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(03/11/19 5:34am)
Indiana baseball spent the weekend in Seattle at T-Mobile Park, the home of the Seattle Mariners, for the Seattle Baseball Showcase.
The Seattle Baseball Showcase featured six programs, including Washington, No. 17 Coastal Carolina, San Diego, and No. 4 Oregon State.
It was a challenging three games for Indiana as it went 1-2 against formidable competition, including back-to-back games against 2018 College World Series participants. One of those opponents, the Oregon State Beavers, are the defending national champions.
Indiana went 1-2 on the weekend, only beating Washington on Friday while losing to Oregon State and San Diego, bringing Indiana’s record to 7-7 overall.
Here’s a closer look at how Indiana’s weekend fared in Seattle.
Friday - Washington: W, 1-0
The weekend got off to an excellent start for Indiana thanks to senior pitcher Pauly Milto’s gem of a performance against Washington on Friday.
Milto went eight innings, striking out six, while only giving up one walk and one hit. Milto had a no-hitter going into the eighth until Washington sophomore pinch hitter Noah Hsue knocked a single into right field.
What made the righthander’s work from the mound even more impressive was that Washington’s bats were red hot. Prior to the Huskies’ matchup with Indiana, Washington was averaging 8.4 runs per game.
Milto’s heroics also made up for a lack of offense. Indiana tallied six hits against Washington, but the Huskies held tight defensively, limiting many scoring opportunities.
Indiana’s one run was an RBI single to left field that came from the bat of sophomore second baseman Drew Ashley. The hit scored sophomore third baseman Cole Barr.
Saturday - No. 4 Oregon State: L, 3-8
Saturday started out strong for the Hoosiers as they got off to a quick, 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Senior Matt Lloyd belted a solo home run, his first of the season.
The Beavers struck back with a run of their own in the second inning before blowing the doors off in the fourth. They scored three more runs and kept ahold of the lead throughout the rest of the game.
Oregon State’s presence at the plate continually did damage to Indiana as they earned eleven hits while being walked six times too.
This was another struggle of a performance for Indiana’s Saturday starter and junior college transfer, pitcher Tanner Gordon. He only went 4.1 innings and picked up his third loss on the year to make for an 0-3 record.
He gave up seven hits, four earned runs, five walks while striking out five.
The bullpen struggled to handle Oregon State, too. IU junior Cal Krueger, sophomore Grant Sloan, and freshman Alex Franklin all pitched, but none of them went more than 1.2 innings, and Krueger and Franklin gave up runs of their own.
Sunday - San Diego: L, 5-3
Sunday presented an opportunity for Indiana to right the ship and come away with a winning record on the weekend, but the Hoosiers fell just short of doing so.
Indiana got off to a poor start, giving up three runs in the top of the first from several mistakes. San Diego’s senior Ripken Reyes and sophomore Shane McGuire both got hit by pitches, which were followed by a Adam Hussain single for San Diego and error from Indiana.
The bleeding was minimal for the rest of the game as Indiana tightened up defensively, but the one big inning for San Diego proved to be crucial as Indiana couldn’t muster enough offensive firepower.
Barr and Lloyd were the bright spots from the plate. Barr homered in the second and Lloyd hit a single in the third to bring in junior shortstop Jeremy Houston. Lloyd hit a home run of his own in the sixth to make it a one-run game at that point.
After an insurance run in the top of the ninth from San Diego to make it 5-3, Indiana just couldn’t catch up and ultimately fell.
(03/11/19 5:32am)
In his final game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, senior forward Juwan Morgan left his mark.
On his senior day, in a must-win game against Rutgers, Morgan put up a stellar 25 points on 11 of 13 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds to propel IU to a dominant 89-73 win.
“Just coming out with the win, I think it was as good as it could have been just going out the last time on this court in front of all these fans,” Morgan said.
(03/04/19 1:44am)
It was an eventful weekend for Indiana baseball as it traveled to Conway, South Carolina for the Coastal Carolina Tournament.
The tournament featured plenty of high-quality competition. Indiana played Northeastern, No. 21 Connecticut, and the host school, No. 11 Coastal Carolina.
The Hoosiers went 2-1 on the weekend with wins over Northeastern and Connecticut to propel their record to 6-5. Indiana has now won four of its last five after getting swept in the Tennessee series.
Now let’s take a deeper look at how each game went for the Hoosiers.
(02/28/19 2:38pm)
In another rare February home game at Bart Kaufman Field, Indiana baseball defeated in-state opponent Butler 9-3 Wednesday.
The win propels the Hoosiers record back to .500 and 4-4 overall after defeating Cincinnati the day before 7-1.
Indiana’s offense started slow, as Butler starting pitcher, sophomore John McCauley, struck out five of his first six batters faced in the first two innings.
It all changed once the third inning rolled around as junior outfielder Matt Gorski kick started the offense again with a home run. Gorski went yard for his third dinger of the year and second in two days.
“The dude (Gorski) is unreal,” senior centerfielder Logan Kaletha said. “The dude just sets the tone no matter what.”
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1100907138787000320[/embed]
Overall, the offense was balanced with six different Hoosiers combining for seven hits on the day. Indiana displayed strong plate discipline for the second straight game as they drew five walks, making that 15 total in the first two home games of the year.
Kaletha got his swing back in stride after a rough Tennessee series. Against the Bulldogs Wednesday, he went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a home run in the seventh.
Senior catcher Ryan Fineman added to the offensive outburst with a three RBI double to the right-center gap during his only plate appearance of the day in the seventh to effectively nail down the coffin on Butler.
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The pitching for Indiana was strong too, as freshman right-hander Gabe Bierman bounced back after his first appearance against Tennessee where he allowed two runs in one inning of work.
Bierman made his first career start, striking out four Bulldogs over four innings and only allowing a hit and one earned run en route to picking up his first collegiate win.
Indiana head coach Jeff Mercer was impressed with the freshman’s composure.
“His ability to rebound, control himself, I thought he did a really good job,” Mercer said.
Junior left-hander Andrew Saalfrank and sophomore right-hander Connor Manous provided relief to Bierman. Fellow freshman Braydon Tucker closed it out in the ninth.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1100907919560925184[/embed]
The only struggle on the evening came from careless mistakes from IU’s defense. Butler scored two of its runs off passed balls behind home plate and one on a properly executed double steal with runners on first and third.
Mercer said part of the issue with the passed balls came from senior catcher Wyatt Cross having to deal with Bierman’s sinker.
“Gabe’s sinker is a really good pitch,” Mercer said. “Anytime you’re catching a true sinker baller, which there’s not many in college baseball, they’re difficult to handle.”
The total effort was there from Indiana this past week and should be an encouraging sign for the team moving forward.
“If we get that full nine where the offense is just very consistent, I feel like we’ll be really solid this weekend,” Kaletha said.
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What's Next?
The Hoosiers will look to use the wins over Cincinnati and Butler to amount some momentum before this weekend. Indiana travels to Conway, South Carolina for the Coastal Carolina Tournament where they face serious competition in three games.
