AN INDIANA DAILY STUDENT SPECIAL PUBLICATION
ILLUSTRATION BY JACK DONNELLY
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INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | BASKETBALL GUIDE | idsnews.com
COLUMN: Indiana men’s basketball preview — yikes, that nonconference slate is brutal By Bradley Hohulin bholulin@iu.edu
In the state of Indiana, there are only two seasons that actually matter: corn season and basketball season. Last I checked, corn season ended in September. In just under a month, Indiana men’s basketball will begin one of its most anticipated campaigns of the last decade. Head coach Mike Woodson has breathed life into a program running on fumes. The Big Ten’s media poll recently tapped the Hoosiers as preseason conference champions and named senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis the preseason conference player of the year. But Big Ten schools aren’t the only ones in Indiana’s way. Let’s walk through the
nonconference gauntlet the Hoosiers will need to navigate to meet their lofty expectations. It looks brutal — because it is — but don’t worry. This is Indiana men’s basketball. Since when have unmet expectations ever been an issue? University of North Carolina on Nov. 30 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall will be absolutely rocking for this game. North Carolina players will be jeered. Referees will be borderline threatened. The vocabulary of young children in attendance will expand dramatically. The Tar Heels outperformed expectations last season under first-year head coach Hubert Davis, nearly winning the NCAA champi-
o n s h i p. Thensophomore forward Armando Bacot averaged 16 points and an absurd 13 rebounds and probably could be playing in the National Basketball Association this year. I have no doubt ESPN will bill this game as a matchup of college basketball powerhouses. I’m sure its commentators will remind you of this at least 17 times throughout the broadcast. Indiana must hold up its end of the bargain. University of Arizona in Las Vegas on Dec. 10 This neutral-site contest is a battle of continuity versus
novelty. Indiana’s starting five should be mainly unchanged from last season, while Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd brings in two international players and five transfers to replace three NBA draftees. Woodson and Lloyd exceeded expectations as firstyear head coaches last season, but their clash in Las Vegas poses a great deal of uncertainty. What does the Wildcats’ frontcourt look like with three 7-footers on the roster? How will the Hoosiers perform far away from Assembly Hall? Will the Indiana Daily Student fund my flight to Sin City and any subsequent debauchery therein? So many questions, and I think we are all eager to learn the answers. University of Kansas on Dec. 17 I would be floored if Indiana won this road game. I know, I know — how dare I favor last year’s NCAA champions against a team that lost to Saint Mary’s College by 2 9
Nevertheless, there are a few highlights worth pointing out. Indiana officially opens its season Nov. 7 at home against Morehead State University. The Hoosiers might start slow, but they should have plenty of time to find their footing. In lieu of the Crossroads Classic, Indiana will head to Indianapolis Nov. 20 to take on Miami University (OH) in a game that probably won’t be as close as Bloomberg’s business school rankings might suggest. The Dec. 23 matchup against Kennesaw State University isn’t terribly noteworthy outside the fact that Indiana President Pamela Whitten previously served as Kennesaw State’s president. The game itself may be a snoozer, but I can only assume that week’s “Written by Whitten” newsletter will be absolutely electric.
points in the tournament’s first round? That said, Kansas returns only two starters from last year’s national championship team in junior guard Dajuan Harris Jr.
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and junior forward Jalen Wilson. There’s a chance the Jayhawks will be vulnerable while they are still figuring out their ideal rotation. Nevertheless, history is not on Indiana’s side. In 19 seasons at Kansas, head coach Bill Self is 292-16 in home games for a success rate of 94.8%. According to U.S. News & World Report, Kansas’ acceptance rate is 92%. It is literally easier for Self to win home basketball games than it is for the average high school senior to be accepted into Kansas. I didn’t know that was even possible. Other teams not called North Carolina, Arizona or Kansas Believe it or not, becoming intimately familiar with Bethune-Cookman University’s two-deep roster or the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s defensive scheme is slightly above my pay grade.
812-855-7823 • iucu.org
Woodson has men’s basketball ready to compete for titles By Evan Gerike egerike@iu.edu
Indiana men’s basketball isn’t focusing on the hype and the spotlight that comes with being a preseason favorite in the Big Ten, but it isn’t shying away from it either. When Indiana tips off its season Nov. 7 against Moorehead State, it will be mired in optimism surrounding the program, a level of which hasn’t been seen in years in Bloomington. At an institution where basketball carries so much weight, the Hoosiers returned to the NCAA Tournament in head coach Mike Woodson’s first year after a five-year hiatus. With nearly all its core returning from last season, they’re an easy favorite to challenge for the Big Ten title. “Expectations are always going to be high,” Woodson said at Indiana’s basketball media day Thursday. “When I came in here and took the job, expectations were high. This program is built that way, and it should be that way. It's what it is, man. I'm not going to run from it, and I'm not going to let my players run from it.” Woodson’s goal for his time at Indiana is clear, and his players have bought in. "I came back here to win Big Ten titles and national titles,” Woodson said. “That's all I want." Woodson knows the expectations that come alongside the Indiana name and the pressure they bring. In Woodson’s senior year, 1980, the Hoosiers entered the preseason ranked No. 1, a year after he led the team to a National Invitation Tournament title. That year, Indiana bottomed out in the Sweet Sixteen with a loss to Purdue. “Rankings are what they are. You've still got to play the game, my man,” Woodson said. “That's what's im-
portant. It's going to be my job to get this team to play at a level every night and put them in a position to win every time they step out on the floor.” Outside of Woodson, perhaps no one better understands the pressure and significance of a good Indiana basketball team than sophomore guard Anthony Leal. Leal, who grew up in Bloomington cheering for Indiana, was still in middle school the last time Indiana won a conference title in 2016. He wasn’t even a year old when the Hoosiers made their last run to the Final Four, a national championship defeat to Maryland in 2002. “We’ve definitely got a lot of potential, but it’s going to come down to whether or not we can gel together and play as hard as we can,” Leal said. “Every time we’re out there we just take every day, one day at a time, just keep getting better and stay competitive.” Leal played in limited minutes last season, and while he did earn two starts, he only averaged 1.9 points per game. Over the offseason, Leal said he worked just as hard on the game’s mental aspect as the physical one. Leal said he’s matured a lot heading into his third year, and the experience he’s gained will help steady himself on the court. Still, there are days when staying steady mentally isn’t as easy. “I feel like everybody does (have bad days), but at the same time I’m at home and my family’s nearby,” Leal said. “It’s definitely up and down, but I always remind myself I used to dream about wearing this jersey and now I get to wear it.” That jersey is regaining the notoriety that goes with it this year as teams start to target Indiana as the Big Ten favorite. Al-
though no Coaches’ Poll or AP Polls have been released yet, most predictions, like 247Sports, have Indiana No. 1 in the Big Ten. Race Thompson, the senior forward now entering his sixth year with the program, has been one of Indiana’s leaders in setting a tone around the program ahead of this season. With everyone looking to topple the Hoosiers this year, Thompson is making sure they’re focused on the end goal. But they’re also not trying to get too far ahead of themselves — after all, nobody has played a game yet. “We want to win a Big Ten championship, a national championship,” Thompson said. “In order to do that, we’ve got to come in and put the work in every day. At the end of the day, the hype is just the hype.” Thompson will play a big role in getting the Hoosiers to live up to that hype. After participating in senior day last season, it was unclear whether he would return for his last year of eligibility. But following a successful season where he averaged 11.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, Thompson decided to play one more year. Alongside junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who entered the NBA Draft but withdrew before the deadline, Indiana’s frontcourt remains in the hands of its most experienced players. Indiana didn’t hide its goals during its media day. But if there’s a lot of pressure from fans and the media, Woodson isn’t going to run from it, and he doesn’t want his players to, either. “If they're scared of that challenge, then they shouldn't be here,” Woodson said. “That's kind of how I look at it. I'm not scared of it. You shouldn't be scared of it. We've got to do this together as a unit. Again, I know expectations are high. I get that. That's a good thing.”
