GRAHAM: Healthier Hoosiers "Bubbling" Back To The Surface
3/8/2019 8:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Andy Graham, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - "Indiana. It's the strangest team."
Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo said that last week before his No. 6-ranked Michigan State Spartans lost to IU for the second time this season.
It isn't Izzo's job to minutely follow Indiana's fortunes, but even people who do pronounced themselves perplexed by the Hoosiers much of this season.
At a cursory glance, certainly, it seemed somewhat inexplicable that an IU team that started 12-2 could endure a brutal 1-12 Big Ten slump through January and February.
But I would contend it is somewhat – maybe even quite – explicable.
For a host of reasons.
The Hoosiers, to begin with, got injured. A lot. And sometimes at crucial junctures of the season.
That isn't making an excuse. That's just factual.
Let's start with freshman point guard Rob Phinisee, who posted a career-high 17 points along with five assists and zero turnovers during Thursday's rousing 92-74 romp at Illinois on the Illini's Senior Night.
Here is what Illini coach Brad Underwood said of Phinisee post-game:
"Not many nights we finish with more turnovers than our opponent – give Rob Phinisee a tremendous amount of credit. The young man is terrific. He kept the ball centered, in the middle of the court, kept his dribble alive. I thought he was absolutely the biggest difference in the game, along with Juwan (Morgan) in the first half.
"He has unbelievable composure. I saw them a little bit early, before his concussion, and he never got rattled. There was very little emotion (on his face), yet he was directing traffic.
"And then his poise and want-to to take big shots. Very, very charismatic, in terms of wanting that. You saw a big difference in their team with him than without him. Facing him for the first time – he's the real deal. He's going to be a pain in the butt for four years."
Illinois indeed didn't face Phinisee before Thursday because, when the Illini dropped a very competitive 73-65 game Jan. 3 in Bloomington, Phinisee was in the process of missing almost a full month in concussion protocol.
Phinisee was emerging as a standout when he was concussed seven minutes into the Dec. 19 win over Central Arkansas.
And even after making it back for spot duty Jan. 11 at Maryland, it naturally took quite a while for Phinisee to fully clear the cobwebs and regain his stride.
That process was further delayed when he missed five days with illness before the Feb. 16 game at Minnesota. IU coach Archie Miller has intimated that he didn't really see the full pre-concussion Phinisee until IU's Feb. 19 home game with Purdue.
So, taking that into consideration, here is Indiana's record with a fully functional Phinisee: 12-4 (and 5-2 in Big Ten play). That is obviously a far cry from IU's current 16-14 (7-12) ledger.
Here is another set of numbers to ponder:
Phinisee, while making his way back to full health, has played 263 minutes over the last nine game and has totaled just five turnovers – and never more than one in any single game.
How much might that sort of thing helped IU all season?
Thursday at Illinois, Phinisee and junior guard Devonte Green – who also deserves immense credit for his play of late – combined to supply 11 assists with zero turnovers.
Green hit 4 of 6 shots (3 of 5 from 3-point range) for 11 points to go with his zero turnovers, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
And, basically, every Hoosier who played Thursday night did yeoman's work. Morgan (20 points), Phinisee, Justin Smith (15), Green and Romeo Langford (10) all attained double-figure scoring. Nine Hoosiers scored, overall. Pretty much all of them were cooking with gas.
But it still isn't quite the same team Miller thought he might have heading into the season.
Before the opener, IU lost 6-foot-7 winger Jerome Hunter – one of the jewels in a strong freshman class – for the entirety of the campaign due to a condition that required corrective surgery.
And 6-8 Race Thompson, a redshirt freshman ready to add significant depth to Indiana's front line – especially to help spell standout senior Morgan – played just one game before sustaining a more severe concussion even than Phinisee's.
Thompson made it back for the Minnesota game and has showed some good capacity since. But he's doubtless not yet the player he might have been with months of healthy development.
Then there is senior co-captain Zach McRoberts, counted upon as a real "glue guy," critical to cohesion on both ends of the floor heading into the season.
Multiple injuries have curtailed McRoberts' on-court contributions throughout the season. He made five starts earlier in the season but has been relegated to just 32 total minutes over the past six games.
Junior center De'Ron Davis, after progressing perhaps more quickly than expected in December after Achilles-tendon surgery in January, then wrecked his ankle in early January.