On Friday, they’ll have Northeastern, (4-2) who has a quality win over Missouri of the SEC. Northeastern won the Colonial and made the NCAA Tournament a season ago before losing in the Raleigh regional.
Saturday will present Connecticut (3-3) who took two of three games in their series against No. 8 Louisville.
Finally, on Sunday, Indiana will get to play its first ranked team of the season in No. 20 Coastal Carolina (7-1). A year ago, Indiana beat the 2016 National Champions, 6-5.
“I expect us to play great competition,” Mercer said. “I just want them to trust themselves, trust their teammates and go out and try to play good baseball.”
(02/27/19 1:37am)
Coming off of a tough sweep at Tennessee while falling to a 2-4 record, Indiana Baseball was in need of a win.
They did just that in the 7-1 win over Cincinnati Tuesday afternoon.
Struggles from the plate were the main reason for the lackluster weekend performance against the Volunteers. Indiana scored a total of four runs against Tennessee in the series, all runs coming from homeruns.
The Hoosiers also struck out 46 times on the weekend. They needed a spark to the offense.
Enter junior outfielder Matt Gorski.
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The Hoosiers star hitter and leadoff guy missed the entire Tennessee series with a hamstring injury. He returned for the home opener Tuesday in a big way.
In the bottom of the first and his first at-bat back from injury, Gorski launched a bomb over the fence in left-center to give Indiana a quick 1-0 lead.
“Anytime that you’re able to have a player of his caliber come back and be a part of it, it does help,” Indiana Head Coach Jeff Mercer said.
The rest of the pieces for the Hoosier offense fell into place from there as they improved their record to 3-4.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1100495462052843521[/embed]
On top of Gorski’s 2-for-5 outing from the plate, sophomore third basemen Cole Barr and senior catcher Ryan Fineman stood out in jumpstarting the bats.
Barr went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI’s and had a dinger of his own. Fineman went 1-for-3 while bringing in two runs on a third inning double.
The offense collectively only had six hits but showed strong plate discipline, walking ten times on the game and only striking out seven.
The good news for Indiana’s offense is that Gorski is back to 100 percent moving forward.
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“I kind of tweaked my hamstring a little bit,” Gorski said. “It was minor, I’m back to full strength now.”
The strong pitching from Indiana supplemented the efforts at the plate. Freshman right-hander, Alex Franklin got his first start on the season and first start since his junior year of high school after sitting out his senior season due to injury.
Mercer said Franklin worked hard to get back to the mound after missing so much time due to injury.
“He earned the right to be a guy that’s going to throw significant innings for us,” Mercer said.
Franklin had a brief appearance, only throwing two innings, but it was a strong one that included four strikeouts, two hits, and a run.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1100555365719175169[/embed]
Junior right-hander, Cal Krueger came in following Franklin where he pitched a stellar three innings, only giving up a hit, walking one, and striking out two. Kruger’s efforts rewarded him with the win.
Junior left-hander, Cam Beauchamp, and right-handed sophomore, Grant Sloan also pitched and gave solid relief for the Hoosiers in a balanced pitching effort.
Indiana will get to play one more at Bart Kaufman tomorrow against in-state opponent, Butler for another 3 p.m. first pitch.
(02/25/19 2:38am)
It was a disastrous second weekend for Indiana Baseball as the team got swept on the road at Tennessee.
Other than game three, where the Hoosiers lost 5-3 after leading 3-0 in the top of the fourth, the games weren’t close. Game one saw Indiana lose 5-1 and game two was a 11-0 deficit.
The weekend’s games drop Indiana’s record to 2-4 on the season. Here are three takeaways from the Tennessee series.
(02/22/19 5:09pm)
Indiana Baseball travels to the Volunteer state in back-to-back weekends to face Tennessee after taking two of three to start the season against Memphis last weekend.
The Hoosiers were dominant in games one and three of the Memphis series, winning by scores of 6-1 and 6-0, respectively, but fell flat in game two, losing 6-3.
This series is a good early season test for Indiana. Facing a SEC opponent on the road is no easy task, even if they finished at the bottom of the SEC East division in 2018.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1098404407069368320[/embed]
IU experimented with the lineup plenty against Memphis,as only five players started and played the same position every game. Indianahead coach Jeff Mercer said the lineups will continue to shift around as they take advantage of the team’s depth.
“There’s more guys I’d like to move in there,” Mercer said. “We’re going to play to matchups, we’re going to play to our strengths.”
Second base and left field remain up-for-grabs between a number of guys.
At second base, sophomore Justin Walker started games one and three while senior Cade Bunnell started game two. In left, three different players started each of game of the series between sophomores Elijah Dunham, Sam Crail, and Drew Ashley.
In order for a starter to emerge, defensive play could be the difference.
“At this point the ability to play high level defense is the most important thing,” Mercer said.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1098405091785220096[/embed]
Despite potential change, Indiana will look for continuity from its dominant starting pitching and strong bats at the top of the order.
The starters of senior Pauly Milto (Friday), Tanner Gordon (Saturday), and Tommy Sommer (Sunday) combined for a total of one run allowed in the Memphis series.
Milto particularly liked what he saw from Gordon as well.
“Tanner, his composure on the mound was really impressive to me,” Milto said. “Being his first D1 start, just being able to go out there and do his thing was really impressive.”
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1098405867047845888[/embed]
The top of the lineup IU used in games one and three of the Memphis series could be expected to stay moving forward. Junior Matt Gorski hitting lead off, Walker second, senior Logan Kaletha third, and senior Matt Lloyd at clean-up.
Kaletha leads the team in batting average at a .364 mark with four RBIs thus far.
Tennessee comes into the series off to a strong start with an undefeated record at 4-0. They swept Appalachian State last weekend and beat Northern Kentucky, 18-0, on Tuesday. In the Vols four games they haven’t allowed a run either, while scoring 29 of their own.
The level of their competition should be noted, as both teams they played haven’t won a game on the year so far and finished with well-below .500 records a season ago. At the same time, putting up 29 runs in four games and giving up none is impressive.
Tennessee enters the weekend with a strong presence at the plate. They have four guys hitting above .300 thus far and an overall team batting average of .254 to go along with five home runs.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1098396792155262976[/embed]
Junior first baseman, Luc Lipcius, is on the cusp of an early breakout this season for the Volunteers. He has established himself as a full-time starter and earned a career high in hits, runs, and RBIs in a game during the win over Northern Kentucky.
Lipcius’ batting average leads the team at .500, in which five of his six hits are of the extra base variety including a home run. He has six RBIs on the year opposed to just one strikeout.
Tennessee’s pitching staff has been strong to start the year too. As a team the Volunteers are allowing an average of less than four hits and upwards of ten strikeouts per game.
If Tennessee were to follow suit from a weekend ago the starters are as follows:
Friday: Garrett Stallings
Saturday: Zach Linginfelter
Sunday: Will Neely
Friday should be a fun match-up with a pitcher’s duel of Milto and Stallings. The two had nearly identical stats on their first starts of the young season.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1098395146104782848[/embed]
Milto, got his season started with a win, going seven innings and giving up two hits while striking out seven against Memphis.
