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(10/15/18 7:02pm)
Going into year two of Archie Miller’s tenure as head basketball coach at Indiana has a massively different feel to it than the uncertainty the team faced a year ago.
Thanks to a more experienced roster, a top ten ranked recruiting class, and another year of adjustment to Archie Miller’s system, the Hoosiers’ season looks very promising.
The expectations are certainly high, and that was clear in the league’s preseason honors. Senior forward and team captain, Juwan Morgan, as well as freshman guard, Romeo Langford, were both named to the preseason All-Big Ten first team. In addition, Indiana was voted to finish third in the league in the preseason poll conducted by several media members.
Despite the lofty goals, there is still plenty in question about what the Hoosiers have in store for this season. This is still a team that finished last season with a record of 16-15 and didn’t compete in any postseason tournament.
Some of the intrigue may have been put to rest from what Coach Miller, Morgan, and fellow senior and team captain, Zach McRoberts had to say at Big Ten Media Day on October, 11.
Point Guard Situation
Arguably the biggest question facing Indiana this season is who is going to grab the majority of minutes at point guard for the Hoosiers. The likely options are experienced junior, Devonte Green, sophomore Al Durham or freshman, Robert Phinisee.
Green seemingly would have the upper hand being an upperclassman with valuable experience. The New York native last season averaged 7.6 points per game, 2.5 assists per game, as well as shoot 36.4-percent from the field. Green has shown promise at times while also displaying levels of inconsistency. If Green can improve that consistency as a junior, then Archie Miller should have his point guard.
Miller also gave high praise to Durham, who is coming off a freshman season where he averaged 4.8 points per game and played just under 20 minutes per game.
“If we had to start a game today, if we had to play a game right now, you know, who’s ready? Who’s engaged? I really like Al,” Miller said. “I really think Al is doing a great job, he’s talking he’s communicating.”
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In addition to the two experienced options, the freshman Phinisee has already garnered high praise from both Miller and Morgan.
“Defensively he’s a college defender early in his career.” Miller said of Phinisee. “He also has shown the IQ level on defense to be where he’s supposed to be at times maybe a little bit more rapidly than any of the guys defensively.”
The freshman’s ability to play both ways may get him on the court earlier than expected due to Coach Miller’s emphasis on the importance of defense.
Morgan sees the point guard competition as one of the best in practice and something that is a good thing for both players.
“I think it’s a good thing to have that in practice where you have two great point guards going against each other.” Morgan said. “I think they build off each other and I think they’re both taking things from the other.”
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Smith taking the next step offensively
Morgan and Langford are expected to become quite the duo offensively and play off each other. As a junior, Morgan averaged 16.5 points per game. In Langford’s senior campaign at New Albany High School averaged about 36 per contest.
Outside of those two, there remains some uncertainty about who will be the third option on offense. Miller believes it to be versatile sophomore wing, Justin Smith, who has the ability to be even more than that.
“He’s very talented obviously, athletically he’s more gifted, he’s a better player right now.” Miller said. “He has a chance to really be a different type of impact on us.”
Smith’s impact on the Hoosiers last year really didn’t come to fruition until later on the season but he certainly showed flashes and potential to be very special. Going off what Miller has been saying and the offseason work he has put in, the expectations are sky high for Smith.
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Continuing to Recruit the State
One of the biggest praises Coach Miller has received thus far in his time at Indiana has been his ability to recruit the state. Out of the seven total commits landed under Coach Miller, four of them have been in-state kids.
Three of them hail from the 2018 class: Langford (New Albany), Phinisee (Lafayette), and Damezi Anderson (South Bend). And most recently in the 2019 class there is IU’s newest commit, Armaan Franklin (Indianapolis).
Miller holds a lot of value in recruiting the state and doesn’t look to abandon this method either.
“I’d love to have the best players in Indiana stay home. It’s what makes Indiana in my opinion special.”
