Mike Woodson Calls Jakai Newton's Talent ‘Scary’ If He Can Get Healthy

The first Inside Indiana Basketball radio show was on Monday. Mike Woodson talked about his injured Hoosiers, the mix of lineups, coaching against Pat Knight and more.

Indiana Head Coach Mike Woodson answers questions from the media during Indiana basketball's media day at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – After Indiana’s men’s basketball team defeated Tennessee 66-62 in a charity exhibition game in Knoxville, Tenn. on Sunday, Indiana coach Mike Woodson hosted his first radio show of the season on Monday.

During the Inside Indiana Basketball Show, which takes place at Hoosier Hank’s East restaurant on College Mall Road in Bloomington, Woodson got on the topic of Indiana’s injured guards – Jakai Newton and Trey Galloway.

Newton, who arrived as freshman in the summer of 2023, has never played a game for Indiana. Slowed primarily by a knee injury, but with other injury-related setbacks along the way, the Georgia native has not had the chance to practice very much for the Hoosiers, much less play.

However, Woodson noted that Newton has shone brightly in the practice appearances he has been able to make.

“I tell you the times he's been out there, man, there’s been some bright spots,” Woodson told show host Don Fischer.

“He’s scrimmaged a couple of times with us and played extremely well. You could see the talent is there. I mean, it's, it's scary, it really is,” Woodson continued.

Unfortunately, Newton has not been able to get healthy enough to get on-track to get into the playing rotation yet.

“We can't seem to keep him healthy where he can practice every day and get through practice and feel good the next day,” Woodson said. “That’s going to be a challenge as we navigate the season. There's still enough pieces around them that we can wait on him until he's actually healthy.”

Woodson said that Newton has overcome a hamstring injury he had, but his knee, on which he had surgery in August 2023, is still bothersome.

That’s also true for Galloway. Indiana’s athletic training staff has been cautious as Galloway has recovered from offseason surgery to repair his meniscus. Galloway did not play at Tennessee on Sunday and did not take part in Hoosier Hysteria on Oct. 18.

“He practiced today. We'll see how he feels tomorrow. We have tomorrow off, but then we come back Wednesday and Thursday, and then we play Marian on Friday. I'm hoping that he's in uniform on Friday, playing a little bit,” Woodson said.

Galloway has played 108 career games for the Hoosiers, starting 66 games, including 56 in the last two seasons.

Woodson said Anthony Leal and Kanaan Carlyle were dinged up during the Tennessee game. Carlyle sat out Monday’s practice, but Woodson expressed confidence that both players should be OK going forward. Woodson did not provide an update on Bryson Tucker, who also missed the Tennessee scrimmage.

More highlights from Woodson’s radio show on Monday:

• Woodson noted that Malik Reneau, who had 21 points and 8 rebounds against Tennessee on Sunday, stood out the most among the individual Hoosiers. Woodson expects Reneau, a junior, to take a leap forward in his play. Same for sophomore Mackenzie Mgbako, who had 12 points against the Volunteers.

“Malik made a major jump last year from his freshman year, right? So you got to expect him to make another jump this year, along with Mackenzie as well, he made a hell of a jump as a freshman,” Woodson said.

• Woodson spoke again about playing a different style offensively in the 2024-25 season. He wants the Hoosiers playing faster, but he acknowledged that it could mean more turnovers. Woodson said he was pleased Indiana had three second-half turnovers and they had 10 giveaways in the opening half.

Woodson also elaborated on the different combinations he can put on the floor.

“There’s going to be nights where teams force you to really have to play small. You’re either going to have Ballo with four smaller guys. Are you going to have Malik and four smalls? Or (Langdon) Hatton and four smalls? Teams are going to force you to do that and I feel good about playing the way,” Woodson said.

Woodson said Indiana will take more 3-point shots. He said the Hoosiers didn’t show it when they took 19 against defensive-minded Tennessee on Sunday. Indiana was 4 of 19 from 3-point range after the Hoosiers missed their first 11 3-point attempts to start the game.

“In all of our scrimmages that we’ve charted, we’ve shot the three-ball extremely well and we’ve been putting up between 27-33 threes and we’ve been shooting 37%,” Woodson said.

• Woodson talked about coaching against Pat Knight, who will bring his Marian team to Bloomington at 7 p.m. on Friday for Indiana’s second exhibition contest. Knight played at Indiana and is the son of Bob Knight.

“Steve Downing, who was one of (Knight’s) first players, an All-American player, he’s the AD at Marian and he gave Pat an opportunity to come in and coach. That says a lot about our Hoosier family,” Woodson said.

• In a lighter moment, Woodson explained his Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees fandom. When the crowd was told he was a Cowboys fan, there was a disapproving murmur.

“Wait a minute, hold on! When I left Indiana, the Colts came to town, so I didn’t have a football team as a kid growing up. So the Cowboys were my team,” Woodson said.

He’s right. Woodson left the state of Indiana to begin his NBA career in 1980. The Colts didn’t move to Indianapolis until 1984.

When he revealed he was a Yankees fan, the boos were much louder.

“I never went to a baseball game until my rookie year in the NBA and I became a big Yankee fan because that was my first game,” Woodson explained. “They treated me to my first Yankee game where I got to throw it out (the first ball) and got to have dinner with Reggie Jackson after the game.”

• The next Inside Indiana Basketball show will take place on Nov. 18.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

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• INDIANA TO PLAY KANSAS IN 2027: Indiana will play Kansas in Las Vegas in the 2026-27 season. CLICK HERE.

• CUPPS HOPES BAPTISM BY FIRE PAYS OFF: Gabe Cupps got a lot of playing time in the 2024 season. He did well in some areas and needs improvement in others, but he hopes the baptism by fire pays off. CLICK HERE.