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INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | BASKETBALL GUIDE | idsnews.com
‘All the pieces are in place’:
Women’s basketball expects championship-level season By Will Foley wtfoley@iu.edu
Indiana women’s basketball appeared at the program’s first combined institutional basketball media day Thursday. Head coach Teri Moren and junior guards Sydney Parrish and Chloe Moore-McNeil spoke on the podium for the Hoosiers. Moren was first to speak and addressed several key questions facing the Hoosiers entering the season. One pertained to last season’s lack of depth off the bench, which mandated a heavy workload for the starters. “We talk about this. They were workhorses,” Moren said. “But I think we welcome the idea of being able to have depth, and we’re excited about
IDS FILE PHOTO BY ALEX PAUL
Indiana women's basketball coach Teri Moren speaks at Hoosier Hysteria on Oct. 2, 2021. Indiana will first face Kentucky Wesleyan Nov. 4 in Assembly Hall.
it.” A d ditionally, the loss of three starters to graduation and the addition of seven newcomers has dramatically changed the makeup of the team. Moren said she isn’t concerned about the roster turnover, and said their goals are as high as usual. “We’re not the same team from last year, but we do have some interesting pieces,” Moren said. “We have goals that we have yet
to accomplish, like winning the Big Ten Championship.” Moren expressed her appreciation for the program, which she has built from an afterthought behind the men’s program to something respectable and anticipated by Hoosier fans. “When we arrived here we wanted to build our own tradition of winning and filling this place up with not just women’s basketball fans, but basketball fans,” Moren said. “We certainly have changed the way people on the outside have always looked at this program.” Parrish joins the program as a transfer after two seasons at the University of Oregon. Prior to her time with the Ducks, she was a top-10 recruit out of Fishers, Indiana, and recipient of the Miss Indiana Basketball award as a high school senior. The junior guard said being back in Indiana “means everything” to her and revealed the importance of being by close friends and family again. Parrish also talked about her relationship with Moren and her renewed interest in the program after spurning the Hoosiers three years prior. “I’d say the winning culture they have right now, and just what Coach Moren has done with the program,” Parrish said re-
garding her interest coming out of the transfer portal. Joining Parrish in the backcourt, Moore-McNeil returns for her third season with the Hoosiers, having exponentially improved in her first two seasons. Her minutes averaged last season nearly tripled from her freshman season, and her role this season looks to increase again as she enters the starting lineup. “I think the next step is continuing to grow my game, whether it’s on offense or defense,” MooreMcNeil said. “Our big key is getting stops, so being a one-on-one defender is where I want to grow.” While she is focused on improving her own game, Moore-McNeil said she is more focused on the team taking the next step this season and thinks its identity will be key. “I believe the most important part of this year is us coming to an understanding this is a brand new team and year,” she said. “We need to put (our past successes) behind us and focus on the pieces we have now.” While the season’s beginning is still over six weeks away, official practices are set to begin soon. Before the Hoosiers take the court for their first game, they will appear before the media once more at Big Ten Media Days on Oct. 11 in Minneapolis.
2022-23 Men's Basketball Schedule November
3 7 10 18 20 23 25 30
Saint Francis 7:00 PM Home Morehead State 7:00 p.m. Home Bethune-Cookman 8:30 p.m. Home Xavier 6:00 p.m. Cincinnati, Ohio Miami (OH) 5:30 p.m. Indianapolis, Ind. Little Rock 6:30 p.m. Home Jackson State 2:30 p.m. Home North Carolina 9:15 p.m. Home
December
3 7 10 17 20 23
Rutgers 4:00 PM Piscataway, N.J.
Nebraska 8:30 PM Home Arizona 7:30 PM Las Vegas, Nev.
Kansas Noon Lawrence, Kan. Elon 7:00 PM Home Kennesaw State 7:00 PM Home
January
5 8 11 14 19 22 25 28 31
Iowa 9:00 PM Iowa City, Iowa Northwestern Noon Home Penn State 7:00 PM University Park, Pa. Wisconsin 1:00 PM Home
Illinois 8:30 PM Champaign, Ill. Michigan State Noon or 1:00 PM Home Minnesota 9:00 PM Minneapolis, Minn. Ohio State 8:00 PM Home
Maryland 9:00 PM College Park, Md.
February
4 7 11 15 18 21
Purdue 4:00 PM Home
Rutgers 6:30 PM Home Michigan 6:00 PM Ann Arbor, Mich. Northwestern 9:00 PM Evanston, Ill. Illinois Noon Home
Michigan State 9:00 PM East Lansing, Mich.
25 28
Purdue 7:30 PM West Lafayette, Ind.
Come take a tour and sign before November 30 to be entered to win a $10,000 Scholarship.
Iowa 7:00 PM Home
March
5 8
IDS FILE PHOTO BY ETHAN LEVY
IU head coach Mike Woodson talks to then-sophomore guard Khristian Lander during the game against Jackson State University on Nov. 23, 2021, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Woodson enters his second year as head coach this season.
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Featuring Trayce Jackson-Davis as...
CAPTAIN INDIANA He's back, and he’s set to leave a legacy with Indiana men’s basketball
gone on to a professional career. No one would have blamed him. But the junior forward is back in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. As the best player on a good Indiana team, he knows what’s expected of him. He’s grown as a leader in the locker ILLUSTRATION BY JACK DONNELY
By Evan Gerike
egerike@iu.edu | @EvanGerike
Trayce Jackson-Davis could have stayed in the NBA Draft last year, left Indiana men’s basketball and
room and as a player on the court. If he has his way, he’ll leave when another banner is raised. “I have kind of set the stone of my individual leg-
acy, being an All-American and doing all those things, but those don't really matter if you don't win something here,” Jackson-Davis said at Indiana basketball media day Sept. 22. “Winning is a big thing here... if I do that, I know everything else will take care of itself.” Indiana is entering this season as one of the favorites in the Big Ten and is returning most of its production from last season. JacksonDavis is the biggest piece of that puzzle, and when he withdrew from the draft, Indiana immediately launched up the preseason rankings. “The fact that he made the commitment to come back is huge for our program,” Woodson said. “He’s like the piece to the program.” Jackson-Davis has understood more about the importance of Indiana basketball each year he’s been here. He’s grasped a better knowledge of the program’s history and said he knows college basketball is better when Indiana is good. Amid questions of
whether he’d leave for the draft, Jackson-Davis has returned to Indiana for two straight years under Woodson in hopes of bringing Indiana basketball back to national relevance. Alongside Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, JacksonDavis is now the premiere forward in the Big Ten. After years of battling with Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn, it’s the Indiana big man’s time to push around the rest of the conference. In the Big Ten Tournament last season, JacksonDavis got the better of Dickinson, scoring 24 points and helping the Hoosiers knock off the Wolverines. In Indiana’s next game against Illinois, with Woodson reminding Jackson-Davis that Cockburn had his number, Jackson-Davis said he entered the game as confident as ever. Cockburn outscored Jackson-Davis by two, but Indiana beat Illinois, 65-63. “He’s a terrific player, but I’m glad he’s gone,” JacksonDavis said. Jackson-Davis, who was
projected to go around No. 45 in the 2022 NBA Draft before he withdrew, spent part of last year learning what he needs to do to make it in the pros. While working draft prep on the West Coast, Jackson-Davis said he spent nearly all his time working on his shooting, including jumpers, 3-pointers and free throws. A key part of his game that will need to expand is his perimeter shooting. He’s taken three career 3-pointers, all coming last season and all misses. Over the summer, videos emerged of Jackson-Davis working out and hitting 3s. Woodson said JacksonDavis has the green light to shoot threes in games this season. In practices, he’s hit some of his shots, but Woodson knows the bigger test is if he can make them during games. “Coach is not telling him not to — put it that way,” Woodson said. Jackson-Davis' ability to open up his range could receive help from his forward teammates this season. Last
year, Jackson-Davis said he felt his presence was needed on the inside, but with the development of sophomore Logan Duncomb and the addition of freshman Malik Reneau at the center position, Jackson-Davis said he will likely play more power forward and expand the floor. But beyond making 3-pointers and getting drafted into the NBA, JacksonDavis is well aware of the legacy he could leave behind at Indiana. Another season in Bloomington will help him continue to climb the program’s leaderboards. He’s already in the top 10 in rebounds, blocked shots and shooting percentage. In points, he currently stands at No. 15 and could crack the top five if he produces at the same level he did in his first three seasons. But his legacy will forever be cemented if he wins a Big Ten title or a national title. His name would sit in the same sentence as Hoosier greats like Isiah Thomas, Scott May, Steve Alford and Calbert Cheaney. That’s his goal.