Stallings is a junior righty who threw seven innings while only allowing a hit and striking out eight in a winning effort over Appalachian State.
Stallings is also the No. 119 ranked prospect for the 2019 MLB Draft according to D1Baseball.com.
(02/18/19 1:38am)
Indiana Baseball got the 2019 season and Jeff Mercer era started with a three-game series win on the road at Memphis this past weekend.
After postponement of game one due to inclement weather Friday night, the teams played a double-header Saturday where they split. Indiana won game one, 6-1, and Memphis took the second game, 6-3. Then on Sunday, Indiana took the series with an easy 6-0 win over the Tigers.
Here are three takeaways from the Memphis series.
(02/14/19 3:59pm)
Indiana Baseball will officially begin their 2019 season Friday on the road for a three-game series at Memphis to start the Jeff Mercer era.
The first-year head coach for the Hoosiers, and former Wright State head coach, takes over a ballclub that went 40-19 and made the NCAA Tournament before getting eliminated in the Austin Regional a season ago.
The roster lost four players to the MLB Draft and has a smaller senior class of six players, but the team returns plenty of talent.
“There’s a lot of new faces,” Mercer said. “Guys are new to the program but realistically there’s a lot of guys that were in the program that have worked really hard and improved themselves and you’d expect to step into a more prominent role.”
(01/27/19 10:18pm)
He may only be a high school junior, but four-star shooting guard Anthony Leal, out of Bloomington South High School, is well on the radar for Indiana basketball’s recruiting targets.
The local star is a rising prospect ranked No. 78 overall nationally in the 2020 class while boasting a versatile skillset, but more than anything, he can shoot the three-ball.
Saturday night in a 77-76 win over Silver Creek, Leal dropped 30 points en route to eclipsing 1,000 points for his career on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from distance. In his sophomore season for Bloomington South he shot 51-percent from beyond the arc.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1089652853394886657[/embed]
Even though shooting is a major strength of Leal's, he said his defense is where he feels the most college ready.
"My versatility and being able to guard multiple spots on the wing and occasionally in the post," Leal said.
Shooting from deep happens to be arguably Indiana’s biggest weakness as a team and it was on display in the 69-46 loss to No. 5 Michigan on Friday night.
The Hoosiers against Michigan were 3-of-20 from three-point range and are 13-for-75 (17.3 percent) over their last four games. On the season, they are only hitting at a 32.3-percent mark from three.
[embed]https://twitter.com/YearyJackson/status/1089334372682121216[/embed]
He may be a few years away from playing collegiately but expect the Indiana coaching staff to prioritize Leal in hopes of bringing in a player that could help ease the team’s glaring flaw.
The staff has already made an effort to recruit Leal. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound guard visited Indiana multiple times, most recently for the Illinois game on January 3.
Archie Miller and his staff have been to multiple games to see him. Indiana assistant, Bruiser Flint, was in attendance for his game against Silver Creek as well.
“It’s definitely close,” Leal said on his relationship with coach Miller. “I’m closest with coach Ostrom I’d say just because that’s the main assistant that’s recruiting me, but I feel I’m getting closer with (Miller) each and every day just because I live in town, it makes it easy for them to get out, I’d say it’s a pretty good relationship.”
In addition to the growing relationships with the coaches, Leal finds the prestige and history of the Indiana program to be appealing.
[embed]https://twitter.com/YearyJackson/status/1089324412564881409[/embed]
“The passion, history, and tradition behind everything,” Leal said. “Basketball is different in Indiana for sure.”
Despite the interest level, Indiana has yet to offer the local standout. For that matter, Indiana hasn’t offered a single in-state prospect for the class of 2020.
Leal currently holds nine offers, including Xavier, Maryland, Iowa, Stanford, Butler and Northwestern among others.
New schools are showing interest too, including national powers of Michigan State and Virginia.
“I don’t really know,” Leal said about a potential Indiana offer coming. “I try not to really concern myself with that kind of stuff. If it comes, it comes, if not I’ll just keep working.”
Leal wouldn’t be the only sharp-shooter recruited by Indiana from Bloomington South, Jordan Hulls also came from Bloomington South and starred for the Hoosiers from 2009-2013. Current Indiana walk-on, Johnny Jager, came from Bloomington South as well.
Regardless of where Leal ends up playing in college, he provides more than just a clean shooting stroke from deep. The top-rated prospect in Indiana for the 2020 class can score at all three levels with a knack of getting to the rim and finishing in transition, along with a strong dribble pull-up from midrange.
Additionally, Leal is sneakily long and athletic with a quick motor.
Being one of the taller kids on his school’s roster forces Leal to typically play defense out of his natural position and in the post. He occasionally comes up to the perimeter too, where he excels more, but he can guard both spots.
Leal said he hopes to improve upon his ballhandling and add more muscle to his current 6-foot-5 frame before college. He hopes to play right away wherever he goes.
“Just the ability to come in and make an impact and try to develop as a player and hopefully get to the next level after college,” Leal said.
Currently, Northwestern, Stanford, and Xavier are recruiting Leal the hardest. But expect more scholarships and a potential Indiana offer to come during the spring and summer months, the traditional, active recruiting period for coaches.
(01/23/19 5:28am)
After a win the first time around against Northwestern in December, Indiana paid a visit to Evanston Tuesday for a rematch with the Wildcats in what turned into a 73-66 loss for the Hoosiers.
Indiana's fifth straight loss drops the Hoosiers' record to 12-7 and 3-5 in the Big Ten.
Tuesday's game was a roller coaster in Evanston with the Hoosiers starting off strong, up 20-12 early, before the offense went stagnant and found themselves down 28-24.
The second half was all Northwestern getting, as the Wildcats got the lead up to 15 points around the midpoint of the half before Indiana made a last ditch effort to come back, but it was too little, too late.
Here are my three takeaways from Indiana’s fifth straight loss.
(01/20/19 2:34am)
The Indiana Hoosiers missed an opportunity to turn around their season’s momentum Saturday at Purdue where a trip to Mackey Arena resulted in a 70-55 loss and a fourth straight loss.
(01/04/19 4:15am)
Throughout freshman sensation Romeo Langford’s first season as a Hoosier, Langford has been great. In Indiana’s 73-65 win over Illinois, Langford was excellent.
There was no question that this was not only Langford’s best game of the season, but he was also the main reason that Indiana pulled out another conference win over a pesky Illinois team that wouldn’t go away.
Langford leads the team in scoring at about 18 points per game. Against the Illini, the stud freshman went for ten points over his average, giving him a new career high of 28.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1081039119248211969[/embed]
“Yeah, I felt like this was my best game so far, all around, maybe on the defensive end, too,” Langford said. “I am getting a lot more comfortable and now that Rob is out for a while with his little injury he has, that caused for me to have the ball more in my hand and I'm comfortable with doing that.”
