Indiana University Athletics
All Hands On Deck For Hoosiers at Minnesota
1/6/2018 12:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - Indiana and host Minnesota will both play without their erstwhile starting centers, for very different reasons, when Saturday's 5:15 p.m. tipoff at Williams Arena transpires.
IU sophomore De'Ron Davis sustained what Hoosier coach Archie Miller termed a non-contact "lower leg injury" during practice Wednesday and is "out indefinitely."
Minnesota senior center Reggie Lynch is suspended after this week's ruling by the school's Office for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action that found him "responsible" for violating UM's sexual misconduct policy dating back to an incident from spring of 2016.
Lynch, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was averaging 10.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and a league-leading 4.1 shot-blocks per game. He was shooting .584 from the field and .717 from the foul line for the Gophers (13-3, overall, and 2-1 in conference play). He is expected to appeal the ruling that led to his suspension, but won't play Saturday.
Davis averaged 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and .615 field-goal shooting through IU's first 15 games while holding down the pivot for the Hoosiers (8-7, 1-2).
Miller met with the media Thursday and labeled it an "all hands on deck" situation for his club, which will look to avoid foul trouble up front and better augment production through perimeter scoring.
"I think every guy on the team, at this point in time, is going to have to really raise their level of play," Miller said, "(including) guys who haven't maybe had such roles here early in the season. Like I always say, if you're working and you stay ready, you never know – and when your number's called, you have to be ready to go.
"The biggest detriment to our team now will be obviously foul trouble, something that is going to be huge in terms of us moving forward and being successful; having to try and keep our best players on the floor for the longest period of time …(and we need) our perimeter guys giving us a boost offensively. Not just one guy. I mean all of them. They have to be able to bring a punch. They have to go get it, be more aggressive with it. We're urging them to do that."
Collin Hartman, the 6-foot-7 senior winger, scored a career-high 18 points and hit 4 of 8 3-pointers during Tuesday's 71-61 loss at Wisconsin, but the rest of the Hoosiers went a combined 0 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Hartman and senior guard Robert Johnson entered the season as career 40 percent 3-point shooters but their current respective percentages are .353 and .307. Fellow senior guard Josh Newkirk is hitting at a .367 clip, matching last season, but came in as a .380 careeer shooter. Sophomore guard Devonte Green is shooting just .291 from 3-point range after hitting at .352 last year.
As a team, the Hoosiers are at .305 from beyond the arc after shooting .380 last season. Opponents are shooting .384 on 3s after being held to .337 last season.
Few would have guessed that the leading Hoosier 3-point shooter among the regulars at this juncture would be walk-on Josh McRoberts (5 of 12 for a .417 mark).
So beyond adjusting to losing its starting center, IU nto start getting something closer to career numbers from its guards.
"I think our perimeter guys are a little bit tight, especially shooting the ball," Miller said. "I think those guys got to be freed up here a little bit to take advantage of the opportunities, to make more plays, be aggressive, play through some mistakes.
"Hopefully as we get a little bit more down the line, we can start to see some growth there, where Josh is playing well, Rob is playing well, Al (Durham) is playing well, Devonte is playing well. If you ever get a combination of those guys playing well, we're a lot harder to deal with. In some better games this season, we've showed we can play at a higher level, we usually have a couple of those guys step up.
"That's going to be a big key. Everyone is going to have to raise our level of play. Our back court has the biggest room for growth for our team. In my mind they're not playing as well as they can. I think we have to be able to, as a staff, bring more confidence to them."
Newkirk and Durham noted that its incumbent upon the players to build confidence, too.
"I think we've been over-thinking," Durham, a 6-4 freshman guard who has started nine games, said. "… We just need to be trusting each other, making the extra pass, making the right play. Moving the ball. Playing as a team. Being more consistent with our games."
Asked specifically about shooting, whether it was a matter of being prepared to shoot or doing so with confidence, Newkirk replied:
"I think it's a combination of both – just getting ready to shoot, when that extra pass is made, and being confident in the shot, stepping into it and just knocking it down."
That would take pressure off 6-7 junior Juwan Morgan, upon who the Hoosiers will be more dependent up front and who will doubtless draw more defensive attention during Davis' absence.
Morgan is already stepping up. He's averaging a team-leading 15.4 points, but is averaging 18.7 in league play. He had 17 points and a career-high four steals at Wisconsin.
"Juwan has clearly shown he can be successful in and around the basket," Miller said. "Being able to use him in different ways, isolated at times, has been some of our best offense.
"He was really good in practice yesterday. He's focused. I think just right now, I mean, he's going to be a guy that walks into every game, he's going to get the other team's best shot. He's got to be ready to go because we're going to go through him a lot."
Morgan might match up against Minnesota main man Jordan Murphy, a 6-6 junior who leads the league in scoring (19.0) and rebounding (12.9), with the rebounding number ranking second in the nation. Murphy already has posted 16 double-doubles this season.