Featuring Xavier Johnson as...
THE X FACTOR He's dialed in as a leader after a tough offseason By Evan Gerike
egerike@iu.edu | @EvanGerike
Xavier Johnson got comfortable. That’s when the Big Ten got easier for him. Amid his first season with Indiana men’s basketball after transferring from the University of Pittsburgh, the senior guard had to get accustomed to the Big Ten crowds, which he said were much different than those in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Around halfway through the season, Johnson settled in. He scored double-digit points in each of his last 10 games, including a doubledouble at Purdue in a tightly contested game March 5. “I put in a lot of work, and I was getting mad at myself for not being successful,” Johnson said at Indiana basketball’s media day Sept. 22. “So, when it came, I just took the opportunity and excelled at it.” Indiana is proclaiming itself as the hunted this season. Every team in the Big Ten is looking up at the Hoosiers in the preseason rankings, trying to topple a team with national title hopes. Johnson, as the point guard, is Indiana’s floor general, meaning he’s shouldering a lot of the expectations surrounding the program. “I just try to get everybody to be on the same page,” Johnson said. “Every day, we got to come every day ready to practice. Every game is gonna be a lesson.” Under head coach Mike Woodson, Johnson said he’s grown as a leader. Last year he led the team on the court down the stretch, propelling them to the Hoosiers’ first postseason bid in six years. “Guys listen to me,” Johnson said. “I was doing the right things on and off the court at that moment in
time.” Woodson said he expects a lot out of Johnson, who most likely caught more flak from the coaching staff than anyone else on the team last season. In April, Johnson was arrested and was preliminarily charged with reckless driving and resisting law enforcement. He pled guilty to the charge of reckless driving in August, while the latter charge was dropped. Around 3 a.m. April 3, Johnson had been seen in a car going 90 mph down North Walnut Street, according to an incident report. The police said they saw Johnson, the driver, switch seats with another passenger once the car pulled over after initially refusing to stop. Johnson received a 60day suspended sentence, meaning he will not serve any jail time so long as he completes the 360 days of unsupervised probation and 50 hours of community service also included in the sentence. “X hung in there with me,” Woodson said. “He fought me at times, but it worked out well for him at the end and for our ballclub.” This summer, Woodson said Johnson was one of the team’s brightest spots in how he practiced and improved. But he’s also had to do a lot of maturing. “X has grown a lot, based on the things that he's done this summer,” Woodson said. “He's put himself in a wonderful position with me being the coach. I like everything about what X is doing now, because he is doing the right things on and off the court.” Although Johnson avoided any major punishment or suspension, he did get
his car taken away. Woodson said he wasn’t allowed to drive it this year, so he left it at home in Virginia. Johnson said he understands this punishment. He’s getting rides from teammates when he needs them, and he’s listening to what Woodson is telling him. He’s also aware how much worse the incident could’ve been, saying it could have gone “way left.” Behind junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, Johnson might be the Hoosiers’ second-best player. The two spend a lot of time together, both on and off the court, and Johnson said their connection is stronger for it. “I’m his point guard,” Johnson said. “He's one of my responsibilities. Let him know, get him to play hard every possession and go finish at the rim.” In the back of Johnson’s mind is the NCAA Tournament game against Saint Mary’s College. The Hoosiers were embarrassed by the Gaels, blown out 82-53 on the national stage after barely sneaking into the main draw of the tournament. Johnson scored 11 points in 25 minutes. He wants to lead Indiana back to that stage and return to the tournament in much more convincing fashion to avenge that loss. “You can never lose track of that,” Johnson said. “It was best to make the tournament. But when it all comes down to it, we got to know that we pretty much didn't deserve to be in that position. Honestly.”
ILLUSTRATION BY JACK DONNELY
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INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | BASKETBALL GUIDE | idsnews.com
Featuring Jordan Geronimo as...
AIR GERONIMO He's eager to jump to the next level, over his competition Davis is arguably a top-five player entering the 2022-23 season amongst last year’s awardwinners. While JacksonDavis will have the chance to square off against Bacot, Purd u e ’s
By Emma Pawlitz
eherwehe@iu.edu | @EmmaHerwehe
Welcome to the year of the big. From the University of Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe to the University of North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, there’s no question that the majority of college basketball’s best returning players are centers and power forwards. Of course, Indiana bas-
ILLUSTRATION BY JACK DONNELY
ketball is no stranger to the All-American athlete. Senior forward Trayce Jackson-
Zach Edey a n d Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, JacksonDavis' biggest competition and source of betterment right now is his own teammate: Jordan Geronimo. Geronimo, a junior, recorded the best stretch of his collegiate career during the 2022 NCAA Tournament. He exploded for a career-high 15 points with three put-back jams against the University of Wyoming, followed by a 9-point, six-rebound perfor-
mance in Indiana’s loss to Saint Mary’s College of California. He also had flashes of stardom over the beginning of his collegiate career, despite limited minutes. Geronimo dunked on Iowa’s then-Wooden Award winner Luka Garza in 2021 and attempted — but missed — a monster slam over former Illinois All-American Kofi Cockburn last year. "I caught the ball, looked at the baseline and saw (Cockburn) there, and I said, ‘I’ve got to go for this one,’” Geronimo said. “I jumped up, and I almost got it. I’ve got to get that back, though. Somebody’s about to be on the receiving end of that.” Geronimo’s fearlessness and ambition are only a fraction of his basketball pedigree. His height, strength, speed and explosiveness — what his teammates call “freak” athleticism — are what drive Geronimo in battle with Jackson-Davis daily. With the combination of extraordinary natural talent and ample self-confidence, Geronimo is ready to go head-to-head with college basketball’s best. Future foes Bacot, Dickin-
son and Edey are traditional centers, spending most of their time operating low in the paint and feasting off of spin moves and modified hooks. Geronimo’s style of play, on the other hand, involves shifty cuts and quick drives. In fact, he spent the offseason working on his handles, mid and long-range shooting and decision-making to increase his offensive versatility. Geronimo said going up against the likes of Garza and Cockburn early in his career led him to further embrace his athleticism, an advantage he possesses over his colossal counterparts. “My freshman year, I played a lot of the four,” Geronimo said. “I was able to use my athleticism to help me get around them, even though I’m 6’6” going up against 7-foot guys.” Geronimo has also worked on expanding his defensive portfolio, stretching his abilities out of the paint up to the guard-dominated three-point line. “In practice, sometimes I’m matching up with Jalen Hood-Schifino and (Xavier Johnson), so I take on that challenge of guarding the
perimeter,” Geronimo said. “Each position has its tricks to it, so I have to work on getting over ball screens, knowing their tendencies, moving from the corner to the wing. I’m not saying it’s harder to guard the perimeter, but it’s just about knowing what to do in that situation.” Despite his adaptability to play all over the court, notso-sneaky athleticism and positional prowess, Geronimo knows where he belongs on a championship-level squad. “Every team has role players — shooters, scorers and a defensive hustle guy,” Geronimo said. “Every team needs that kind of player to do the dirty work. I want to be the best at my role: play defense, rebound, bring energy.” Geronimo said head coach Mike Woodson has given him even more confidence heading into the 202223 season, and he’s ready to take on both the highly-anticipated team and individual campaign. “(Woodson) keeps me in that mindset to just keep working hard and keep doing what I’m doing,” Geronimo said. “Because when I’m on, I’m hard to stop.”
Featuring Race Thompson as...
