Mike Woodson Sees 2024 Signee Liam McNeeley Boosting Indiana's 3-Point Shooting

Indiana coach Mike Woodson is optimistic that the addition of five-star recruit Liam McNeeley will help the Hoosiers' 3-point shooting next season. "He really can shoot the basketball, and we don't really have that right now," Woodson said Monday on his radio show.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Though Indiana is preparing for a marquee nonconference game against Kansas on Saturday, coach Mike Woodson took a moment during the "Inside Indiana Basketball" radio show Monday night to look toward the future. 

Legendary Indiana play-by-play broadcaster Don Fischer asked Woodson about Indiana's lone high school commit in the 2024 class, five-star small forward Liam McNeeley from Montverde Academy.

"He's a winner," Woodson said. "He does all the necessary things on and off the floor, which you like. But I just like the fact that he competes, he likes to compete. He can shoot the ball, he can pass the ball, he handles the basketball. There's a lot of good, quality things he does on the floor, and we're fortunate enough to get him. 

McNeeley announced his commitment to Indiana on Oct. 15, and he signed his National Letter of Intent to the university on Nov. 8. Ranked No. 13 in the nation by ESPN, McNeeley had a long list of suitors, but his recruitment ultimately came down to Indiana and Kansas.

"Brian [Walsh] did a hell of a job in recruiting him," Woodson said. "And he made the commitment to come after a lot of schools were trying to get him."

Woodson thinks McNeeley will specifically help in an area that's been a weakness for his current team. In 12 games in NIBC high school play for Montverde as a junior in 2022-23, McNeeley, at 6-foot-8, shot an incredible 45.0% from three.

Indiana is shooting just 27.2% from 3-point range this season, which ranks 334th in the nation. Because of this, as well as talented bigs Kel'el Ware and Malik Reneau, the Hoosiers attempt a vast majority of their shots inside. Indiana ranks 360th in the nation with just 12.7 3-point attempts per game. Mississippi Valley State is the only Division I team that attempts fewer threes per game, 12.4.

With McNeeley, Woodson is optimistic that will change.

"I just think it's going to be a major plus for our program because he really can shoot the basketball, and we don't really have that right now," Woodson said. "So it's something missing that we needed, and we've got to continue to go out and find more guys that can make shots."

McNeeley became the third recruit out of Montverde Academy in Florida to commit to Indiana under Woodson. In the class of 2022, Indiana landed Jalen Hood-Schifino, the 2022-23 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the 17th pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 NBA Draft, as well as Malik Reneau, a current Indiana sophomore who's averaging 14.8 points this season. 

And similar to his past Montverde recruits, Woodson said McNeeley is college-ready from a physical standpoint.

"You don't have to bring him in and put 10-15 pounds on him," Woodson said. "I mean, his body is already – kind of like Malik [Reneau] was when we got him and Jalen [Hood-Schifino] when we got him. Their bodies were already in college form, you know, they've just got to learn the college game."

McNeeley is currently Indiana's only commitment in the class of 2024, but Woodson is also recruiting his teammate, Derik Queen, a five-star center from Montverde.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• JAKAI NEWTON LIKELY OUT FOR SEASON: Though Indiana coach Mike Woodson hasn't made an official decision yet, he said this Monday night in regards to freshman guard Jakai Newton: "Unfortunately he's not going to probably play this season because of the knee injury." CLICK HERE
• IU WAS BRUCE PEARL'S DREAM JOB: Auburn coach Bruce Pearl has an enormous amount of respect for the "blueblood Indiana basketball program,'' and he would have loved to coach there. “Indiana was my dream job, it really was. I love everything about Indiana basketball. The timing was never right, I suppose. Nothing ever really aligned, but it would have been a dream come true to coach Indiana. That's how much I love and respect that program.'' CLICK HERE
• GAME STORY: Indiana got off to a quick start but then completely fell apart in an ugly 104-76 loss to Auburn on Saturday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. They gave up 14 three-pointers and got pushed around all game, with Auburn dominating them in every phase. The Hoosiers are 7-2 now, but clearly can't hang with top-tier teams. CLICK HERE
• JACK ANKONY COLUMN: Auburn controlled Saturday’s game against Indiana with a deep and talented guard rotation that kept everyone fresh and able to score at every level. Indiana was missing its best guard, Xavier Johnson. The disparity was obvious. CLICK HERE