It was a bittersweet moment in Assembly Hall on Mar. 8 as Indiana basketball wrapped up their 2024-2025 regular season.
This was also the senior day game, during which the seniors and head coach Mike Woodson were recognized for their work. Let’s take a look at this year’s seniors and their accomplishments throughout their collegiate careers.
Anthony Leal
Many have labeled Anthony Leal a hometown hero, as he grew up in Bloomington and played here for his entire high school and collegiate career. In 2020, Leal graduated from Bloomington High School South and was named the 2020 Indiana Mr. Basketball. He also became Bloomington South’s all-time leading scorer and finished his senior season averaging 18.5 points.
To say that Leal has been a massive asset to Indiana this season would be an understatement. While he only averages 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game this season, defense is where Leal shines. Throughout the 2024-25 season, his man-to-man defense has been consistent and challenging to get past, and oftentimes, it is the X-factor for Indiana. When watching Leal both on and off the court, it is evident that he cares about winning and always plays with remarkable effort and intensity.
He also exhibits immense leadership on and off the court. He keeps things running smoothly and uses his veteran skills to calm down the Hoosiers when they are put in intense situations.
Leal was named Academic All-Big Ten for his sophomore, junior, and 2023-24 senior seasons. In 2024, he was also on the NABC Honors Court.
On Indiana basketball’s senior day this past Saturday, Leal was the only player to give an in-person speech in Assembly Hall. With gratitude and emotion, he looked over to his teammates and stated,
“And to my teammates, you guys know we aren’t done yet. We’ve got a lot of work to do and many goals to accomplish, but let’s stick together; let’s keep working.”
Fans in Assembly Hall were extremely excited to hear this comment from Leal, especially with the game that afternoon being the last regular season game of the season and with hopes that the recent 66-60 win over Ohio State would continue to lead the Hoosiers closer to a ticket to the NCAA tournament.
Trey Galloway
Trey Galloway also played his entire high school and collegiate career in Indiana. In 2020, Galloway graduated from Culver Academies. While in high school, he led his team to a state championship in his junior year, was named to the Indiana All-Star team, and set a school scoring record of 1,537 points.
Galloway has had an incredible collegiate career with the Hoosiers. This season, he is averaging 8.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. As Indiana’s lineup changed many times throughout the season, Galloway’s leadership on the court stayed consistent. He has proved time and time again that he does not necessarily need to be relied on for a bucket to have a considerable impact, as his ability to read the court and move the ball has been vital for Indiana.
For the 2021-22 season, Galloway was awarded Academic All-Big Ten. After the 2023-24 season, during which he served as Tea Captain, he was a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honoree and was also fifth in the Big Ten in assists (4.6) and 10th in assist/turnover ratio (2.17).
In a press conference after their win over Ohio State on Saturday, Galloway liked where this team was going into the postseason. Galloway stated,
“The seasons are always so long, and there are times when things look the worst and look like everything isn’t going your way, and then there are times when you feel like you’re on top of the world. And so, the good team can balance that and stay even-keeled. We’ve done a great job of that recently. To be able to bounce back from big wins or big losses. We weren’t doing that earlier in the seasons, and now we’re starting to figure that out, and it’s helping us, and we’re winning games. So we just gotta stick with that and be ready to go ’cause, I mean, we’re not done yet. That’s a big win, but we’re going to the Big Ten tournament, so we must focus on that.”
Even though his time at Indiana University is ending, Galloway is not stepping on the brakes anytime soon, and fans can expect to see him continue to excel throughout the rest of March.
Oumar Ballo
Oumar Ballo grew up in Koulikoro, Mali, where he served as a football goalkeeper. He was encouraged by his mother and brother to focus on basketball. Ballo began his collegiate career at Gonzaga, playing in all 24 games as a redshirt freshman.
In 2021, Ballo transferred to Arizona, where he played until the 2024 season. He was awarded Pac-12 Man of the Year during his first season at Arizona. The following season, he was named All-Pac-12 First Team, Pac-12 Most Improved Player of the Year, Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention, Pac-12 All-Tournament Team, and Maui Invitational Most Outstanding Player. He was a starter in all 35 games this season. The following year, Ballo was again named All-Pac12 First Team, Pac-12 All-Defensive Team, and Pac-12 All-Tournament Team in all 36 games.
During his time at Arizona and Gonzaga, Ballo accumulated 1,273 points, 867 rebounds, 109 assists, 76 steals, and 140 blocks in his 132 career games. He won eight conference championships in the Pac-12 and West Coast Conferences. He also held a record of 112-20 games. He inserted himself into Indiana’s starting lineup as a key offensive and defensive player. By the end of the regular season, Ballo led the team in average points, rebounds, and blocks throughout the 2024-2025 season. He averaged 13.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.