Looking ahead to 2019, it’s no secret that the Hoosiers are heavily recruiting the state right now. The 5-star duo of Trayce Jackson-Davis (Greenwood) and Keion Brooks (Fort Wayne) are the Hoosiers’ two top priorities. If the two were to become Hoosiers, they would most likely round out an all in-state 2019 recruiting class.
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“For us to be able to come back with another solid group, after a five-man group. That’s sort of your nuts and bolts in year three and four.” Miller said. “We’re working hard towards making it probably a three to four-man class.”
The Depth and Competition
What may be the most special aspect of this Indiana team is the sheer amount of talent it boasts. The depth is an extreme luxury that the Hoosiers didn’t have last year. Cracking the rotation is going to be very tough and is only making practice all the more competitive.
“We have really set the bar high for our guys just in terms of competition they’re going to have to earn it every day.” Miller said on the practice environment. “I think that they understand they’re going against somebody who wants the same amount of minutes as them.”
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With the amount of capable guys who could see the court, it’s going to be interesting to see how Miller allocates the minutes and develops a rotation. It certainly looks to be a deeper one than most teams around the country. Miller mentioned that he could see the rotation creeping to ten or eleven players.
(09/26/18 12:42am)
Coming off the steam from recent Indiana basketball commitment, Armaan Franklin, the Hoosiers received more good news with another in-state recruit less than three weeks later. Keion Brooks Jr,. a five-star small forward in the class of 2019 out of Fort Wayne, has cut his recruitment down to six schools. Indiana is included.
The other five finalists for Brooks feature a heavy dose of blue bloods and traditional powers, including Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, and UCLA. The No. 21 overall ranked player in the 2019 class (24/7) cut Iowa, Georgetown, Michigan, and Texas from his previous top ten.
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Brooks has been a household name for years around the state and has rose to national prominence in recent time. Sporting a long, lanky 6-foot-7, 186 pound frame, Brooks has the look of an NBA player already. His supreme length, athleticism, and versatility is what makes him stand out.
He played his first three years of high school basketball at Fort Wayne North Side High School, where he helped lead his team to two sectional titles and a state title appearance in 2017. In his junior season, he averaged 23.4 points per game along with 9.8 rebounds per game.
This summer, Brooks decided to head to national power and prep school, La Lumiere, in La Porte, where he’ll join the likes of other high profile players like Gerald Drumgoole, Kamari Lands, and fellow five-star center and IU target, Isaiah Stewart.
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Though the news is simply a narrowed list, this is an important step for the Hoosiers. Archie Miller has stayed true to his promise of recruiting the state hard and Brooks has been a top priority for a long time.
With one piece of the 2019 group already settled in Franklin, Miller is searching for more in-state fire power. Brooks is a consensus top-two player in the state alongside another five-star forward, Trayce Jackson-Davis of Center Grove. In turn, landing Brooks would reflect positively on the growing momentum of in-state kids staying close to home.
At the moment, IU will only have two available scholarships for the 2019 cycle with the upcoming season being Juwan Morgan and Evan Fitzner’s last. Romeo Langford, and others could make that number grow if they declare for the NBA Draft early.
IU is currently the leader in landing Brooks’ services according to 24/7’s crystal ball, where the Hoosiers are leading with 50-percent of the votes. IU will have Brooks on campus this weekend for his official visit at Hoosier Hysteria. This will be the second year in a row that Brooks has attended the event.
Jackson-Davis will be attending with Brooks as well. The two are good friends and have discussed the possibility of playing together in college. They grew close after being teammates this past year in AAU on the Nike EYBL circuit for the Indy Heat. It is worth noting that Jackson-Davis has been rumored to be an IU lean for a long time and could be nearing his decision relatively soon. His list is down to four (IU, Michigan State, UCLA, and Iowa) and his official visits are nearly wrapped up.
