It’s been a stark contrast from going up against fellow high schoolers to defending and running the offense against a 24-year-old. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Cupps said Johnson’s physicality and quickness has been the biggest challenge on a daily basis, but he feels himself improving as a result. He’s approached the college level by embracing a mindset of knowing that there’s going to be contact, but not expecting any foul calls going his way.
And by all accounts, Cupps has been ready for the challenge.
“The battles have been tremendous because [Cupps is] a competitor and X is a competitor, which I kind of like,” Woodson said. “They’ve been going at each other, and that’s how it should be.”
“I can’t imagine people going as hard as we both do against each other every day,” Cupps said. “It gets scrappy. It gets intense sometimes, but we know at the end of the day we’re just trying to make each other better.”
“He didn’t expect me to be here,” Johnson said. “But it’s going pretty good. Gabe loves to compete, just like myself, and he loves to get better.”
Woodson said Cupps is going to have to play some minutes for Indiana this year, and it’s his responsibility to get Cupps up to speed on the offense and feel comfortable running it. He also recognizes playing point guard is tough for freshmen, especially when asking them to be the first point of attack on defense and distribute the ball as needed on offense.
It’ll ultimately be up to Woodson on how many minutes he plays, but Cupps envisions his role on this year’s team as being a menace on defense, bringing everyone together as a leader, creating shots for himself and teammates, and doing whatever Woodson needs to help the team win.
In order to adjust to the physicality of the college game, Cupps has maintained the unwavering work ethic he had in high school. He’s taking advantage of a more advanced workout regimen with Clif Marshall, Indiana’s director of athletic performance, as well as recovery sessions with athletic trainer Tim Garl and access to the cold tub.
But he’s stayed true to one routine in particular. Cupps and the Centerville High School program coined their before-school workouts as the “Breakfast Club,” which has become a habit he’s brought to Bloomington.
Cupps said he has some 8 a.m. classes this year, but he’s often getting shots up earlier, around 6 a.m., which has caught the coaches’ attention.
“A lot of coaches have told me that I work out too much and stuff like that,” Cupps said. “But I always tell them that my body’s been doing this for 10 or 11 years now straight, so it doesn’t know anything else.”
With Johnson still on the roster, Cupps will have to wait a season for his chance to crack the starting lineup. But with unproven depth behind Johnson and Trey Galloway in the backcourt, meaningful minutes are up for grabs. The path is there for Cupps, if he can make outside shots and defend like he did in high school as a state champion and Ohio Mr. Basketball.
In the even bigger picture, Indiana is eagerly awaiting a decision from five-star recruit Boogie Fland, who’s set to announce his college decision between Indiana and Kentucky at 2 p.m. ET Friday. This decision could impact Cupps’ role next season, as Fland is considered by some to be the top high school point guard in the nation, and No. 3 at worst.
Woodson showed at the start of the 2022-23 season a willingness to play two ball-handlers together, starting Johnson and Hood-Schifino together before injury struck. Though their skill sets differ, Cupps and Fland also could play together. That’s a conversation to entertain a year from now, though, as Cupps hasn’t played in a college game yet and Fland still hasn’t made a college commitment.
But so far, Cupps has been just what Woodson expected when he recruited him as a four-star prospect out of Centerville, Ohio.
“He’s just steady,” Woodson said. “He knows how to play, man. I have no complaints with him at all. He works, and he’s just smart as hell.”