Luke Goode
Luke Goode is another Indiana native on this squad. Goode graduated from Homestead High School in 2021, played at Illinois for three seasons, and is now back in Indiana to finish his collegiate career. Well, whether or not this was Goode’s last season is still in question, but even if his time at Indiana lasted only this one year, he has had an incredible impact on this program.
During his time in Illinois, Goode assembled 314 points, 200 rebounds, 41 assists, and 85 3-pointers in his 76 games as a Fighting Illini. He was a CSC Academic All-District honoree and named Academic All-Big Ten 2x.
Goode averaged 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game this season as a Hoosier. After transferring from Illinois to come home, Goode has been a critical asset to this year’s Indiana team. Goode averaged 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in his final Illinois season. His little time back in the Hoosier state has not stopped him from gaining some incredible chemistry with the team and players who have been around this program for a while. This chemistry has also been vital to the team’s success this season and will continue to be important as they move into tournament play.
This is to say that Goode left the door open for a potential fifth year of collegiate basketball. In the 2022-23 season, while he was still playing at Illinois, he only played in ten games and could potentially receive a medical hardship waiver under the approval of the NCAA. While many factors will weigh into the decision, there is still a possibility that Goode will return for the Hoosiers next season.
Mike Woodson
Head coach Mike Woodson has undoubtedly built his legacy at Indiana. His collegiate career began in 19, playing under the legendary Bob Knight. In 1979, Woodson led the Hoosiers to the NIT Tournament victory. This year, he was also named the first All-Big Ten team. During Woodson’s senior year, he willed the Hoosiers to a conference title and the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. He was named the 1980 Big Ten Player of the Year. In Indiana basketball history, Woodson is ranked fifth all-time in total points and tied for second in average points per game (19.8).
Woodson’s high school coach doubted whether he should play at Indiana. However, Woodson felt at home there, thanks to Knight.
“I felt like I was playing for the best coach in the country at that time,” Woodson said.
After finishing at Indiana, Woodson was drafted by the New York Knicks. During his 11 seasons in the NBA, Woodson also played for the New Jersey Nets, Kansas City / Sacramento Kings, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, and Cleveland Cavaliers. He made 13 NBA playoff appearances during five post-seasons.
He served on the coaching staff as the assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks. In 2004, he was the head coach for the Atlanta Hawks, where he coached for six years. He brought them to the playoffs in his last three seasons and had 206 career wins, marking the fourth-best in Hawks franchise history. After his time as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks, Woodson took on the head coach role, where he spent three seasons. He made it to the playoffs twice and secured an Atlantic Division title during this time.
When Woodson returned to Bloomington as the head coach of Indiana basketball, he added to the mark he had already made on the program. On Mar. 28, 2021, Indiana University Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Dolson gave Woodson the 30th head coach role.
Woodson has brought the Hoosiers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances during his first two years as a coach in the program. This was the first time the Hoosiers had done so since 2015 and 2016. Woodson led Indiana to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals in both of his first two seasons.
He has brought on some incredibly talented players. Under his coaching, Trayce Jackson-Davis was named Consences First Team (Associated Press, NABC, The Sporting News, USWBA). He also had seven All-Big Ten Selections. Jalen Hood-Schifino (2023) and Mackenzie Mgbako (2024) were named Big Ten Freshman and Co-Freshman of the Year.
Jalen Hood-Schifino, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Kel’el Ware were drafted to the NBA.
Woodson reflected on the senior day win against Ohio State in the postgame press conference,
“It’s a very emotional game. You know, I think back to 1980, playing this same team for the Big Ten Title. That’s the only thing that was going through my head throughout the day, and I wanted it so much for these seniors to win because I knew how special that night was for me and my senior year, and walking off that floor as a Big Ten Champion. We still have an opportunity to win the Big Ten Tournament. Just like the other 14 teams that will be in it. That’s all I’m thinking about at this point. You know, nothing else.”
Senior Ceremony Recognitions
In addition to these seniors and Woodson, Indiana basketball also recognized seniors Jaden Bobbett, Shaan Burke, Langdon Hatton, and Jackson Creel, as well as senior managers Luke Macklin, Caden Rautenkranz, Will Matchett, Sam Couper, Jacob Lutz, Nate Hardy, Zane Shewmaker, Hunter Rice, and Boomer Hornbeck.