"Rebounding in many ways is a great talent," Miller said. "Some guys just have a knack for the ball. I think he has a knack for the ball. He can defensive rebound, he offensive rebounds. Just part of what he does. He wants the ball. He's also a very, very rugged, physical, driving guy around the basket.
"He's tough to handle. He's a great perimeter driver. He's a great perimeter post guy in terms of how he gets fouled. Then, you know, being able to get I think (a national-best 5.1) offensive rebounds … you don't teach guys to do that. It's hard to get guys to rebound at that level. It's a unique skill that
Miller noted that Minnesota will have to do some adjusting on its front line, too, but that the Gophers are still well-stocked. Murphy, senior guard Nate Mason (15.6 points per game) and 6-6 soph Amir Coffey join the suspended Lynch in averaging double-figure scoring and Dupree McBrayer is at 9.0. Gaston Diedhiou, a 6-10 senior from Senegal, can help replace Lynch's size up front.
"(Lynch) clearly is a rim protector, altering shots, blocking shots," Miller said. "He really does a great job there. On the other end of the floor, he's a huge presence on the offensive glass. I mean, he brings a real force on both ends of the floor.
"Not having him, it will be significant for them. But they also have a ton of good players. I mean, he's not the only guy on their team that's impactful. It starts I think with Nate Mason. Murphy is obviously getting ready to tie Tim Duncan for the most consecutive double-doubles in a season, that's what I was told. They have a lot of good players. They'll be fine."
Miller hopes that applies to his Hoosiers without Davis, too.
THE BUSS ROLLS ON
Coach Miller, who knew something about elite production as a relatively undersized college guard while starring at North Carolina State, took note of Tyra Buss becoming the career scoring leader for Indiana's women Wednesday.
Buss now has 1,931 points, surpassing both Denise Jackson (whose mark of 1,917 had stood for 34 years) and Karna Abram (1,910) by scoring 27 in a 77-74 loss to Penn State.
"She's great a great personality," Miller said of 5-8 senior Buss. "Loves the game. She's in the gym as much as anybody. Even more so than our players probably at times.
"Just in looking at her numbers, getting 20 a game, being able to do what she's done at her size, it resonates a little bit with me to watch her. Obviously very, very skilled. To have that type of landmark career mark, being in the Big Ten, just kind of shows you not only the player that she is but the competitor she is.
"It's been fun to get to know her a little bit. The whole program, our women's program in general, really good people. Great work ethic. So it's a big congratulations to her."
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - Indiana and host Minnesota will both play without their erstwhile starting centers, for very different reasons, when Saturday's 5:15 p.m. tipoff at Williams Arena transpires.
IU sophomore De'Ron Davis sustained what Hoosier coach Archie Miller termed a non-contact "lower leg injury" during practice Wednesday and is "out indefinitely."
Minnesota senior center Reggie Lynch is suspended after this week's ruling by the school's Office for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action that found him "responsible" for violating UM's sexual misconduct policy dating back to an incident from spring of 2016.
Lynch, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, was averaging 10.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and a league-leading 4.1 shot-blocks per game. He was shooting .584 from the field and .717 from the foul line for the Gophers (13-3, overall, and 2-1 in conference play). He is expected to appeal the ruling that led to his suspension, but won't play Saturday.
Davis averaged 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and .615 field-goal shooting through IU's first 15 games while holding down the pivot for the Hoosiers (8-7, 1-2).
Miller met with the media Thursday and labeled it an "all hands on deck" situation for his club, which will look to avoid foul trouble up front and better augment production through perimeter scoring.
"I think every guy on the team, at this point in time, is going to have to really raise their level of play," Miller said, "(including) guys who haven't maybe had such roles here early in the season. Like I always say, if you're working and you stay ready, you never know – and when your number's called, you have to be ready to go.
"The biggest detriment to our team now will be obviously foul trouble, something that is going to be huge in terms of us moving forward and being successful; having to try and keep our best players on the floor for the longest period of time …(and we need) our perimeter guys giving us a boost offensively. Not just one guy. I mean all of them. They have to be able to bring a punch. They have to go get it, be more aggressive with it. We're urging them to do that."
Collin Hartman, the 6-foot-7 senior winger, scored a career-high 18 points and hit 4 of 8 3-pointers during Tuesday's 71-61 loss at Wisconsin, but the rest of the Hoosiers went a combined 0 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Hartman and senior guard Robert Johnson entered the season as career 40 percent 3-point shooters but their current respective percentages are .353 and .307. Fellow senior guard Josh Newkirk is hitting at a .367 clip, matching last season, but came in as a .380 careeer shooter. Sophomore guard Devonte Green is shooting just .291 from 3-point range after hitting at .352 last year.
As a team, the Hoosiers are at .305 from beyond the arc after shooting .380 last season. Opponents are shooting .384 on 3s after being held to .337 last season.
