Indiana Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Hoosiers
Potential Starting Lineup for Indiana
Guard: Myles Rice, Sophomore
There may not be a bigger addition in the Big Ten this year than Indiana landing Washington State transfer Myles Rice. Rice was a key figure for a Cougar team that went to their first NCAA Tournament in a decade-and-a-half, as he finished with 14.8 PPG and 3.8 APG, while shooting 44% from the field. The hope for Indiana is that he'll get even better as he prepares for his redshirt sophomore campaign - that means cleaning up the understandable mistakes he made during his first season of college basketball, and improving his three-point shot.
Most importantly for the Hoosiers, Rice comes in at a need position, with longtime guard Xavier Johnson gone after an injury-marred 2023-24 season. The Hoosiers simply did not have a difference-maker at this spot without Johnson a year ago, and an electrifying piece like Rice completely changes how this team will be able to attack Big Ten defenses.
Guard: Trey Galloway, Senior
Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle may slide into next to his former Pac-12 brethren eventually, but I suspect it will be veteran Trey Galloway starting for the Hoosiers out of the gate in 2024-25. Galloway had his best season of his college career last season, showing an improved all-around offensive game and a real confidence with the ball in his hands. If he can regain his shooting stroke after shooting surprisingly poor from three last season, he should be a great complement to Rice in this backourt.
Forward: Mackenzie Mgbako, Sophomore
He's back! Mackenzie Mgbako was long viewed as a likely one-and-done for the Hoosiers, but his return was huge for Woodson and the Hoosiers. The 6'9" forward finished the season averaging 12.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, and really seemed to come into his own down the stretch.
Mgbako's game is perfectly built for the new era of modern college basketball, a stretch forward who can play and defend multiple positions. He could be lethal in the pick-and-pop game, but I'd love for him to continuet to develop his low post game. Even with Reneau and Oumar Ballo sure to dominate the touches in the post, a true inside-out player like Mgbako could make Indiana all the more dangerous.
Forward: Malik Reneau, Junior
Malik Reneau was a pleasant surprise as a true freshman, but his sophomore breakout was even more unexpected. He finished only behind Kel'el Ware on the Hoosiers in scoring, and showcased his value as a rebounder and passer out of the post. Most importantly, Reneau's consistency was crucial for an Indiana team that was so frightfully streaky all last season.
Even with the addition of Ballo to this frontcourt, it's hard to imagine Reneau's role being diminished. He'll play alongside the former Arizona big in much the same way he did with Ware, a similar rim-runner. The new pieces alongside him should only benefit him, giving defenses others to focus on that should open up nice opportunities around the rim.
Center: Oumar Ballo, Senior
While Ware is a notable loss, Woodson and staff went out and got quite the massive replacement - literally. The seven-footer Ballo will slide right into a starting role and should immediately bring a defensive presence and rebounding force to this roster.
Ballo is still rather limited in what he is offensively, but has steadily improved his touch. If he can grow into being even okay from the free throw line (49.5% last year) he becomes much more imposing on that end of the court. But, his value will always lie on what he brings defensively, and he should be even better than Ware there.