So right when the Hoosiers faced a gauntlet of tall, talented Big Ten foes, they didn't have their crucial 6-10 post presence available.
There are other injuries to talk about, too, but suffice to say that Miller played this season with roughly two-thirds of the team he'd hoped to have.
And those injuries began early.
Which meant that during the crucial building weeks of November and December – when coaches experiment with lineups, see which combinations work best, and develop roles into a consistent rotation through competitive practices – Indiana didn't have that luxury.
Izzo – who lost Jeremy Langford (averaging 15.0 points) for the season to a December injury and lately has been without key frontliner Nick Ward – spoke on what that is like, as a coach, after the loss at Indiana:
"It's a shame what happened today, and we just ran out of gas … (guys) played way too many minutes. That's the story of the past couple of weeks … they just kept running guys at us, and we didn't have the bodies to run at them. So we lost.
"So sick of coaching the way I've got to coach, to practice the way I've got to practice."
Again, that's a Hall of Famer and NCAA championship coach talking.
Injuries matter. For any team.
Miller, to his credit, has offered up zero excuses all season long. If he has discussed about injuries upon occasion, generally when asked, it was not in a manner that would excuse performance.
But after the Hoosiers gutted out wins over quality foes such as Butler and Louisville in December, they were without Phinisee and then Davis entering a Big Ten slate with six of eight games on the road:
At Michigan; at Maryland; Nebraska (where things really fell apart); at Purdue; at Northwestern; Michigan; at Rutgers; at Michigan State. And teams such as Maryland (with Bruno Fernando) and Rutgers had size up front that IU, without a healthy Davis, couldn't really counter.
So the good ship Indiana wasn't able to avoid that Big Ten iceberg, in a season when the league was as tough top-to-bottom as it's been in recent memory.
The Hoosiers were not fully-developed, as they might have been with better overall health. They were, in fact, fragile.
And an Indiana team that had shot well through December lost its confidence in that regard. Big Ten foes packed the lane defensively, limiting driving opportunities for IU scoring leader Romeo Langford and touches for senior frontliner Morgan.
It all added up to losses snowballing into an unprecedented skid.
The sort that would have crushed the spirit out of most teams.
But to the substantial credit of all concerned – players, coaches, staff – Indiana has played itself back toward "the bubble," back into at least the conversation for a possible NCAA tournament bid that seemed a near impossibility just two weeks ago.
The Hoosiers have acknowledged they could have probably handled the adversity a bit better, or perhaps sooner. And that some of the adversity was self-inflicted rather than injury-related or circumstantial.
However, they not only didn't quit after that 1-12 stretch, they upped their effort level to full-tilt-boogie.
And even after that effort level wasn't rewarded in excruciating losses against ranked foes Purdue (48-46) and Iowa (an overtime loss on the road after Hawkeye junior Jordan Bohannon pulled late 3s out of his backside, as he is wont to do), the Hoosiers kept right on plugging. And kept avoiding excuses.
"You make your own breaks," Miller said after that OT loss at Iowa.
That's what the Hoosiers did in subsequent close wins over ranked foes Wisconsin and Michigan State.
Then Thursday against Illinois, guided by Phinisee and Green up top, the Hoosiers played hard and surpassingly well on offense.
They shot .554 from the field, the first time they exceeded .500 since the Dec. 22 win over Jacksonville. Against a foe leading the Big Ten in forcing opposition turnovers (16.4 per game), IU made just seven while issuing 17 assists.
Indiana doubled up the Illini regarding points in the paint (52-26) and won about every other category one could think of: rebounding (35-27); offensive rebounding (13-7); bench points (24-19); fast-break points (14-9); second-chance points (14-10); points off turnovers (17-10) and so on.
Miller rightly praised his team's unselfishness and decision-making after watching it average a healthy 1.16 points per possession.
It resembled that long-ago Nov. 14 night when the Hoosiers ran a good Marquette team right out of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, 96-73.
Before several of the injuries had hit. Before the Big Ten haymaker hit.
Asked about his team's recent turn-around, Morgan said, "We've really got back to the basics and it's the perfect time to (do that).
"We always preach to each other that some team around this time (of year) is just going to find exactly what they need to do and keep it going. I think we're definitely one of those teams that could."
It could.
There is still much to do.
