[AC Radio] The State of the Program
Join us on Thursday evening for this week's AC Radio. We'll preview IU-Maryland, dip in to the mailbag, and have that macro conversation about the state of the program in Year 3 under Mike Woodson.
AC Radio is back tonight at 9 ET.
We’ll discuss Trey Galloway’s surge as a play-maker, preview IU-Maryland, answer some great mailbag questions, and spend time in Segment 2 analyzing the current state of the program under Mike Woodson. There has been some good, there has been some bad, and it appears IU faces a fork-in-the-road moment with their legendary-player-turned-coach.
What is this “watch page”?
This page is an example of the new “watch pages” we are posting here on our Substack for new episodes of The Assembly Call and Doing The Work.
The goal is to make sure you have everything in one easy place to watch, comment, and share.
We’ll typically pin these posts to our homepage around the time the shows go live, so you can always just go to assemblycall.com if you want to quickly find the live page.
This week’s show
On mic this week: Andy, Ryan, Coach, and (hopefully) Jerod
Watch on our YouTube channel below. (Open the link in YouTube to to see a replay of the ChatMob alongside the show.)
Thank you to our sponsors
We appreciate the support of our sponsors who help make our continued coverage of Indiana basketball possible.
Presenting sponsor: Homefield Apparel (promo code HOME23 for 15% off your first order)
Promotional partner for Meaningful Moment: Hoosier Ticket Project
Promotional partner for Inside the Numbers: Megan Mahaffey’s JacksonHewitt franchise locations in and around Bloomington
Game Ball sponsor: Bloomington Environmental (mention Assembly Call for a free radon test kit and mitigation estimate)
Hoosier Hustle Award sponsor: Security Pro 24/7 (formerly Evansville Security Services)
Subscribe to The Assembly Call
Subscribe to The Assembly Call podcast for free at any of the following places:
Search for “assembly call” wherever you listen to podcasts. If you don’t find us, email Jerod.
No team in any sport gets anywhere by continuous coaching changes. That being said I think it is very true that this program was carried by TJD, Race & Kopp the last 2 years. While not Woody's guys, he recruited them to stay which is also important. My issue with Woody is not only the wins & losses this year. I've been a skeptic from the get-go on his ability and willingness to use the bench. Woody's "system" thrives with ball-hawking defense. And our D was pretty darn good the last two years but has taken a step back. One could argue XJ would've amped that up a bit. But ALL programs have injuries & you have to play the bench to account for it. Early this season I thought the subs coming in brought juice, fire and grit to the floor. It was a much more athletic rotation with Walker, Gunn and Banks in the mix. Certainly not flawless, but they contributed against some good teams. This team has problems scoring and one way to overcome that is to hit 70+% of your FTs and get easy shots in transition. This team does neither. I'm also very concerned about the coaching staff. They can surely recruit, but can they coach? Are they allowed to coach? It doesn't seem so nor does it seem to be a happy staff. I haven't seen Cheaney smile all season. Something is missing. My answer whether to keep him or not is dependent on how long his contract is. If the AD was smart he would've set up a mutual extension after a 4 yr. deal. We shall see.... One thing is for certain: Duke, Auburn, Houston, Kansas, UConn and others continue to rise to the top every single year. We used to be THAT kind of program. But sadly, we are not anymore which pains me.
I am in the camp that Woodson should stay as I think the past 2 years were successful with what he has done. I do think losing Johnson this season for the most part really did hurt and I think Newton may have played a role this season as well. Yes I think Woodson took a gamble and loss on recruiting for this season as I just wonder how not getting Love here (went to AZ) as he went all in on him and the grades were not there. I also think Woodson's coaching style is too laid back but that's me. I do think he has developed some of his players, Ware has done a lot and compared to last season I don't think anyone thought that. Reneau is becoming a monster and next season will just be smarter and bigger, Mgbako needs another season but I think Woody knows what to do with him. Where we are still lacking for next season is a "vocal" floor leader. I do hope Galloway comes back but I just don't know if he's a leader, good solid player overall. Cupps will keep improving and Liam coming in will be a solid player and of course I think Newton will be ready. Get in the portal and find a solid playmaker and I would also put a coach on the bench that will focus on the fundamentals of the game. We have recruiters for the most part and we need coaches. I still find it amazing that we have Hulls and Cheney on the bench and we take make free throws and we have a couple of players who flat out have a terrible shooting approach.