On Wednesday afternoon, Indiana issued a press release with the headline: “(Liam) McNeeley named high school All-American.”
In a season full of not-so-good news for the program, sharing a forward-looking, positive story about the program’s lone signee in the class of 2024 made perfect sense.
With its head coach under pressure amidst an underwhelming season, Indiana saw an opportunity to highlight how things could get better next winter by pointing to the future with a McDonald’s All-American in McNeeley, who is having one of the best seasons of any high school player.
A little more than a day later – after news broke that Mike Woodson would be back for a fourth season – McNeeley asked for his release from his National Letter of Intent.
It’s not unreasonable to conclude Indiana didn’t see this news coming.
If they had, it’s unlikely McNeeley’s stats this season – 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals per game and 46 percent 3-point shooting for the nation’s best high school team – would have been shared in a release touting his selection as a Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy High School All American.
McNeeley’s decision to go elsewhere is a significant blow. He’s one of the nation’s premier shooters and shooting has long been a deficiency and sore spot for the fanbase under Woodson. Indiana now needs to hit multiple home runs in the portal this spring if the Hoosiers have any chance of turning things around next season.
With McNeeley’s choosing Thursday not to come to Bloomington, it’s fair to be concerned about IU’s recruiting strategy. Other than Mackenzie Mgbako in the spring of 2023, Indiana has not landed a commitment from a high school player in nearly two years. This season’s freshmen, Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton, committed to the Hoosiers in the fall of 2021. Prior to Mgbako, Indiana’s last commitment from a high school recruit was Malik Reneau in the spring of 2022. There have been plenty of swings and misses, particularly in the 2024 recruiting cycle when Indiana aimed for the nation’s top prospects and repeatedly missed.
And it’s more complex than finding success in the portal for Woodson, who now doesn’t have a single recruit signed in the class of 2024. The Hoosiers will be under tremendous pressure to retain several key pieces from this season’s roster. Not only does Woodson need to hit on multiple high-impact players in the transfer portal, but he…