Indiana basketball: Strengths and weaknesses for 2022-23

Mike Woodson has a lot of strengths, and some weaknesses, for his Indiana basketball roster this upcoming season and things continue to trend in the right direction. The Hoosiers played strong basketball at times last season, but there are still some things that bring them down as a unit as we approach the 2022-23 season.

Coming into this hopeful season, Indiana basketball is ranked in the top 15 in most rankings, which leads most people to believe that the improvements from the offseason are dramatic. Busting Brackets‘ writer, Tristan Freeman broke down strengths and weaknesses for the top 25 college basketball teams for the upcoming season.

Indiana basketball strengths

1. Depth

As stated by Freeman in his article, depth is the biggest strength for the Indiana basketball program for the upcoming season. With the return of Trayce Jackson-Davis (senior forward), Race Thompson (redshirt senior forward), Xavier Johnson (senior guard), and Miller Kopp (senior forward), the Hoosiers have a lot of experience under their belt, along with the important action Indiana saw in the NCAA Tournament last season.

To add to the experienced Hoosiers, Indiana is bringing back juniors, Jordan Geronimo and Trey Galloway and the talented sophomore lefty, Tamar Bates. All of this coming back to Mike Woodson’s program is already summing up to be a successful season. What’s even better for Indiana basketball? The ninth best recruiting class in the nation for 2022, with Jalen Hood-Schifino, Malik Reneau, Kaleb Banks, and C.J. Gunn pushing for playing time and impact. The Hoosiers could run 10-deep, which could make for a huge run in March.

2. Young talent

Jalen Hood-Schifino is considered one of the top freshmen in the Big Ten this upcoming season and his playmaking abilities and creating for himself is something to be excited about. The Montverde Academy guard led his team to the GEICO National Championship his senior season alongside Indiana forward, Malik Reneau. Hood-Schifino and Reneau are two of the top 30 recruits from the 2022 recruiting class.

Even with its strong incoming freshman class, Indiana basketball has one of the more talented guards that will likely be coming off the bench for the Hoosiers in Tamar Bates. Bates was the biggest standout at the Hoosier Fan Fest last weekend and seems to be in line for a sophomore breakout campaign with possibly competing for Big Ten Most Improved Player honors for the upcoming season.

Indiana basketball weaknesses

1. Three-point shooting

The Hoosiers ranked 207th in all of college basketball last season in three-point percentage (33.3%) and 264th in the nation in three-pointers made (206). Freeman notes that the only Indiana basketball player to hit 40+ three-pointers last season was Parker Stewart, who has transferred to UT Martin. With more playing time and freedom, Tamar Bates should be one of the players to make up for things in this department, but will that be enough?

Indiana basketball does not need to hoist up 20+ three-pointers in games this season. But adding the threat of being able to shoot from deep allows more space to operate for Jackson-Davis and Thompson in the post.  When the Hoosiers made eight or more three-pointers in a game last season, Indiana held a record of 9-1 (.900) and shot 45.2% from deep in those games.