In a game without their starting point guard, Rob Phinisee, the Hoosiers needed guys to step up. Langford did it in a big way and when the Hoosiers were desperate for him to do so.
The offense and ball movement were pretty stagnant in the first half, especially early. Langford changed that single handedly.
After going for nine points in the first half, he erupted for 19 in the second. He even opened the second half on a personal 8-0 run.
Langford was scoring at will, especially when driving to the rim and converting on most attempts and getting to the free throw line often.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1081020070921420800[/embed]
“I just started seeing more driving opportunities and that's what I'm best at right now doing,” Langford said. “With the way they played, like I said earlier, they like to play passing lanes, which leads for wide-open driving lanes for me to either score or pass to other teammates.”
What was just as impressive as his total scoring output was Langford’s efficiency in doing so. The versatile guard put up his 28 while shooting 8-13 (61.5 percent) from the field and only missing one two-point field goal.
In addition to his scoring, Langford added six rebounds, three assists, and a steal to his stat line.
The team needed a game like this from their shooting guard. Langford has had the ability to go off in games but has lacked aggressiveness at times.
That’s something Indiana cannot afford to do, when Langford is hot, they need to keep feeding him, and more so he needs to demand the ball more. Indiana head coach Archie Miller did a great job of getting Langford those extra opportunities in the win.
“Yeah, we wanted him to be more aggressive,” Miller said. “Sometimes you have to get the ball in his hands against a team like this because he's traditionally not bringing it up. But we allowed him to bring it up a lot more. Get the ball before we crossed half court a lot more, which allowed him to play with it in his hands.”
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Langford had reached 22 points twice thus far in the season for his previous season high against Marquette and Arkansas. It felt overdue though for him to have a game like this for the 3,002-point prep scorer and fourth leading scorer in Indiana High School Basketball state history.
Other than a quiet 15 points from Juwan Morgan, Langford didn’t have a ton of help on offense scoring the ball either. Nobody but Langford and Morgan reached double figures.
From the charity stripe, a typical struggle for the freshman, he shot 11-15 (73 percent). Far better than how he started the season at the line, where he went 42-90 (46.7 percent) in his first seven games on the season.
His three-point shot is still coming along, hitting one of four tonight and a lowly 21 percent on the season. That should improve as time goes on as Langford was known to be a prolific shooter from deep in high school.
If Langford really starts to put it all together and get his three-point shot going, it could be a scary sight for opponents moving forward and Coach Miller believes so.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1081013084280537089[/embed]
“He's continuing to go do what we ask him to do in terms of getting better,” Miller said of Langford’s development. “Like I've said before, he's as coachable of a guy as we have on the team, so it's a credit to him and his work ethic.”
At the end of the day, Indiana will take this win in stride as it extends their conference record to three wins and zero losses. This was a game that the Hoosiers couldn’t afford to lose either, as a road match-up with undefeated and second ranked Michigan awaits on Sunday.
If Indiana wants a chance in winning that one, the Hoosiers are going to need another outstanding performance from Langford.
(12/23/18 3:36am)
In a balanced and team-oriented effort, Indiana cruised to a 94-64 win over Jacksonville Saturday night.
The Hoosiers were missing two key players in starting freshman point guard, Rob Phinisee, and senior and team captain forward, Zach McRoberts. This proved to be no big deal for Indiana as Jacksonville was much weaker competition and the fact that other guys stepped up for Indiana.
Five players were in double figures in scoring for Indiana, sophomore guard, Al Durham, led the way with 18 points.
The shot selection and ball movement were great too. The team totaled for 21 assists on a stellar shooting night where they shot 35-64 (64.8 percent) from the field.
The victory marks Indiana’s sixth in a row and closes out the non-conference schedule. They will resume play and re-open the Big Ten schedule at home on January 3 when they host Illinois.
Before then, here are three takeaways from the Jacksonville game.
Juwan Morgan Makes History
At a basketball school like Indiana, its particularly tough to put yourself into the history books. Senior forward and team captain, Juwan Morgan, did just that for the Hoosiers as he tallied the second ever triple-double in Indiana Basketball program history.
“You have to be an unbelievable, complete guy to be able to be that type of efficiency,” Coach Archie Miller said of Morgan’s play.
[embed]https://twitter.com/TheHoosierNet/status/1076653738553692162[/embed]
His ridiculous stat line included ten points, ten rebounds, ten assists along with three blocks and two steals. Not to mention that his ten points came off of five-for-five shooting.
Is it safe to call him a stat-stuffer?
Morgan continues to show why he is not only a fantastic player for the Hoosiers but that he is ever-improving. He understands the game the way only a senior can and is so versatile in the way he dominates it.
Morgan should be in discussion for All-American status as well as receive heavy consideration for Big Ten Player of the Year.
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Al Durham Provides a Boost
On a night that was all about Morgan’s spectacular efforts, Al Durham put together a solid performance for Indiana.
Time and time again this year Durham has surprised people in his growth and development as a player in his second collegiate season. He may have had his best performance of the year against Jacksonville.
On six-of-eight shooting (three-of-five from distance), Durham put up a season-high and team-high 18 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists.
Durham was locked in from the start and had everything clicking for him with his teammates.
“I feel like they had the confidence in me,” Durham said. “I was just knocking it down, as Juwan would say.”
His improvement from a year ago is quite evident, particularly in shooting and scoring. As a freshman he averaged 4.8 points per game, this year that mark now stands at 7.6 per contest.
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When shooting the ball from three, Durham has increased his accuracy by nearly ten percent. In his freshman campaign he shot 28.6 percent from the perimeter and currently has it at 38.2 percent.
Durham has become a steady contributor for the Hoosiers and could really be a difference maker for the team throughout conference play if his improvement continues.
Damezi Anderson Took Advantage of His Opportunity
Due to McRoberts’ nagging back injury and Phinisee out under concussion protocol, Coach Miller called upon freshman forward, Damezi Anderson to play an increased role against the Dolphins.
After seeing the floor, a plentiful amount early on in the season, Anderson’s role had practically been diminished following the UT-Arlington game back in late November.
His role had been reduced to garbage time minutes following that match-up and the freshman didn’t even play in four consecutive games following the Duke loss.
He picked up some decent minutes against Central Arkansas but when Anderson had his number called against Jacksonville, he came to play.
Anderson has had his fair share of struggles throughout the season, especially with turnovers, but his greatest asset is his three-point shooting.
Tonight, he had nine points, all off three-pointers, he shot three-for-five from beyond the arc.
Shooting from distance has been a struggle for the Hoosiers at times this season and if Anderson keeps hitting from deep, he will find his way on to the floor more often.
(12/19/18 4:33am)
The unthinkable occurred last Saturday when Indiana freshman point guard, Rob Phinisee, hit a 25-foot prayer at the buzzer to beat in-state rival Butler 71-68 at the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis.
Phinisee put Hoosier nation and the entire state of Indiana on notice when he hit that shot. He was deemed a hero and etched his name in the history books in that one play.
