Indiana University Athletics
Walk-On. Captain.
10/26/2018 11:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Walk-on captain.
The very phrase seems unlikely, even counter-intuitive, in a major-college basketball setting. Especially pertaining to a historically elite program.
Unless one knows Zach McRoberts.
In which case it makes perfect sense.
Coach Archie Miller has really only known McRoberts since the spring of 2017, when Miller was hired at Indiana, but that's long enough.
"There are just very few guys that you will have – to have to the ability coach or to play with – that you know gives everything he has," Miller said of McRoberts during the Big Ten basketball media day earlier this month. "I really mean that.
"You know when he's done — whether it be a workout or a practice or a game – there isn't anybody in the locker room … that looks at him and doesn't say, 'That guy did everything he possibly could today for us.'
"And, you know, when you're like that, there is a respect level that comes with it. I think an admiration. He's admired for what he does. And, you know, the guy never complains.
"I think he's definitely one of the most, if not the most, trusted guy when you're out there on that floor. I mean, everyone knows what you're going to get (from him). And he is going to have the team in mind all the time. So it didn't surprise me, at all, that he was voted by the players as one of the (co-)captains."
Coach Scott Heady could have predicted as much, too, years ago.
McRoberts helped Heady's Carmel Greyhounds win back-to-back Indiana 4A state high school championships in 2012 and 2013, then was named an Indiana All-Star while leading Carmel to a 21-2 record in 2014.
At 6-foot-6, McRoberts played the post at Carmel, often against larger foes, and did pretty much anything else Heady needed done.
"I know it's a whole different level (at Indiana), but Zach will impact," Heady, now coaching at Marian University in Indianapolis, said to long-time IU beat writer Terry Hutchens last year. "Whether it's in practice, off the court, on the bench, in a game, I mean the kid is just incredible.
"Just from his work ethic, the enthusiasm he brings every day … what I remember about him the most is that he brought it every day. Whether it was a summer workout, an individual workout or an in-season practice or game, it didn't matter. With us, I can honestly say his whole approach and demeanor just rubbed off on everybody in the program … he's a tremendous teammate.''
But McRoberts wasn't planning on being anybody's teammate when he left the University of Vermont, after playing 27 games as freshman, and transferred to IU for the 2015-16 school year. He had decided he was done with basketball, aside from informal play, and ready to focus on academics and other aspects of student life.
And McRoberts, indeed, was a student rather than a student-athlete his sophomore year in Bloomington.
And yet there he was this past Oct. 11, alongside Miller and fellow co-captain Juwan Morgan representing Indiana in Chicago at the Big Ten basketball media day.
Big Ten Network anchor Dave Revsine, while interviewing that Hoosier trio, evinced incredulity at McRoberts' career path.
"So you took a year away from basketball after transferring from Vermont," Revsine said to McRoberts on the BTN set. "You were playing, basically, intramurals. So, I mean, what's it like to be here?
"I mean, to me, it's really one of the great stories in the Big Ten. To now be playing at your home-state school, where there is such a passion for basketball? Representing Indiana at Big Ten media days? Got to be crazy, right?"
McRoberts smiled a bit sheepishly and replied: "Yeah. There is nothing really like playing for Indiana. I think being in my home state, understanding what it means to the people here, it's special.
"Being where I was three years ago and being where I am now, sitting here talking to you, it's been quite a journey."
The journey assumed its present course when McRoberts realized he missed competitive basketball, given everything he had put into it (and given that watching IU games in Assembly Hall and NCAA tournament games on TV can get a guy thinking about opportunity.)
So McRoberts approached then-IU assistant Tim Buckley about resurrecting his college hoops career. It didn't take many workouts for the Hoosier staff, then headed by Tom Crean, to realize McRoberts would constitute a welcome addition.
And it also didn't take long for Miller, upon taking the Hoosier helm, to start appreciating McRoberts.
Miller, a purveyor of "pack line" man-to-man defense, is a stickler for effort and effectiveness on that end of the court. So, in that regard and others, McRoberts is Miller's kind of guy.
Heady, whose Carmel teams permitted foes just 45.6 points per game during McRoberts' sophomore-through-senior seasons, once described McRoberts' defensive prowess to Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star:
"I would say this to this day: He was hands down the best defender in the state. It was a who's-who of Indiana All-Stars (on that 2014 All-Star team) – guys that went on to play big-time Division I basketball, guys that are in the NBA – and he just shut people down.
"He could guard a point guard and keep him in front. He could guard a scoring guy on the perimeter and not even let him get a shot off. He could mix it up with post guys."
So as Miller's debut season in Bloomington got off to an uneven start, especially as players tried to grasp and implement the nuanced pack-line approach, the walk-on from Carmel began to emerge in the rotation.
Miller has noted his first Indiana team showed improvement throughout the course of the Big Ten season, playing some of its basketball down the stretch and especially seeing progress on the defensive end.
The Hoosiers finished just 16-15 overall, but rallied (in one late stretch winning four straight games) to go 9-9 in Big Ten play, earning the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament.
