Hoosiers Now

Former Northwestern Shooter Miller Kopp Commits to Indiana

Miller Kopp was one of the best-shooting forwards in the Big Ten the past few seasons, and now the 6-foot-7 junior is transferring from Northwestern to Indiana. He'll have two years of eligibility remaining.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Mike Woodson and his coaching staff continued to add talent to Indiana's roster on Tuesday morning when former Northwestern forward Miller Kopp committed to the Hoosiers.

Kopp is considered one of the best perimeter shooters in the transfer portal. The 6-foot-7 junior from Houston made 122 three-pointers during his three years at Northwestern. His best season was as a sophomore, when he shot 39.6 from three and 89.7 percent from the free throw line. 

"Coach Woodson sees my potential as a versatile player and he has a plan for my development," Kopp told ESPN. "With the NBA experience and the respect he has around the game, I was curious to at least hear him out. And, obviously, Indiana has such amazing history and basketball culture which was appealing to me because I'd played against them for three years."

Kopp averaged 11.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season, a difficult one for the Wildcats, who were 9-15 overall and 6-13 in the Big Ten. They won their first three games – including a win at Bloomington over Indiana where Kopp was 3-for-4 from three and scored 13 points – but then lost 13 games in a row before winning their final three. No Big Ten team had ever done that before.

Kopp will have two years of eligibility at Indiana. He picked the Hoosiers over Oregon State, Texas A&M, Utah, USC, Creighton, South Carolina, New Mexico, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Wichita State, DePaul, Oklahoma State and Xavier.

A sturdy 6-foot-7 forward, Kopp is an effective shooter coming off screens and can score at all three levels. He should be even more effective with Northwestern's plodding, slow-moving offense now in his rear-view mirror.

"I think the Big Ten will see a different player," he said. "Someone who's a versatile player offensively and more than a shooter. Playing in the open court, playing in ball screens and more swagged up overall, to be frank."

Woodson and his staff have been busy acquiring talent. They've received commitments from Xavier Johnson (Pitt) and now Kopp out of transfer portal, and got a huge commitment from standout Class of 2021 guard Tamar Bates on Monday. 

Kopp has been impressed with Woodson during this recruiting process.

“He obviously is super confident,'' Kopp told InsideTheHall. "He’s super confident in himself and the staff. I picked up on that from our first conversation. He had a lot of energy and was really amped up about talking to me. Just being able to talk to me for the first time, I could feel that. 

"As far as his recruiting style, I don’t think it’s a recruiting style. I think he’s real. He’s straight up with you, which I appreciate. He knows I can help him and I know that he can help me. That symbiotic relationship is exciting for me.”

Four Indiana players who had been in the transfer portal after coach Archie Miller was fired on March 15 – Race Thompson, Khristian Lander, Parker Stewart and Jordan Geronimo –have also returned to Indiana. The Hoosiers have lost three players, Armaan Franklin (Virginia), Joey Brunk (Ohio State) and Al Durham (Providence). Woodson also convinced ''the big fella'' Trayce Jackson-Davis to come back for his junior year. Jackson-Davis has been Indiana's leading scorer and rebounder the past two seasons.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

  • TAMAR BATES COMMITS TO INDIANA: Four-star guard Tamar Bates, a top-50 player on many national recruiting sites, has committed to Indiana after being released from his letter of intent at Texas. CLICK HERE
  • HUNTER THRILLED TO RETURN: Indiana assistant coach Kenya Hunter was hired by Archie Miller last season, but he's really excited to be sticking around and working for Mike Woodson at Indiana. CLICK HERE
  • ROSEMOND HIRED: Indiana completed its coaching staff of Wednesday when Yasir Rosemond was hired Mike Woodson's third assistant coach. CLICK HERE
  • FIFE, WOODSON ATTACHED AT HIP: Mike Woodson and Dane Fife both have deep love for the Indiana basketball program, and even though they're from two different generations, they and bonded by one similar trait. CLICK HERE
  • JOEY BRUNK WILL NOT RETURN: After missing all of last season due to injury, redshirt senior Joey Brunk enters the transfer portal and will not play with the Hoosiers in 2021-22. CLICK HERE
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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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