GRAHAM: Rockin' or a Reelin'
2/19/2019 11:24:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - "Barbara Ann," as described by the Beach Boys in their 1965 hit single, had them "rockin' and a-reelin'."
Dick and Tom Van Arsdale, Indiana 1965 identical-twin basketball All-Americans who will be honored Tuesday night at IU's Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, doubtless know the song.
And while Indiana's current Hoosiers certainly seem a-reelin' heading into the 7 p.m. tipoff, they devoutly hope to get The Hall rockin'.
Because between now and spring break in March, when many students indulge in the sort of sand and sea scenes about which the Beach Boys sang, the Hoosiers hope to salvage a hoops season.
It will take a whole lot of doing – and IU can't count on any accommodation from the No. 15-ranked Boilermakers, who have won 12 of their last 14 games, including a 70-55 victory Jan. 19 over Indiana at West Lafayette.
And starting tonight, it will take an entirely different level of effort than the Hoosiers have mustered most of the way through 10 losses in their last 11 outings.
The sort of level, let's say, they attained in the one win over that stretch, a 79-75 overtime upset Feb. 2 at No. 6 Michigan State.
"That night was as purposeful as we've had a group, as engaged as we've had a group," IU coach Archie Miller recalled of that MSU game during his regular Monday night radio show. "It's amazing how many positive things came through that game, how many guys contributed.
"They didn't care if they missed shots or if they turned it over – the only thing our group cared about that night was winning the game."
The effort moving forward certainly can't be anything like what the Hoosiers displayed during their last appearance, Sunday's dead-as-a-doornail 84-63 loss at Minnesota, in which the Gophers' lead stretched to 30 points.
"For us, this one is sort of a deal breaker," Miller said post-game at Minnesota. "We have to make some real, in my opinion, drastic changes to the way we're doing things right now.
"We got get some guys' attention, and we got get some guys to play better. If you do that, you give yourself a chance to be in more games, but for us right now, we aren't playing at an urgent enough pace on either end."
One drastic change Miller felt necessary was better communication at all levels, on-court and off. Coaches reminded players that college basketball opportunities are fleeting. And players talked, in front of teammates and coaches.
"If you explain it in perhaps somewhat different terms for some of these guys, and say, 'Hey, look … we can control who we want to be right now. Nobody else can. So what are we going to do about it?' " Miller said on his radio show. "To their credit, they took the floor Sunday afternoon (in practice) and did a great job.
"And then I thought, whether it translates or not, I know the coaching staff and the players left the building Monday and really felt good about each other, because we had about as good of a practice as we've ever had in terms of guys really competing.
"Guys talked. Guys were really playing to win. Everybody on the team was engaged. And that's what it's about right now. If we can continue with that, we'll see."
What 13-12 Indiana will certainly see tonight is an 18-7 Purdue team that once stood just 6-5 but got its season going in the right direction, with perhaps the pivotal game a tougher-than-tough 84-80 overtime win Jan. 11 at Wisconsin.
Even after graduating four starters and a slow start to the current campaign, Boilermaker coach Matt Painter still had veteran and potent guards in junior All-American Carsen Edwards (24.4 points per game) and 6-foot-6 senior sharpshooter Ryan Cline (12.2).
Painter also had other pieces, every one of which he had recruited (unlike Miller, who is in just his second season with the Hoosiers) and ready to fit in. And also unlike injury-ravaged IU, those pieces had stayed healthy.
Waxing lyrical about his team's successful approach following Saturday's 76-64 homecourt win over Penn State, Painter said:
"We have the ability not to turn the ball over. We have the ability to play hard. We have the ability to play together. And that's the beauty of basketball. You know what I mean?
"The sum is greater than the parts. Grady Eifert is a really efficient player. Nojel Eastern can really cause (foes) some problems on the defensive end. Ryan Cline is one of the best who ever played here at not turning the ball over. Those are great qualities that lead to winning."
