DIPRIMIO COLUMN: Rocking the Hall -- Hype, Hysteria and Hoosier Hopes
9/30/2018 12:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – And so Hoosier Nation gathered. Of course, it did. Was there ever any doubt?
Hoosier Hysteria draws 'em in unlike any other program.
Fans came from every corner of the state on Saturday, from The Region of Gary and the northwest to New Albany and the southeast. They came to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to see, cheer and contemplate a men's basketball season rich in possibilities.
Attendance easily topped 12,000, and the resulting energy had the place rocking even before players and coaches arrived. State-of-the-art projections turned the floor into a video display board. Sound affects rivaled, if not surpassed, the best movie theaters. Small fireworks left the air -- briefly -- smoky and intriguing.
The women's basketball team debuted its new WNIT championship banner; there was a video of the new 4,000-square-foot Robert Family Indiana Basketball Team Center that includes the Any Mohr Locker Room, the Tim Garl Training Room and the Oladipo Zeller (yes, that's the former IU All-Americans Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller) Legacy Lounge; and then there was the dunk contest won by heralded freshman Romeo Langford ("home court advantage," joked teammate Race Thompson); and the three-point shooting contest won by Juwan Morgan and Breanna Wise; and a 15-minute scrimmage that showcased team depth athleticism and graduate transfer forward Evan Fitzner's three-point-shooting prowess (he had three long-range baskets), which is what you'd expect from a guy who was a three-point shooting standout in three previous seasons at St. Mary's of California.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "Hopefully we put on a good show for them."
The show offered insight on what looms as a fun season.
"We have an exciting group to work with," coach Archie Miller told Saturday's crowd. "We have good balance with older guys and some new faces. We have to put it together."
Challenges are formidable with trips to Duke and Arkansas, games against Marquette, Louisville and Butler, plus the usual Big Ten gauntlet.
With all the newcomer buzz, keep this in mind -- this is Morgan's team. He is a veteran superstar who sets tones in leadership, work ethic, tenacity and more, and it goes way beyond last year's numbers of 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds. He impacts the game in ways Langford must grow into, including getting everyone to doing what needs to be done.
Still, hype centers on the 6-6, 215-pound Langford. The combo guard arrives with weight-of-the-world expectations from his McDonald's All-America status and top-6 national recruiting ratings.
Miller says Langford has "Randy Moss" ability, a reference to the former NFL superstar receiver.
"It's just how talented and gifted he is athletically," Miller says. "You can probably say he's very athletic or watch him play and say, Wow, but he just does things so easy and so smoothly. If he was a football player he'd be Randy Moss. If he was a track athlete, he'd probably be (Olympic sprint champion) Usain Bolt.
"Just the stride, the elevation, quick jumps, second jumps, the knifing through people, covering ground from rim to rim, things like that. He really makes it look easy."
Langford is perceived as IU's latest Chosen One, following in the acclaimed footsteps of Eric Gordon, Damon Bailey, Alan Henderson and, for those with longer memories, George McGinnis. There were, like Langford, Indiana Mr. Basketballs from which much was expected. You'd better believe they delivered – Bailey and Henderson for four years, Gordon and McGinnis for one.
Yes, that's a lot of pressure for a young guy, but Langford seems exceptionally well equipped to handle it given his years in the spotlight.
"I really don't feel pressure," he says. "I'm just coming here to play basketball and do my job, and that's all I'm focusing on, having a successful season with my teammates."
Langford has the potential for game-changing impact (the guy did, after all, score 3,002 high school points, fourth in state history, while leading New Albany to the 2016 Class 4A state title and 110 overall victories) with this caveat – ultimately, it's about winning, which means it's about chemistry and creating, sharing and sacrifice. It's about playing your best in the big moments, and there will be growing pains for Langford as a player and IU as a team.
"There will be give and take," Miller says. "There's a growing period for young players in college. There are very few that can just get off to a good start and just seamlessly start making it look easy. He's going to have to work through it like everybody else.
"But Romeo's gift is scoring. He's always been a very gifted scorer at all levels, whether that's from the three, the basket or in transition. I think he'll have the opportunity in all three of those areas to be as aggressive as he possibly can.