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When looking at the battle for Brooks, IU has stiff competition across the board:
Kentucky
Kentucky has been Brooks’ ear for a long time, offering just over a year ago. It is easy to see the appeal of Brooks playing there with its rich history and John Calipari’s reputation of shipping his kids to the NBA. At the same time, Brooks might not enjoy the idea of joining a class that already has a player of the same position committed in Khalil Whitney. Whitney is ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect for 2019 according to 24/7 Sports.
Michigan State
Tom Izzo and company are all-in for Brooks as well as Jackson-Davis, which could be a key dynamic in this recruitment. With only one commitment so far for 2019 in four-star guard, Rocket Watts, the Spartans have plenty of room for both Brooks and Jackson-Davis. Additionally, Izzo has quite the knack for recruiting Indiana kids, including current Spartan wing and Indianapolis native, Aaron Henry. Not to mention a plethora of Indiana talent who have all been drafted in recent years: Jaren Jackson Jr. of Carmel, Gary Harris of Fishers, and Branden Dawson of Gary.
North Carolina
The Tar Heels came into Brooks’ recruitment a little later than the rest, offering this past May, but have made up ground quickly. Coach Roy Williams has been the primary reason for that as he has made a strong impression on Brooks. If Brooks were to pick UNC, he would play a major role and be a focal point of its team, as he would replace likely one-and-done and current Tar Heel small forward, Nassir Little.
Purdue
The Hoosiers’ rivals have been on Brooks the longest as they were the first school to offer, which has seemingly meant a lot. Coach Matt Painter has a history of sneaking into the Fort Wayne pocket, nabbing two former big time Boilermakers in Caleb Swanigan and Raphael Davis in recent years. Purdue’s 2019 recruiting class currently has three commits, all of which in-state kids, and one of them, Isaiah Thompson, is a good friend of Keion’s and AAU teammate as well.
UCLA
Brooks is coming off a recent official visit to UCLA, which he took with Jackson-Davis. Both of which got a very Indiana flavor for a trip to California to make them feel more at home. They spent time with former La Lumiere and current UCLA point guard, Tyger Campbell, as well as the 2017 Mr. Basketball out of North Central High School and the Bruins’ star player, Kris Wilkes. Brooks plays the same position as Wilkes and has a very similar game and build. With what former Indiana Hoosier great and UCLA Coach, Steve Alford, has done with Wilkes, it is likely that Brooks could follow his example if he were to head to the Golden State.
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In the end for Indiana, this is an ideal place to be in Brooks' recruitment. Landing in his top six was step one, making an impression on him at Hoosier Hysteria this weekend is next.
(09/16/18 10:20pm)
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At the end of last Sunday’s match against Kansas State, Indiana women’s soccer played 110 minutes, a full regulation game and two overtime periods with a total of no goals on the board.
A scoreless draw after having 33 shots for the game. The weather, effort, and fatigue played a role in what was a lifeless game for the Hoosiers.
One week later and it was a different story for Indiana. This time around, the Hoosiers pulled out a 3-0 win over conference rival Michigan State. The win improved them to 2-0 in Big Ten play, marking the best start to conference play in Amy Berbary’s tenure as head coach at IU.
“I think this group has quite an amount of grit and energy. Berbary said. “Obviously, winning becomes a habit so they’ve gained more confidence with what we’re doing in training because we’re having results.”
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There was an obvious difference in the type of play that IU brought to the table for their meeting with the Spartans. Things were a little off-putting with Indiana’s effort against Kansas State, but any of those doubts have been put to bed by the Hoosiers with these last two performances.
“I think we were disappointed in that result,” Berbary said about the Kansas State draw. “Even though it was a draw it felt like a loss but we have been working incredibly hard on the front side of the ball with our front five and I think we just showed again that we can score from all different areas with different people.”
Things were clicking for the Hoosiers from the start on Sunday, they controlled the pace and tempo of the game and dominated time of possession. Michigan State’s backline handled the pressure well to start but that fell off early on.
