Indiana University Athletics
Indiana At Another Level With Anunoby
3/18/2016 3:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com
DES MOINES, Iowa - The consensus across Indiana's locker room Thursday was that OG Anunoby is playing with confidence.
That's bad news for anyone playing against him.
"He takes us to another level," freshman center Thomas Bryant said. "Another level."
Anunoby has adjusted to playing tournament basketball with relative ease. He's rapidly becoming one of Indiana's most electrifying players on the court at any given moment.
The freshman forward has played in two postseason games as a Hoosier, a Big Ten Tournament loss to Michigan and an NCAA Tournament win against Chattanooga. Between them, he's scored 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting.
"He's been on a good move really the entire Big Ten and now into March," head coach Tom Crean said. "OG has a lot of potential."
That word—"potential"—keeps coming up Anunoby's name get mentioned. Crean doesn't even begin to put a player comparison beside him because it doesn't seem anyone's sure of just what Anunoby will become.
"He's going to be an outstanding player," Crean said.
The public can see Anunoby's potential when he skies for 360-degree dunks like the one he threw down in the first half against the Mocs after deflecting a pass in the backcourt and having more than enough time to throw down the highlight-reel dunk.
His teammates see that same potential every day. Senior forward Ryan Burton swears there are even better dunks in practice.
They've become so accustomed to seeing Anunoby's aerial acrobatics that they shrug it off like it's common play.
The increasingly scary part is that for Anunoby, that's just what it is.
"We see it in practice so much," Burton said. "But you always want to see more."
As for Anunoby himself, he can't seem to figure out what the fuss is about.
The soft-spoken Missouri native doesn't bat an eye when asked about throwing down a 360-degree dunk or completing a spinning finger roll at the rim. He said they were just the plays he made.
Fifth-year senior forward Max Bielfeldt, Anunoby's roommate on the road, joked that he threw down a 360-degree dunk last night, too.
"In my dreams last night," Bielfeldt joked.
Translation: It's not just another play.
"OG, his confidence is going up," Bielfeldt said. "You don't see it because he doesn't show any emotion, but his confidence is going up."
But why now? Why in the NCAA Tournament of all places?
Over the course of the season, Anunoby went from limited production in limited minutes to one of the first players off Crean's bench. Since the beginning of the Big Ten season, he's had eight games where he's scored less than six points. He's averaged 9.25 points per game over his last four games including the postseason.
Anunoby said his teammates are trusting him more. So when he's open, he takes shots and hits them.
Simple enough.
But junior forward Troy Williams has another answer.
"He wants to win like the rest of us," Williams said. "Winners make plays."
DES MOINES, Iowa - The consensus across Indiana's locker room Thursday was that OG Anunoby is playing with confidence.
That's bad news for anyone playing against him.
"He takes us to another level," freshman center Thomas Bryant said. "Another level."
Anunoby has adjusted to playing tournament basketball with relative ease. He's rapidly becoming one of Indiana's most electrifying players on the court at any given moment.
The freshman forward has played in two postseason games as a Hoosier, a Big Ten Tournament loss to Michigan and an NCAA Tournament win against Chattanooga. Between them, he's scored 27 points on 12-of-13 shooting.
"He's been on a good move really the entire Big Ten and now into March," head coach Tom Crean said. "OG has a lot of potential."
That word—"potential"—keeps coming up Anunoby's name get mentioned. Crean doesn't even begin to put a player comparison beside him because it doesn't seem anyone's sure of just what Anunoby will become.
"He's going to be an outstanding player," Crean said.
The public can see Anunoby's potential when he skies for 360-degree dunks like the one he threw down in the first half against the Mocs after deflecting a pass in the backcourt and having more than enough time to throw down the highlight-reel dunk.
His teammates see that same potential every day. Senior forward Ryan Burton swears there are even better dunks in practice.
They've become so accustomed to seeing Anunoby's aerial acrobatics that they shrug it off like it's common play.
The increasingly scary part is that for Anunoby, that's just what it is.
"We see it in practice so much," Burton said. "But you always want to see more."
As for Anunoby himself, he can't seem to figure out what the fuss is about.
The soft-spoken Missouri native doesn't bat an eye when asked about throwing down a 360-degree dunk or completing a spinning finger roll at the rim. He said they were just the plays he made.
Fifth-year senior forward Max Bielfeldt, Anunoby's roommate on the road, joked that he threw down a 360-degree dunk last night, too.
"In my dreams last night," Bielfeldt joked.
Translation: It's not just another play.
"OG, his confidence is going up," Bielfeldt said. "You don't see it because he doesn't show any emotion, but his confidence is going up."
But why now? Why in the NCAA Tournament of all places?
Over the course of the season, Anunoby went from limited production in limited minutes to one of the first players off Crean's bench. Since the beginning of the Big Ten season, he's had eight games where he's scored less than six points. He's averaged 9.25 points per game over his last four games including the postseason.
Anunoby said his teammates are trusting him more. So when he's open, he takes shots and hits them.
Simple enough.
But junior forward Troy Williams has another answer.
"He wants to win like the rest of us," Williams said. "Winners make plays."
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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