As time passes, what will go greatly unnoticed and underappreciated about the whole sequence was that the play was broken and a disaster from the start. Butler defended the play excellently. The Bulldogs prevented Indiana’s preferred options of senior forward, Juwan Morgan, or freshman guard, Romeo Langford from even getting the ball.
After inbounding to Phinisee with 18.7 seconds to go and passing to junior guard, Devonte Green, with about seven seconds left, Indiana looked dead in the water. Morgan was nowhere to be found as he was setting a screen for a stumbling Langford near the baseline.
Langford came up to the perimeter with Butler sophomore guard, Aaron Thompson, wrapping him up on defense. Green refused to send the rock Langford’s way.
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Phinisee retreated from the three-point line with about three seconds on the clock, only to receive and quickly hoist up a well-contested bomb of a shot that miraculously went in as time expired.
"Give them credit, they really tried to do their best to take the ball and not let Romeo get a catch, which is what we were trying to get," Indiana head coach Archie Miller said. "Either we didn't screen, because I didn't see it, or it got blown up. They definitely tried to take the ball out of his hands, which it did, it happened. Devonte was stuck, didn't panic a little bit. As the clock wound down, he kind of got rid of the ball. Obviously Rob had the wherewithal to let it go. I'd be lying if I said when he shot it, I didn't think it had a chance to go in. I just didn't know the time. They definitely blew the play up. We weren't strong enough to execute it, get the ball where we wanted to. It's part of getting better. We got to keep getting better."
What is so fascinating about the whole situation is that Indiana finds themselves in these broken play scenarios a lot. The stunner from Phinisee, only serves as temporary cover up for a failed play. Indiana has already seen this before.
Quite often during Indiana’s tight games they don’t get the cleanest look for their last shot. This is the case for both the end of the first and second halves. It’s becoming a pretty consistent theme throughout the season.
Also, what has become consistent about these situations is that more often than not, Rob Phinisee is the one who’s getting the last look to score.
The general consensus would be to expect that the team’s top two players in Morgan and Langford would always be the guys to get the last shot, especially in close games. Thus far, that has not been the case.
In both halves against Butler, the first half against Louisville, the second half against Arkansas, and the first half vs UT-Arlington, Phinisee was the player putting up the shot before the horn.
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The majority of those plays were Phinisee drives to the rim. None of them were converted either.
More interestingly, often when Phinisee would drive to the hoop in the clutch situations, there would be no other offensive move.
Against Louisville in the first half, the Butler first half, and Arkansas second half, there was no offensive motion or passes to look for an open teammate. It was all the freshman guard taking it from the top of the key to the bucket.
In both of the last possessions of the first halves of Louisville and Butler, Phinisee drove to the hoop while looking off Morgan. Morgan set brief screens and then looked for the ball around the three-point line. At the same time, the other players on the court for IU along with Phinisee and Morgan remained relatively stagnant in both possessions.
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The shot against Butler at the end of the first wasn’t bad. It was an okay look for an up-and-under layup that just missed. The Louisville shot wasn’t the best, but there also very well could’ve been a foul called as Phinisee was met in the air with plenty of contact.
In the last possession of the Arkansas game, when tied at 72 with the Razorbacks, Phinisee pulled off the unusual act of showing that he was a freshman.
Rather than letting the clock wind down and giving his team the last shot attempt of the game, Phinisee drove the ball and put up a tough lay-up with about eight seconds to go.
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It was a bad decision and one where Phinisee had no business even getting close to making the shot as he was met by two of Arkansas’ big men that contested the shot well.
These last shot situations are telling of a few things- strong defense from the opposing team, Rob looking off other options, and Coach Archie Miller’s confidence in his freshman point guard.
It’s not common for a freshman point guard who was outside the top 100 of his recruiting class to be the guy taking the ball in isolation at the end of games. Phinisee isn’t any everyday freshman point guard though. He has cemented himself as a great starter for the Hoosiers and proved that he has the clutch gene.
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Despite those misses listed prior, Phinisee has shown time and time again that he has the ability to hit big shots in crunch time.
For example, and beyond the Butler buzzer beater, Phinisee hit clutch threes in both the Arkansas and Louisville game.
Against Arkansas with the Hoosiers down 72-69, Phinisee hit a three to tie with 46.7 seconds to go. In the Louisville game, when IU was trailing 58-57, Phinisee hit a three to give them the lead with a minute and 20 seconds left. Both shots were huge in changing the game’s momentum and giving the Hoosiers a chance to win the game.
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It will be intriguing to see how the team and Miller handles close games and clutch situations moving forward. One thing is certain though, and that is that Phinisee will be up for the task if presented the opportunity to take the last shot.
"He's got confidence in himself," Miller said. "He's very competitive. It's a quiet competitiveness that he has about him that he believes in kind of he can get it done....For whatever reason, he's not afraid to take or make a play when we need him to. He's just a solid, solid dude. He's a good kid. Works his butt off. Hangs in there regardless of the circumstances in the game."
His big three-point shots already made in the clutch show his talent and his misses at the rim at the end of games demonstrate his growth and learning experiences.
After what we’ve seen so far, it’s safe to say that it’s not so unexpected anymore when Phinisee is the guy taking the last shot for the Hoosiers. The question remains around how well the Hoosiers will be able to execute in those situations.
(12/09/18 10:50pm)
Just over a week after five-star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis committed to Indiana, he went toe-to-toe against another five-star forward and potential future college teammate in Keion Brooks Jr.
The game between Jackson-Davis’ Center Grove squad and Brooks’ La Lumiere team was fast-paced, physical, and a joy to watch. La Lumiere’s loaded roster of division-1 bound athletes took over in the fourth quarter and earned a 62-48 Laker victory, but the game was quite competitive, being tied at halftime and a one-possession game for most of the match-up.
At the end of the day though, this was a showcase of premier talent more than anything. Jackson-Davis finished with 18 points, while Brooks put up 22 points in front of a multitude of high profile college coaches, including Archie Miller.
“Coach Miller gives his players the freedom to make plays and run the floor,” Brooks Jr. said. “I was watching the game today against Louisville, I was really paying attention to how everybody was making plays and he gave them the freedom. Somebody made a mistake, he wasn’t dogging them or taking them out. He lets you play through your mistakes, and I really like a coach that does things like that.”
The Fort Wayne native cut his laundry list of scholarship offers to six schools back in September: Indiana, UCLA, North Carolina, Kentucky, Purdue, and Michigan State.
Michigan State head coach, Tom Izzo, and Kentucky head coach, John Calipari, were also present. Izzo and Calipari made long trips out to the south side of Indianapolis just to watch Brooks Jr., flying in from Florida and New York City, respectively, after having games earlier in the day. Their effort certainly made an impression on Brooks Jr. too.
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“That means that they’re showing me I’m a priority and want me to be part of their program,” Brooks Jr. said of the coaches. “Especially coach Izzo and coach Cal coming all the way out here after just having a game.”
Brooks Jr., the No. 22 ranked prospect in the 2019 class, proved his high-profile status in a variety of ways Saturday night. His overall build being at 6-foot-7 and 185 pounds, gives great size as a small forward and his tremendous length helps in that as well.
