Indiana University Athletics
No Rust Showing
11/6/2017 12:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - It was the first shot Collin Hartman had attempted against an opponent wearing a different jersey in almost 20 months.
It was released quickly from the right wing off a feed from Indiana senior classmate Robert Johnson.
It ripped cord.
Hartman had waited exactly 590 days to do that.
And he had waited an extra hour or so Sunday afternoon, too, due to a tornado warning that pushed back Indiana's exhibition tipoff against Indianapolis.
But he sure didn't look rusty.
Hartman took three shots during his 15 minutes of play in IU's 74-53 win. All of them 3s. All of them swished.
A very solid 40-percent career shooter from beyond the arc (58 of 145), the 6-foot-7 standout from Indianapolis Cathedral shares a mentality with good shooters everywhere:
If the first one goes in, no reason to be shy.
"That's kind of how it went," Hartman acknowledged with a post-game grin. "It was: 'Oh, my, that felt good! Let's go!'
"I've been working on my consistency from 3 recently. I've had some hot days in practice. Just trying to keep that going."
Hartman was confined to showing his stuff in practice only until Sunday. He was nursing a minor ankle injury and missed the Hoosiers' Oct. 28 opening exhibition game against Marian.
More serious injuries sidelined Hartman previously. A knee injury curtailed the end of his freshman season, and another ACL tear cost him the entirety of what would have been his senior season in 2016-17.
In ways both personal and professional, Hartman had his post-basketball life lined up when last season concluded. He had his IU degree.
But he had a final season of athletic eligibility available. And it beckoned.
"My re-hab went well, actually, and people were in my ear about it: 'One more chance,' " Hartman recalled. "I started thinking, 'Yeah, I do have that chance, and not many ever get a chance (to wear an IU uniform).'
"And to be honest, I really didn't want to go out with things having gone the way they did last year – not playing and us not having a good season. My junior year was so much fun and last year wasn't. I wanted to leave with a better taste in my mouth. I'm really happy to be here, and I'm grateful to the people who helped persuade me."
New IU coach Archie Miller is doubtless grateful to those folks, too. And he was among them, of course.
"It was good to have him out there," Miller said of Hartman. "You can start to see a little bit how he can space the floor for us (as a shooter). He was on a minutes restriction – he could probably have played a bit more than he did tonight – but he was able to make three shots. I think that's something he give us.
"Another thing he gives us is confidence. Because he's a guy who is talking all the time in huddles. He's engaged right now in the locker room. He's a guy who I think, through good and bad, is going to be the same. Definitely an added bonus to have an experienced guy out there."
Hartman gave sophomore Devonte Green a quick hug and some encouraging words as the Hoosiers emerged for warmups Sunday, already looking to lead well before tipoff.
"Me hugging Devonte and doing things like that is just trying to get everybody upbeat," Hartman said. "I try to drop little hints and reminders – 'Hey, we're doing this on that coverage,' or whatever. I want to be always communicating with guys, keeping their mind going and keeping them focused on the game."
Much of Millers' focus so far has reportedly centered around improving the Hoosiers defensively, and the Hoosiers spend almost all of Sunday's exhibition not switching off screens, but rather getting through them to stay with their man.
"That'll change at times, with personnel as we go on, but we're just trying to get our main concepts down," Hartman said of the derfense. "Ingraining that, especially in the young guys or guys who haven't had a lot of time to play, when we do need to do that – because that's harder than switching.
"Getting over a screen and getting all the way back to your man is harder than switching. And we're going to need to do that at times. Switching is typically more convenient and guys do that when they're tired, but we're going to have to be able to get over screens."
Hartman said the Hoosiers have quickly learned to pay Miller proper heed. The coach has made a good initial impression.
"It makes me happy I made that decision (to return for a final year)," Hartman said, "because he's a great dude, great coach, really cool to be around. And he knows the game.
"He's really good at being able to relate to players, and a great recruiter. The second you step off the court, you can talk with him about anything. Really cool, cool dude. Very laid back. Even keeled. You know exactly what you're going to get from him every day. He's always the same dude."
And Hartman is becoming the same dude on the court, again, that Indiana fans have appreciated in past campaigns.
"Just slowly working back into it," Hartman said. "Working more and more at practice every day things. Just trying to get back in the flow. Not rushing anything."
But the Hoosiers now have what Hartman called "our last little deep breath" before IU hosts Indiana State in the Nov. 10 season-opener, which starts a run of six games in 15 days before Duke comes calling Nov. 29.
"We have a little stretch here before we get into the games," Hartman said, "a little stretch to fine-tune some things as a team, and really focus on getting those details locked in. Because we're coming up to where we play five games in about 10 days right off the bat.
"It felt good to be out there again. It'd been over a year since I was able to put this jersey on and play somebody else … it really felt good to get the first one under my belt and get the ball rollin'."
