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The 2024-25 college basketball season is right around the corner.

On Wednesday, the Hoosiers held their annual Indiana Basketball Media Day, offering some insight into how the offseason has gone and what the team is expecting this upcoming season.

There's plenty to takeaway from various conversations with head coach Mike Woodson, as well as the players.

Below are my biggest takeaways from Wednesday's event.

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Two of Indiana's biggest additions this offseason came at the guard spot in the form of Washington State transfer Myles Rice and Stanford transfer Kanaan Carlyle.

The pair of quick, young guards figure to inject a new sense of life and tempo to the Hoosiers' offense this season. So far this summer, it's been the speed of Rice and Carlyle that has jumped off the page to those around them.

"We have guards now that are a lot quicker than we've had in the past," Woodson said. "[Xavier Johnson] was probably the quickest guard we've had since we've been here, but I think Myles [Rice] and Kanaan [Carlyle] bring a totally different look."

That totally different look involves a couple of different things for this Indiana team.

That starts with the Hoosiers now having multiple shifty and athletic guards that are capable of handling the ball and creating not only for themselves, but for others as well.

Last season, Rice averaged 14.8 points and 3.8 assists per game, while shooting 27.5% from 3-point range -- although Rice asserts that his 3-point percentage from deep is nothing to be concerned about.

Rice shot 35.5% from distance on 'unguarded' catch and shoot threes last season. It was an 0-22 stretch from late February to early March that tanked Rice's percentage from downtown a year ago.

"[Rice's] speed, it changes the game for us, along with Kanaan [Carlyle]" Woodson said, "and the fact that [Rice] can score the ball. We have a number of guys now that can make plays with the basketball. That helps you."

Carlyle is another guard that has no problem creating for himself off the bounce.

He averaged 11.5 points per game on 32.0% shooting from downtown. As is the case with Rice, there's reason to believe that Carlyle's 3-point shot will improve.

Carlyle shot 39.6% from distance on catch and shoot 3-pointers a season ago. A big reason for the Stanford transfer's low-ish percentage was the fact that 46.0% of Carlyle's 3-point attempts came off the bounce. He shot 21.7% on those looks.

Whether they play together, or their minutes are more staggered, Rice and Carlyle provide Woodson with two athletic, capable and modern guards to lead the back court throughout the upcoming season.

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A season ago, Indiana ranked bottom 10 in the country in 3-point attempts per game. The Hoosiers played a slow, methodical brand of basketball last year that wasn't necessarily appealing to the eyes.

However, entering the 2024-25 season, Woodson wants to change the way his team operates on the offensive end of the floor.

"We are a quicker team and I think that we can hopefully shoot the three-ball better and make free throws," Woodson said. "I'd like to play a little bit quicker this year, where we're not walking it up."

"I'd like to play a little bit faster on makes," Woodson added. "That's something we've been working on since we put this team together this summer."

That doesn't mean Indiana must completely go away from Oumar Ballo or Malik Reneau down low, but it does probably mean a little bit less two-big lineups -- something Woodson has been experimenting

"I'd like to get to some small ball this year," Woodson said, "where [Mackenzie Mgbako] and [Luke Goode] can play some four, and we can still be athletic enough out on the floor with one of the bigs to compete at a high level. We don't have to constantly pound the ball a lot, [we can] play some small ball and get up and down the floor some."

Despite Woodson's comments, it's important to remember that Woodson hinted at similar changes a season ago, changes that Indiana fans never saw come to fruition.

Only time will tell if Woodson and the Hoosiers are truly ready to break into the 21st century and play a quicker, more perimeter-oriented game.

The defensive side of the floor will always come first for Woodson, he's a defense-first guy.

Throughout the early stages of the summer however, it was the offense outpacing the defense. Now, as Woodson continues to implement his defensive philosophies, the Hoosiers' defense has caught up to the offense.

