IU basketball's Kaleb Banks showed freshman flashes. Now, it's time for 'that next step.'

BLOOMINGTON – Mike Woodson’s message for Kaleb Banks, after a freshman season of escalating appearance and clear promise, has been simple.

Banks spent his freshman year pushing for minutes near the end of Woodson’s rotation. The forward from Georgia moved in and out of his coach’s plans until mid-January, when his energy and aggressiveness prompted Woodson to call upon him more often. Banks would make 14 of his 24 appearances from Jan. 11 onward.

Now preparing for his second season at Indiana, Banks said the challenge from his coach and staff has been straightforward.

“That next step next year,” Banks said. “The flashes I showed last year, they want me to take the next step off that.”

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A rangy, versatile forward from suburban Atlanta, Banks was an early piece of Woodson’s 2022 signing class, his first full class as IU head coach.

Listed at 6-7, Banks possesses the length and athleticism to play — and, perhaps more importantly, defend — multiple positions. That’s where Woodson carved a role for his high-upside freshman last winter.

At his best, Banks injected energy from IU’s bench. He grew into games in ways that belied his age, getting stronger and more comfortable the longer he was on the floor.

“I really learned where you never know when it’s gonna be your moment,” he said on a Zoom call Tuesday. “There’s gonna be times where you’re in the fire, and you’ve got to step up and make that moment happen.”

Now, with a roster turned over substantially from last season to this one, Woodson needs Banks to start adding layers to his game. That next step.

“I see myself making a big impact,” he said, “making those impact plays, grabbing that key rebound getting that key defensive stop.”

Banks said he feels he handled the physical adjustments of college better than he expected, that he flattened his learning curve quickly.

But he admitted he struggled with the grind of the season.

“How long the season can be,” he said, describing his biggest challenge, “and how the ups and downs can come at you, how to react to those.”

Now, Banks is an experienced member of an inexperienced roster. Indiana added three freshmen and three transfers to a team that will spend the summer adapting as many new faces into its locker room as it returns from last winter’s trip to the NCAA tournament.

Woodson needs players like Banks to step forward individually, and also to step out of their comfort zone collectively. Banks credited teammates like Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal for their leadership this summer, but he said he’s tried to be more of a driving force for his new teammates as well.

If that force translates into more court time — if Banks goes up that next level — the role Woodson carved out for him last winter will only get bigger in the one to come.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball: Kaleb Banks looking to build off freshman year