He was a nightmare on defense for Center Grove with a couple huge rejections and an overall pest to whoever he was guarding, sticking with his man and not allowing any space to drive.
Offensively, Brooks Jr. showed the ability to slash to the rim, easily convert at the charity stripe, and arguably his best offensive asset, the mid-range jumper.
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Brooks Jr.’s upper body strength looked better than past seasons too, looking quite stronger when driving to the bucket.
“You know this move to La Lu has helped me a lot,” Brooks Jr. said. “I’ve put on about 20 pounds of good muscle, but I still think I can get stronger, especially in my lower body.”
Both Jackson-Davis and Brooks Jr. put on a show and looked like future NBA players. The chance of the duo being future teammates, and future Hoosiers is looking very real.
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Jackson-Davis’ commitment a week ago no doubt boosts the chance of Brooks Jr., following in his footsteps and the decision could be coming soon.
“I think things are starting to slow down for me,” Brooks Jr. said. “I can see myself making a decision within a month or so.”
After his junior season at Fort Wayne North, Brooks Jr. played for the Spiece Indy Heat on the Nike EYBL AAU circuit before transferring to La Lumiere. Jackson-Davis was one of his teammates on the AAU circuit and the two grew a close bond as well as a dynamic chemistry on the court with one another.
“I value Trayce as what he is, a great person and great player,” Brooks Jr. said. “We’ve grown very close over this time playing together.”
The two talk every day and Jackson-Davis is often in his ear about coming to IU. They even took their official visit to Indiana together on September 29, for Hoosier Hysteria.
Jackson-Davis was a rumored IU-lean for a long time, Brooks Jr.’s recruitment is a little more of a mystery though, and one that definitely doesn’t lack competition.
As the top prospect indicated, a decision is coming sooner or later and there might be one more visit left. It is still a possibility to officially visit Michigan State after already having officially visited UCLA, Indiana, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
If Miller were to land Brooks Jr. it would likely complete the 2019 recruiting class with three members, Jackson-Davis, and 3-star combo guard, Armaan Franklin. With all three of the players being in-state kids, it would only further Miller’s mission to lock down the state as his own backyard and fertile recruiting ground.
Wherever Brooks Jr. goes, it’ll be more than just a basketball decision.
“Somewhere where I have a very good relationship with the head coach and assistants. Somewhere I can see myself thriving on and off the floor, of course basketball is something I really want to do, I want to take it as far as I can. At the same time, I want to be able branch out and venture in things outside of basketball.”
(12/02/18 8:09pm)
Only a few days after Indiana basketball fell to its lowest point of the season with a 90-69 road loss to No. 3 Duke, momentum picked back up. On Friday afternoon five-star forward, Trayce Jackson-Davis, announced his commitment to IU.
It was a gigantic recruiting victory for Archie Miller and the entire program. Once again, Miller landed a top in-state talent. Jackson-Davis picked the Hoosiers over finalists of Michigan State and UCLA, as well as a multitude of other high-major offers.
The effort paid off for Indiana’s coaching staff and Miller was happy to see they locked up the state’s top prize for 2019.
“We worked tirelessly, our staff did with them,” Miller said of Jackson-Davis’ family. “To be able to get that caliber of player, obviously from the state, is huge.”
Jackson-Davis’ relationship with the coaching staff and the appeal of playing for his home state values made the difference in his decision.
“I think Coach Miller and Coach Ostrom, they did a really good job of recruiting me,” Jackson-Davis said. “They were first to everything and then there’s no better place to play than your backyard.”
Jackson-Davis isn’t only a top talent within the state, but rather, a top talent in the country. The 24/7 Sports Composite rankings lists him as the No. 16 overall ranked player in the 2019 class and the No. 2 player in the state of Indiana.
Coach Miller had high praise for Jackson-Davis and backed up the prospect’s high ranking and status.
“He’s a terrific talent, he’s a great kid, he’s got a lot of upside coming to him,” Miller said. “He’s got size, athleticism, length, got great hands.”
Jackson-Davis measures in at 6-foot-9 and 232 pounds and has a great build and upper body strength to play in the post.
Being the son of former Indiana Pacer, Dale Davis, Jackson-Davis was given the genes to be an athletic freak with major upside. The young star has made tremendous strides in his ability over the past couple years and didn’t make it on to the national radar until a breakout junior season.
While being dominant around the post, Jackson-Davis’ game is not limited to that. The Greenwood native runs the floor well, allowing him to finish in transition. He also has a solid mid-range jumper.
Add those offensive skills to his 7-foot wingspan, which allows him to grab rebounds with ease and be a great rim protector, and you have a player that is a legitimate, modern day big man.
His three-point shot is still developing, along with his perimeter and man-to-man defense, but those skills should come in time and the five-star forward realizes that too.
“I’m just trying to play hard every possession,” Jackson-Davis said. “I’m a little lazy on defense so I just got to tune that up. I’m working on my shot a little bit, but I know when I get there, (the coaching staff) is going to start working on that, so I’m just trying to do little things like ballhandling and stuff like that.”
With the commitment of Jackson-Davis, Miller has reaffirmed his promise of recruiting the state inside and out. In Miller’s tenure as coach, he has received a total of eight commitments with five being Indiana kids.
Jackson-Davis joins Armaan Franklin as the second commit of the 2019 recruiting class. Franklin committed in September and is rated as a 3-star guard, ranked right outside the top 150 (24/7 Sports Composite). Jackson-Davis is very high on Franklin’s skillset.
“Armaan is a really unselfish player, but he can get his when he needs to,” Jackson-Davis said. He can do a lot of things, he does the little things great: he takes charges, he can score, and he can shoot the ball really well. I think it would be great to play with him.”
Hoosier nation got a glimpse of the future when the two faced off on Friday, the day of Jackson-Davis’ commitment. Center Grove and Jackson-Davis beat Franklin and Cathedral 63-60.
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On Saturday, Jackson-Davis played in his future home against Bloomington North where he dropped 34 points along with 12 rebounds, two blocks, and three assists and three steals. With more than just his stat-line, Jackson-Davis showed what he could do for Indiana basketball.
The game started out frustrating for the forward prospect as he missed a number of free throws and his fourth ranked trojan team struggled with a Bloomington North team that had won a total of six games all last season.
Center Grove ended up winning 71-64 and did so by way of Jackson-Davis’ taking over in the fourth quarter, where he had 14 of his 34 points.
It was a game where Jackson-Davis quietly dominated through timely post finishes and great rim protection. Similar to current Hoosier, Romeo Langford, the Center Grove standout has a quiet demeanor to him and doesn’t show much attention even when playing his best.
Next season, Indiana will be losing a lot of talent, senior and team captain Juwan Morgan specifically. The 6-foot-8 forward does it all for Indiana, he can play inside and out offensively, while also playing bigger than his size at the five-spot on the court.
The coaching staff envisions Jackson-Davis serving a similar role to Morgan in the Hoosiers offense.