GLUE GUY He's a seasoned leader preparing for one last dance By Emma Pawlitz
epawlitz@iu.edu | @emmapawlitz
July 16, 2017: The day Race Thompson began his journey with the Indiana men’s basketball program and announced his commitment. A month earlier, the Golden State Warriors were named NBA Champions for the second time in three years. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” was the highest grossing movie of the summer. Tom Crean had coached his last game for the Hoosiers in March. Thompson, who had turned 18 in June, was set to begin his senior year of high school a month later. Instead, he came to Bloomington. In a move that has now become the norm for highly scouted NBA prospects, Thompson reclassified, skipping his senior year of high school to redshirt at Indiana during the 2017-18 season. He appeared in nine total games throughout his first two years as a Hoosier, scoring merely six points in 63 minutes of action. During his redshirt-sophomore year — current senior Trayce Jackson-Davis' true freshman year — Thompson played in 29 out of Indiana’s 32 games, but his averages were still miniscule. It wasn’t until Thompson’s fourth season with the program that he broke out as one of Indiana’s most consistent and reliable players. Thompson increased his points per game by 5.4, averaged over six rebounds and led the team in steals in 202021. Then-head coach Archie Miller named him a team captain and full-time starter, and the defensive specialist recorded three double-doubles during a breakout season, putting him on the rest of the Big Ten’s radar. His “glue guy” identity
started to take full form. In the 2021-22 season, Thompson averaged 11.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game en route to All-Big Ten Honorable Mention postseason honors. He was one of three players to start all 35 games, and he recorded just under 1,000 total minutes during the year. Say what you will about the cliches behind Thompson’s on-court persona — the stats don’t tell the whole story, his intangibles make the difference, he’s the heartbeat of the team. There’s no denying Thompson is a solid, talented basketball player and arguably the most dependable piece of the program. Now, he’s ready for one last go-around, and his legacy with Indiana basketball is on the line. Thompson has lived through a lot at Indiana, not even just a full Tom Holland Spider-Man trilogy and the entirety of Miller’s coaching tenure. He’s older than the top-three picks in the 2019 NBA draft — Zion Williamson, Ja Morant and RJ Barrett — who are currently in their fourth seasons playing professional basketball. In fact, when Thompson started his collegiate career, Indiana’s current freshmen were a full year away from entering high school. Now, he’s using his experience to help those players who are in the same position as he was when he first came to Bloomington. “I've grown as a leader as I've been here,” Thompson said at Indiana’s media day Sept. 22. “I've been here for a while. I've been taught by the people who came before me. I'm trying just to pass my knowledge that I learned from them down on things that worked and things that didn't work, so we can build as a team and just be the best
team we can be.” The graduate student is in his third-consecutive season as a captain, and he knows head coach Mike Woodson and the rest of Indiana’s staff are relying on him to put the team on his shoulders. “They really look to the older guys to show the younger guys what to do on defense, on offense,” Thompson said. “They really want us to be a player-led team, because they say player-led teams are the best teams.” Thompson and his AllAmerican counterpart, Jackson-Davis, have breathed life into the program with their leadership. The pair recognizes their irreplaceable role with the team and the ample trust Woodson has placed in his two captains, especially after multiplayer suspensions and other controversies last season. Thompson and Jackson-Davis have molded the team to be their own, building a strong relationship with each person on the team in hopes of fostering on-court success. “We’re great players, and we know how to play with each other,” Thompson said. “Me and Trayce know how to play together. If you add that relationship, then when you guys get on the court, you guys are able to work together and just play the game with each other.” When the Race-Trayce duo decided to return to Bloomington for their last dance together, Thompson knew the 2022-23 season was set to be a special one. “I really wanted to come back as a team,” Thompson said. “We've got a really deep team, really good freshmen coming in, really good returning players. The sky’s the limit for our team this year.” As far as his legacy goes, Thompson isn’t asking for anything special. Indiana all-time leaderboards and
national honors aren’t on his mind. Instead, the captain wants to cement himself as a symbol of Woodson’s basketball culture and a reflection of the years he’s dedicated to the program. “Just a great teammate and someone who would do anything to win a game. That's all I could ask for,” Thompson said. “A good teammate, good friend, that's really it. All the good stuff.”
ILLUSTRATION BY JACK DONNELY
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INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | BASKETBALL GUIDE | idsnews.com
Featuring chloe moore-mcneil as...
WOMAN OF STEAL she's prepared to do whatever she can to help Indiana win By Matt Sebree email | twitter
In her first two seasons at Indiana, junior guard Chloe MooreMcNeil almost always came off the bench. After a high school career in which she was named two-time Tennessee Class A Miss Basketball and won a state title, Moore-McNeil was stuck playing behind Ali Patberg and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary in a talented backcourt. Last season, the pair of starting guards each averaged at least 34 minutes per game as they helped the Hoosiers reach their second consecutive Sweet Sixteen. However, that left few and inconsistent minutes for Moore-McNeil. Despite the inconsistent playing time game-to-game, MooreMcNeil made a jump to improve in the middle of the season and became Indiana’s most valuable offthe-bench player during its tournament runs, including a handful of clutch moments. This season, as she moves into a starting role on the team, Moore-McNeil has the best opportunity of her college career so far to show why the twicenamed best high school player in her state deserves to be on the court. “She’s excited for her junior year, without question, and I'm excited for her,” head coach Teri Moren said at Indiana basketball’s media day. “Because a kid like Chloe — who's spent time on the bench and has been in every practice just trying to get a little bit better every day, and then now — she's to a point where she has that opportunity in front of her to not only start but play big minutes for us.” In moving into the starting lineup for the first time, MooreMcNeil will have a chance to continue building off last year’s improvement. Although she showed
flashes of defensive brilliance, she — like most freshmen — struggled in her first season with the team, particularly on the offensive end. Her freshman season, she played under 200 total minutes and shot 26% overall. Those struggles continued into the first 11 games of her sophomore season, where she averaged just two and a half points on 34% shooting — including 3 of 15 from 3-point range — while playing under 15 minutes per game. However, Moore-McNeil’s season began changing with Indiana’s 70-37 win over Southern Illinois University on Dec. 23, 2021, when she scored 9 points, grabbed five boards and had three assists in 25 minutes to help lead the Hoosiers. Just a few weeks later, in a rivalry game Jan. 16 against Purdue in West Lafayette for the Barn Burner trophy, Moore-McNeil had her breakout game. Due to injuries and COVID-19 issues within Indiana’s program, Moore-McNeil got the first start of her career and played 43 minutes in the 73-68 overtime win, scoring 10 points for the first double-digit offensive output of her career. Although she only recorded one block and no steals in the game, Moore-McNeil’s defensive contributions went far beyond the box score as she helped slow the Boilermakers down in the fourth quarter to allow the Hoosiers to tie the game and send it to overtime. “I did gain a little bit of confidence,” Moore-McNeil said at the media day. “Just coming to the realization when we had injuries and the COVID pandemic kind of thing, it really made me understand that I needed to grow up a little bit and give a little bit more” Starting with the Southern Illinois game and including the Big Ten and NCAA Tournament games, Moore-McNeil averaged
three rebounds and nearly 7 points while playing 25 minutes per contest over the final 20 games of the season. She also dramatically improved her shooting, going 45% from the field and 34% from beyond the arc to end the season. Those figures will likely continue to get better this year. Moren said one of the aspects of her game that Moore-McNeil worked on this summer was shooting, and because of that, she is now more consistent from 3-point range. Moore-McNeil showed off that shooting talent at Hoosier Hysteria on Oct. 7, where she made eight shots in a row to help win the 3-point contest with teammate Miller Kopp, senior forward for Indiana’s men’s team. She and Miller Kopp combine for 32 made 3s. Entering her third season with the cream and crimson and her first season in the starting lineup, Moore-McNeil will have more responsibility than ever, but her coach said she believes the work her guard put in this summer has prepared her. “She had a fantastic summer. The expectations for her a year ago were for her to come off of our bench and be a scoring power for us, but also be a great defender, which she was for us,” Moren said. “Based on what she was able to do this summer, she's come back and she's stronger.” Although she will have a larger role with the team this season, Moore-McNeil isn’t going to suddenly start playing to chase points and put up gaudy statlines. Regardless of which end of the court she makes a play on, she said she just wants to do whatever she can to help the team win.