Eastern's defense was a big factor in holding IU scoring leader Romeo Langford, a freshman averaging 17.2 points per game, to a season-low four points in the Jan. 19 meeting. It was the first game in his college career Langford was held to single-digit scoring.
And Purdue seems particularly well-suited to defending the Hoosiers, generally.
Indiana has had major problems making perimeter shots (hitting just .274 from 3-point range during conference play) and the Boilers have plenty of size with which to clog the lane – denying Langford drives and touches inside for Hoosier senior frontliner Juwan Morgan (the only other IU double-figure scorer at 15.3).
Matt Haarms, a 7-3, 250-pound sophomore who is Purdue's third-leading scorer at 8.1, has blocked 45 enemy shots. And the Boilermakers' eight-game Big Ten winning streak that started with the victory at Wisconsin directly coincided with the full emergence of 6-9, 280-pound freshman Trevion Williams. And PU brings experienced 6-8 junior Evan Boudreaux and 6-9 frosh Aaron Wheeler off the bench.
None of those Boilermakers were McDonald's All-Americans, like Langford, but all have found ways to contribute to efficient play. Purdue outrebounds its opponents by five per game. The Boilermakers protect the ball (272 turnovers compared to IU's 325) and share it (363 to IU's 337). They hit free throws (.742 to IU's .661) and 3-pointers (258 to IU's 145).
"Sometimes, in recruiting, in terms of how people gauge you or how people rank you, they don't really look at those (things) because they're not sexy," Painter said. "But I could care less. I want guys who can take care of the basketball … make free throws, make 3s.
"Then, obviously, you have to have (stars such as) a Caleb Swanigan or a Carsen Edwards, a Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas – you have to have those guys. But (graduated starter) Dakota Mathias was so good because he complemented everybody. He made people better. Like Grady Eifert makes people better. Ryan Cline makes people better. What they do is give great pieces to a team.
"I think you've seen that and I've always talked about it. You see it at Wisconsin a lot. You see it at Butler. You see (some say), 'How can this guy start on a championship team? How can this guy start on a Final Four team?' Well, he helps you win.
"As long as everybody will play their roles and stick together – because there is always adversity on teams. I've got guys who don't play much, guys who are younger, and those guys have had good attitudes. It's hard."
Indiana has started freshmen guards much of the season in Langford and Rob Phinisee, neither of whom are at all used to losing games. Morgan is the lone regular IU starter not a freshman or sophomore.
Miller noted that guidance can always come from coaches, but it's best when it emerges from the players themselves, with Morgan and fellow senior co-captain Zach McRoberts (still out with injury, as he has been most of the season) leading the conversation the past couple of days.
"Without question, the best teams are when the players run the locker room," Miller said. "For us, we have a senior class of Zach and Juwan, and those guys obviously had a heavy voice as we returned from Minneapolis. It resonates when you hear those guys, who have been here the longest.
"And then you look at some of your younger guys who are going through it for the first time. None of them have ever experienced anything like this. Who do they look to? And I think, without question, the players have to look to each other right now, care about each other right now, more so than anything else. Because players play. Especially this time of year. Certain guys, at the right time of the year, they're there, they're ready, they're playing their best. And we have to find a way to do that."
The next opportunity comes in a very challenging test tonight.
"We have an unbelievable opponent Tuesday night," Miller said. "Obviously there is a lot at stake when you play Purdue (when you're) at Indiana, and they've already gotten us one time, a while back.
"For our guys, it's sitting right in front of us. We have an opportunity Tuesday to play against a really good team that's our archrival, in-state. And you know what? If that doesn't get your blood boiling a little bit here, to get yourself kick-started in another gear, I'm not sure anything will.
"So I'm hopeful our last couple of days, mentally, with how we've talked and how we've communicated, has been a sign that readiness and energy-level won't be our concern."
Sometimes it only takes one big win. IU hoped that was the case against MSU, but it wasn't. It was for Purdue at Wisconsin. Either team could use tonight's big matchup as a springboard toward a successful conference stretch drive.