"We want him to attack, and I think he's smart enough to understand that winning is a big part of what's going on right now at Indiana. I think he's looking at it much less of, 'Hey, I'm going to get out there and score 25 and we'll see how it goes,' more so than understanding that his imprint on what's going on here really changes in the win column if that happens."
Don't expect Langford to light up the shooting in the manner of, say, Steve Alford or even Yogi Ferrell.
As Miller puts it, "I think he's a better scorer than he is a shooter."
Beyond that, Miller adds, "He can pass. He's not afraid to make guys better. That will be a big attribute with the amount of attention he'll see in driving into traffic."
Morgan likes what he's seen so far from Langford.
"He's been a great teammate, just not what is usually portrayed of a five-star going in, being pretty much like a savior of a team or anything like that. He's just a real down-to-earth guy. He's always making the extra pass. We all know he can score, and he shows that ability, but he also is able to see passes and plays before it even happens, and I think that is just something that you build over time, and I think he's really put in the extra work. As good as he is, he's only getting better."
Langford has fully bought into Clif Marshall's strength-and-conditioning program. He's gained 15 pounds since arriving in Bloomington at the end of June. And even with all the hype, he hasn't gone all prima donna.
"He hasn't come in here and trying to, so to speak, run the show or stand out in any different way," Miller says. "He's just going about his business, doing what we're asking him to do, and at the same time, when he's gotten more comfortable and as he's gotten a little bit more time to be on campus with the guys, you can kind of tell that he's just a regular guy that likes to be in the locker room."
Why not? IU's locker room is full of regular guys with a will to win, and Miller will need all of them to return to national relevance after two seasons away from NCAA tourney opportunity.
"I think all of our guys are understanding that," Miller says. "There's going to be some sacrifice this year, and painting that picture for them sometimes isn't easy for them to see until sometimes their first game and only five of them take the floor.
"There's going to be some serious sacrifices, not just from Romeo, but Juwan to every single guy who wants to contribute. This has to be a team of depth and togetherness. It really does. If we're not playing nine, ten guys, then we're not getting the maximum out of everybody on the team."
Langford is fine with that.
"My expectation is to win a national championship. I don't go into any season just trying to win a couple games. I go in trying to win the whole entire championship."
That, in the end, is what all Hoosiers want to see.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – And so Hoosier Nation gathered. Of course, it did. Was there ever any doubt?
Hoosier Hysteria draws 'em in unlike any other program.
Fans came from every corner of the state on Saturday, from The Region of Gary and the northwest to New Albany and the southeast. They came to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall to see, cheer and contemplate a men's basketball season rich in possibilities.
Attendance easily topped 12,000, and the resulting energy had the place rocking even before players and coaches arrived. State-of-the-art projections turned the floor into a video display board. Sound affects rivaled, if not surpassed, the best movie theaters. Small fireworks left the air -- briefly -- smoky and intriguing.
The women's basketball team debuted its new WNIT championship banner; there was a video of the new 4,000-square-foot Robert Family Indiana Basketball Team Center that includes the Any Mohr Locker Room, the Tim Garl Training Room and the Oladipo Zeller (yes, that's the former IU All-Americans Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller) Legacy Lounge; and then there was the dunk contest won by heralded freshman Romeo Langford ("home court advantage," joked teammate Race Thompson); and the three-point shooting contest won by Juwan Morgan and Breanna Wise; and a 15-minute scrimmage that showcased team depth athleticism and graduate transfer forward Evan Fitzner's three-point-shooting prowess (he had three long-range baskets), which is what you'd expect from a guy who was a three-point shooting standout in three previous seasons at St. Mary's of California.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "Hopefully we put on a good show for them."
The show offered insight on what looms as a fun season.
"We have an exciting group to work with," coach Archie Miller told Saturday's crowd. "We have good balance with older guys and some new faces. We have to put it together."
Challenges are formidable with trips to Duke and Arkansas, games against Marquette, Louisville and Butler, plus the usual Big Ten gauntlet.
With all the newcomer buzz, keep this in mind -- this is Morgan's team. He is a veteran superstar who sets tones in leadership, work ethic, tenacity and more, and it goes way beyond last year's numbers of 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds. He impacts the game in ways Langford must grow into, including getting everyone to doing what needs to be done.