It was probably not coincidental that coincided with McRoberts' starting IU's final 17 games, all in conference, and finishing first in steal percentage in Big Ten play.
"Early in the season he wasn't really playing much, but he was the same guy," Morgan recalled last year of McRoberts. "It's a credit to his work ethic, but very, very proud of Zach. He's really stepped up for us."
McRoberts thinks it was just a matter of the entire team adjusting to Miller's desired approach to play.
"I just think being more comfortable with the new system, offensively and defensively, building throughout the year," McRoberts said. "I do think we played our best toward the end of the year, and that was the result of practicing every day and working at it."
Unlike last season, when everything was new to each of the players, returnees such as Morgan and McRoberts can now mentor Hoosier newcomers – of which there are seven, a heralded six-man freshman class featuring McDonald's All-American Romeo Langford and graduate-transfer Evan Fitzner from St. Mary's.
"Being more comfortable in the system obviously helps you out a little bit," McRoberts said at IU's media day. "(Now) it's more teaching than learning, so (with) the new guys coming in, you're able to teach it a little easier because you understand it a little more fully.
"Obviously we can all always get better and always learn, but having an understanding helps a lot."
IU now has at least a dozen players who could convincingly or at least conceivably make a case for playing time, and not too many squads function with rotations that large. So some will need to wait their turn. Some sacrifices will need making to help maintain proper morale.
So Miller has emphasized chemistry, togetherness and overall team orientation as key components to the Hoosiers' chance for success this season. Co-captains McRoberts and Morgan are well suited to help foster that. Morgan is an acknowledged leader, IU's leading returner in scoring and rebounding, and McRoberts is a consummate "glue guy," holding things together on both ends of the court.
"The things we're focused on, hard work, togetherness, toughness, I think those are three big themes for us," McRoberts said. "So (we're) taking those themes, carrying them into every day, every workout, every practice, every game. If we have those three things, I think we'll be able to improve every day, and we'll be at our best when it counts.
"I think that's important for a successful team, understanding it's a team aspect. And that guys can bring different things to the table. And just be ready when your number is called to go out there and perform."
And McRoberts echoes his coach in saying that having a deep roster certainly also has its benefits. The daily competition in practice reflects that. "The competition," McRoberts said, "is healthy competition for us."
McRoberts approaches the competition, and his new role as co-captain, with resolution and gratitude.
"Grateful to my teammates for voting me into that sort of position, having respect for me," McRoberts said. "I don't think it's going to change how I play or my overall approach … but having that sort of leadership role, it's important to help the team go."
Team guy.
Glue guy.
Walk-on.
Captain.
And Miller also routinely uses another word to describe McRoberts:
"Winner."
The very phrase seems unlikely, even counter-intuitive, in a major-college basketball setting. Especially pertaining to a historically elite program.
Unless one knows Zach McRoberts.
In which case it makes perfect sense.
Coach Archie Miller has really only known McRoberts since the spring of 2017, when Miller was hired at Indiana, but that's long enough.
"There are just very few guys that you will have – to have to the ability coach or to play with – that you know gives everything he has," Miller said of McRoberts during the Big Ten basketball media day earlier this month. "I really mean that.
"You know when he's done — whether it be a workout or a practice or a game – there isn't anybody in the locker room … that looks at him and doesn't say, 'That guy did everything he possibly could today for us.'
"And, you know, when you're like that, there is a respect level that comes with it. I think an admiration. He's admired for what he does. And, you know, the guy never complains.
"I think he's definitely one of the most, if not the most, trusted guy when you're out there on that floor. I mean, everyone knows what you're going to get (from him). And he is going to have the team in mind all the time. So it didn't surprise me, at all, that he was voted by the players as one of the (co-)captains."
Coach Scott Heady could have predicted as much, too, years ago.
McRoberts helped Heady's Carmel Greyhounds win back-to-back Indiana 4A state high school championships in 2012 and 2013, then was named an Indiana All-Star while leading Carmel to a 21-2 record in 2014.
At 6-foot-6, McRoberts played the post at Carmel, often against larger foes, and did pretty much anything else Heady needed done.
"I know it's a whole different level (at Indiana), but Zach will impact," Heady, now coaching at Marian University in Indianapolis, said to long-time IU beat writer Terry Hutchens last year. "Whether it's in practice, off the court, on the bench, in a game, I mean the kid is just incredible.
"Just from his work ethic, the enthusiasm he brings every day … what I remember about him the most is that he brought it every day. Whether it was a summer workout, an individual workout or an in-season practice or game, it didn't matter. With us, I can honestly say his whole approach and demeanor just rubbed off on everybody in the program … he's a tremendous teammate.''
But McRoberts wasn't planning on being anybody's teammate when he left the University of Vermont, after playing 27 games as freshman, and transferred to IU for the 2015-16 school year. He had decided he was done with basketball, aside from informal play, and ready to focus on academics and other aspects of student life.
And McRoberts, indeed, was a student rather than a student-athlete his sophomore year in Bloomington.
And yet there he was this past Oct. 11, alongside Miller and fellow co-captain Juwan Morgan representing Indiana in Chicago at the Big Ten basketball media day.
