No Messing Around – Intriguing Opportunity for Tennessee Charity Exhibition

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Win? You bet Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers want a victory out of Sunday's basketball charity exhibition at Tennessee. But there's a bigger evaluate-and-develop-the-team piece that will play a key role.

"No coach or player goes into a game not wanting to win," Woodson said during Friday's Zoom media session. "But this does give me an opportunity to evaluate the things we've done over the summer and to this point. You want to see those things come to light.

"It won't make or break us if we win or lose. I want to get our guys ready to start the season and play at a high level. I want to see how we respond. There are a lot of things you look at.

"But when you've been beating up on each other as much as we have, we want to win. We're not going there to mess around. As coaches, we want to evaluate our team."

IU, ranked No. 17 in the AP preseason poll and No. 18 in the coaches' poll, is 4-0 all-time against Tennessee, 3-0 in postseason play. This is the first time these teams have met in an exhibition.

"We've had some heated battles and exchanges (in practice)," Woodson said. "I'm anxious to play someone different."

Tennessee, a consistent national power under head coach Rick Barnes, is ranked No. 12 in the AP and coaches polls after coming off a 27-9 season that ended in the Elite Eight. The Volunteers are led by returning guards Zakai Zeigler and Jamal Machack.

Zeigler averaged 11.8 points and 2.8 rebounds last season with a team-leading 218 assists. He made 72 three-pointers. Mashack averaged 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds.

The Volunteers averaged 78.8 points and 8.8 made 3-pointers a game.

"Tennessee is not a pushover," Woodson said. "I want to see how we play offensively and how we defend. See where we need to improve."

Blending seven newcomers -- highlighted by nationally renowned transfers Oumar Ballo, Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, and Luke Goode, plus 5-star high school recruit Bryson Tucker -- with six returning veterans, led by Malik Reneau, Mackenzie Mgbako, Trey Galloway, Gabe Cupps, and Anthony Leal, remains a work in progress.

"When you put in so many new guys," Woodson said, "it's how quickly they pick up things. We throw so much at them, some days they forget, and we have to rehearse over and over. There's a lot of team and individual film watching.

"The returning guys know me and what we're about. That helps. They've been helpful in speeding the process up. They understand a lot of these new guys will play significant minutes. That's not taking anything away from guys who were here. They will play, as well."

This projects as Woodson's most talented overall team in his four Hoosier seasons.

"I have so much around us now, it's nice to see that when you take somebody out and put someone else in, they continue to do what's asked of them," he said.

This roster is better suited to the faster-paced, better-perimeter-shooting style Woodson prefers than his first three IU teams. The exhibition should provide an early indicator of that progress.

"Until you play a team, you don't know where you are offensively," he said. "We're doing things a little different. We're getting up and down quicker. We are shooting more threes. We still have to put the ball in the hole.

"The fact Tennessee is a good defensive team will give us a good indication. They are known for defending, rebounding, and getting after you. We'll see if we can respond, defend, rebound, and get after them. That's the way it has to be."

Rice, a Washington State transfer, and Carlyle, a Stanford transfer, will set the backcourt tone, especially while Galloway continues to recover from off-season surgery.

Tennessee, known for its aggressive defense, will provide a big early test for them. Last season, it totaled 280 steals (7.8 a game) and forced 469 turnovers (13 a game).

"I want to see growth," Woodson said about Rice and Carlyle. "I want them to take what we've taught them the last four months and see how it translates into a real game.

"It's not just those two. It's everybody. I'm anxious to see where we are. They've all been working their (butts) off and I want to see if it will pay off."

Galloway and fellow guard Jakai Newton continue to work their way back from injuries. Woodson said he's not certain if they will play on Sunday. He said both played in a recent scrimmage and played well in their 15 to 18 minutes.

"We've been slow walking them back," he said. "It's a long season and they're not fully recovered. They might tell (the media) they are, but that's the reason why we're being cautious with them. They're not fully ready."

As far as how this exhibition came about, Woodson said Tennessee officials approached IU about playing and that he "liked the idea."

"It's a tune-up game, and not an ordinary exhibition. They're a good team. Well coached. It gives them an opportune to play against our program. We've revamped our team. They revamped their team. We'll gage where are teams are."

As a charity game, all proceeds go to the John McLendon Foundation, which provides minority students college access and opportunity through its scholarship program and leadership initiative.

No Messing Around – Intriguing Opportunity for Tennessee Charity Exhibition

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Players Mentioned

Oumar Ballo

Kanaan Carlyle

Gabe Cupps

Trey Galloway

Luke Goode

Anthony Leal

Mackenzie Mgbako

Jakai Newton

Malik Reneau

Myles Rice

Bryson Tucker