IU basketball takeaways: The freshmen look really good, intriguing depth and 3-point hope

BLOOMINGTON — Following IU’s second exhibition win, Mike Woodson gave a rational answer when asked about how his team stacks up heading into the regular season: “We've got a lot of work on our hands still, you know what I mean?” he said. "I mean, the real thing starts Monday.”

Indeed, it does. IU hosts Morehead State on Monday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in the Hoosiers' regular-season opener after two preseason warm-ups, which were mostly good.

Insider: IU's second unit looks as good as advertised... maybe better.

On Saturday, the Hoosiers rolled past Marian 78-42. Thursday, they took down St. Francis 104-59. Here are some thoughts and observations from our first glimpses of the 2022-23 Hoosiers.

Indiana displays elite defense

Defense was IU's foundation last season. Perhaps it was somewhat surprising how advanced it was in Woodson’s first year. IU put together two really strong defensive performances in the exhibitions, albeit against lower-division opposition. Marian shot 24.6% from the field and St. Francis shot 32.4%. If IU can pair a defense similar to last season with an improved offense, it would be a notable development.

Really good 3-point shooting? Really good 3-point shooting.

This should make IU fans happy. IU’s collective struggles to shoot efficiently from beyond the arc have been a recurring issue in recent history.

But in these two exhibitions, IU has shot the ball from 3 well. Really well. It shot 42.1% from deep against Marian. Then 36.8% from deep against St. Francis. Not only that but there were a variety of contributors. On Thursday, Miller Kopp and Jalen Hood-Schifino shot a combined 5-of-5 from deep. Against Marian, Race Thompson hit three 3’s — a very welcomed sign — and Trey Galloway and Jordan Geronimo each added one.

Good 3-point shooting opens up so many doors for IU. Driving lanes for players like Hood-Schifino and Xavier Johnson. Room for Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis to work inside. If the wild cards shooting-wise can be efficient — like Geronimo and Galloway — it will likely make a world of a difference offensively.

Jalen Hood-Schifino, Malik Reneau are legit

The freshmen from Montverde Academy are legit. I’m intrigued to see them play against better competition. That being said, they’ve been pretty darn impressive so far given the sample size. Hood-Schifino's stats Thursday: 15 points, 6-of-8 from the field, 3-of-3 from deep, five assists, two rebounds, one turnover. Very good. Malik Reneau's stats Thursday: 15 points, 7-of-8 from the field, eight rebounds, four assists, zero turnovers. Also, very good.

More:Malik Reneau gives IU a big man for the modern game and potential star of the future

In various ways, this duo looks far more advanced than your normal freshmen. Physically, they are extremely mature — which should bode well in a physical league like the Big Ten. They each also seem to have a certain poise about them.

Then, there are the impressive skillsets. Consider these plays. Hood-Schifino, in transition, loops the ball behind his back like a magician, scooping it up with his right hand for two. Reneau, listed at 6-9, in isolation, doing a behind-the-back dribble into a step-back jump shot. Butter.

Simply put, these two can change the game for IU. Again, it’s going to be interesting to see how it translates to better competition. For example, I look back at The Bahamas more than a year ago. Tamar Bates looked really good then, but ultimately endured a rocky freshman season. Not saying that will be the case with these two, but it’s worth noting there could be growing pains.

Depth + an intriguing lineup

Indiana had 52 bench points on Thursday. Bates and Geronimo each had 10. Reneau had 15. There were times last season when IU’s second unit was a strength. There were other times when it was a weakness. If guys like Reneau and Bates can play up to their potential, it could help make that group very dangerous. Those two, it seems, would start on a good amount of Big Ten teams. IU’s depth could be used to wear down teams.

To the depth point: there was an especially intriguing lineup in the first half. Hood-Schifino, Bates, Galloway, Geronimo and Reneau. Out of that group, Hood-Schifino was the only one to start Thursday. But this lineup is so intriguing for these reasons. There is a lot of youth. There is a lot of athleticism. There is a lot of versatility. They performed very well. It feels like this is one of those high-ceiling lineups that could become lethal if the puzzle pieces fit together.

Logan Duncomb, CJ Gunn make cases for playing time

A relevant storyline entering this season is how the pieces around Jackson-Davis will perform. The star has carried a substantial burden of production during the past two seasons. Beyond those already mentioned, who are some potentially overlooked players that could provide a lift?

Logan Duncomb and CJ Gunn have made cases to crack the rotation.

Duncomb sat out Thursday’s exhibition due to illness. But against Marian, he looked really good — scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. IU’s frontcourt could get really deep if he’s able to produce even half of that per game. This, too, is another case of whether he can do it against better competition. It’s one thing to do it against Marian. It’s another thing to do it against Armando Bacot or Hunter Dickinson.

IU could also use a 3-and-D skillset off the bench, perhaps to play somewhere around 10-15 minutes per game, and bring a spark of energy. Gunn, who came in with significantly less hype nationally than Hood-Schifino and Reneau, had some nice moments during the exhibitions. He had energy defensively and shot a combined 3-of-8 from 3 during those two contests.

Should we be worried about Xavier Johnson right now? No.

The up-and-down performances of Xavier Johnson were a hot topic last season. Johnson started off the season inconsistently but played terrific basketball down the stretch. IU seemed to go largely as he went.

Johnson’s two exhibition performances were underwhelming. He looked much closer to the early-season version than the late-season version. He was 2-for-11 from the field against Marian. He had three turnovers and four fouls against St. Francis.

“Well, I told Xavier after the game, you don't have to do it all this year,” Woodson said. “You really don't. I think we got enough pieces on this team that you can just do your part and not have to stress out about thinking you have to do everything. And that was my words to him because there's going to be nights X is going to really, really explode offensively and have big games, and there's going to be nights that might not happen. But he's still got to be Xavier Johnson for us.”

Maybe being “Xavier Johnson for us” might look a little bit different than last season. Johnson carried a bulk of the ball-handling and facilitating duties for IU last season. This season there might be less pressure on him to do so. For instance, Hood-Schifino can create shots for others. Perhaps an improved Bates can do the same. Perhaps a healthy Galloway, too.

To that point, I’m not worried about Johnson. If there’s a time to get the struggles out of the way, it’s in the exhibition games. Consistency will be key for Johnson this season. Riding out lows — like the past two exhibitions — will be important. We saw what he was capable of toward the end of last season. Two subpar exhibitions shouldn't change his ceiling.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU basketball: What we learned from Hoosiers' exhibition games