Indiana University Athletics
IU Looking for 'Gold Standard' Entering Final Exhibition
11/4/2017 10:04:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - For now, forward Juwan Morgan has it, as guard Devonte Green did before, the Indiana gold jersey, the one that represents Hoosier basketball practice effort at its best.
Coach Archie Miller instituted it as way to boost everyday play. Competition remains a great motivator as IU prepares for the season in general, the University of Indianapolis on Sunday in particular.
During practice everything is recorded -- baskets, rebounds, turnovers, hustle. At the end of the week, the player who totals the most gets to wear the gold for the next week.
It matters.
"It makes me mad," sophomore guard Curtis Jones says about not yet winning it. "I want to get it."
Benefits include not having to run extra when everyone else does.
"That would be nice," freshman forward Justin Smith says.
Miller's hopes of building a championship program starts with generating daily championship effort. The gold jersey is one way to do that.
"It adds to the competition in practice," Smith says. "It's more competition when you know you have this incentive at the end that everybody is working for. You want to play as well as possible."
Adds Jones: "It makes you focus on not making mistakes. Be the best in practice. Not letting any play go."
Jones didn't let many plays go during last Saturday's exhibition win over Marian University. He totaled 13 points and was 2-for-4 from three-point range in 23 off-the-bench minutes.
Last year, in limited reserve time, Jones averaged 3.5 points while shooting 35.0 percent beyond the arc.
"I'll be stepping into a bigger role this year of being able to score and make shots," Jones says. "It showed a taste of what I can do. I'm excited for more to come."
IU hopes to have senior swingman Collin Hartman and freshman guard Al Durham on Sunday. Neither played in last weekend's exhibition win over Marian University because of minor injuries.
The 6-7 Hartman missed all of last season with a knee injury. He's a do-it-all player who has averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds for his career. He's also a 40-percent three-point shooter.
"He's been back the last three workouts," Miller says. "He was pretty much full go for much of (Friday's) practice.
"He's a guy who lifts us up. He has a voice. Anytime you can communicate offensively and defensively, picking your teammates up, it's a big boost. He does that. He stretches the floor with the way he can shoot. He's a skilled guy. He gives us another weapon offensively. He can keep us spaced out and put the defense on their heels. If he does what he does in practice every day, he'll give us a big boost."
As for Durham, Miller says, "Al is a gifted offensive player. He knows how to play the game."
IU will use its final scrimmage to help figure out depth behind center DeRon Davis and backup Freddie McSwain. It could involve going small instead of big.
"You're always at an advantage when you play small offensively," Miller says. "In many cases it might not be the best decision defensively, but you can cover things with different schemes.
"Our best option at some point is, can Collin and Juwan play together? It might mean playing five good players offensively."
Indianapolis returns four double-figure scorers from a 16-12 team. A member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, one of the nation's top NCAA Division II leagues, it projects as a top-20 program.
"My experience is any time you play a talented top-25 Division II team," Miller says, "they can beat a lot of Division I teams.
"They'll come in excited to play. They have a lot of experience. Their shooting stands out. They have some big bodies. It will be a good test."
In analyzing the Marian win, Miller says, "One thing that stood out was our conditioning level offensively. We want to p lay with tempo and pace. Part of it is you have to be committed to running the floor hard. If a guy stops five feet short of where he's supposed to be because he's lazy or tired, that spacing really blows up. Our execution on offense needed to be better.
"We have to be able to play for longer stretches. Play faster. Have guys run harder.
"So it's pace on offense and the ability to execute. Can we raise up another level and play harder on defense? I think we can."
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - For now, forward Juwan Morgan has it, as guard Devonte Green did before, the Indiana gold jersey, the one that represents Hoosier basketball practice effort at its best.
Coach Archie Miller instituted it as way to boost everyday play. Competition remains a great motivator as IU prepares for the season in general, the University of Indianapolis on Sunday in particular.
During practice everything is recorded -- baskets, rebounds, turnovers, hustle. At the end of the week, the player who totals the most gets to wear the gold for the next week.
It matters.
"It makes me mad," sophomore guard Curtis Jones says about not yet winning it. "I want to get it."
Benefits include not having to run extra when everyone else does.
"That would be nice," freshman forward Justin Smith says.
Miller's hopes of building a championship program starts with generating daily championship effort. The gold jersey is one way to do that.
"It adds to the competition in practice," Smith says. "It's more competition when you know you have this incentive at the end that everybody is working for. You want to play as well as possible."
Adds Jones: "It makes you focus on not making mistakes. Be the best in practice. Not letting any play go."
Jones didn't let many plays go during last Saturday's exhibition win over Marian University. He totaled 13 points and was 2-for-4 from three-point range in 23 off-the-bench minutes.
Last year, in limited reserve time, Jones averaged 3.5 points while shooting 35.0 percent beyond the arc.
"I'll be stepping into a bigger role this year of being able to score and make shots," Jones says. "It showed a taste of what I can do. I'm excited for more to come."
IU hopes to have senior swingman Collin Hartman and freshman guard Al Durham on Sunday. Neither played in last weekend's exhibition win over Marian University because of minor injuries.
The 6-7 Hartman missed all of last season with a knee injury. He's a do-it-all player who has averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds for his career. He's also a 40-percent three-point shooter.
"He's been back the last three workouts," Miller says. "He was pretty much full go for much of (Friday's) practice.
"He's a guy who lifts us up. He has a voice. Anytime you can communicate offensively and defensively, picking your teammates up, it's a big boost. He does that. He stretches the floor with the way he can shoot. He's a skilled guy. He gives us another weapon offensively. He can keep us spaced out and put the defense on their heels. If he does what he does in practice every day, he'll give us a big boost."
As for Durham, Miller says, "Al is a gifted offensive player. He knows how to play the game."
IU will use its final scrimmage to help figure out depth behind center DeRon Davis and backup Freddie McSwain. It could involve going small instead of big.
"You're always at an advantage when you play small offensively," Miller says. "In many cases it might not be the best decision defensively, but you can cover things with different schemes.
"Our best option at some point is, can Collin and Juwan play together? It might mean playing five good players offensively."
Indianapolis returns four double-figure scorers from a 16-12 team. A member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, one of the nation's top NCAA Division II leagues, it projects as a top-20 program.
"My experience is any time you play a talented top-25 Division II team," Miller says, "they can beat a lot of Division I teams.
"They'll come in excited to play. They have a lot of experience. Their shooting stands out. They have some big bodies. It will be a good test."
In analyzing the Marian win, Miller says, "One thing that stood out was our conditioning level offensively. We want to p lay with tempo and pace. Part of it is you have to be committed to running the floor hard. If a guy stops five feet short of where he's supposed to be because he's lazy or tired, that spacing really blows up. Our execution on offense needed to be better.
"We have to be able to play for longer stretches. Play faster. Have guys run harder.
"So it's pace on offense and the ability to execute. Can we raise up another level and play harder on defense? I think we can."
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