For a three week stretch in the middle of March, Indiana basketball's 2024 recruiting class sat empty.
Following top-20 recruit Liam McNeeley's early March decommitment, Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers were left with a 2024 high school class void of any players.
A few weeks after McNeeley's decommitment, Woodson landed the pledge of a five-star forward in the form of Bryson Tucker, giving the Hoosiers something from the 2024 class
While Tucker is the lone member of Indiana's 2024 high school recruiting class, Woodson and his staff managed to bring in one of the top incoming transfer classes in the country this offseason to retool the Hoosiers ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Nonetheless, Woodson's lack of success recruiting within the 2024 high school class has many IU fans concerned about Woodson's ability to recruit high school guys.
Are Woodson's shortcomings during this last recruiting cycle a sign of things to come for Indiana, or will the Hoosiers' head coach redeem himself with a strong 2025 high school class.
As part of a mailbag, Rivals Basketball Recruiting Director Rob Cassidy answers the question: "Can Indiana redeem it’s 2024 recruiting class efforts with a nice 2025 class or will (Mike Woodson) embarrass himself again and whiff on all of his priority targets?"
From Cassidy: The 2024 cycle obviously didn’t end the way Indiana fans wanted, but I know a lot of programs that would take the “embarrassing” haul Mike Woodson managed to collect this offseason. That said, the answer to your question depends almost entirely on how this season shakes out.
Losing five-star commit Liam McNeeley to UConn late in the cycle last year was a direct result of the hit Mike Woodson's public perception and job security took by his limp to the finish last year. It was also a microcosm of the biggest issue that faces Indiana recruiting today. In talking to prospects, it’s clear they are impressed by Woodson’s NBA pedigree and ability to put players in the draft. They also seem to enjoy being around him.
The catch these days is his short leash at IU. Everyone that has paid even a shred of attention to Indiana basketball knows how hot Woodson’s seat will become if he manages to miss the NCAA tournament for a second consecutive year.
Conversely, Woodson starts to look pretty good if this season goes as planned and the Hoosiers qualify for the NCAA tournament for the third time in four seasons, a feat the program has accomplished just once since 2008.
I truly believe Indiana has a legitimate shot to land Braylon Mullins, Jalen Haralson and Bryson Tiller if the ship appears to be righting itself this season. If not, the conversation about what’s next will become difficult to say the least. It certainly feels like the next year of Indiana recruiting is all about the program staying out of its own way. Nobody is expecting a national title in 2025. Instead, simple marked improvement could yield major spoils on the trail.
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