“The next step is just continuing to grow my game, whether it's on offense or even defense,” Moore-McNeil said. “I know our big key is getting stops, so I think being a one-on-one defender is where I want to grow.”
ILLUSTRATION BY JACK DONNELY
Featuring grace berger as...
THE SILENT ASSASSIN she aims for hardware to cap off career as a Hoosier legend
By Will Foley email | twitter
Graduate guard Grace Berger has already had a decorated career — so much so it requires scrolling down when viewing her honors and accolades on her IU Athletics player page. Yet she has never been able to conquer the Big Ten with Indiana. Knowing there was more to be done, Berger decided to return for her fifth and final season. According to head coach Teri Moren, Berger did so in typical fashion. “If you know Grace, there was very little fanfare when she decided to make that decision,” Moren said. “As a matter of fact, she didn’t even tell me.” Last season, Berger was the workhorse for an Indiana team who struggled with both injuries and bench depth. She led the Big Ten in minutes played, starting in all 33 games for the Hoosiers. One of two Indiana players named to the preseason All-Big Ten team, alongside junior forward Mackenzie Holmes, Berger is primed for another season full of accolades. In doing so, her role for the Hoosiers is one without boundaries — she is to do as much as possible in 40 minutes — or longer if needed. Berger is not only the most seasoned player on the roster, but it can easily be argued that she’s the most complete. Offensively, she drives strong towards the basket, is automatic from mid-range and is a great playmaker. Defensively,
she’s physical on the perimeter and can swipe the ball from opponents with ease. Berger led the team in scoring and assists per game last season. She did whatever it took to will the Hoosiers to a win on a nightly basis — even if it meant beating the buzzer from half-court on multiple occasions. Along with her trophy case, Berger has already established herself as one of the greats in Indiana lore. If her upcoming season goes as expected, she could be considered for the program’s Mount Rushmore of all-timers. Berger is the program’s all-time winningest player with 90 wins — currently tied with former teammates Ali Patberg and Aleksa Gulbe. Another season near the top of the Big Ten ranks will help Berger shatter the current mark. Currently ranked 13th in scoring for the program, Berger is set to shoot up the ranks. If she replicates last season, Berger will finish ranked second only behind Hoosier legend Tyra Buss. Berger can achieve all the records and honors possible, but there are only two things left for her to accomplish on the court — a Big Ten title and a national title. “If anybody continues to remind me that we still have a lot of goals that we haven’t accomplished yet, it’s Grace,” Moren said. “If you ask Grace, we haven’t done much, and I love that.”
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Featuring mackenzie holmes as...
THE MACK ATTACK
she's fully healthy and ready to lead By Matt Sebree email | twitter
After last season’s final game, when Indiana women’s basketball had its season ended by the University of Connecticut in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament, then-junior forward Mackenzie Holmes was asked if she would be returning to the team next year. Holmes quashed any remaining questions about her future with her reply. “I'm going to wear Indiana on my chest until they don't let me wear Indiana on my chest anymore,” Holmes said. Now in her fourth season with the Hoosiers, Holmes is undoubtedly one of the best players in the Big Ten and her production will help determine how far Indiana is able to go this season and if they can reach a third consecutive Sweet Sixteen. Upon arriving in Bloomington her freshman year, Holmes instantly started making an impact, playing in every game that season and being named to the All-Big Ten Freshmen Team. She followed it up with a sophomore campaign in which she moved into the starting lineup full-time and took over as the team’s leading scorer while helping lead the Hoosiers to their first-ever Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight appearances. After being named to the AllBig Ten First Team following her sophomore year, Holmes began last year on watch lists for national awards. Over the first 14 games, Holmes justified her inclusion on those lists, pacing the team in points, rebounds and blocks while leading them to a 12-2 record. However, an injury to Holmes’ knee kept her sidelined for over a month and forced her to miss eight games in the middle of the season. “It was really hard, just kind of put things in perspective for me,”
Holmes said at the Big Ten media days. “I had never been sidelined before in my life — not during a season. I had never missed a game before that point.” When she returned in mid-February, she gave the team a boost as it prepared for the final stretch of the year, but she was never fully 100% healthy at the end of the regular season and through tournament play. Head coach Teri Moren said at Indiana basketball’s media day that if Holmes had been fully healthy during the Big Ten Tournament, the outcome might have been different. “The one thing that you can never control is injuries,” head coach Teri Moren said. “Once Mack got hurt, she wasn't quite 100%. I think in retrospect, when we look back at what could have been different, if Mack would have been 100% healthy, could we have won a Big Ten championship? I think we could have.” Now, back at full health entering the 2022-23 season, Holmes’ expectations and responsibilities — both on and off the court — are as high as they’ve ever been. With forward Aleksa Gulbe, guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and guard Ali Patberg all graduating after starting every game during the back-to-back tournament appearances, Holmes is one of the few veteran Hoosiers remaining from those runs. In particular, then-seventh-year senior Patberg was the vocal leader of the team and with her taking a job as team and recruitment coordinator for Indiana, the responsibility of being a leader in the locker room will likely have to be shouldered by Holmes and graduate student guard Grace Berger. At the Indiana media day, junior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil said Holmes and Berger have already established themselves with their experience and guidance provided to their teammates. Moren said that ability to put the team first has been a key to the program’s recent
success. “Even though we have great players like the Mackenzie Holmes and the Grace Bergers and the Ali Patbergs that have been in our program, they've always been able to set aside their egos to be just about the team,” Moren said. The culture of the team and players like Holmes also led junior guard Sydney Parrish — the 2020 Indiana Miss Basketball winner — to transfer to Indiana from the University of Oregon. “Not just coach Moren but the staff and players like Ali and Grace and Mackenzie, they've really put a face to this program, and I think that's really what's putting us on the national level,” Parrish said. For Indiana and Holmes, the challenge is no longer reaching that national level, it’s staying there. In the preseason AP Poll, the team was ranked No. 11 and individually, Holmes has been named to the preseason All-Big Ten team and the watch list for the Lisa Leslie Award — given annually to the country’s best center. Although Holmes is one of the best players in the Big Ten and the nation, she and Berger are still focused on the team and winning championships, Moren said at Hoosier Hysteria. "They will be the first to tell you, we haven't done anything yet."
ILLUSTRATION BY JACK DONNELY
Featuring Sydney Parrish as...
HOMETOWN she's HERO hoping to
blossom back in her home state
By Will Foley email | twitter
As a highly-touted recruit from Fishers, Indiana, Sydney Parrish had the chance to be a “hometown hero” in Bloomington. Instead, she crushed Hoosier hearts by committing to the University of Oregon in April of 2019. Fast forward three years later and the former eighth-ranked prospect in the country and 2020 Indiana Miss Basketball had entered the transfer portal. While surveying her options, Indiana quickly reached out — and Parrish knew home is where her heart is. “Entering the portal, I kept my options open, but as soon as IU contacted me, it kind of opened my head a little bit and I just realized, ‘Okay, I can go back home and play, I can be close to family, I can be on a winning program,’” Parrish said. Parrish’s stint in Eugene was more or less successful. She played and started in all 32 of Oregon’s games last season, averaging 8.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while leading the team in threes made with 52. Outside shooting is Parrish’s specialty, and she can punish opponents when in a rhythm. In a conference
game at the University of California, Berkeley this past January, Parrish drained seven threes on just nine attempts. “In my opinion, Sydney is the best pure shooter in the country,” Oregon head coach Kelly Graves said. Indiana ranked 12th in the Big Ten last season in threes made per game with 4.8. Head coach Teri Moren made it clear adding perimeter shooting was an emphasis this offseason, and the addition of Parrish should contribute to the Hoosiers reaching Moren’s goal. As a 6-2 guard, Parrish will add size to Indiana’s lineup. Her height for her position should aid her in rebound battles and cause trouble against smaller guards on the perimeter. Parrish has plenty of attributes to provide that don’t show up in the stat sheet — such as her leadership and basketball IQ. Parrish is a proven winner throughout her career. She led Hamilton Southeastern High School to a 4A Indiana State title her junior season and made the NCAA Tournament in both seasons at Oregon. Along with her winning ways, Parrish brings valuable experience to
Indiana. Oregon plays in a loaded Pac-12 conference against top-tier programs such as Stanford University and the University of Arizona. Parrish and the Ducks also faced off against elite teams in the nonconference, such as playing both 2022 national title game contenders — the University of South Carolina and the University of Connecticut. The Ducks defeated the Huskies 72-59 in January. Parrish will have the chance to be a key piece for the Hoosiers and expand her role as more than just a shooter. If she can play at the five-star level she earned out of high school, Parrish will have the chance to fulfill the dream of all hoopers from Indiana — adding a banner in Assembly Hall. “I just wanted to come in and contribute as much as I can,” Parrish said. “And hope to get really far in both tournaments.”
