Since Indiana’s 2023-24 season came to an end, all of the focus turned to filling holes on the roster via the transfer portal.
But the Hoosiers have six players returning from last year’s squad, so it’s time to look back at how they performed, and the outlook for 2024-25.
Next up in the series is 6-foot-5 and 200-pound Anthony Leal, who is returning to IU for his fifth season with the program.
WHAT WENT WELL
After his minutes dropped to a career-low 2.1 per game in 2022-23, Anthony Leal was written off by most going into his fourth year at Indiana.
And it appeared not much would change 13 games into the 2023-24 season, until Mike Woodson was searching for answers in the second half against Kennesaw State. Why did Woodson put Leal in the game with his team down four well into the second half?
“He’s had a really great week of practice. After the break, he came back, and I thought his two days of practice, he deserved to play more. And I just decided to play him,” Woodson said. “And he gave us a hell of a spark when he came in. I mean, just from a defensive standpoint. He did a lot of things that we didn’t do early in that spot.”
The Bloomington native would go on to appear in a career-high 21 games off the bench.
He averaged career highs in points (2.4 per game), rebounds (2.1), assists (1.1), and minutes (14.7). He shot 44.4% (16-of-36) from the floor and 47.4% (9-of-19) from the 3-point line, both career bests. He posted a career-high 13 points in a home win over Iowa.
Oh, and Leal made game-winning shots at Ohio State and vs. Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament.
But his most memorable highlight came with a microphone in his hand, rather than a basketball.
On Senior Night, Leal stood behind Woodson, established the foundation for a now very promising 2024-25 season, and told the blustery portion of the fan base to relax — all in one fell swoop:
“There’s no other coach in the country that I would trust with anything in my life than coach Woodson,” Leal said. “There’s no other university that I would like to represent. We’re going to run it back, but you guys got to chill.”
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
It’s hard to nitpick Leal’s small sample size. He probably turns the ball over too much for his role, should shoot free throws better, and he can get hung up in some challenging defensive matchups on the perimeter.
But again, Leal probably didn’t play enough minutes to analyze the shortcomings of his performance in depth.
And if he had been surrounded by better guards last season, it seems reasonable to suggest Leal could have been even more impactful — and gotten more than 2.5 three-point attempts per-40 minutes. But if IU had better guards, would he have played…
KEY QUESTIONS FOR 2024-25
Obviously the biggest question for Leal is how much he’ll see the floor.
And that seems predicated at least in part on whether Leal can continue his promising trend as a shooter from last season. It’s clear his highest and best value on the offensive end comes as a floor spacer, and as catch-and-shoot wing.
With more dynamic, playmaking guards this season, there should be more open looks for players like Leal. But Mackenzie Mgbako is expected to start at Leal’s natural position, Indiana went and got Luke Goode via the transfer portal, they landed 5-star freshman wing Bryson Tucker, and Jakai Newton is expected to be healthy. And we didn’t even mention Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, Trey Galloway and Gabe Cupps.
PREDICTIONS
The extent of Leal’s disappearance as a junior was hard to see coming, and his emergence as a senior was even more unlikely.
This is the deepest team in Leal’s five seasons with the program, and he’s got serious competition from a host of players to see the floor.
It is difficult to predict a major role for Leal in his final season at IU. But it’s easy to say this — whenever he’s presented with an opportunity, Leal is going to be fully prepared and give maximum effort.
PREVIOUSLY IN THE SERIES
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