NCAA Basketball: 25 biggest offseason winners heading into 2021-22 season

The Hoosiers were off to a rocky start this offseason after the firing of head coach Archie Miller. When coaching changes occur, the roster can go through a massive overhaul and sometimes for the worst. The coaching search had its issues after the top-tier candidates (Scott Drew and others) turned down the job.

But it looks like Indiana ended up on the good end of the search, landing former NBA head coach Mike Woodson. The reaction from the national media was a bit subdued since his personality wasn’t as flashy as a Nate Oats or an Eric Musselman.

Yet the opinions that mattered, the players, were sold. That includes the most important one, star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis. The sophomore big man led the team with 19.1 ppg and 9.0 rpg last season and could’ve gone pro but him coming back automatically makes the Hoosiers a viable NCAA Tournament team. Other key pieces followed suit, including Race Thompson, Robert Phinisee, Parker Stewart, and former five-star recruit Kristian Lander.

Indiana also filed out the depth on the roster with three key transfers that each fills a need. Xavier Johnson (Pittsburgh) gives them a proven ball-handler with experience and is capable of creating their own offense. Former Northwestern wing Miller Kopp is a quality three-point shooter and will replace the outgoing Armaan Franklin in terms of shooting. And South Florida transfer Michael Durr gives them a true center to bang down low against the likes of Hunter Dickinson and Kofi Cockburn in the Big Ten.

We’ll still have to see how the on-the-court product looks before dubbing this coaching hire a full success. But right now, things couldn’t have gone any better for Indiana Basketball this offseason. Of course, the high expectations from the proud fan base will soon follow as November approaches.