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INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | BASKETBALL GUIDE | idsnews.com
Featuring nathan childress and michael shipp as...
THE WALK ONS They play a vital role for Indiana men’s basketball
ILLUSTRATION BY JACK DONNELY
By Evan Gerike
egerike@iu.edu | @EvanGerike
Visit Michael Shipp’s Indiana Athletics page and at first it doesn’t look much different from anyone else’s. Position: Guard. Height: 6’3’’. Weight: 195 lbs. He’s a senior, with junior eligibility. It’s the stats page that looks abnormal compared to the rest of the roster. In 2019-20: one game played. One minute. In 2020-21: one game played. One minute. One attempted 3-point field goal, but it didn’t go in. In 2021-22: “Did not appear in game action.” Shipp is one of four walkons on the Hoosiers’ 2022-23 roster. Combined, they have 30 minutes of career playing time, 21 of which belong
to senior Nathan Childress. Another seven belong to junior Hogan Orbaugh, all during his time at the University of Louisville. Sophomore Shaan Burke is still looking for his first appearance. Shipp and the other walk-ons practice almost as much as the scholarship athletes. They devote the same amount of time and are as much a part of the team. But they don’t get the same recognition and they don’t get the glory. So why do they do it? "I love the game,” Shipp said. “Played it my whole life. I love watching film, breaking down film. I just love basketball.” *** The walk-ons, by default, have to be unselfish. While they’re not putting
as many miles in at practice and often don’t have to participate in scrimmages, they do plenty of running and practicing while getting almost none of the reward. The majority of their job is to run scout team, acting as players from the opposing team for Indiana’s scholarship players to prepare for. On gamedays, they’re there to bring energy. Despite only having two career appearances, Shipp never gets down about his role or lack of playing time. He knows what he signed up for and even appreciates the fact he won’t have fans hunting him down on Twitter after a bad game. “I know I’m valued in that locker room,” Shipp said. “I kind of like the fact that no one knows who I am.” The walk-ons have a job
to do, one just as important to Indiana’s success as any other member of the team. When someone gets a steal because the walk-ons prepared them for the right play, their value shines, even if fans won’t see it. “The walk-ons are everything,” senior forward Race Thompson said at Indiana basketball media day. “We would not be the team we are without them. They’re some of the best guys on the team.” Thompson said he would struggle if he were in the walk-ons' position, rarely getting playing time while spending most games on the bench. Thompson sat out his freshman year to redshirt and only played nine games his second year. “I did it for two years and
it was some of the hardest years of my life,” Thompson said. “Most of them were the best players on their high school teams and they come here and they just basically come to practice. They're on the team, but they don't get to play very much.” But their character is that of someone who doesn’t mind the role. Shipp said he’s always been the type of guy to sit under the radar and play No. 2 to the star of the team — as long as he’s winning. Childress, who said competition always motivates him, is the same way. While at Zionsville Community High School, Childress shared the court with Orbaugh and Isaiah Thompson, who is now a junior guard at Purdue. “On most high school teams, Nathan would’ve averaged 22 to 25 points,” Shaun Busick, then-head coach of Zionsville, said. “On our team, he averaged 14 or 15 because he was playing the role of Klay Thompson to Steph Curry. Nathan always accepted that well.” With Childress and Orbaugh accepting roles as the second and third options, Zionsville excelled. It won back-to-back sectionals for the first time in 60 years. In one game in 2018, Childress was tasked with guarding Valparaiso High School’s Brandon Newman, now a junior guard at Purdue. While Newman outscored Childress, putting up 22 points to Childress’s 20, it didn’t come easy. Childress held him to 7-for-25 shooting from the field. “Nathan outplayed him,” Busick said. “That was a big defining moment his senior year, like ‘This guy’s a legitimate Mr. Basketball candidate, yet I can play right with him.’” Childress, who is 6 feet, 6–inches tall, still had to adjust to the size and physicality regularly faced in the Big Ten, including his own teammates. “Most of the time in high school I was one of the bigger guys on court and coming in here that wasn't the case,” Childress said. “I played against (former Indiana forward) Justin Smith quite a bit my freshman year. He's a pretty freakin’ big kid.” Childress had a scholarship to NAIA Bethel University in Mishawaka, Indiana. Busick knew he would be a good fit there, and thought he had a chance to become an NAIA All-American. But as Childress kept visiting Bethel, he started to lose interest in the idea of playing there. His Amateaur Athletic Union coach, Jonny Marlin, who himself was a walk-on at Indiana before transferring to Indiana Wesleyan University and becoming an NAIA All-American, helped Childress secure a tryout at Assembly Hall. “My family and myself, I grew up an Indiana fan being from Indiana originally,”
Childress said. “When opportunity presented itself, it was just too good to pass.” Before making the decision, he sat down with Busick. Busick asked him what he wanted to do, reminding him of his potential to break out at Bethel while getting a free education. But Childress told him playing for Indiana was his dream and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. “I told him, ‘Nathan, I think you made the right decision,’” Busick said. “In Nathan’s case, it was a lifelong dream to be an Indiana Hoosier. I don’t know a head coach in college basketball that wouldn’t want a guy that wanted to really be there.” Shipp’s path to Indiana was similar. He won two state championships in high school at Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, Ohio. He received offers to Division II schools, but never found a right fit, ending up at the same tryout as Childress. Childress’ biggest game came last year against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He played five minutes — a career-high — and with just over four minutes to go, drained a 3-pointer for his first career bucket. He may have also ignited a rivalry with his high school teammate in Orbaugh. "At Louisville, before coming to Indiana, he had scored a three already, so I was just trying to catch up with him,” Childress said. “I couldn’t let him graduate with more points than me.” Childress appeared late against Northwestern on Feb. 8 in a game where five Hoosiers were suspended. Down to seven scholarship players, head coach Mike Woodson called on him for a few minutes late in the game. Childress said Woodson talked about it with him beforehand. Childress said he has a simple method to prepare for a game he expects to play in. “I tie my shoes up a little tighter,” Childress said. The factor of how much playing time he would see — if any — was something Childress had to mull over before committing to Indiana. It was an adjustment, he said, but he knew he had to come in with that mindset. Shipp can go to the grocery store without getting stopped. Childress watches Trayce Jackson-Davis get stopped constantly for pictures at tailgates while he goes unnoticed. It’s the tradeoff they made for attending Indiana as walk-ons and sacrificing playing time. But they love being Hoosiers and playing alongside the team nonetheless. “They’re just great teammates,” Shipp said. “It wouldn't be fun if my teammates were assholes. They’re great teammates, they’re great dudes, they’re fun to be around. It’s why I come back year after year.”
Preseason rankings and awards Men's Team: Preseason ranking No. 13 (AP Poll)
Women's Team: Preseason ranking No. 11 (AP Poll)
Trayce Jackson-Davis
Grace Berger
• Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason All-American • College Hoops Today Preseason All-American • The Almanac Preseason All-American • Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year • Preseason All-Big Ten Team • CBS Sports Preseason Second Team All-American • AP Preseason All-American • The Athletic Preseason Second Team All-American • Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Watch List
(Leftmost) Preseason All-Big Ten Team Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award Watch List Mackenzie Holmes (Middle) Preseason All-Big Ten Team Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award Watch List Sara Scalia (Right) Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award Watch List
INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | BASKETBALL GUIDE | idsnews.com
INDIANA BASKETBALL 2022-23 SCHEDULE WOMEN'S
MEN'S
Nov. 4, 7:00 p.m.
