Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Focus On Themselves Following Holiday Break
12/29/2017 10:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - It's frigid. Time for Penguins.
And a new year looms.
Time for resolution.
Before Indiana's basketball men resume Big Ten play Jan. 2 at Wisconsin, the Hoosiers host a final non-conference game at 8 p.m. Friday against Youngstown State.
YSU's Penguins enter cold, on an eight-game losing skid, but IU is primarily focused upon itself right now, regardless.
"We're working on ourselves," Hoosier coach Archie Miller said while meeting the media Thursday. "To be good, to be great in the hardest moments of the season, in your biggest games, you can only really rely on you. And you've got to be able to execute the things that you're trying to do offensively and defensively.
"We spent really all of our time (over holiday break) on us continuing to try to get better, continuing to try to play harder, getting more guys to do more things, to contribute. And as you go into Youngstown State or whether you're playing against Wisconsin, there's always a game plan. But you have to be really good, I think, at what you do more so than (worry about what) other teams do."
Miller pushed his Hoosiers hard after a ghastly Dec. 18 home loss to Fort Wayne spoiled the immediate aftermath of an inspired win over Notre Dame. And after IU responded with an 87-59 romp over Tennessee Tech just before Christmas, the coach has put the pedal right back to the metal.
"We have to keep our foot down and we have to be a very goal-oriented team right now," Miller said of his 7-6 club. "We have to be a very driven team, individually and as a group. And we have to be pushed. Our staff has to be pushed. We have to push our players, our players have to push one another and the competition, the competitiveness. The spirit of what you do every day matters right now a lot.
"And we've had a couple of guys come off the break, have been really pleased. Justin Smith and Al Durham – you forget that those freshmen can hit those walls during school, during finals. I think those guys have been really good in practice the last couple of days. It's been nice to see those guys re-energized, so to speak, with a spirit about them. I think that's what makes your teams better, is guys working at it every day."
Junior winger Zach McRoberts, who once stepped away from competitive college basketball entirely after transferring from Vermont to IU, knows what it's like to come back hungry after his hiatus. He's seeing some spring in Hoosier steps right now.
"I think it's good coming back, after an extended period of time off that we had – three or four days," McRoberts said. "I'd say it's a good mental break, for a lot of the younger guys, especially.
"Just getting used to the college workload, physically and mentally in the classroom, (it's good to get a break.) I think that's important. And then, obviously, more time in the gym comes with that. So it's been good for a lot of guys."
Even seniors with 100 career starts.
Asked what his favorite present was this Christmas, senior guard Robert Johnson replied:
"I'd say, really, just the chance to go home for an extended period of time. I'd never really had that. (I was home in Richmond, Va.) about three days. That's easily a record.
"I think it definitely helps, you know, just to get off your feet and get around family and kind of recharge before conference play. I think it was good for us."
Johnson was also asked what sort of New Year's Resolution he might set for himself as a player. "Just being a better leader every day," said Johnson, who has started 100 of his 111 career games at IU. "I think if I'm able to do that, a lot of other things in my game will elevate as well.
"I think we need to build on our effort from last game. I think it all starts with our effort and intensity level. Taking care of the ball on offense and making the simple play are a couple of things I would say (need shoring up.)"
Shooting the 3 and defending it are a couple of other categories that come to mind. IU foes are shooting 40.5 percent from behind the arc for the season and not a single Hoosier can currently match that percentage.
Johnson might well see defensive duty on Youngstown State's primary 3-point threat, Cameron Morse.
Braun Hartfield, a 6-6 sophomore, leads YSU with a 14.7 scoring average, but 6-3 senior guard Morse is at 13.9 – and averaged 22.9 last season. Morse has 1,588 career points and seems en route to becoming just third Penguin to score 2,000 in a Division 1 career.
Johnson will look to bring the requisite defensive intensity.
"I think just the intensity level," Johnson said about what the Hoosiers need to bring each day. "You really try not to continue to make the same mistakes and, once that happens, there's punishments in practice for that. I think, in that way, we're getting better.
"I think it's definitely a plus to have one more game to try to polish up some things that we need to work on before conference play starts."
Miller, in addition to frosh Durham and Smith, noted that veteran guards Josh Newkirk and Devonte Green "in particular have been turned up just a little bit" in recent workouts. He added, "Those guys have to stay up."
And he isn't backing off pushing big men Juwan Morgan, whose relative consistency sees him leading the Hoosiers with 15.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and De'Ron Davis, who averages 10.2 points.
"I think a guy like Juwan, right now, needs to be pushed another level," Miller said. "De'Ron needs to be pushed another level. And for us to be successful, their improvement and their acceptance of being pushed is going to be important.
"What you've done right now may be good in your mind but in our mind right now, we're not anywhere where we need to get to."
Among the places Miller wants to get is the upper echelons of a Big Ten.
"As we get ready to play in Big Ten play, that we're right there (competing)," Miller said of his team's New Year resolution. "… The quest is to continue to keep climbing every day and not really dwell on what you can't control, and just keep trying to improve. And the hope would be, towards the end of the season … you're playing your best ball.
"A lot of teams that start off hot can fade, and a lot of teams that maybe are not trudging their way as smoothly as you like that find a way at some point in time to hit it and be able to hit a streak … you've got to really focus in and not get frustrated (with results) and keep improving. Because if you do that, you'll find a way at some point in time during the season to hit it. And you never know where it can take you after a couple of wins."
If the Hoosiers prevail Friday, their modest win streak will reach "a couple."
And then, starting Jan. 2, we'll see where that takes them.
