With Older Brother Watching, Green Shines in Exhibition Game

By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - Big brother had to like what he saw Saturday night.

And the coach, who said he sees it every day in practice, certainly did.

San Antonio guard Danny Green, whose Spurs played at the Pacers on Sunday, was on hand at Indiana's Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to see younger brother Devonte Green shine Saturday to the tune of:

• A game-high 22 points, with 9 of 14 shooting from the field.
• A game-high seven assists, against just two turnovers.
• A team-high six boards, as a 6-foot-3 guard.

The younger Green's explanation for all that was succinct.

"We just did a good job moving the ball," Green said after IU completed a 93-62 exhibition win over NAIA foe Marian. "Guys made open shots (and that) helped out the assists. I just tried to stay aggressive on the glass."

Coach Archie Miller, who made his formal debut as IU's new mentor, chose to elaborate a bit.

"That's who he's been every day in practice," Miller said of Green. "He does a little bit of everything for us. I think you're starting to see a guy, if he stays with it, he's going to be a very, very important player for us.

"He had a really good overall game … when Devonte is unselfish and he's making people better, his team always wins. When Devonte isn't making guys better and thinking score a lot, the team doesn't win as much. He's the guy that's the best on our team at being able to skip in that paint and get out and do some things. He's going to be a big end-of-clock, play-making guard for us as the season goes."

That seemed evident Saturday, especially after halftime, when the sophomore from Long Island supplied 12 of his points and five of his assists.

There was the dazzling cross-over dribble and dish in the lane leading to a Freddie McSwain Jr. slam. Then there was the pretty pass directly off a right-handed dribble during another lane penetration, this time leading to a massive DeRon Davis dunk. And so on and so forth.

That sort of thing spurred the Hoosiers, up just 50-38 with 14:10 left, to a 74-40 bulge less than six minutes later, a surge capped as fellow guard Josh Newkirk nailed a 3 off a Green assist.

"I think you saw that in the second half -- he made some really good easy reads, getting guys some easy baskets under the basket, pick-and-rolls, or chase dribble," Miller said of Green.

Marian coach Scott Heady noticed, too.

"He was really good," Heady, in his first year at Marian after multiple Indiana state high school titles coaching Carmel, said of Green. "Once they get going, they're going to be really good.

"You can see when they got going offensively – they start hitting shots, and I think their defense started picking up."

Green though so, too.

"We definitely got into a flow that second half, after talking it over (at halftime)," Green said. "Offensively, it was 'Keep moving and keep flowing.'

"We talked a lot of defense, too. We can't give up easy shots. They were working to the end of the (shot-)clock, so we couldn't get tired or lose focus defensively. We had to stay disciplined … I definitely think we stayed more disciplined on defense in the second half and their shots were more contested."

Green grinned when he noted that junior teammate Zach McRoberts was especially helpful on the defensive end of the court.

"That was Zach's old coach in high school," Green said of Heady. "Zach was definitely ready for some of their plays. He was calling them out as the coach called them out."

Green looked comfortable answering the call at both ends. That wasn't always the case every second of a freshman campaign as a combo guard in which he averaged 4.4 points and 1.8 boards. But he played in 32 of IU's 34 games, starting three, and earned more time as the season went on. He ended up shooting a very solid 24 of 55 (.436) from 3-point range and scored in double-figures in three of the Hoosiers' final five games.

Upon Miller's advent to the Hoosier helm, Green is now finding the ball in his hands more often.

"I've been playing a lot more point guard this year and I'm comfortable with the ball in both my hands," Green said. "And I'm just playing.

"First Coach Miller had me off the ball more, but he slowly worked me into the point guard position and told me he's going to want the ball in my hands more."

As to the manner of offense Miller wants Green to help orchestrate with the ball in his hands, it remains a work in progress. The Hoosiers have reportedly focused primarily on defense during practice so far. And Miller knows the squad will need to polish its half-court attack.

"I think the thing that's concerning is how we're going to score – if you're not making 3s, if you're not scoring in transition, how are you going to score in the half-court?" Miller said. "That's going to be something we're going to have to work at all the time and we're going to have to continue to get better at it. We're going to have to find a way to score in the half-court.

"My hope is that we're a team that can shoot the ball, though. I think you got a glimpse tonight. There's multiple guys who can stretch the floor. And you had Al (Durham) and Collin (Hartman) not in (held out for precautionary injury-related reasons), who are both very good shooters. I think being able to shoot the ball is going to be a big thing for us. But how we score in the half-court against really good teams who won't let you score in transition – that's going to be the biggest concern."

One that Green intends to help solve. He described himself, Newkirk and senior Robert Johnson as "interchangeable" guards, and freshman Durham can also potentially help run the point, too.

Green already likes Miller's approach, on both ends of the court.

"I think we just have a lot of flow within the offense and a lot of freedom within the offense," Green said. "There are different options you can make happen. We're working secondary break in a bit. I definitely do think people will see more of that.

"Defensively, Coach Miller likes a lot of ball-pressure. He thinks getting into guys will help cause turnovers. But we need all five players to help each other for the defense to be successful. It depends upon matchups, also."

Saturday's matchup was a mismatch. Most this season won't be.

The Hoosiers host another exhibition Nov. 5 against the University of Indianapolis, then commence the official part of their season Nov. 10 against in-state rival Indiana State.

And just a month from now, Nov. 29, IU will start a five-game stretch against Duke, Michigan, Iowa, Louisville and Notre Dame.

But for now, Saturday seemed a good start, for Green and his team.

"It's always exciting coming out and playing in the Assembly Hall for the first time (in a season)," Green said. "We were definitely anxious to get out here and play against an opponent."

And, in Green's case, to play in front of a proud brother in the stands.

Indiana University Athletics

With Older Brother Watching, Green Shines in Exhibition Game

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Devonte Green

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Freddie McSwain Jr.

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