Big Ten Network anchor Dave Revsine, while interviewing that Hoosier trio, evinced incredulity at McRoberts' career path.
"So you took a year away from basketball after transferring from Vermont," Revsine said to McRoberts on the BTN set. "You were playing, basically, intramurals. So, I mean, what's it like to be here?
"I mean, to me, it's really one of the great stories in the Big Ten. To now be playing at your home-state school, where there is such a passion for basketball? Representing Indiana at Big Ten media days? Got to be crazy, right?"
McRoberts smiled a bit sheepishly and replied: "Yeah. There is nothing really like playing for Indiana. I think being in my home state, understanding what it means to the people here, it's special.
"Being where I was three years ago and being where I am now, sitting here talking to you, it's been quite a journey."
The journey assumed its present course when McRoberts realized he missed competitive basketball, given everything he had put into it (and given that watching IU games in Assembly Hall and NCAA tournament games on TV can get a guy thinking about opportunity.)
So McRoberts approached then-IU assistant Tim Buckley about resurrecting his college hoops career. It didn't take many workouts for the Hoosier staff, then headed by Tom Crean, to realize McRoberts would constitute a welcome addition.
And it also didn't take long for Miller, upon taking the Hoosier helm, to start appreciating McRoberts.
Miller, a purveyor of "pack line" man-to-man defense, is a stickler for effort and effectiveness on that end of the court. So, in that regard and others, McRoberts is Miller's kind of guy.
Heady, whose Carmel teams permitted foes just 45.6 points per game during McRoberts' sophomore-through-senior seasons, once described McRoberts' defensive prowess to Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star:
"I would say this to this day: He was hands down the best defender in the state. It was a who's-who of Indiana All-Stars (on that 2014 All-Star team) – guys that went on to play big-time Division I basketball, guys that are in the NBA – and he just shut people down.
"He could guard a point guard and keep him in front. He could guard a scoring guy on the perimeter and not even let him get a shot off. He could mix it up with post guys."
So as Miller's debut season in Bloomington got off to an uneven start, especially as players tried to grasp and implement the nuanced pack-line approach, the walk-on from Carmel began to emerge in the rotation.
Miller has noted his first Indiana team showed improvement throughout the course of the Big Ten season, playing some of its basketball down the stretch and especially seeing progress on the defensive end.
The Hoosiers finished just 16-15 overall, but rallied (in one late stretch winning four straight games) to go 9-9 in Big Ten play, earning the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament.
It was probably not coincidental that coincided with McRoberts' starting IU's final 17 games, all in conference, and finishing first in steal percentage in Big Ten play.
"Early in the season he wasn't really playing much, but he was the same guy," Morgan recalled last year of McRoberts. "It's a credit to his work ethic, but very, very proud of Zach. He's really stepped up for us."
McRoberts thinks it was just a matter of the entire team adjusting to Miller's desired approach to play.
"I just think being more comfortable with the new system, offensively and defensively, building throughout the year," McRoberts said. "I do think we played our best toward the end of the year, and that was the result of practicing every day and working at it."
Unlike last season, when everything was new to each of the players, returnees such as Morgan and McRoberts can now mentor Hoosier newcomers – of which there are seven, a heralded six-man freshman class featuring McDonald's All-American Romeo Langford and graduate-transfer Evan Fitzner from St. Mary's.
"Being more comfortable in the system obviously helps you out a little bit," McRoberts said at IU's media day. "(Now) it's more teaching than learning, so (with) the new guys coming in, you're able to teach it a little easier because you understand it a little more fully.
"Obviously we can all always get better and always learn, but having an understanding helps a lot."
IU now has at least a dozen players who could convincingly or at least conceivably make a case for playing time, and not too many squads function with rotations that large. So some will need to wait their turn. Some sacrifices will need making to help maintain proper morale.
So Miller has emphasized chemistry, togetherness and overall team orientation as key components to the Hoosiers' chance for success this season. Co-captains McRoberts and Morgan are well suited to help foster that. Morgan is an acknowledged leader, IU's leading returner in scoring and rebounding, and McRoberts is a consummate "glue guy," holding things together on both ends of the court.
"The things we're focused on, hard work, togetherness, toughness, I think those are three big themes for us," McRoberts said. "So (we're) taking those themes, carrying them into every day, every workout, every practice, every game. If we have those three things, I think we'll be able to improve every day, and we'll be at our best when it counts.
"I think that's important for a successful team, understanding it's a team aspect. And that guys can bring different things to the table. And just be ready when your number is called to go out there and perform."
And McRoberts echoes his coach in saying that having a deep roster certainly also has its benefits. The daily competition in practice reflects that. "The competition," McRoberts said, "is healthy competition for us."
McRoberts approaches the competition, and his new role as co-captain, with resolution and gratitude.
"Grateful to my teammates for voting me into that sort of position, having respect for me," McRoberts said. "I don't think it's going to change how I play or my overall approach … but having that sort of leadership role, it's important to help the team go."
Team guy.
Glue guy.
Walk-on.
Captain.
And Miller also routinely uses another word to describe McRoberts:
"Winner."
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