at his most formidable driving from the perimeter and using his speed and handles to create opportunities at the rim. Once he got running down the floor in transition, Stanford just really couldn’t stop him. He also took half of the Cougars attempts from deep, finishing 5-10.
Then there was Carlyle, who finished with 31 points.
Carlyle scored off of a few drives but also knocked down three of his five attempts from deep while going 8-9 from the charity stripe.
It’ll be intriguing to see what the two can do now that they’re paired together in Bloomington.