Rivals' Rob Cassidy dishes on Mike Woodson, Indiana and local prospects
The excitement around the Indiana basketball program has been building ever since Mike Woodson took over the head coaching duties back in March.
The first-time college coach has an excellent coaching pedigree, however, with nearly 30 years coaching as a head coach or assistant in the NBA. He also spent 10 years as a player in the NBA.
Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy joined Indiana Sports Beat this week to discuss the impact Woodson has made in such a short time.
"When he got hired I was a bit worried about it but I'll tell you what put it to bed. Everyone knew he is a hell of a coach and has an NBA pedigree. There was no question that this guy can coach," Cassidy said. "I think some people questioned whether he wanted to recruit and the first thing he did was land Tamar Bates. That's not easy. That's not a battle where you walk in and win that battle.
"Winning that Tamar Bates battle was so important to show what this program is going to be under Mike Woodson."
Woodson not only landed top-30 prospect in Tamar Bates, he also landed commitments from transfers Xavier Johnson, Miller Kopp and Michael Durr. He also retained Logan Duncomb and CJ Gunn - previous commitments.
That on top of keeping players like Khristian Lander, Parker Stewart, Jordan Geronimo and Race Thompson who had all entered the transfer portal had people excited. He then topped it by getting All-American forward Trayce Jackson-Davis to return to IU for his junior year.
A big reason why is the development Woodson can provide. He not only played at the highest level, he coached as well and knows what it takes to reach the NBA and stay for a long time.
"A lot of these kids want a coach that has been where they want to go... Mike Woodson can point to those things," Cassidy added. "I've been out there with these kids all summer and if it's not the first it's the second thing they talk about."
With the recruiting dead period over, Indiana has hosted numerous players for campus visits over the first two weeks of June. This week, they are hosting two more players. In total, it's been six - four of which are official visits.
Later this month, Indiana will host additional 2022's for official visits and then numerous 2023's for unofficial visits. Some of those 2023 prospects that have either visited or will in the month were two players that didn't hold offers from Indiana.
"Xavier Booker made quite an impression for an Indiana kid out there. We were pretty high on going in and he boosts his stock exponentially," Cassidy said of Booker's play at the Pangos All-American Camp last week. "When you see Xavier you see the length and athleticism. He's become a much better shooter and he's all of 6-foot-10. He moves good enough on the perimeter when he's sucked out there too... once coaches get eyes on him out in July, you should see that offer list grow."
Booker plays for Cathedral (IN) high school and runs with George Hill All-Indy on the grassroots circuit. He has been a name on the rise this spring and is seeing his recruitment start to take off. He is slated for a late June visit to Indiana.
As for another player who Cassidy is high on, 2023 La Lumiere (IN) point guard Jeremy Fears arrived for his Indiana visit last week without an offer, but ended up leaving with an offer.
"He is one who needs to become a little more consistent. When he is good, he is great. But like anyone this age, he can coast sometimes... but I am high on him," Cassidy said of Fears. "He sees the court extremely well and the upside is definitely there. It's just about elimiating a few of those inconsistent games."
While the recruiting period has just started, Indiana has just about as much steam on the recruiting trail as any program in the country and Mike Woodson has been the main reason for it.
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