After all, one other way "Barbara Ann" had the boys going was "rockin' and a-rollin'."
Dick and Tom Van Arsdale, Indiana 1965 identical-twin basketball All-Americans who will be honored Tuesday night at IU's Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, doubtless know the song.
And while Indiana's current Hoosiers certainly seem a-reelin' heading into the 7 p.m. tipoff, they devoutly hope to get The Hall rockin'.
Because between now and spring break in March, when many students indulge in the sort of sand and sea scenes about which the Beach Boys sang, the Hoosiers hope to salvage a hoops season.
It will take a whole lot of doing – and IU can't count on any accommodation from the No. 15-ranked Boilermakers, who have won 12 of their last 14 games, including a 70-55 victory Jan. 19 over Indiana at West Lafayette.
And starting tonight, it will take an entirely different level of effort than the Hoosiers have mustered most of the way through 10 losses in their last 11 outings.
The sort of level, let's say, they attained in the one win over that stretch, a 79-75 overtime upset Feb. 2 at No. 6 Michigan State.
"That night was as purposeful as we've had a group, as engaged as we've had a group," IU coach Archie Miller recalled of that MSU game during his regular Monday night radio show. "It's amazing how many positive things came through that game, how many guys contributed.
"They didn't care if they missed shots or if they turned it over – the only thing our group cared about that night was winning the game."
The effort moving forward certainly can't be anything like what the Hoosiers displayed during their last appearance, Sunday's dead-as-a-doornail 84-63 loss at Minnesota, in which the Gophers' lead stretched to 30 points.
"For us, this one is sort of a deal breaker," Miller said post-game at Minnesota. "We have to make some real, in my opinion, drastic changes to the way we're doing things right now.
"We got get some guys' attention, and we got get some guys to play better. If you do that, you give yourself a chance to be in more games, but for us right now, we aren't playing at an urgent enough pace on either end."
One drastic change Miller felt necessary was better communication at all levels, on-court and off. Coaches reminded players that college basketball opportunities are fleeting. And players talked, in front of teammates and coaches.
"If you explain it in perhaps somewhat different terms for some of these guys, and say, 'Hey, look … we can control who we want to be right now. Nobody else can. So what are we going to do about it?' " Miller said on his radio show. "To their credit, they took the floor Sunday afternoon (in practice) and did a great job.
"And then I thought, whether it translates or not, I know the coaching staff and the players left the building Monday and really felt good about each other, because we had about as good of a practice as we've ever had in terms of guys really competing.
"Guys talked. Guys were really playing to win. Everybody on the team was engaged. And that's what it's about right now. If we can continue with that, we'll see."
What 13-12 Indiana will certainly see tonight is an 18-7 Purdue team that once stood just 6-5 but got its season going in the right direction, with perhaps the pivotal game a tougher-than-tough 84-80 overtime win Jan. 11 at Wisconsin.
Even after graduating four starters and a slow start to the current campaign, Boilermaker coach Matt Painter still had veteran and potent guards in junior All-American Carsen Edwards (24.4 points per game) and 6-foot-6 senior sharpshooter Ryan Cline (12.2).
Painter also had other pieces, every one of which he had recruited (unlike Miller, who is in just his second season with the Hoosiers) and ready to fit in. And also unlike injury-ravaged IU, those pieces had stayed healthy.
Waxing lyrical about his team's successful approach following Saturday's 76-64 homecourt win over Penn State, Painter said:
"We have the ability not to turn the ball over. We have the ability to play hard. We have the ability to play together. And that's the beauty of basketball. You know what I mean?
"The sum is greater than the parts. Grady Eifert is a really efficient player. Nojel Eastern can really cause (foes) some problems on the defensive end. Ryan Cline is one of the best who ever played here at not turning the ball over. Those are great qualities that lead to winning."
Eastern's defense was a big factor in holding IU scoring leader Romeo Langford, a freshman averaging 17.2 points per game, to a season-low four points in the Jan. 19 meeting. It was the first game in his college career Langford was held to single-digit scoring.