“Just seeing how Juwan played, it impacted my decision a little bit,” Jackson-Davis said. “(The coaching staff) say they want me to play like Juwan. Watching Juwan play really helped me because they said that’s the type of player, they want me to be.”
In general, Indiana lacks many post players. Evan Fitzner, who’s 6-foot-10, will be gone next season as well. Plus, 6-foot-10 De’Ron Davis will be in his senior season. Jackson-Davis will fill a gaping hole in the roster and was far more needed than people realize.
Moving forward on the recruiting trail, the focus completely shifts to Keion Brooks Jr. The five-star small forward prospect out of La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana. Brooks Jr. had transferred to the prep school for his senior season after playing three years for Fort Wayne North High School.
Brooks Jr. is a 6-foot-7, athletic forward who is listed as the No. 22 ranked player in the 2019 class (24/7 Sports Composite). The five-star is seemingly the last legitimate target for the Hoosiers as they are currently far out of the picture for fellow five-stars Trendon Watford, Matthew Hurt, and Isaiah Stewart, despite being listed in their final lists.
The Hoosiers will at least lose two scholarship players for next season in Fitzner and Morgan. There could very well be a third open scholarship too due to a probable Langford departure to the NBA
Brooks Jr. would complete the class well as the third commit and fill the scholarship cap, while making the class comprise of all in-state recruits.
Jackson-Davis and Brooks Jr. have history together too. The five-star duo were AAU teammates for the Spiece Indy Heat on the Nike EYBL Circuit this past season. The two complement each other well and have great chemistry.
Jackson-Davis and Franklin will be working hard to make sure Brooks Jr. is a Hoosier.
“We’re going to try to talk to him every day,” Jackson-Davis said. “We’re just going to tell him how great it is and how much we need him. Not just want him, but we need him too because he can make a difference.”
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(11/19/18 12:01am)
In the first road game of the season for Indiana, the Hoosiers lost for the first time, in a 73-72 nail-biter at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks. The game was an uphill battle for the entirety of the game for Indiana after manhandling No. 24 Marquette 96-73 at home on Wednesday.
After being beat up on for most of the second half, the Hoosiers showed resilience and fought back to make it a close game down the stretch. In a back and forth battle throughout the final minutes, a struggling Rob Phinisee hit a clutch three from the wing to tie the game at 72.
Following, IU got a stop on defense forcing Arkansas to a baseline jumper and taking possession of the ball. With Head Coach Archie Miller refusing to call timeout, Indiana’s last possession was marred with missed opportunity.
Phinisee drove from the top of the key a little early and missed a contested layup, with an open Romeo Langford on the 3-point line. De’Ron Davis missed an easy tip-in and Arkansas got the board and earned a trip to the free throw line on a Davis foul call with 2.5 seconds left.
Arkansas’ Mason Jones hit the first and missed the second free throw, leaving Juwan Morgan to shoot a near impossible full-court shot to settle the game at 73-72. After the gut-wrenching loss for Indiana here are some takeaways.
Dealing with Daniel Gafford was a nightmare
Coming into the game it was known that dealing with Arkansas 6-foot-11, sophomore Daniel Gafford was going to be a challenge, but the Hoosiers really had no answer for him. Gafford set the tone of the game from the start, forcing Morgan to two fouls in under three minutes.
Morgan has history of playing big for his size and handling big men well, but Gafford was too much. The projected lottery pick played outstanding while protecting the rim and being a serious force on offense. Gafford finished with a career high 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting, along with 12 rebounds, two steals, and three blocks.
Gafford was too much size and athleticism for Morgan to handle, needing extra help every time Gafford got the ball in the post. That’s no knock-on Morgan though, no Hoosier could come close to slowing him.
Davis did the best, with his big build, but at the same time his limited minutes due to coming back from injury and overall stamina limited how much he could really help. Gafford, at the end of the day really got whatever he wanted.
How Indiana goes about dealing with other talented bigs in games to come is something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
Marques Bolden of Duke, Nick Ward of Michigan State, and Ethan Happ of Wisconsin are just a few of the talented post players Indiana will have to better prep for throughout the rest of the season.
A great learning experience in a tough environment
It may have been disheartening for Indiana to lose a game this early in the season, but this loss will help the Hoosiers a lot moving forward.
Playing in Bud Walton Arena is no joke, Indiana certainly looked a lot more uncomfortable playing away from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Arkansas is a different team at home and has now won 41 straight games when leading at half.
The intensity and atmosphere played a role in plenty of struggles for the team, especially early on. The communication and smooth ball movement wasn’t there that the team had seen in the previous games.
Handling Arkansas’ pressure was a serious struggle, with Phinisee off the floor for most of the game while in foul trouble, the constant backcourt of Al Durham, Langford, and Damezi Anderson could barely get the ball up the floor.
There were air ball threes and free throws along with lazy passes and poor shot selection. Indiana had a season high of 18 turnovers against the Razorbacks.
Indiana also had to work a lot harder for their baskets compared to Arkansas. The only had nine assists as a team compared to Arkansas’ 20.
Despite all the negatives, the positive may be hard to see, but playing a solid Arkansas team on the road is going to pay dividends down the road. Most high-profile teams don’t schedule real non-conference games on the road that aren’t part of a challenge or early season tournament.
Giving a relatively young Indiana team a test on the road early on was very smart of Coach Miller. It forced them to get out of the comfort of Assembly and will make future road games easier to adjust to.
Indiana’s next road game is at Cameron Indoor Stadium at No. 1 Duke on November 27, one of the craziest places to play in all of sports.
Now, imagine if that was Indiana’s first road test.
Injuries proved to make a difference but bright spots in Durham and Davis
In the second consecutive game without Race Thompson, Jerome Hunter, Devonte Green, and Zach McRoberts, Indiana’s offensive struggles showed.
Morgan and Langford had to carry the offensive load far more heavily than previous games. Their teammates struggled to provide a consistent offensive output to support them, especially guys who had been consistently reliable.
Justin Smith only had three points off one-of-six shooting and had been averaging double digits going into the game. First man off the bench and sharpshooting Evan Fitzner didn’t find the basket once after pouring in 16 against Marquette.
This lack of offensive support hurt the team tremendously and was very telling of the loss today. On the bright side, Davis played his best game of the season and Durham continued to be a spark and another option on offense in his second consecutive start.
Davis showed glimpses of his old self again, with a quiet 10 points on five-of-six shooting. He looked sharper and more composed on the offensive end than he had so far this season.
Durham came up big with 11 points and three assists, following a 13-point performance in the Marquette game. Nine of his 11 points came from the three-point line. All of them, proving to be very timely baskets and keeping Indiana in the game early on.
If these two can consistently provide support on offense, that’ll make the lives of Langford and Morgan as well as the offense as whole a lot easier throughout the rest of the season.
(11/07/18 4:01am)
In a dominant season opening 104-55 win for Indiana over Chicago State; the Hoosiers had balanced offensive contributions from just about every rotation player.