Even though it's cold outside, IU is looking to get hot.
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - It's frigid. Time for Penguins.
And a new year looms.
Time for resolution.
Before Indiana's basketball men resume Big Ten play Jan. 2 at Wisconsin, the Hoosiers host a final non-conference game at 8 p.m. Friday against Youngstown State.
YSU's Penguins enter cold, on an eight-game losing skid, but IU is primarily focused upon itself right now, regardless.
"We're working on ourselves," Hoosier coach Archie Miller said while meeting the media Thursday. "To be good, to be great in the hardest moments of the season, in your biggest games, you can only really rely on you. And you've got to be able to execute the things that you're trying to do offensively and defensively.
"We spent really all of our time (over holiday break) on us continuing to try to get better, continuing to try to play harder, getting more guys to do more things, to contribute. And as you go into Youngstown State or whether you're playing against Wisconsin, there's always a game plan. But you have to be really good, I think, at what you do more so than (worry about what) other teams do."
Miller pushed his Hoosiers hard after a ghastly Dec. 18 home loss to Fort Wayne spoiled the immediate aftermath of an inspired win over Notre Dame. And after IU responded with an 87-59 romp over Tennessee Tech just before Christmas, the coach has put the pedal right back to the metal.
"We have to keep our foot down and we have to be a very goal-oriented team right now," Miller said of his 7-6 club. "We have to be a very driven team, individually and as a group. And we have to be pushed. Our staff has to be pushed. We have to push our players, our players have to push one another and the competition, the competitiveness. The spirit of what you do every day matters right now a lot.
"And we've had a couple of guys come off the break, have been really pleased. Justin Smith and Al Durham – you forget that those freshmen can hit those walls during school, during finals. I think those guys have been really good in practice the last couple of days. It's been nice to see those guys re-energized, so to speak, with a spirit about them. I think that's what makes your teams better, is guys working at it every day."
Junior winger Zach McRoberts, who once stepped away from competitive college basketball entirely after transferring from Vermont to IU, knows what it's like to come back hungry after his hiatus. He's seeing some spring in Hoosier steps right now.
"I think it's good coming back, after an extended period of time off that we had – three or four days," McRoberts said. "I'd say it's a good mental break, for a lot of the younger guys, especially.
"Just getting used to the college workload, physically and mentally in the classroom, (it's good to get a break.) I think that's important. And then, obviously, more time in the gym comes with that. So it's been good for a lot of guys."
Even seniors with 100 career starts.
Asked what his favorite present was this Christmas, senior guard Robert Johnson replied:
"I'd say, really, just the chance to go home for an extended period of time. I'd never really had that. (I was home in Richmond, Va.) about three days. That's easily a record.
"I think it definitely helps, you know, just to get off your feet and get around family and kind of recharge before conference play. I think it was good for us."
Johnson was also asked what sort of New Year's Resolution he might set for himself as a player. "Just being a better leader every day," said Johnson, who has started 100 of his 111 career games at IU. "I think if I'm able to do that, a lot of other things in my game will elevate as well.
"I think we need to build on our effort from last game. I think it all starts with our effort and intensity level. Taking care of the ball on offense and making the simple play are a couple of things I would say (need shoring up.)"
Shooting the 3 and defending it are a couple of other categories that come to mind. IU foes are shooting 40.5 percent from behind the arc for the season and not a single Hoosier can currently match that percentage.
Johnson might well see defensive duty on Youngstown State's primary 3-point threat, Cameron Morse.
Braun Hartfield, a 6-6 sophomore, leads YSU with a 14.7 scoring average, but 6-3 senior guard Morse is at 13.9 – and averaged 22.9 last season. Morse has 1,588 career points and seems en route to becoming just third Penguin to score 2,000 in a Division 1 career.
Johnson will look to bring the requisite defensive intensity.
"I think just the intensity level," Johnson said about what the Hoosiers need to bring each day. "You really try not to continue to make the same mistakes and, once that happens, there's punishments in practice for that. I think, in that way, we're getting better.
"I think it's definitely a plus to have one more game to try to polish up some things that we need to work on before conference play starts."
Miller, in addition to frosh Durham and Smith, noted that veteran guards Josh Newkirk and Devonte Green "in particular have been turned up just a little bit" in recent workouts. He added, "Those guys have to stay up."
And he isn't backing off pushing big men Juwan Morgan, whose relative consistency sees him leading the Hoosiers with 15.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and De'Ron Davis, who averages 10.2 points.
"I think a guy like Juwan, right now, needs to be pushed another level," Miller said. "De'Ron needs to be pushed another level. And for us to be successful, their improvement and their acceptance of being pushed is going to be important.
"What you've done right now may be good in your mind but in our mind right now, we're not anywhere where we need to get to."
Among the places Miller wants to get is the upper echelons of a Big Ten.
"As we get ready to play in Big Ten play, that we're right there (competing)," Miller said of his team's New Year resolution. "… The quest is to continue to keep climbing every day and not really dwell on what you can't control, and just keep trying to improve. And the hope would be, towards the end of the season … you're playing your best ball.
"A lot of teams that start off hot can fade, and a lot of teams that maybe are not trudging their way as smoothly as you like that find a way at some point in time to hit it and be able to hit a streak … you've got to really focus in and not get frustrated (with results) and keep improving. Because if you do that, you'll find a way at some point in time during the season to hit it. And you never know where it can take you after a couple of wins."
If the Hoosiers prevail Friday, their modest win streak will reach "a couple."
And then, starting Jan. 2, we'll see where that takes them.
Even though it's cold outside, IU is looking to get hot.
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