BLOOMINGTON- Indiana basketball was happy to have Kanaan Carlyle back in the lineup Monday night in an 82-67 win over Minnesota.
Carlyle had his best game in a Hoosiers uniform with 14 points, including three 3-pointers and five assists after missing the team’s previous three games due to an undisclosed injury he suffered during of a defeat against Gonzaga during Battle 4 Atlantis.
Indiana coach Mike Woodson was happy to put Carlyle back in the mix after the sophomore passed Sunday’s practice without any issues.
It was her first full practice since IU’s trip to the Bahamas.
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“I feel good,” Carlyle said after the game. “It was just rehab treatment, a lot of shape shots, a lot of shots just to get my confidence back, my jump shot back. It feels good to perform like I did today and all the hard work is paying off.
That success came when Carlyle came off the bench for the first time this season.
The Stanford transfer started IU’s first six games and 16 of the 23 games he played in as a true freshman. Woodson didn’t commit to the lineup while Carlyle was sidelined, but he ultimately decided to keep Trey Galloway in the starting lineup.
“I picked Gallo because we had him starting and K-9 just came back and he didn’t take it personally,” Woodson said. “He just came in and did his job and someone needs to come off the bench.”
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Woodson ended up splitting minutes pretty evenly between Indiana’s backcourt, with Myles Rice, Galloway and Carlyle each playing over 20 minutes.
“I can’t start everyone and I don’t know if this lineup will stay the same, but the bottom line is he did his job helping us win our first Big Ten game,” Woodson said . “We’re going to need everyone, no matter who starts playing at a high level when they play.”
Carlyle was one of IU’s highest-profile signings this offseason as the 15th-ranked transfer in the country, according to 247Sports. He was an equally highly touted prospect coming out of Overtime Elite in the 2023 signing class as the nation’s 52nd overall prospect.
After the match, Carlyle made it clear that he was not hung up on his title.
“I’m perfectly comfortable coming off the bench,” Carlyle said. “I want to win games, whether it’s as a sixth, eighth, tenth man or starting two guards, I don’t care. As long as we win, I’m here to do my job, play defense and provide what I can on offense. That’s it.”
Indiana’s bench entered the game averaging 18.2 points per game. They scored 32 points against the Gophers – their second most of the season – and Carlyle was just as effective on defense.
“Woody preaches defense every day, so I knew when I got here my job was going to be as a two-way player,” Carlyle said. “I pride myself on that individually and my teammates are all cheering for me and they’re by my side, so it’s easy for me to bring that energy when you have teammates behind you that bring the same energy.”
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana reporter for the Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on @michaelniziolek and read all of its coverage by clicking here.
This article was originally published in the Herald-Times: IU Basketball: Kanaan Carlyle shows renewed confidence coming off the bench