With an early attack on the right side of the box, senior forward, Mykayla Brown whipped the ball into the box, followed by a missed shot off the crossbar from junior midfielder, Chandra Davidson and eventually tapped in by senior forward, Maya Piper for the first goal of the game in the ninth minute.
The goal barrage was just beginning though as in the 21stminute, sophomore forward, Melanie Forbes, charged through the heart of the Michigan State defense and while heavily guarded sent a beautiful ball from the back of the box to the right side of the net.
The 2-0 lead established the Hoosiers’ dominance that they would only continue to show throughout the game.
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“Today we were really, really focused on locking it down from the beginning so that we didn’t create more work for ourselves on offense,” IU senior defender Caroline Dreher said.
The defense for Indiana and the backline in particular was spectacular. They severely limited any scoring opportunities for Michigan State with excellent help defense, communication, and aggressiveness.
The Spartans rarely got into the box for any real opportunities and only had one corner kick for the entire game.
Outstanding defensive effort was followed by a little bit of offense too. Dreher, one of the key clogs of the backline, even had a goal of her own after receiving a pass from Piper and launching a 35-yard rocket that snuck just inside the top shelf of the goal, giving the Hoosiers their commanding 3-0 lead at the 57thminute.
“Maya just knocked a perfect ball back,” Dreher said. “So, I hit it and I didn’t actually know if it was in or not because nobody reacted, so that was awesome that it ended up being a goal.”
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Arguably the biggest difference for the Hoosiers today was the desire and effort displayed.
In the 31stminute, Michigan State had their first real opportunity for a score, freshman forward, Camryn Evans, pulled up from the left side of the box and launched a little dribbler that looked like an easy score with goalkeeper Bethany Kopel out of position. That wasn’t the case though, Claudia Day, hustled to the corner of the goal and slid into the net, while knocking the ball out, to prevent the Spartans from scoring.
It was a crucial play from the Wake Forest graduate transfer to help keep Indiana in control.
Plays like that one and the team’s overall effort throughout the day prove why Indiana has turned the page and looks like a legitimately, tough Big Ten contender. They certainly look like a different team from the Kansas State game a week ago, it has been somewhat of a mid-season revival for the Hoosiers.
“It’s a long season we still have a lot to learn and a lot to build on,” Berbary said. “I think right now we have put ourselves in incredible position, so we just need to come back this week make sure we take care of ourselves. It’s going to be a long travel, it’s going to be a long five days away.”
The Hoosiers will need to keep this going as they enter a daunting stretch with three straight road games against Nebraska, Iowa, and Purdue.
They won’t be back at Bill Armstrong Stadium until October 5 against Wisconsin. If the Hoosiers keep playing like they did today though, they’ll be more prepared for it.
“We have played some very, very good teams, so I think we’ve got a lot to prove this year,” Berbary said. “We still look at ourselves as underdogs which I’m fine with. We keep pushing away.”
(09/09/18 11:14pm)
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Indiana women's soccer out-shot Kansas State 33-14 but couldn't find the back of the net in a 0-0 draw on a sloppy Sunday afternoon. The Hoosier Network's Jackson Yeary and Sean Nief breakdown the draw and look ahead to the next matchup vs Michigan.
(09/08/18 7:27pm)
When four-star shooting guard Armaan Franklin committed to play for Indiana basketball on Thursday evening, things seemed simple and he was comfortable with his decision. That wasn’t always the case for Franklin, who’s recruitment was a bit of a maze.
Everything changed for him at the very end of his sophomore year at Fishers High School and throughout his junior season at Cathedral High School. He went from a relatively unknown player around the state of Indiana to a household name.
His skill came to fruition in his last game as a sophomore, a sectional loss to rival Hamilton Southeastern. It would be an understatement to say that Franklin kept Fishers in the game against the stronger HSE team as he dropped 32 points as a sophomore.
“That’s when everything started to click for me,” Franklin said. “Basketball wise, that was pretty much my breakout game if you want to say so.”
