Mike Woodson met with the media via Zoom on Friday morning, and the Hoosiers' Head Coach gave roster updates and more ahead of Sunday's exhibition game. Most notably, Woodson said Freshman standout Mackenzie Mgbako will be playing in Sunday's game.
"He's been practicing, and all that's behind us," Woodson said. "We've got to move forward." Woodson also said Mgbako and Trey Galloway have been the two main stand-outs in practice thus far, and everyone else is "trying to learn how to play together."
From a health standpoint, the Hoosiers are in pretty decent shape at the moment. Freshman Jakai Newton is still recovering from his injury and won't play on Sunday. The status for sophomore Kaleb Banks is up in the air, while everyone else appears ready to go.
"Everybody is healthy except Kaleb Banks and Jakai," Woodson said. "Banks could play if I wanted to play him. But I've dealt with players with groin or calf pulls, and it's nagging. I'm going to need Kaleb Banks, so we might not play him (Sunday) for sure."
Woodson was also asked this thoughts on whether or not his team is better than the preseason rankings indicate: "Only time will tell. I don't care about rankings. You've got to play the games. We'll start here soon and get a feel for where we are and where we need to continue to grow. You're talking about 10 new faces and six guys who came from a different program. Only time will tell. We've just got to play the game."
According to Woodson, the most recent scrimmage was the best his team has looked so far, as "Both the red and white teams really went after it." Woodson also said it may be an exhibition game, but it's "still very important for our ball club."
It's not always easy to do, but fans should be a little patient at first with this squad. It may take some time to work things out and find their new identity.
Indiana fans will get their first look at this team on Sunday at 1PM at Assembly Hall or on BTN+.
Catch the entire Woodson interview on our Youtube Channel HERE.
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