"I'm going to always preach defense because I truly believe that's what wins games," Woodson said. "I thought this summer, our offense was so ahead of the defense because we hadn't put of our things, from a defensive standpoint, in. Now that we're starting to put defense in, it's been a struggle for guys to really score."

Defense will always be the calling card for a Woodson-led Indiana team. A group with so much length and athleticism all around the floor has all the physical tools to be a great defensive team.

Malik Reneau came to Bloomington out of high school not expecting to play much on the perimeter.

He's a post player -- with great touch in and around the basket -- and up to this point in his career, he hasn't shown much of a perimeter game.

However, that could change this upcoming season, as Reneau appears poised to once again play a bulk of his minutes in tandem with another dominant interior presence in Arizona transfer Oumar Ballo.

"We've tried this summer to move [Reneau] away from the bucket a little bit and play inside and outside," Woodson said. "He's kind of held his own. His biggest challenge is going to be guarding smaller players at that position."

To combat Reneau's deficiencies guarding on the outside, the Hoosiers have had the Montverde product guarding smaller, quicker forwards Mackenzie Mgbako and Luke Goode throughout summer workouts.

Offensively, while Reneau has excelled on the interior throughout his career, he showed flashes of being able to extend his range to out beyond the 3-point line as a sophomore last season. Reneau shot 33.3% from distance last season on a small sample size, just 1.4 attempts per game.

If Reneau is able to improve his handle and knock down threes, the junior would be one of the biggest matchup nightmares in the Big Ten. That's probably an unrealistic ask for Reneau, but even a more consistent 3-point shot would do wonders to open up the Indiana offense.

Mackenzie Mgbako wrapped up his freshman season at Indiana with some hardware, winning Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year alongside Iowa's Owen Freeman.

In 33 starts as a true freshman last year, Mgbako averaged 12.2 points and 4.1 rebounds a contest. He shot 32.7% from 3-point range, consistently improving as the season wore on.

After a strong start to his collegiate career, Mgbako's head coach thinks he's found another level this offseason.

"He's played well this summer," Woodson said. "He's improved from last year. It took him some time [last season], which we thought it might take him some time. Once he started to figure out some things, he became a pretty good player for us. But this summer, he's made another jump, which I expected him to make that jump."

With a handful of creative guards around him, combined with the sophomore's growth on the court, Mgbako is a likely candidate to lead the Hoosiers in scoring this upseason.

Injuries are a big part of college basketball. Very rarely do teams make it through an entire season without picking up a key injury or two, and the 2023-24 Hoosiers were no different.

Between a couple of injuries -- and suspensions too -- Indiana's depth was tested last season.

While Indiana's depth pieces had their moments last season, the lack of overall depth Woodson had at his disposal a year ago played a large role in the Hoosiers' disappointing campaign. However, entering the 2024-25 season, Woodson believes he's got plenty of depth to work with.

"I wish I could play 12 guys, but that's just not the nature of this business in college basketball," Woodson said. "We are deep this year, so only time will tell. If I can play 10 guys, I'm going to play them and give everybody a shot to play."

"But they've got to produce," Woodson continued. "You just don't give minutes to be giving them. It's so competitive in practice right now that everybody's fighting to play, and I get it. That's how it should be."

Of the Hoosiers' back-end of the rotation options, a few guys have stood out this summer in the eyes of Woodson.

Sophomore Gabe Cupps was thrust into the fire last season, and he may now be reaping the rewards of being forced to grow up rather quickly. Meanwhile, true freshman Bryson Tucker has also had a strong summer showing with the Hoosiers.

"I'm not saying Gabe [Cupps] and Bryson [Tucker] won't play," Woodson said. "They've been very competitive since we've had them. Bryson has come in and shown that he belongs. I feel good about, when I turn over there and put somebody in the game, that they're ready to come in and produce."

What separates many of the contenders and the pretenders within the Big Ten is their depth. During a long and grueling Big Ten schedule, it's the teams that have guys off the bench they can trust that end up coming out on top.

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