Still, hype centers on the 6-6, 215-pound Langford. The combo guard arrives with weight-of-the-world expectations from his McDonald's All-America status and top-6 national recruiting ratings.
Miller says Langford has "Randy Moss" ability, a reference to the former NFL superstar receiver.
"It's just how talented and gifted he is athletically," Miller says. "You can probably say he's very athletic or watch him play and say, Wow, but he just does things so easy and so smoothly. If he was a football player he'd be Randy Moss. If he was a track athlete, he'd probably be (Olympic sprint champion) Usain Bolt.
"Just the stride, the elevation, quick jumps, second jumps, the knifing through people, covering ground from rim to rim, things like that. He really makes it look easy."
Langford is perceived as IU's latest Chosen One, following in the acclaimed footsteps of Eric Gordon, Damon Bailey, Alan Henderson and, for those with longer memories, George McGinnis. There were, like Langford, Indiana Mr. Basketballs from which much was expected. You'd better believe they delivered – Bailey and Henderson for four years, Gordon and McGinnis for one.
Yes, that's a lot of pressure for a young guy, but Langford seems exceptionally well equipped to handle it given his years in the spotlight.
"I really don't feel pressure," he says. "I'm just coming here to play basketball and do my job, and that's all I'm focusing on, having a successful season with my teammates."
Langford has the potential for game-changing impact (the guy did, after all, score 3,002 high school points, fourth in state history, while leading New Albany to the 2016 Class 4A state title and 110 overall victories) with this caveat – ultimately, it's about winning, which means it's about chemistry and creating, sharing and sacrifice. It's about playing your best in the big moments, and there will be growing pains for Langford as a player and IU as a team.
"There will be give and take," Miller says. "There's a growing period for young players in college. There are very few that can just get off to a good start and just seamlessly start making it look easy. He's going to have to work through it like everybody else.
"But Romeo's gift is scoring. He's always been a very gifted scorer at all levels, whether that's from the three, the basket or in transition. I think he'll have the opportunity in all three of those areas to be as aggressive as he possibly can.
"We want him to attack, and I think he's smart enough to understand that winning is a big part of what's going on right now at Indiana. I think he's looking at it much less of, 'Hey, I'm going to get out there and score 25 and we'll see how it goes,' more so than understanding that his imprint on what's going on here really changes in the win column if that happens."
Don't expect Langford to light up the shooting in the manner of, say, Steve Alford or even Yogi Ferrell.
As Miller puts it, "I think he's a better scorer than he is a shooter."
Beyond that, Miller adds, "He can pass. He's not afraid to make guys better. That will be a big attribute with the amount of attention he'll see in driving into traffic."
Morgan likes what he's seen so far from Langford.
"He's been a great teammate, just not what is usually portrayed of a five-star going in, being pretty much like a savior of a team or anything like that. He's just a real down-to-earth guy. He's always making the extra pass. We all know he can score, and he shows that ability, but he also is able to see passes and plays before it even happens, and I think that is just something that you build over time, and I think he's really put in the extra work. As good as he is, he's only getting better."
Langford has fully bought into Clif Marshall's strength-and-conditioning program. He's gained 15 pounds since arriving in Bloomington at the end of June. And even with all the hype, he hasn't gone all prima donna.
"He hasn't come in here and trying to, so to speak, run the show or stand out in any different way," Miller says. "He's just going about his business, doing what we're asking him to do, and at the same time, when he's gotten more comfortable and as he's gotten a little bit more time to be on campus with the guys, you can kind of tell that he's just a regular guy that likes to be in the locker room."
Why not? IU's locker room is full of regular guys with a will to win, and Miller will need all of them to return to national relevance after two seasons away from NCAA tourney opportunity.
"I think all of our guys are understanding that," Miller says. "There's going to be some sacrifice this year, and painting that picture for them sometimes isn't easy for them to see until sometimes their first game and only five of them take the floor.
"There's going to be some serious sacrifices, not just from Romeo, but Juwan to every single guy who wants to contribute. This has to be a team of depth and togetherness. It really does. If we're not playing nine, ten guys, then we're not getting the maximum out of everybody on the team."
Langford is fine with that.
"My expectation is to win a national championship. I don't go into any season just trying to win a couple games. I go in trying to win the whole entire championship."
That, in the end, is what all Hoosiers want to see.
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