Indiana University Athletics
Indiana’s Small Freshman Class Looking For Big Impact
10/29/2015 5:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Juwan Morgan's first taste of Assembly Hall surprised him. He'd been there before, but not as a player. Not in front of a Bloomington crowd.
"It was crazy," Morgan said after Hoosier Hysteria. "I was not expecting it to be this loud. I was here last year, but actually being on the court and hearing it, it was a whole other level. I'm just looking forward to playing this season."
The same could be said for Morgan's other two scholarship classmates—McDonald's All-American center Thomas Bryant and fellow forward OG Anunoby—who together make up the smallest freshman class Indiana has signed in the last four years.
There's a sense of excitement among Indiana's newest Hoosiers, who all project to fill varying roles this season. Even on a veteran roster, IU's freshmen know they'll be relied on. In each of the last two seasons, head coach Tom Crean has regularly started between two and three freshmen on a given night.
Indiana's current class may share that large of a burden. That much remains to be seen. But if they've learned anything in the last few months on campus, Anunoby said it's the little things in practice and in games that will make the difference in playing time.
"I've learned that details are really important, and they really emphasize them here," Anunoby said. "And always playing hard, as hard as you can. I've just been working on my shooting and ballhandling and defense."
That's something not all freshmen grasp right away. In high school, where the competition was less challenging, it's easier for talented players to go slower in games. Their intensity doesn't always need to be full-go.
That changes in college, fifth-year senior Max Bielfeldt said. He's worked with the freshman forwards as much as anyone so far, taking them under his guidance as best he can at practice.
Bielfeldt said at Big Ten media day that the freshmen have been quick learners, adding that they need to be. All three of them have the potential to make a difference on a team that has aspirations to compete for a Big Ten championship, Beilfelt said.
"I think all three of those guys add tremendous value," Bielfeldt said. "OG, Juwan, Thomas—they all are really eager to learn. I think as freshmen, that's something that they've been really good at is asking for advice and when you tell them something, they come back doing it later."
Nowhere was that more evident than after Hoosier Hysteria than when Bryant rushed across the court to Crean with a question on defensive positioning. With his hands in the air and Crean simulating the role as an offensive player with the ball, Crean answered Bryant's last-second questions before walking off the court together.
That combination of raw talent and hunger to get better impresses Crean. Bryant was limited in practice after suffering a minor foot injury but said he's able to attack practice without hesitation after a brief time being sidelined.
"(The injury) was a little frustrating," Bryant said. "But everything happens for a reason. That's what I took it as. Just come back better and stronger."
Bryant's optimism reflects Indiana's expectations. He said he's going about his business "day by day" and doesn't necessarily think about the big picture of national rankings or things of that sort. He's more concerned with self-improvement.
Bryant's composure—as well as Anunoby's and Morgan's—impressed Bielfeldt, a veteran working among fresh faces in the Indiana front court. Bluntly put, Bielfeldt said they're going to get their names called this season and how they respond will dictate results.
Like those outside the program, he's curious to see how they respond.
"We're going to need those guys who definitely won't be used to it," Biefeldt said. "It will be interesting to watch them grow, but I think they're ready for it."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Juwan Morgan's first taste of Assembly Hall surprised him. He'd been there before, but not as a player. Not in front of a Bloomington crowd.
"It was crazy," Morgan said after Hoosier Hysteria. "I was not expecting it to be this loud. I was here last year, but actually being on the court and hearing it, it was a whole other level. I'm just looking forward to playing this season."
The same could be said for Morgan's other two scholarship classmates—McDonald's All-American center Thomas Bryant and fellow forward OG Anunoby—who together make up the smallest freshman class Indiana has signed in the last four years.
There's a sense of excitement among Indiana's newest Hoosiers, who all project to fill varying roles this season. Even on a veteran roster, IU's freshmen know they'll be relied on. In each of the last two seasons, head coach Tom Crean has regularly started between two and three freshmen on a given night.
Indiana's current class may share that large of a burden. That much remains to be seen. But if they've learned anything in the last few months on campus, Anunoby said it's the little things in practice and in games that will make the difference in playing time.
"I've learned that details are really important, and they really emphasize them here," Anunoby said. "And always playing hard, as hard as you can. I've just been working on my shooting and ballhandling and defense."
That's something not all freshmen grasp right away. In high school, where the competition was less challenging, it's easier for talented players to go slower in games. Their intensity doesn't always need to be full-go.
That changes in college, fifth-year senior Max Bielfeldt said. He's worked with the freshman forwards as much as anyone so far, taking them under his guidance as best he can at practice.
Bielfeldt said at Big Ten media day that the freshmen have been quick learners, adding that they need to be. All three of them have the potential to make a difference on a team that has aspirations to compete for a Big Ten championship, Beilfelt said.
"I think all three of those guys add tremendous value," Bielfeldt said. "OG, Juwan, Thomas—they all are really eager to learn. I think as freshmen, that's something that they've been really good at is asking for advice and when you tell them something, they come back doing it later."
Nowhere was that more evident than after Hoosier Hysteria than when Bryant rushed across the court to Crean with a question on defensive positioning. With his hands in the air and Crean simulating the role as an offensive player with the ball, Crean answered Bryant's last-second questions before walking off the court together.
That combination of raw talent and hunger to get better impresses Crean. Bryant was limited in practice after suffering a minor foot injury but said he's able to attack practice without hesitation after a brief time being sidelined.
"(The injury) was a little frustrating," Bryant said. "But everything happens for a reason. That's what I took it as. Just come back better and stronger."
Bryant's optimism reflects Indiana's expectations. He said he's going about his business "day by day" and doesn't necessarily think about the big picture of national rankings or things of that sort. He's more concerned with self-improvement.
Bryant's composure—as well as Anunoby's and Morgan's—impressed Bielfeldt, a veteran working among fresh faces in the Indiana front court. Bluntly put, Bielfeldt said they're going to get their names called this season and how they respond will dictate results.
Like those outside the program, he's curious to see how they respond.
"We're going to need those guys who definitely won't be used to it," Biefeldt said. "It will be interesting to watch them grow, but I think they're ready for it."
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