Logan Duncomb was pleased with the hire of Mike Woodson as Indiana’s basketball coach from the beginning and figured the only way he wouldn’t be coming to Bloomington was if Woodson told him straight up that he wouldn’t be a good fit for his system.
Not surprisingly, Woodson didn’t say that. What Duncomb expected to hear from Woodson is what he heard, and so the 6-foot-9 center from Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller High School remains committed to Indiana as the lone signee in the Class of 2021.
“Unless something drastic were to happen, I don’t know, something I was not expecting, but as of now I plan on coming to IU,” Duncomb said. “I like what coach Woodson has in place.”
Duncomb said he’s a big fan of what Woodson tells him about his style of play and how he might fit in with that. He needs to work on his game some to make himself fit it perfectly, but he was hoping to develop his game in that way anyway.
Woodson will likely want him to make more plays in space, but that was his hope anyway. He was 0 for 3 from beyond the arc at Archbishop Moeller this season, though he averaged 13.9 points and 9.2 rebounds and shot over 60 percent from the field.
“Offensively, he wants to run a four-out one in with a big who is mobile and can hit a jump shot or a 3, but also be able to finish inside,” Duncomb said. “I believe I can do that. I’ve been working on my 3-point shot all last year and I’m continuing to do so now.”
Woodson also wants bigs who can handle multiple defensive assignments and be prepared to switch when necessary. Duncomb has shown some capacity for that and he registered 28 blocks and 21 steals last season.
“Defensively he wants players who can guard up to three positions,” Duncomb said. “For me, that would mean the 5, 4 and the 3. I think I can already do that. I’m pretty athletic. That’s another thing I have to work on is my lateral movement to be able to stick with a fast 3.”
Duncomb said he also likes Woodson’s approach to coaching. Woodson told him he’s willing to be blunt to get his point across, and that was what Duncomb wanted to hear.
“He’s not going to butter you up or anything,” Duncomb said. “He’s just going to be straightforward with you. He’s not going to blow smoke up your butt or anything like that. He’ll be really direct with you, black and white, and he’s going to push you and be direct with you so that I and my other teammates can eventually get to the next level, which is the NBA. He’s not going to let you become complacent by saying you’re having such a good season, yada, yada, yada. He’s going to push you to go that one step forward so you can be dominant, not just at this level, but hopefully the NBA.”
Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no additional cost to you.