And get the ball ripping cord.
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - It was the first shot Collin Hartman had attempted against an opponent wearing a different jersey in almost 20 months.
It was released quickly from the right wing off a feed from Indiana senior classmate Robert Johnson.
It ripped cord.
Hartman had waited exactly 590 days to do that.
And he had waited an extra hour or so Sunday afternoon, too, due to a tornado warning that pushed back Indiana's exhibition tipoff against Indianapolis.
But he sure didn't look rusty.
Hartman took three shots during his 15 minutes of play in IU's 74-53 win. All of them 3s. All of them swished.
A very solid 40-percent career shooter from beyond the arc (58 of 145), the 6-foot-7 standout from Indianapolis Cathedral shares a mentality with good shooters everywhere:
If the first one goes in, no reason to be shy.
"That's kind of how it went," Hartman acknowledged with a post-game grin. "It was: 'Oh, my, that felt good! Let's go!'
"I've been working on my consistency from 3 recently. I've had some hot days in practice. Just trying to keep that going."
Hartman was confined to showing his stuff in practice only until Sunday. He was nursing a minor ankle injury and missed the Hoosiers' Oct. 28 opening exhibition game against Marian.
More serious injuries sidelined Hartman previously. A knee injury curtailed the end of his freshman season, and another ACL tear cost him the entirety of what would have been his senior season in 2016-17.
In ways both personal and professional, Hartman had his post-basketball life lined up when last season concluded. He had his IU degree.
But he had a final season of athletic eligibility available. And it beckoned.
"My re-hab went well, actually, and people were in my ear about it: 'One more chance,' " Hartman recalled. "I started thinking, 'Yeah, I do have that chance, and not many ever get a chance (to wear an IU uniform).'
"And to be honest, I really didn't want to go out with things having gone the way they did last year – not playing and us not having a good season. My junior year was so much fun and last year wasn't. I wanted to leave with a better taste in my mouth. I'm really happy to be here, and I'm grateful to the people who helped persuade me."
New IU coach Archie Miller is doubtless grateful to those folks, too. And he was among them, of course.
"It was good to have him out there," Miller said of Hartman. "You can start to see a little bit how he can space the floor for us (as a shooter). He was on a minutes restriction – he could probably have played a bit more than he did tonight – but he was able to make three shots. I think that's something he give us.
"Another thing he gives us is confidence. Because he's a guy who is talking all the time in huddles. He's engaged right now in the locker room. He's a guy who I think, through good and bad, is going to be the same. Definitely an added bonus to have an experienced guy out there."
Hartman gave sophomore Devonte Green a quick hug and some encouraging words as the Hoosiers emerged for warmups Sunday, already looking to lead well before tipoff.
"Me hugging Devonte and doing things like that is just trying to get everybody upbeat," Hartman said. "I try to drop little hints and reminders – 'Hey, we're doing this on that coverage,' or whatever. I want to be always communicating with guys, keeping their mind going and keeping them focused on the game."
Much of Millers' focus so far has reportedly centered around improving the Hoosiers defensively, and the Hoosiers spend almost all of Sunday's exhibition not switching off screens, but rather getting through them to stay with their man.
"That'll change at times, with personnel as we go on, but we're just trying to get our main concepts down," Hartman said of the derfense. "Ingraining that, especially in the young guys or guys who haven't had a lot of time to play, when we do need to do that – because that's harder than switching.
"Getting over a screen and getting all the way back to your man is harder than switching. And we're going to need to do that at times. Switching is typically more convenient and guys do that when they're tired, but we're going to have to be able to get over screens."
Hartman said the Hoosiers have quickly learned to pay Miller proper heed. The coach has made a good initial impression.
"It makes me happy I made that decision (to return for a final year)," Hartman said, "because he's a great dude, great coach, really cool to be around. And he knows the game.
"He's really good at being able to relate to players, and a great recruiter. The second you step off the court, you can talk with him about anything. Really cool, cool dude. Very laid back. Even keeled. You know exactly what you're going to get from him every day. He's always the same dude."
And Hartman is becoming the same dude on the court, again, that Indiana fans have appreciated in past campaigns.
"Just slowly working back into it," Hartman said. "Working more and more at practice every day things. Just trying to get back in the flow. Not rushing anything."
But the Hoosiers now have what Hartman called "our last little deep breath" before IU hosts Indiana State in the Nov. 10 season-opener, which starts a run of six games in 15 days before Duke comes calling Nov. 29.
"We have a little stretch here before we get into the games," Hartman said, "a little stretch to fine-tune some things as a team, and really focus on getting those details locked in. Because we're coming up to where we play five games in about 10 days right off the bat.
"It felt good to be out there again. It'd been over a year since I was able to put this jersey on and play somebody else … it really felt good to get the first one under my belt and get the ball rollin'."
And get the ball ripping cord.
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