GRAHAM: Romeo Show Gets Rave Reviews

By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Following an uncertain first act for the entire troupe, The Romeo Show dazzled after intermission.

By Thursday night's curtain call, Indiana freshman Romeo Langford had a career-high 28 points and the host Hoosiers had secured a hard-fought, 73-65 win over Illinois.

Illinois led by 10 twice in the first half before IU tightened the defensive screws and forged a 33-33 tie as Justin Smith beat the halftime buzzer with a flying tip-in.

Then it was Romeo time.

"I just started seeing more driving opportunities and that's what I'm best at right now doing," Langford recalled of his play after halftime. "With the way they played (defense) … they like to play passing lanes, which leads for wide-open driving lanes for me to either score or pass to other teammates."

Langford scored Indiana's first 10 points after halftime with a series of determined drives and converted free throws, and IU suddenly had a 42-34 lead. He later added a 3 from the top of the key to make it 51-38.

"Yeah, we wanted him to be more aggressive," IU coach Archie Miller said. "Sometimes you have to get the ball in his hands against a team like this, because he's traditionally not bringing it up.

"But we allowed him to bring it up a lot more, to get the ball before we crossed halfcourt a lot more, which allowed him to play with it in his hands. That was a big change for us, just having a different guy coming off the screen – a different guy coming downhill on their big guys – and he was fantastic, I thought, in that role."

The Illini (4-10) kept competing commendably, pulling back within 62-58 with 2:29 left on a reverse layup by freshman center Giorgi Bezhanishvili.

Langford then assisted IU's next two baskets, to Justin Smith and Al Durham, the latter bumping the lead back to 69-59. And Langford subsequently added three free throws of his own to help keep the Illini at bay.

So the Hoosiers (12-2) did what teams featuring Langford have always tended to do. They won.

Sure, this is really Juwan Morgan's team to lead. The stalwart senior co-captain has just kept elevating his game from a superb junior season, consistently maintaining full warrior mode on both ends of the court.

Morgan's career-high 35 points fueled IU's dramatic comeback win over Butler, and he followed that a week later by posting the second triple-double in Hoosier history against Jacksonville. He's having as good an all-around season as anybody in the Big Ten.

Freshman point guard Rob Phinisee has shined, hitting dramatic game-winning shots and running the show with alacrity (though he has missed the past couple of games, including Thursday's, in concussion protocol.)

Sophomore Justin Smith is developing into a very fine player on both ends after a shaky ball-handling start to the season.

And the Hoosiers collectively defended well enough Thusday night to prompt six shot-clock violations by the Illini.

So the long list of contributors to IU's 12-2 (3-0 Big Ten) start just keeps getting longer.

But it is worth noting Langford, in an almost quiet but ever-present way, has not just met expectations but has often exceeded them.

Which is indeed saying something.

Because Langford – a McDonald's All-American and Indiana Mr. Basketball – was saddled by massive hype as he matriculated to Bloomington.

Langford not only has he dealt with that remarkably well, in every respect, he has helped the Hoosiers successfully deal with a succession of close games.

He has stayed patient. He has let his play develop naturally within the context of games. He has played team ball. And he has consistently delivered.

Langford has attained double-figure scoring every single time during his 14-game Hoosier career so far, with never fewer than 12 points. He has scored 15 or more a dozen times, and 20 or more six times.

He has hit clutch shots. Langford's pretty floater in the lane that essentially clinched the win over Northwestern comes immediately to mind. His 3 with 6:31 left gave IU the lead for good at Penn State. All 21 of his points in the nail-biter against Louisville were crucial, capped by two clinching free throws with 0:2.2 left.

Langford's 3-point shooting needs to improve, as does his free throw shooting (though he was a solid 11 of 15 Thursday, upping his season conversion figure to 70 percent).

But he's leading Indiana in scoring at 18.3 per game. He's shooting .511 from the field. He's adding 5.7 rebounds a game, second only to Morgan. He has more assists (37) than turnovers (31), not necessarily a common theme for freshmen.

Langford leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring. That's not unexpected, perhaps, but it's the way he's doing it – fully within the team context. He took just 13 shots from the field in getting his 28 Thursday.

"Well, there is no doubt that he is as good as advertised," Illinois coach Brad Underwood said post-game. "You don't see many freshmen out there with that type of body. I give him credit. It is deceiving sometimes watching him on film and out there on the circuit, but he is really athletic.

"He is so powerful that it allows him to be a great finisher. His numbers will improve from 3. It's still an area of suspect (capacity), but he is a very gifted athlete and a very good player that hurt us tonight."

Langford, who often had to show restraint on the defensive end to avoid foul trouble when starring at New Albany High School, is also turning into one of IU's most reliable and versatile defenders.

"Yeah, I think once you saw him sort of as a guy, early on, be a little bit more cautious defensively," Miller said. "Now I think you see a guy that's very confident in knowing what to do.

"He's got great talent and length. So he's going to be an excellent defender, and he's got so much more experience to keep gaining. But his size and his length and some of the things that he can do on the ball and challenging shots and whatnot cause (foes) some problems. And he can guard the one, two, or three (positions), for the most part, if we want him to guard any perimeter guy.

"So he's evolving. He's continuing to go do what we ask him to do in terms of getting better. Like I've said before, he's as coachable of a guy as we have on the team, so it's a credit to him and his work ethic."

Miller clearly appreciates Langford.

And Indiana fans need to appreciate him fully while he is here.

People from New Albany certainly still do. A whole host of them attended Thursday night's game.

And after the game, Langford went up into the Assembly Hall stands to greet them. New Albany athletic director Don Unruh was one of the many who got to chat.

The scene resembled the way fans hang outside of thespian dressing rooms or stage doors following a great performance, to greet the star.

Which makes perfect sense.

The Romeo Show is great theater.

1/4/2019 2:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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