As great as the Hoosiers were, they presented rough patches to their game, too: free throws, lapses of mental focus on defense and struggles with three-point shooting.
This isn’t anything too alarming, especially for a team with as many new pieces as Indiana. They are things that will be adjusted over time.
One player who did his job very well for the Hoosiers and will be instrumental in fixing those flaws is Evan Fitzner.
The grad-transfer from Saint Mary’s didn’t get nearly the attention that fellow Hoosier newcomer Romeo Langford did coming into this season, but his value for this team tonight and moving forward cannot be understated.
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He, in many ways, is a Swiss army-knife of a big man. He has the size at 6-foot-10 to work the ball down low in the post, the length to protect the rim, as well as the clip to provide the Hoosiers some help in three-point shooting.
On a night where he only logged 16 minutes, Fitzner provided a quiet and efficient 14 points. His output was the third highest total of any player on the team, only behind Langford’s 19 and junior guard Devonte Green’s 15.
In addition to scoring, Fitzner corralled six rebounds and had one block.
“He did a nice job,” IU head coach Archie Miller said. “Very high IQ, very skilled offensive player. I thought he did a nice job of throwing over the zone at times, catching it in the middle and skipping it out.”
The most impressive part of what Fitzner showed tonight was how he shot 5-of-6 from the field. He is an efficient player with smart shot selection, and finished a few easy lay-ins near the basket as well as a corner three. There were no rushed or forced shots.
On all the things that IU struggled with tonight, Fitzner held his own.
On free throws the Hoosiers shot a revolting 57.6 percent from the charity stripe (19-of-33). Though a small sample size, Fitzner made all three of his attempts.
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When it came to perimeter shooting, IU was just fine— only hitting a third of their shots (7-of-21). Fitzner went one-for-two.
Though those numbers aren’t eye-popping, this was also a game that didn’t require Fitzner to display his full offensive repertoire. It’ll be more evident in time.
“He’s not a guy that obviously anchors down, but he can get to his spots,” Miller said. “And today, against the zone, he has a really good feel in the paint, how to catch it, how to move, in and around the basket he’s got good touch.”
While at Saint Mary’s, Fitzner was a career 78.1 percent free throw shooter and only improved in his three years of playing. In his junior season, he shot 86.4 percent from the line.
Throughout his college career, he has been excellent from beyond the arc as well with a career three-point field goal percentage of 41.4 percent. Fitzner does all the little things right and will serve as a great example for the rest of the team as only one of two scholarship seniors and one of two players with actual experience playing in the NCAA Tournament.
Fitzner may very well be the key to elevating the Hoosiers to an elite level.
He, in many ways, is reminiscent of another Hoosier grad transfer, Max Bielfeldt, who played for IU in the 2015-16 season after transferring from Michigan.
Bielfeldt was also a big man who had the ability to stretch the floor like Fitzner and overall provide value in many facets of the game.
Bielfeldt certainly made his presence felt for that team, coming off the bench and shooting 45.3 percent from three-point land and 51.6 percent from the field while averaging 8.2 points per game.
Fitzner could provide a very similar level of production for the Hoosiers this season; especially if they pass the ball as well as they did Tuesday night.
“I think that’s how you win games is sharing the ball, finding the open man,” Fitzner said. “Keep everyone happy. And like you said I was the beneficiary of that tonight.”
(10/29/18 6:09am)
Indiana Basketball is going to be headlined by two names going into this season: Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford. Both fantastic players who should be the main options on offense and are the team’s one-two punch in terms of overall talent.
As great as those two are, one name is flying slightly under the radar for the Hoosiers. Sophomore forward, Justin Smith.
Smith has a real chance to be the third option on offense and to turn into a totally different type of weapon than he was a year ago.
“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.”
For a player who only averaged 6.5 points per game, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 14.9 minutes per contest as a freshman, Smith garners high expectations. Despite the modest statline, Miller and the fanbase are very high on what the versatile forward can do this season.
Raw Talent and Versatility
The first thing that jumps out about Smith is how raw of a player he is. His natural talent and athleticism is what got him on the court early last season and those abilities being expanded upon is the key for his development moving forward.
Standing at 6-foot-7 and 227 pounds, his build allows him a plethora of opportunities on the court. Defensively, Smith’s versatility allows the Hoosiers to have plenty of options in organizing the lineup as he can guard multiple positions.
Oftentimes last year he would play as a small ball four. If the Hoosiers want to go faster and stretch the floor more, this is something that could be seen more this season too.
At the same time, Smith could spend a significant amount of time at the wing, working the perimeter, and potentially scoring more too, especially if his jumper improves.
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Last season, he shot an impressive 55 percent from the field but only had a 30 percent mark from the three-point line. Miller believes that honing in his athleticism in translation to skill provides a great chance for Smith’s scoring figures to increase.
“We've also really focused in on his skill level, becoming more perimeter oriented,” Miller said.
“He has a chance to put more points on the board for us, and for him in general, I think that's the difference between averaging six or seven and maybe 11 or 12, maybe 13 on a deep team.”
The Athleticism
To add to his raw skill and talent, Smith’s athleticism is jaw-dropping. Nothing better emphasizes how gifted he is athletically than his vertical leap.
He can dunk the ball ferociously and rise above his opposition to grab boards with ease. This signature skill of his is only getting better too.
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In the offseason when working with the team’s Director of Athletic Performance, Clif Marshall, Smith made giant improvement in his vertical.
In July, he broke the Indiana basketball program vertical record measuring at 48 inches. Victor Oladipo held the previous record of 43 inches.
“When it happened I really had no idea that I could do that,” Smith said. “It was pretty cool, it’s a lot of work in the weightroom and working on that kind of stuff.”
That work certainly paid off, as a freshman Smith’s vertical measured at 42 and a half inches. His most recent measurement though ties the NBA Draft Combine record.
Improvement and Consistency
Smith always seemed to be a step or play away from breaking out a year ago. The sophomore certainly showed certain flashes or glimpses throughout the season of how special he could be. His playing time was limited early as he learned and adjusted to Miller’s pack-line defense. Once he learned that, he slowly started to provide more and more for the team.
Now, simply being a year older could pay dividends for him and the team.
“Just having a year under your belt you get more comfortable and you gain more confidence,” Smith said. “You start to know things and know where things are and that translates.”
Smith always seemed to be a step or play away from breaking out in games year ago. He showed plenty of flashes of his potential throughout the season of what a more refined player he could look like. In addition to the renewed confidence and growing comfort of the college game for Smith, improved consistency could come from more effort too.
“I feel like last year I would go through stretches where I wouldn’t play as hard which would translate to me not playing well,” Smith said. “Being able to play hard the entire time, all game, every game is really going to make a difference for me.”
Overall, Smith has a chance to have a very special season for the Hoosiers. If his raw talent and supreme athleticism continue to develop along with a more consistent effort could amount to a far better Indiana team.
The success and ceiling of this team is dependent on how Smith performs. If he plays like Miller and many others think he can, both the team and Smith could reach new heights.