Indiana University Athletics
Williams Rebounds, Sparks Indiana Win
2/18/2016 9:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com | Twitter
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Troy Williams' 180 degree turnaround came much in the same way he makes his way up and down the court—it was a blur.
The junior forward led Indiana to an 80-64 win over Nebraska with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. Apart from four turnovers, it was about as clean a game Williams had had in recent memory just three days after being held scoreless in a loss to Michigan State.
So clean, in fact, that Williams didn't even realize he only missed one shot.
"I didn't even know," a surprised Williams said. "Yeah, just not settling as much and attacking the rim more. I have a quick first step and I need to use it more, so I found that out tonight."
Much has been made about Williams' control on the court. His up tempo, never-slow-down mindset has been both his biggest strength and his biggest weakness, Indiana head coach Tom Crean said. He doesn't dare tell him to slow down at the risk of Williams losing his edge.
Outings like Wednesday's show why.
"Troy has got some unique talents, and sometimes he's his own worst enemy with the things that he tries to do," Crean said. "But what he did in the second half was what we were trying to do."
Williams scored six quick points out of the halftime break to push Indiana ahead by 14 not more than three minutes in. It didn't get much closer than that, and with a little help from Penn State upsetting No. 4 Iowa, the Hoosiers climbed back into a tie for first place in the Big Ten standings.
Through it all, Williams was the catalyst.
He attacked the rim with confidence, floating along the baseline like his normal self, looking for dunks and tip-ins around the basket. He quietly celebrated swatting a Nebraska shot attempt out of bounds and senior guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell drawing a charge late in the game after the result was already out of hand.
"(Williams) really opens everything up because when he's playing down the court like that, it's really hard to guard, especially when you have so many shooters like we do," sophomore guard Robert Johnson said. "If they come off of us, then he kicks it. If they don't, then he gets to the rim."
Crean doesn't like to talk about slumps, certainly not for Williams.
But Crean did make a point of pulling Williams aside in practice between his poor outing in East Lansing and his breakout in Bloomington to talk about his aggressiveness. Crean told him, among other things, to stay on the attack and play with confidence.
Their discussion manifested itself on Branch McCracken Court as tangible support for Crean's advice.
"He was really locked in," Crean said. "When he's really focused and letting the game come to him in some degrees but also being on the attack in the other degree, then he's pretty good."
Crean made a point to caution that Williams' outing was only one night. It's one thing to do it at home after a loss, but it's another to continue to build on it. The Hoosiers will look for the latter down the stretch of a Big Ten championship race.
As Williams walked off the podium of his postgame press conference, he turned toward a trash can and threw his water bottle. The bag made a distinctive swish as it went in.
"You didn't miss that one either," The Fort Wayne News Sentinel's Pete DiPrimio told him.
Williams laughed.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Troy Williams' 180 degree turnaround came much in the same way he makes his way up and down the court—it was a blur.
The junior forward led Indiana to an 80-64 win over Nebraska with 18 points, five rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. Apart from four turnovers, it was about as clean a game Williams had had in recent memory just three days after being held scoreless in a loss to Michigan State.
So clean, in fact, that Williams didn't even realize he only missed one shot.
"I didn't even know," a surprised Williams said. "Yeah, just not settling as much and attacking the rim more. I have a quick first step and I need to use it more, so I found that out tonight."
Much has been made about Williams' control on the court. His up tempo, never-slow-down mindset has been both his biggest strength and his biggest weakness, Indiana head coach Tom Crean said. He doesn't dare tell him to slow down at the risk of Williams losing his edge.
Outings like Wednesday's show why.
"Troy has got some unique talents, and sometimes he's his own worst enemy with the things that he tries to do," Crean said. "But what he did in the second half was what we were trying to do."
Williams scored six quick points out of the halftime break to push Indiana ahead by 14 not more than three minutes in. It didn't get much closer than that, and with a little help from Penn State upsetting No. 4 Iowa, the Hoosiers climbed back into a tie for first place in the Big Ten standings.
Through it all, Williams was the catalyst.
He attacked the rim with confidence, floating along the baseline like his normal self, looking for dunks and tip-ins around the basket. He quietly celebrated swatting a Nebraska shot attempt out of bounds and senior guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell drawing a charge late in the game after the result was already out of hand.
"(Williams) really opens everything up because when he's playing down the court like that, it's really hard to guard, especially when you have so many shooters like we do," sophomore guard Robert Johnson said. "If they come off of us, then he kicks it. If they don't, then he gets to the rim."
Crean doesn't like to talk about slumps, certainly not for Williams.
But Crean did make a point of pulling Williams aside in practice between his poor outing in East Lansing and his breakout in Bloomington to talk about his aggressiveness. Crean told him, among other things, to stay on the attack and play with confidence.
Their discussion manifested itself on Branch McCracken Court as tangible support for Crean's advice.
"He was really locked in," Crean said. "When he's really focused and letting the game come to him in some degrees but also being on the attack in the other degree, then he's pretty good."
Crean made a point to caution that Williams' outing was only one night. It's one thing to do it at home after a loss, but it's another to continue to build on it. The Hoosiers will look for the latter down the stretch of a Big Ten championship race.
As Williams walked off the podium of his postgame press conference, he turned toward a trash can and threw his water bottle. The bag made a distinctive swish as it went in.
"You didn't miss that one either," The Fort Wayne News Sentinel's Pete DiPrimio told him.
Williams laughed.
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