And Purdue seems particularly well-suited to defending the Hoosiers, generally.
Indiana has had major problems making perimeter shots (hitting just .274 from 3-point range during conference play) and the Boilers have plenty of size with which to clog the lane – denying Langford drives and touches inside for Hoosier senior frontliner Juwan Morgan (the only other IU double-figure scorer at 15.3).
Matt Haarms, a 7-3, 250-pound sophomore who is Purdue's third-leading scorer at 8.1, has blocked 45 enemy shots. And the Boilermakers' eight-game Big Ten winning streak that started with the victory at Wisconsin directly coincided with the full emergence of 6-9, 280-pound freshman Trevion Williams. And PU brings experienced 6-8 junior Evan Boudreaux and 6-9 frosh Aaron Wheeler off the bench.
None of those Boilermakers were McDonald's All-Americans, like Langford, but all have found ways to contribute to efficient play. Purdue outrebounds its opponents by five per game. The Boilermakers protect the ball (272 turnovers compared to IU's 325) and share it (363 to IU's 337). They hit free throws (.742 to IU's .661) and 3-pointers (258 to IU's 145).
"Sometimes, in recruiting, in terms of how people gauge you or how people rank you, they don't really look at those (things) because they're not sexy," Painter said. "But I could care less. I want guys who can take care of the basketball … make free throws, make 3s.
"Then, obviously, you have to have (stars such as) a Caleb Swanigan or a Carsen Edwards, a Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas – you have to have those guys. But (graduated starter) Dakota Mathias was so good because he complemented everybody. He made people better. Like Grady Eifert makes people better. Ryan Cline makes people better. What they do is give great pieces to a team.
"I think you've seen that and I've always talked about it. You see it at Wisconsin a lot. You see it at Butler. You see (some say), 'How can this guy start on a championship team? How can this guy start on a Final Four team?' Well, he helps you win.
"As long as everybody will play their roles and stick together – because there is always adversity on teams. I've got guys who don't play much, guys who are younger, and those guys have had good attitudes. It's hard."
Indiana has started freshmen guards much of the season in Langford and Rob Phinisee, neither of whom are at all used to losing games. Morgan is the lone regular IU starter not a freshman or sophomore.
Miller noted that guidance can always come from coaches, but it's best when it emerges from the players themselves, with Morgan and fellow senior co-captain Zach McRoberts (still out with injury, as he has been most of the season) leading the conversation the past couple of days.
"Without question, the best teams are when the players run the locker room," Miller said. "For us, we have a senior class of Zach and Juwan, and those guys obviously had a heavy voice as we returned from Minneapolis. It resonates when you hear those guys, who have been here the longest.
"And then you look at some of your younger guys who are going through it for the first time. None of them have ever experienced anything like this. Who do they look to? And I think, without question, the players have to look to each other right now, care about each other right now, more so than anything else. Because players play. Especially this time of year. Certain guys, at the right time of the year, they're there, they're ready, they're playing their best. And we have to find a way to do that."
The next opportunity comes in a very challenging test tonight.
"We have an unbelievable opponent Tuesday night," Miller said. "Obviously there is a lot at stake when you play Purdue (when you're) at Indiana, and they've already gotten us one time, a while back.
"For our guys, it's sitting right in front of us. We have an opportunity Tuesday to play against a really good team that's our archrival, in-state. And you know what? If that doesn't get your blood boiling a little bit here, to get yourself kick-started in another gear, I'm not sure anything will.
"So I'm hopeful our last couple of days, mentally, with how we've talked and how we've communicated, has been a sign that readiness and energy-level won't be our concern."
Sometimes it only takes one big win. IU hoped that was the case against MSU, but it wasn't. It was for Purdue at Wisconsin. Either team could use tonight's big matchup as a springboard toward a successful conference stretch drive.
After all, one other way "Barbara Ann" had the boys going was "rockin' and a-rollin'."
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