Team chemistry is always a very important part of any basketball program but, at times, it can go unnoticed, clouded by in-seasons wins, losses and individual performances.
This year's Indiana men's basketball team is determined to make sure that doesn't happen as several players, along with coach Mike Woodson have made it known that chemistry will be one of the strongpoints for the Hoosiers this season.
This was all made apparent during Big Ten Media Days last week, where guards Trey Galloway and Myles Rice, along with Woodson, talked about how the offseason team building went, along with how the comraderie among the team will translate onto the court.
Galloway said that the team "really tried to focus on spending a lot of time together" during the offseason, while also mentioning that "time off the court compared to on the court is just important" as he discussed just how close this group is.
In response to a question about how close his team is, Woodson said "yes it is unique," so let's dive deeper into what makes the chemistry among this year's Hoosiers so special.
This all started in the offseason, early in the offseason really, with the new transfers coming in just as their school years were ending in May, with the team building there.
They seemingly did everything together, with Woodson saying ""when you're talking about getting together I mean they've done so much from picnics to bowling and fishing and you name that they've done it."
This paints a pretty vivid picture of everything the team has done together, as if even the head coach can't keep track of all they've done, that means they've really taken team building seriously.
Rice said that "over the summer was very big for us" when mentioning why the team chemistry has been so good of late, something that can be seen in a lot of teams, but to him this Hoosier squad has seemed different.
When asked about the team building activities that he'll remember, Rice mentioned that that they "had nice cookouts and said "we went fishing."
While these small activities might seem inconsequential, they should actually play a very crucial role in shaping this team. Especially with so many transfers, especially from different backgrounds, doing things together was a must.
All this will certainly improve morale in the locker room, but on the court is where it really matters, and I believe all these team building activities will translate onto the hardwood.
Galloway mentioned how everyone on the roster is driven by winning, saying "we all want to win at the end of the day" but recognized that team chemistry is an integral part of that, stating "taking it day by day and just building that that camaraderie with each other is going to be huge."
This is exactly right, as the chemistry formed before the season should translate into wins during the season. Especially with a completely new team, Galloway's comments should resonate even more, as the biggest problem with teams strung together in the transfer portal is issues playing together, but based on the fifth year senior's comments, there should be no issues with playing together at Assembly Hall.
Rice said something similar, commenting that they've "been trying to build that chemistry and for it to translate onto the court," while also saying that the specific key to winning on the court through chemistry is "just having that trust factor in one another from the time we got here all the way to the end of the season."
This all shows that Woodson has players with all the right values and, whether they already had them at previous programs or learned them at IU, the Hoosiers have a bunch of guys that seem to know how important togetherness is to a winning basketball team.
Woodson seems to agree with this sentiment, as he said "our summer program I thought went extremely well," while also mentioning "now we're back at official practicing. It's been a good run so far. We just got to put it all together and see where it leads us."
Hoosier fans hope it leads them far, like Big Ten or national title far and, if that happens, they'll know it all started back in June with fishing trips and cookout just as Rice described.
While some people may be focused on individual stars and statistics, this IU team is focused on togetherness, and for good reason, as Galloway said that team chemistry "is a part of growing together and becoming a family."
This family feel may not be all of what it takes to get wins on the floor, but it's a start and for a program that may have struggled with it a bit last year, the team chemistry around the IU basketball program seems to thriving right now.
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