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The NBA early withdrawal date is nearly a month behind us and most of the notable transfers have decided on their next location to play college basketball.
For Indiana, it had arguably the best offseason out of any program in the Big Ten and one of the best in the country. It received news that senior forward Race Thompson would return to Bloomington for his covid season. Both Xavier Johnson and Miller Kopp returned from the starting lineup as well. And, the biggest news out of all was getting All-Big Ten forward Trayce Jackson-Davis to return for his fourth year in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers are the favorite to win the Big Ten as we enter the summer months.
ESPN updated their 'way-too-early' top 25 rankings and the Hoosiers comes in at No. 15 on the list. They were No. 14 previously.
ESPN college basketball analyst Jeff Borzello broke down his ranking for the Hoosiers.
"Trayce Jackson-Davis' return to the Hoosiers locks them in as the preseason Big Ten favorite," Borzello said. "But they will have to improve their perimeter shooting. Indiana ranked second worst in the league last season in 3-point shooting, making just 31.9% of its attempts in conference play, as well as in 3-point attempt volume and percentage of points from 3s. That's not going to cut it, even in a down Big Ten. Oh, and the team's most prolific 3-point shooter, Parker Stewart, transferred out.
"But coach Mike Woodson has options. Tamar Bates, a top-25 recruit in the 2021 class, wasn't known as a knockdown shooter coming out of high school, and five-star recruit Jalen Hood-Schifino has never been a consistent outside shooter, but a breakout season from either will boost Indiana's perimeter production as a whole. Can someone step up and make some outside shots, though?"
His projected starting lineup includes Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Miller Kopp, Jalen Hood-Schifino and Xavier Johnson.
Jackson-Davis made it known when he announced his decision to return that this team has expectations to compete atop the best programs in the country. He's not shying away from the national publicizing that this team is getting heading into the 2022-23 season.
"It’s been hard for us because we haven’t had a lot of success in the winning column, but I feel like now with this team it’s going to be huge for us. We finally have talent, and there’s actual expectations for what we can do," Jackson-Davis said. "Just trying to get one championship under my belt, whether it be Big Ten or National. Obviously, I would want National more, but starting with the Big Ten.
"I think it would be huge because I feel like we’re a top-three team right now there. I love having expectations and having pressure with that situation because we’ve never had it in the past."
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