Gabe Cupps’ edge shined bright in first action for Indiana basketball: ‘He’s just that type of competitor’

When Indiana basketball needed a spark in its exhibition game on Sunday, it turned to freshman guard Gabe Cupps. It was his competitive nature that helped Indiana take off and cruise to a 74-52 win over UIndy.

That competitiveness isn’t anything new to Cupps or Indiana basketball head coach Mike Woodson. It’s what drew Woodson to the four-star point guard throughout his high school days and what has shown up ever since Cupps stepped on campus in Bloomington in the summer.

It also showed up just 24 hours before tip.

“Gabe Cupps, he was so anxious. Hell, he probably wanted to play the night before,” Woodson said during his Monday radio show. “That’s his approach to playing basketball. I wasn’t shocked that he came out and had poise and looked like he belonged. He’s just that type of competitor.”

Anxious, not because of nerves, but because of the edge he always carries with himself. He’s no newcomer to big moments.

Cupps averaged 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game at Centerville (Oh.) last season as a senior. He was the 2022 Mr. Basketball in Ohio, won the 2021 State Championship and was runner-up in 2022.

While he comes with tremendous pedigree, he also arrived at Indiana in a bit of limbo not knowing exactly what his role was going to be. Indiana brings back sixth-year point guard Xavier Johnson and fourth-year guard Trey Galloway — both captains and veteran players.

That didn’t stop Cupps from inserting himself right into the thick of things against the guards — especially Johnson.

“It’s every day,” Cupps said going up against Johnson. “They don’t put us on the same team very often … It’s super valuable. Just going against him in practice every day is probably the biggest thing.”

“The battles have been tremendous because, I mean, he’s a competitor, and X (Xavier Johnson) is a competitor.” Woodson said at Big Ten media day earlier this month. “They’ve kind of been going at each other, and that’s how it should be. But, at the end of the day, he’s going to have to play some minutes for us, and I have to make sure he is up to speed on what we want done and keep him comfortable.”

That intensity paid off on Sunday and was highlighted by terrific segment of 4-5 possessions that included a 10-second violation, steal and three deflections.

He played 18 minutes against UIndy, scoring four points on 2-0f-4 from the field, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.

“We just need it every night. His effort and his defensive pressure, that does nothing but it’s contagious to all of us,” Indiana sophomore guard CJ Gunn said postgame. “Seeing him work and seeing him apply pressure on the ball, it makes us want to get stops and get deflections and get steals. We need that type of energy coming off the bench to lift us up as a team.”

So, while Cupps may not see extended minutes every game — it won’t matter to him.

His singular goal during his freshman season is to help the team win and do whatever is needed to accomplish that.

“Whatever Coach Woodson and the staff need me to do, I’m willing to do it,” Cupps said. ” … Offensively, a creator. Whether that’s shots for me or shots for other guys. I can move defenses. Just make the simple plays that guys aren’t willing to make all the time. Playing simple and getting my teammates involved. Defensively, playing super hard. Diving on loose balls, taking charges, boxing out. Doing all the little things that other guys look over because they want to be flashy … it’s the stuff that will really help teams win.”

“He’s done a lot of good things on the floor for us in terms of making winning basketball plays,” Woodson said. “That’s what I like to call it because he does a lot of good things to help you win games.”