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Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our player-by-player recap of the 2024-25 Indiana Hoosiers. Our player recaps continue with Kanaan Carlyle.
Carlyle (25 games): 4.0 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 28.9 FG% in 16.2 minutes per game.
Previously: Bryson Tucker
Viewed as one of the top available guards in the transfer portal last spring, Kanaan Carlyle arrived in Bloomington with significant expectations.
The 6-foot-3 guard from Atlanta averaged double figures as a freshman at Stanford and had a 31-point outing against Arizona that earned him national player of the week honors.
Mike Woodson and the IU coaching staff landed Carlyle from the portal last spring and paired him with Washington State transfer Myles Rice. The hope was Carlyle and Rice could beef up the program’s backcourt play after the Hoosiers spent the 2023-24 campaign with limited guard options.
Unfortunately, Carlyle did not live up to the preseason expectations. After beginning the season in the starting lineup, it didn’t take long for Carlyle to be replaced for good in the starting lineup by Trey Galloway.
Five of Carlyle’s first six games as a Hoosier were underwhelming. In IU’s season opener against SIU Edwardsville, he shot 0-for-4 and went scoreless in 24 minutes. He scored in double figures for the first of three times all season against South Carolina on November 16. In IU’s comfortable 87-71 win against the Gamecocks, Carlyle shot 5-for-9 from the field and knocked in a pair of 3-pointers. But he followed that up with just nine points over IU’s next three games and shot 2-for-12 on 3s in those contests.
After missing the final game against Providence at the Battle 4 Atlantis and subsequent home games against Sam Houston State and Miami (OH), Carlyle returned against Minnesota on December 9. He scored a season-high 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench in the win, including a 3-for-6 mark from distance.
The production against Minnesota, however, proved to be an anomaly. Beginning with the Nebraska game on December 13 through IU’s blowout loss to Illinois on January 14, Carlyle scored 27 points and shot 3-for-23 on triples over an eight-game span.
The final notable performance for Carlyle came against Ohio State on January 17 at Value City Arena. He logged 36 minutes off the bench and finished with 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting. It was his final double-figure scoring game of the season. Over the season’s final seven games, Caryle went scoreless three times and he never logged more than 17 minutes.
It’s hard to make any argument that Carlyle should have had a larger role on Woodson’s fourth IU team. In fact, he may have been given too long of a leash this season. He shot a dismal 33.8 percent on 2s and 24.3 percent on 3s and had an offensive rating of just 81.1, by far the lowest of IU’s rotation regulars.
His assist rate dropped significantly from his first season at Stanford – from 19.6 percent to 12.8 percent – and his tendency to take long 2s made him a liability on offense. He rarely got to the rim or the foul line, either. Carlyle attempted 14 free throws all season, connecting just six times.
The one plus Carlyle offered was his ability to heat up the ball defensively. His ball pressure was disruptive when he was engaged defensively, but that alone wasn’t enough to earn him a more regular role.
Bottom line: Despite the preseason expectations, Carlyle’s lack of efficiency relegated him to the bench as the season progressed. He shot the ball poorly to start the season and never found his touch and his confidence suffered as a result. Carlyle has two seasons of eligibility remaining, and with the coaching change, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he explored his options in the transfer portal.
Quotable: “I’m perfectly fine with coming off the bench. I want to win games, whether it’s being the sixth man, eighth man, tenth man starting two guard, I don’t care. As long as we win, I’m here to do my job, to play defense and provide what I can on offense. That’s it.” – Carlyle following Indiana’s win against Minnesota on Dec. 9.
Category: Commentary
Filed to: Kanaan Carlyle
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