Indiana Bench Guys Make Huge Difference, With Mike Woodson Pushing Right Buttons

When Indiana needed a boost last Saturday against Nebraska, bench guys Anthony Leal and Tamar Bates delivered instant offense and the Hoosiers came back and won. So far, it's clear that Mike Woodson has a good feel for his roster, and is pushing all the right buttons in his rotation.

Tom Brew | Dec 8, 2021

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Mike Woodson has plenty of critical responsibilities as head coach at Indiana, and in his first year at the helm, there's still a lot to process.

"I'm still learning about them, and they're still learning about me,'' Woodson said. "It's all part of being new.''

Woodson has four decades of experience in the NBA as a player and a coach, and he's very adept at juggling lineups and rotations, and you can already tell that he has a good sense about him when it comes to pushing the gas and backing off.

He's let guys play through mistakes, but, thanks to having plenty of depth, he hasn't hesitated to use a quick hook too when he needs to.

Through Indiana's first eight game, Woodson has used the same starting lineup every night. That's been consistent, but the play of all five starters has not. And when he's turned to the bench, it's been different guys every night who have stepped up.

And what's been nice to see is that Woodson has been pushing the right buttons so far.

He can play Miller Kopp 48 minutes in a game at Syracuse and get 28 points out of him, and then know to get him off the floor for big stretches the next game when he struggled against Nebraska. Kopp played 24 minutes, and didn't score, going 0-for-5 from the field and committing four turnovers.

Woodson turned to freshman Tamar Bates early when the Hoosiers were down by double digits, and he immediately hit a three-pointer to start an Indiana run. He had 11 first-half points and helped the Hoosiers come back and win, playing great for 24 minutes himself.

That was after playing poorly at Syracuse, making just 1-of-5 shots and scoring only two points in 14 minutes.

Hit the right buttons, play the right feels. It's Woodson's job, and he's doing it well.

"I don't know if I've ever seen that, someone like Miller not making any shots (after scoring 28 points), but somehow I've got to run something for him against Wisconsin to get him going,'' Woodson said. "We've just got to help him. That's my job"

In the slow start against Nebraska, Woodson was patient with his lethargic starters — to a point. "I tried to let them play through it,'' he said. But when it continues for a few more minutes, he turned to his bench, and they delivered. The second unit, they've done that a lot this year.

"Their energy level was much higher than the guys that started the game," Woodson said. "Our second unit got us back in the game. We were so flat. I'm sitting here thinking 'how can this happen?' I haven't seen that before. That was probably the worst start since we've been a ballclub."

Indiana sophomore Anthony Leal was terrific off the bench too in that early run. He had a quick three-pointer, a steal and two assists — and provided an instant boost. It was much needed, and a bit of a surprise considering that Woodson had only played him in three games so far, a total of 24 minutes, mostly at the end of blowouts.

He had 12 productive minutes against Nebraska, and was a big reason why the Hoosiers rallied so quickly.

"I've been trying to find ways how to get him on the floor, and the starters kind of forced my hand with how I managed the rotation," Woodson said. "I thought he was terrific.''

For Leal, it's all about adapting to a new role and being ready to contribute at a moment's notice. Despite not playing much, the 2020 Indiana Mr. Basketball winner has remained confident and upbeat.

“I just try to stay consistent, keep doing my job every day, and just playing as hard as I can and try to make winning plays,'' Leal said Tuesday before the Hoosiers left for Madison for a Wednesday night game with Wisconsin. "I just focus on that, and trying to focus on every day just being the best version of myself that I can be.

“I feel like eventually all the work’s going to start paying off and slowly it has, so I’m excited to see where it keeps going,”

Leal understands how crowded Indiana's 13-man roster is. He knows his time might be limited, and he also knows that he has to be ready to give the Hoosiers a quick boost when he comes off the bench.

He even works on that in practice, sometimes going straight out on the floor and putting up three-pointers without warming up or getting loose, much like in a game.

“Most of it’s just mental and staying mentally locked in and prepared and trying to bring as much energy on the bench as I can, so that can translate onto the court whenever I get in,” Leal said. “That’ll kind of translate to how it would be in a game, where if I come off the bench and the first time in, I need to shoot the shot then I got to be ready to shoot, so that’s kind of my mentality.”

Woodson has tried to make the right calls at point guard too, where he's had to turn to the bench often because starter Xavier Johnson has been in foul trouble often. The Pitt transfer has played well, but ''he's sitting next to me too much.''

Senior guard Rob Phinisee has been first off the bench for Johnson, but he also missed three games with a calf injury and Woodson had to turn to ''young Khristian,'' sophomore point guard Khristian Lander.

He's played well in spots, but made some poor decisions in the Syracuse loss in overtime after both Johnson and Phinisee had fouled out. The next game out against Nebraska, Phinisee played 24 minutes off the bench — and Lander didn't see the court at all.

That, too, is all about feel for Woodson. Phinisee scored five points and was rock-solid defensively, something that shows up every night even when his offense doesn't. He also only had two turnovers in 24 minutes.

Woodson also has a quick hook when the bench guys aren't bringing much. Jordan Geronimo has been in a funk lately, and Woodson hasn't waited to sit him back down after turnovers or missed free throws. And he's limited Michael Durr's minutes as well as he slowly gets more comfortable with this group after minor knee surgery earlier in the fall.

Off the bench, it's typically going to be Bates who brings the spark. The true freshman brims with confidence, and that's been the case since he first arrived in Bloomington.

"He's a cocky kid, but in a really good way,'' Johnson said last week on the "Point Guard Podcast on HoosiersNow.com. "The first day he got here, he was talking. You can tell he's got a lot of confidence, but he's also understanding of the older guys and their roles as being leaders. But he speaks up, too. He doesn't mind that. And we like that. Scoop, he's a talker, but that's all good. We love having him around.''

Woodson loves that Bates is always in attack mode on offense. "He's figured out how to put the ball in the hole," he says of the long 6-foot-5 freshman from Kansas City, Kan. "The thing I'll say about Tamar, he's not scared of the moment. He'll take a big shot, and sometimes it's a bad shot, but hey, I'm not complaining.''

Bates wasn't the least bit bothered by his poor performance against Syracuse. He was right back in the gym the next day, putting up hundreds of extra shots. He's a five-star recruit for a reason, and he's going to be a big-time player at Indiana. He showed that against Nebraska, sparking that first Big Ten win.

And he'll show it a lot again.

"Shooters shoot, and I'm going to keep shooting the ball,'' Bates said. "I can miss 10 threes and I'm going to shoot the 11th one. It really doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t matter. We get reps every day. We work at it.

"For me, it's just all about staying confident, believing in myself and the fact that my teammates believe in me, and they are going to keep swinging it to me because I'm knocking it down. That makes me just want to make the shot because they believe in me the same way I believe in myself.''

Woodson hit a home run with his late recruitment of Bates to Indiana this spring. He's been a huge last-minute addition, and he's a perfect addition to this roster, both with his talent and his engaging, effervescent personality.

"I like everything about Tamar,'' Woodson said. "That's why he's here wearing an Indiana uniform.''

Related stories on Indiana basketball