Home
Kentucky Wesleyan
Nov. 3, 7:00 p.m.
Home
Saint Francis
Nov. 8, 7 p.m.
Home
Vermont
Nov. 7, 7 p.m.
Home
Morehead State
Nov. 11, 7 p.m.
Home
UMass Lowell
Nov. 10, 8:30 p.m.
Home
Bethune-Cookman
Nov. 14, 6 p.m.
Away
Tennessee
Nov. 18, 6 p.m.
Away
Xavier
Nov. 17, 7 p.m.
Home
Bowling Green
Nov. 20, 5:30 p.m.
Neutral
Miami (OH)
Nov. 20, 1 p.m.
Home
Quinnipiac
No.23, 6:30 p.m.
Home
Little Rock
Nov. 25, 8:45 p.m.
Neutral
Auburn
Nov. 25, 2:30 p.m.
Home
Jackson State
Nov. 26, 8:45 p.m.
Neutral
Memphis
Nov. 30, 9:15 p.m.
Home
North Carolina
Dec. 1, 6 p.m.
Home
North Carolina
Dec. 3, 4 p.m.
Away
Rutgers
Dec. 4, 2 p.m.
Home
Illinois
Dec. 7, 8:30 p.m.
Home
Nebraska
Dec. 8, p.m.
Away
Penn State
Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Neutral
Arizona
Dec. 18, 2 p.m.
Home
Morehead State
Dec. 17, Noon
Away
Kansas
Dec. 21, 1 p.m.
Home
Butler
Dec. 20, 7 p.m.
Home
Elon
Dec. 29, 3 p.m.
Away
Michigan State
Dec. 23, 7 p.m.
Home
Kennesaw State
Jan. 1, 1 p.m.
Home
Nebraska
Jan. 5, 9 p.m.
Away
Iowa
Jan. 8, 3 p.m.
Away
Northwestern
Jan. 8, Noon
Home
Northwestern
Jan. 12, 6:30 p.m.
Home
Maryland
Jan. 11, 7 p.m.
Away
Penn State
Jan. 15, 2 p.m.
Home
Wisconsin
Jan. 14, 1 p.m.
Home
Wisconsin
Jan. 18, 8 p.m.
Away
Illinois
Jan. 19, 8:30 p.m.
Away
Illinois
Jan. 23, 8 p.m.
Away
Michigan
Jan. 22, Noon
Home
Michigan State
Jan. 26 p.m.
Home
Ohio State
Jan. 25 9 p.m.
Away
Minnesota
Jan. 29, 2 p.m.
Home
Rutgers
Jan. 28, 8 p.m.
Home
Ohio State
Feb. 1, 8 p.m.
Away
Minnesota
Jan. 31, 9 p.m.
Away
Maryland
Feb. 5, 2 p.m.
Away
Purdue
Feb. 4, 4 p.m.
Home
Purdue
Feb. 9, 6:30 p.m.
Home
Iowa
Feb. 7, 6 p.m.
Home
Rutgers
Feb. 13, 7 p.m.
Away
Ohio State
Feb. 11, 6:30 p.m.
Away
Michigan
Feb. 16, 8:30 p.m.
Home
Michigan
Feb. 15, 9 p.m.
Away
Northwestern
Feb. 19, 12 p.m.
Home
Purdue
Feb. 18, Noon
Home
Illinois
Feb. 26, 4 p.m.
Away
Iowa
Feb. 21, 9 p.m.
Away
Michigan State
Big Ten Tournament
Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Away
Purdue
Feb. 28, 7 p.m.
Home
Iowa
March 5, 4:30 p.m.
Home
Michigan
March 1-5, TBD
Minneapolis, MN
B9
March 8, TBD
Chicago, IL
2023 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament
IDS FILE PHOTO BY ETHAN LEVY
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INDIANA DAILY STUDENT | BASKETBALL GUIDE | idsnews.com
IDS reporters make predictions for 2022-23 season MEN'S BASKETBALL By Evan Gerike, Bradley Hohulin, Emma Pawlitz sports@idsnews.com
A season after ending a five-year NCAA Tournament drought, Indiana men’s basketball enters the 2022-23 season with more preseason hype than it has seen in a decade. Head coach Mike Woodson is back for year two with one goal in mind: to raise another banner. Indiana tips off the season against Morehead State University at 7:00 p.m. Monday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Before the team’s season opener, the Indiana Daily Student men’s basketball reporters share their predictions and analysis for the upcoming season. Most valuable player EMMA PAWLITZ: In all honesty, it would probably be foolish to say anyone other than Trayce Jackson-Davis. I have no reason to believe that he won’t continue to show flashes of stardom similar to last year’s 43-point outing against Marshall and his in-
IU ARCHIVES Freshman forward Victor Oladipo dunks over a group of children during Hoosier Hysteria in 2010 at Assembly Hall.
credible Big Ten Tournament performance that led the Hoosiers to the semifinals. And, with Woodson in his second year, Jackson-Davis' confidence as a captain has probably soared, considering the mutual respect we’ve seen those two show each other. TJD is the clear-cut favorite for me. EVAN GERIKE: It’s been Jackson-Davis for three years now, so we won’t kid ourselves and say anyone else. For the last two years it’s been a will-he, won’t-he dance on whether Jackson-Davis would enter the NBA Draft. But he’s bought into Woodson’s vision, and now he wants to leave a legacy that goes beyond individual statistics. If he’s as good as we all expect him to be, he’ll carry the Hoosiers a long way toward a Big Ten title. BRADLEY HOHULIN: Jackson-Davis is almost certainly Indiana’s best player. I have probably spent more time watching him back down enormous defenders in the paint than I’ve spent studying for any class in seven semesters at Indiana. But for the Hoosiers to beat the best teams on their schedule, they need graduate student guard Xavier Johnson to open up the offense with his passing and perimeter scoring. Guard play and shooting have haunted Indiana recently, and Johnson is the clearest solution to breaking through.
ibility at the 1-and 2-guard positions this year, and Woodson might try out different combinations of Bates, Hood-Schifino, Johnson and Trey Galloway in those spots. Bates also showed last season he has strong shot-making potential, and he could end up being one of the Hoosiers’ go-to guys to get a late-game bucket. GERIKE: Galloway was bordering on being a breakout candidate last year before losing a good chunk of the season to injury. He plays with a bit of reckless abandon, which can surely make a coach nervous, but his scrappy play seemed to help dig Indiana out of a few holes. Behind Race Thompson, he might be Indiana’s next glue guy, and the energy he brings on the court can help him break out this season. HOHULIN: Junior forward Jordan Geronimo’s performance against Marian was a microcosm of his career at Indiana. He showcased glimpses of smothering defense, aggressive rebounding and weirdly great touch from the 3-point line. He also had three personal fouls before he’d been on the court for three full minutes. At 6-foot6, 220 pounds, Geronimo’s physical potential is palpable. For him, discipline might be the difference between a dominant two-way player and becoming a super jacked bench warmer.
Breakout player of the year PAWLITZ: Tamar Bates has my vote for this one. We’ve heard his teammates sing his praises over the course of the offseason, and it looks like he’s gotten visibly stronger, too. I think there’s a lot of flex-
Game to watch PAWLITZ: In contrast to last season, Indiana’s nonconference schedule is packed with must-watch games. The one I’m most excited for, though, is the North Carolina matchup on Nov.
