BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Inside Indiana basketball radio shows returned live this week in Bloomington on Monday night.
Men's basketball head coach Mike Woodson joined Don Fischer and associate head coach Rhet Wierzba joined Austin Render for this week's show. Mackenzie Holmes also joined Render for the women's portion of the show.
Below are the notables and quotes from Monday's broadcast.
Inside Indiana Basketball with Mike Woodson
– Mike Woodson says he's not happy yet with where Indiana is defensively. Offensively, he says Indiana finally opened up a bit and found a rhythm in the win over Harvard.
– Woodson doesn't think much of the schedule Big Ten schedule starting with two games in early December. Says it gives him and his staff a chance to see where they are as a staff. Playing in the Big Ten is different. "The Big Ten is what it is."
– "We can't take Maryland lightly. They're a talented team." Says Maryland is well-coached, and it should be competitive. "We have to defend home. We have to take care of business on our home floor."
– Indiana isn't defending the perimeter well enough and isn't making threes at an effective enough clip, Woodson says.
– Indiana's matchup against UConn showed what it takes to win a national championship. Woodson says the Huskies' guards 'killed them,' and playing a team like that is a great measuring stick for IU in the early season.
– Woodson says IU's switch to zone prevented Indiana from coming out of the Louisville game empty-handed.
– Woodson says Mackenzie Mgbako had a breakout game in the contest versus Harvard, and that IU's frontcourt played the best it has all season. Gives high regards for Anthony Walker and Kaleb Banks, praising the bench players for the minutes they gave last night.
– Woodson, on Anthony Leal's game versus Harvard: "There was an Anthony Leal sighting last night. I thought he played some positive minutes when we really needed it. There's a chance he can get some minutes now. It's nothing against him because he's done everything that we've asked him to do. I was happy as hell for him to step in and play the way he played last night."
– In discussing Mackenzie Mgbako and the youth in general, Woodson says that he learned from his days in the NBA to not rush the progression of young stars who struggle to begin. In Atlanta, he says he had the youngest team in NBA history and that he had to adjust expectations accordingly. Reiterates that Mgbako will continue to be fine going forward as he adjusts to the college game.
– Indiana still needs to rebound the ball better, specifically with its backcourt players Woodson says.
– The Hoosiers have handled the turnover situation well so far this season, Woodson says.
– Malik Reneau is still learning to deal with double teams. Woodson compares the way Trayce Jackson-Davis struggled to first adjust to how teams defended him with double teams to the type of progression Reneau needs to make.
– On 3-point shooting: "The media's put so much heat on about making threes. I would love to make every three that we take... It's not like I'm telling our team not to shoot threes, but I'm not going to put a lot of emphasis on you gotta make threes. I'm not putting that pressure on them. You gotta make twos, too. You gotta make free throws as well. You gotta get defensive stops, rebound the basketball. There's a lot of things that come with winning basketball games. We're gonna keep working in practice to shoot 'em, and I hope they start falling."
– Woodson says that if Indiana is struggling to make threes, then it needs to ensure that opponents are struggling to do so as well.
– Woodson believes Indiana's chemistry is continuing to grow, and that the team has no issues with one another. Time will allow them to jell together on the floor better, he suggests.
THIS WEEK: vs. Maryland (Friday, Dec. 1)
Inside Indiana Women's Basketball with Rhet Wierzba, Mackenzie Holmes
– Hoosiers were 2-0 over Thanksgiving weekend in Fort Myers, Florida.
– Wierzba says Indiana's defense was much improved in the two contests against Tennessee and Princeton.
– Mackenzie Holmes became just the second player in Indiana women's basketball history to eclipse 2,000 points as a Hoosier. Wierzba says it's a testament to her work ethic and her growth over her time in the program. She has incredible footwork and hands, she says, but she's developed many more elements of her game.
– Yarden Garzon can do "a little bit of everything," Wierzba says.
– Teams are defending Indiana by packing it in – partly because of Mackenzie Holmes' dominance, but also because IU's guards can drive to rim with efficiency.
– Mackenzie Holmes says staying healthy is one of the biggest priorities for her. She's dealt with injury history in the past, and she knows that some of it is out of her control, but it's still of top priority to her.
– Holmes says she plays with "the best shooters in the country."
– On getting to play close to home versus Maine: "It means everything to me."
– Holmes says the two wins in Florida were big for their momentum and helping to put the Stanford game in which the Cardinal dismantled the Hoosiers behind them. Says they want to reach a point where they can stop referring to that game as the marker.
THIS WEEK: at Maine (Thursday, Nov. 30), vs. Stetson (Sunday, Dec. 3)
–––––
Like this content? Join the conversation on TheHoosier.com's premium message boards and subscribe today!
– Follow TheHoosier on Twitter and Facebook!
– Subscribe to TheHoosier on YouTube for more content
– TheHoosier's Premium Football Board and Premium Hoops Board