Few would have guessed that the leading Hoosier 3-point shooter among the regulars at this juncture would be walk-on Josh McRoberts (5 of 12 for a .417 mark).
So beyond adjusting to losing its starting center, IU nto start getting something closer to career numbers from its guards.
"I think our perimeter guys are a little bit tight, especially shooting the ball," Miller said. "I think those guys got to be freed up here a little bit to take advantage of the opportunities, to make more plays, be aggressive, play through some mistakes.
"Hopefully as we get a little bit more down the line, we can start to see some growth there, where Josh is playing well, Rob is playing well, Al (Durham) is playing well, Devonte is playing well. If you ever get a combination of those guys playing well, we're a lot harder to deal with. In some better games this season, we've showed we can play at a higher level, we usually have a couple of those guys step up.
"That's going to be a big key. Everyone is going to have to raise our level of play. Our back court has the biggest room for growth for our team. In my mind they're not playing as well as they can. I think we have to be able to, as a staff, bring more confidence to them."
Newkirk and Durham noted that its incumbent upon the players to build confidence, too.
"I think we've been over-thinking," Durham, a 6-4 freshman guard who has started nine games, said. "… We just need to be trusting each other, making the extra pass, making the right play. Moving the ball. Playing as a team. Being more consistent with our games."
Asked specifically about shooting, whether it was a matter of being prepared to shoot or doing so with confidence, Newkirk replied:
"I think it's a combination of both – just getting ready to shoot, when that extra pass is made, and being confident in the shot, stepping into it and just knocking it down."
That would take pressure off 6-7 junior Juwan Morgan, upon who the Hoosiers will be more dependent up front and who will doubtless draw more defensive attention during Davis' absence.
Morgan is already stepping up. He's averaging a team-leading 15.4 points, but is averaging 18.7 in league play. He had 17 points and a career-high four steals at Wisconsin.
"Juwan has clearly shown he can be successful in and around the basket," Miller said. "Being able to use him in different ways, isolated at times, has been some of our best offense.
"He was really good in practice yesterday. He's focused. I think just right now, I mean, he's going to be a guy that walks into every game, he's going to get the other team's best shot. He's got to be ready to go because we're going to go through him a lot."
Morgan might match up against Minnesota main man Jordan Murphy, a 6-6 junior who leads the league in scoring (19.0) and rebounding (12.9), with the rebounding number ranking second in the nation. Murphy already has posted 16 double-doubles this season.
"Rebounding in many ways is a great talent," Miller said. "Some guys just have a knack for the ball. I think he has a knack for the ball. He can defensive rebound, he offensive rebounds. Just part of what he does. He wants the ball. He's also a very, very rugged, physical, driving guy around the basket.
"He's tough to handle. He's a great perimeter driver. He's a great perimeter post guy in terms of how he gets fouled. Then, you know, being able to get I think (a national-best 5.1) offensive rebounds … you don't teach guys to do that. It's hard to get guys to rebound at that level. It's a unique skill that
Miller noted that Minnesota will have to do some adjusting on its front line, too, but that the Gophers are still well-stocked. Murphy, senior guard Nate Mason (15.6 points per game) and 6-6 soph Amir Coffey join the suspended Lynch in averaging double-figure scoring and Dupree McBrayer is at 9.0. Gaston Diedhiou, a 6-10 senior from Senegal, can help replace Lynch's size up front.
"(Lynch) clearly is a rim protector, altering shots, blocking shots," Miller said. "He really does a great job there. On the other end of the floor, he's a huge presence on the offensive glass. I mean, he brings a real force on both ends of the floor.
"Not having him, it will be significant for them. But they also have a ton of good players. I mean, he's not the only guy on their team that's impactful. It starts I think with Nate Mason. Murphy is obviously getting ready to tie Tim Duncan for the most consecutive double-doubles in a season, that's what I was told. They have a lot of good players. They'll be fine."
Miller hopes that applies to his Hoosiers without Davis, too.
THE BUSS ROLLS ON
Coach Miller, who knew something about elite production as a relatively undersized college guard while starring at North Carolina State, took note of Tyra Buss becoming the career scoring leader for Indiana's women Wednesday.
Buss now has 1,931 points, surpassing both Denise Jackson (whose mark of 1,917 had stood for 34 years) and Karna Abram (1,910) by scoring 27 in a 77-74 loss to Penn State.
"She's great a great personality," Miller said of 5-8 senior Buss. "Loves the game. She's in the gym as much as anybody. Even more so than our players probably at times.
"Just in looking at her numbers, getting 20 a game, being able to do what she's done at her size, it resonates a little bit with me to watch her. Obviously very, very skilled. To have that type of landmark career mark, being in the Big Ten, just kind of shows you not only the player that she is but the competitor she is.
"It's been fun to get to know her a little bit. The whole program, our women's program in general, really good people. Great work ethic. So it's a big congratulations to her."
Players Mentioned
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