30. The makeup of the Hoosiers’ and Tar Heels’ squads is oddly similar, considering both return standout power forwards among four of last season’s starters. And, with North Carolina coming off an improbable postseason run to send Coach K and Duke home from the Final Four, the swagger is going to be at an all-time high. Plus, old Northwestern roommates Miller Kopp and Pete Nance going head-to-head? Sign me up. The ACC-Big Ten Challenge is always one of my favorite events of the college basketball season, but this game is going to be especially electric. GERIKE: Indiana loaded up its nonconference schedule this season, and Woodson has been upfront about continuing that trend moving forward as Indiana gets better (Kentucky, anyone?). Outside of what is sure to be a charged atmosphere in Assembly Hall when UNC comes to town, Indiana’s most exciting game will be against the defending national champion Kansas on Dec. 17. It’s the last ranked nonconference opponent Indiana faces, so we’ll see exactly what kind of team it is when this one’s over. HOHULIN: Indiana travels to Las Vegas on Dec. 10 to take on an Arizona squad that averaged 84 points per game last season. That may sound utterly ridiculous, but that’s only because it is — just two teams outscored Arizona on a per-game basis. The Hoosiers will have to play their best defensive game of the year to pin down the Wildcats. They might have to play their best offensive game of the decade to outpace them. Either way, this clash of two very distinct but effective styles should be
IU ARCHIVES Bill Garrett, pictured with coach Branch McCraken, in 1951. Garrett was the first Black player on an IU basketball team. His first varsity game was Dec. 4, 1948, vs. DePauw University.
must-watch television. Postseason predictions PAWLITZ: Indiana is slated to win the Big Ten, something I think the Hoosiers can actually pull off during the regular season. Still, I think it’s close to impossible for any team to win a conference regular season title and tournament championship. I see them getting knocked out of the Big Ten Tourney in the semifinals or finals and going into Selection Sunday to earn a 3-or 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament. I think an Elite Eight appearance might be the ceiling for this team, but we’ll see how mentally tough Woodson’s squad is throughout its monster of a nonconference schedule. GERIKE: Indiana’s schedule is absolutely brutal. A tough nonconference schedule followed by an even tougher conference schedule might be the only reason the Hoosiers don’t win the Big
Ten. I’ll be the group pessimist and say Indiana will finish in second place in the regular season and fall in the semifinals of the tournament. Come March Madness, Indiana could still be well suited for a favorable postseason run. An Elite Eight exit is best case scenario and a loss in the Sweet Sixteen feels most likely. HOHULIN: Indiana has the depth of talent to compete for a Big Ten title. Still, going from 9-11 in conference play a year ago to champions is a tall order, and it’s not like Purdue or Iowa forgot how to play basketball over the summer. In a rational world, the Hoosiers make it to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. In the real, bizarre world of college basketball, they could also lose in the first round to a mostly online commuter school in South Dakota that you didn’t know existed. It happens. Just enjoy the ride there.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL By Will Foley, Matt Press, Matt Sebree sports@idsnews.com
Coming off back-to-back runs to the Sweet Sixteen and a loss in the Big Ten Tournament final last season, Indiana women’s basketball enters the 2022-23 season in search of championships. The Hoosiers tip off their season against the University of Vermont at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Before the team’s season opener, the Indiana Daily Student women’s basketball beat shared their predictions and analysis for the upcoming season. Most valuable player WILL FOLEY: The only realistic options here are graduate student guard Grace Berger and senior forward Mackenzie Holmes, and I’m rocking with Berger as MVP. The difference is marginal, but all things considered, Berger is the motor of this team. In close games down the stretch, Berger will have the ball in her hands which gives her the edge. MATT SEBREE: Before missing time with a knee injury last season, there was no question Mackenzie Holmes was the Hoosiers’ best player as she led the team in points, rebounds and blocks while usually guarding the opponent’s best post player. This season, she will have an even
larger role both on the court and in the locker room after three starters from the backto-back Sweet Sixteen runs in 2021 and 2022 graduated: guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, forward Aleksa Gulbe and guard Ali Patberg — who joined the staff as team and recruitment coordinator. MATT PRESS: I’m sticking with my preseason prediction and going with Mackenzie Holmes. She was named to the Lisa Leslie Award watchlist for the country’s best center for good reason. She had a lingering knee injury last season and still posted 15.2 points and seven boards per game. Grace Berger may finish as the team’s top scorer, but Holmes’ defensive versatility and offensive game with her back to the basket make her an invaluable piece. If Holmes can play a full, healthy season, look for her to return to her dominant sophomore-year form. Newcomer of the year FOLEY: Pretty easy selection for me: it’s senior guard Sara Scalia. Transferring in from Minnesota, Scalia is familiar with the Big Ten and can shoot the lights out of the gym. Indiana was near the bottom of the Big Ten in threes made per game last season, and Scalia can single-handedly get the Hoosiers toward the top of that rank. SEBREE: Sara Scalia was
named to the All-Big Ten Second Team last season and although she will no longer be the number one option like she was at Minnesota, there is no reason to believe she won’t be just as good or better this season. Her ability to shoot from deep will also help space the floor and give Holmes more room to work inside. PRESS: This is a pretty chalk pick, but I’ll take transfer Sara Scalia. I would consider her an honorable mention for team MVP, and I think she’s that good. Indiana has lacked a true sharpshooter in recent years, and Hoosier fans saw Scalia up close last season when she erupted for 26 points vs. Indiana, shooting 7-12 from beyond the arc. Her range is noteworthy, but I think her overall playmaking and on-ball defending are pretty underrated. She shot 41.3% from deep for Minnesota last season on absurd volume, and I expect that to continue. Game to watch FOLEY: Traveling to Knoxville to play No. 5 University of Tennessee is an intriguing matchup. Not only are the Vols elite, but the matchup is Indiana’s first game outside of Bloomington this season. It’ll be a huge test for the Hoosiers and can reveal how much potential this team has. SEBREE: No. 12 Univer-
sity of North Carolina coming to Bloomington for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 1 will be the early season test I am most looking forward to watching Indiana face. The Hoosiers went 14-2 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall last season and establishing that home dominance this season will be vital to Indiana’s success, particularly once conference play begins. PRESS: The early season matchups with No. 5 Tennessee and No. 12 North Carolina are tough to omit, but the Hoosiers’ final game of the regular season against No. 4 Iowa could have major implications. The two teams meet on Feb. 9, and then again on Feb. 26 to close out the season. The Hawkeyes are obviously tremendously talented with maybe the best duo in the country in flamethrowing junior guard Caitlin Clark and senior forward Monica Czinano, and Indiana couldn’t beat them in its three showdowns last season — including the Big Ten Championship. Circle this matchup on your calendars. Postseason predictions FOLEY: I think the Hoosiers finish top three in the Big Ten, then finally overcome their demons and win the Big Ten Tournament. A finish like that should earn Indiana a top four seed at worst, depending on its regular season record. I believe in
IU ARCHIVES The IU Womens Basketball Team poses for a group shot in 1973. Womens basketball became a varsity sport in 1971. From 1972 to 1975, the Hoosiers compiled a 62-15 record under the leadership of Coach Bea Gorton.
the experience of this Hoosier team and see them making an Elite Eight. SEBREE: This Hoosiers team is not the team of the last two seasons. Those teams were defensive juggernauts and although Berger and Holmes can lockdown opponents, without Patberg, Gulbe and 2022 All-Big Ten Defensive Team honoree Cardaño-Hillary, Indiana will struggle to slow down opponents as much as they have in the past. I think the team will finish fourth in a top-heavy Big Ten standings. However, head coach Teri Moren’s teams have shown an ability to get hot late in the season and make runs in tournaments, so I’ll predict the Hoosiers to reach a second consecutive Big Ten Championship, but to again lose to the Hawkeyes.
In the NCAA Tournament, I think Indiana will lose in an even matchup in the second round and fail to make it to a third Sweet Sixteen appearance in as many years. PRESS: I predicted a Big Ten Tournament title a few weeks ago, and I’m begrudgingly holding on to it. Iowa is the clear favorite, rightfully so, and Ohio State and Nebraska are quietly creeping behind the Hoosiers. Nonetheless, with how valuable defense is in the postseason, I’ll give Indiana the everso-slightest edge over the Hawkeyes, who haven’t been able to stop much of anyone from scoring. I don’t have the highest hopes for the NCAA Tournament, the Big Ten’s kryptonite, but I’ll say they cruise through the first two rounds and go out in the Sweet Sixteen.