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Franklin continued that stellar play in his junior season and that’s when big name schools knew that he was a legitimate prospect.
“I think my recruitment really started to pick up middle of my junior year when I got three offers in a week from Xavier, Butler, and Ohio State and it just took off from there,” Franklin said.
In little time, many other schools would get involved with his recruitment: DePaul, Purdue, Clemson, Louisville, among others. IU got into the mix later in the game as Franklin didn’t receive an offer from the Hoosiers until his unofficial visit this past June.
Franklin eventually cut his list to three, Xavier, Purdue, and IU. As the process continued, the leader in his recruitment changed between each of the three. Xavier was the first to really attract his attention, but that didn’t last for too long.
“Xavier really was my first high major offer, I had a good relationship with Coach Mack and Coach Steele who recruited me,” he said. “Then when Coach Mack left he still recruited me at Louisville but not as much.”
In time, Purdue took the throne for a little while as the frontrunner for Franklin. He had a great relationship with coach Matt Painter and the staff, plus the idea of playing with his best friend, Isaiah Thompson, a 2019 Purdue commit out of Zionsville, Indiana, sounded very appealing.
When it came down to a decision though, Franklin felt IU was best for him and he had a tough time turning Purdue and his friend away.
“It was hard, very hard,” Franklin said. “(Me and Isaiah) had a long talk afterwards and we’re still cool, it’s bigger than basketball.”
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But Franklin knew IU was the place for him and he is very comfortable with that. He loves the coaching staff, guys on the team and everything that the university can offer him. His relationship with Archie Miller and the rest coaching staff has grown tremendously since the summertime and they talk with Franklin almost every day.
Franklin has also started to talk to some of the current IU freshmen and is really developing strong bonds with Romeo Langford, Robert Phinisee, and Jerome Hunter. Plus, he has been great friends with Damezi Anderson for a long time.
“I used to live in South Bend,” Franklin said. “Me and Damezi have been friends since, we grew up together basically, we’re like family really.”
From a basketball perspective, the Hoosiers stood out compared to other schools because of the rich history of the program.
“I think it was just the stage, they’re on a big stage,” Franklin said. “I think what’s good for me is playing in a place with so much history and trying to get them back to that national level that they once were.”
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Franklin plans to help get back to that national level through his strong play. He prides himself on his versatility, especially with being a two-way player and giving just as much effort on defense as he does on offense.
Make no mistake though, Franklin is a humble kid, and he knows he has to improve for playing at the Big Ten level.
“I think ball handling would definitely be a big thing for me, and I think expanding my three point range,” he said. “Also, just getting stronger that would be a big thing for me at the next level.”
As the first member of the 2019 class, Franklin is going to be making an effort to get some of his friends to come play with him. All are in-state IU targets as well as friends, including: Trayce Jackson-Davis of Center Grove, Keion Brooks Jr. of La Lumiere, and Brandon Newman of Valparaiso.
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For now, Franklin is going to put all of his focus on his upcoming senior season with Cathedral. He has aspirations of winning a state title and Mr. Basketball, but after that is all said and done he will be 100-perecent locked in on his collegiate career as an Indiana Hoosier.
(09/07/18 4:58am)
It has been four months and six days since Hoosier Nation lost its mind over in-state high school basketball sensation, Romeo Langford, and his decision to commit to IU.
Langford’s choice finalized the Hoosiers’ 2018 recruiting class, standing with five commits. Thursday after a short hiatus of commitments for IU, the Hoosiers have landed their first commitment of the 2019 class. Armaan Franklin, a four-star shooting guard out of Cathedral High School in Indianapolis.
The 24/7 Sports Composite has Franklin as the No. 133 ranked player in the 2019 class as well as the sixth ranked player in Indiana among a very deep 2019 class for the state. This is the fourth overall in-state commitment for Miller as well as his first from the Indianapolis area.