Indiana hosts Rutgers for the regular-season finale at 12 p.m. Sunday, and anybody who doesn't think Scarlet Knights will pose a considerable challenge hasn't been paying attention.
And even if Indiana wins that game, it likely will have to enjoy success during the Big Ten Tournament next week to secure that coveted NCAA bid.
But Thursday night, after so much trial and tribulation, Indiana looked happy and healthy again. And potent.
It sure looked like a NCAA tournament team to me.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - "Indiana. It's the strangest team."
Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo said that last week before his No. 6-ranked Michigan State Spartans lost to IU for the second time this season.
It isn't Izzo's job to minutely follow Indiana's fortunes, but even people who do pronounced themselves perplexed by the Hoosiers much of this season.
At a cursory glance, certainly, it seemed somewhat inexplicable that an IU team that started 12-2 could endure a brutal 1-12 Big Ten slump through January and February.
But I would contend it is somewhat – maybe even quite – explicable.
For a host of reasons.
The Hoosiers, to begin with, got injured. A lot. And sometimes at crucial junctures of the season.
That isn't making an excuse. That's just factual.
Let's start with freshman point guard Rob Phinisee, who posted a career-high 17 points along with five assists and zero turnovers during Thursday's rousing 92-74 romp at Illinois on the Illini's Senior Night.
Here is what Illini coach Brad Underwood said of Phinisee post-game:
"Not many nights we finish with more turnovers than our opponent – give Rob Phinisee a tremendous amount of credit. The young man is terrific. He kept the ball centered, in the middle of the court, kept his dribble alive. I thought he was absolutely the biggest difference in the game, along with Juwan (Morgan) in the first half.
"He has unbelievable composure. I saw them a little bit early, before his concussion, and he never got rattled. There was very little emotion (on his face), yet he was directing traffic.
"And then his poise and want-to to take big shots. Very, very charismatic, in terms of wanting that. You saw a big difference in their team with him than without him. Facing him for the first time – he's the real deal. He's going to be a pain in the butt for four years."
Illinois indeed didn't face Phinisee before Thursday because, when the Illini dropped a very competitive 73-65 game Jan. 3 in Bloomington, Phinisee was in the process of missing almost a full month in concussion protocol.
Phinisee was emerging as a standout when he was concussed seven minutes into the Dec. 19 win over Central Arkansas.
And even after making it back for spot duty Jan. 11 at Maryland, it naturally took quite a while for Phinisee to fully clear the cobwebs and regain his stride.
That process was further delayed when he missed five days with illness before the Feb. 16 game at Minnesota. IU coach Archie Miller has intimated that he didn't really see the full pre-concussion Phinisee until IU's Feb. 19 home game with Purdue.
So, taking that into consideration, here is Indiana's record with a fully functional Phinisee: 12-4 (and 5-2 in Big Ten play). That is obviously a far cry from IU's current 16-14 (7-12) ledger.
Here is another set of numbers to ponder:
Phinisee, while making his way back to full health, has played 263 minutes over the last nine game and has totaled just five turnovers – and never more than one in any single game.
How much might that sort of thing helped IU all season?
Thursday at Illinois, Phinisee and junior guard Devonte Green – who also deserves immense credit for his play of late – combined to supply 11 assists with zero turnovers.
Green hit 4 of 6 shots (3 of 5 from 3-point range) for 11 points to go with his zero turnovers, six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
And, basically, every Hoosier who played Thursday night did yeoman's work. Morgan (20 points), Phinisee, Justin Smith (15), Green and Romeo Langford (10) all attained double-figure scoring. Nine Hoosiers scored, overall. Pretty much all of them were cooking with gas.
But it still isn't quite the same team Miller thought he might have heading into the season.
Before the opener, IU lost 6-foot-7 winger Jerome Hunter – one of the jewels in a strong freshman class – for the entirety of the campaign due to a condition that required corrective surgery.
And 6-8 Race Thompson, a redshirt freshman ready to add significant depth to Indiana's front line – especially to help spell standout senior Morgan – played just one game before sustaining a more severe concussion even than Phinisee's.
Thompson made it back for the Minnesota game and has showed some good capacity since. But he's doubtless not yet the player he might have been with months of healthy development.
Then there is senior co-captain Zach McRoberts, counted upon as a real "glue guy," critical to cohesion on both ends of the floor heading into the season.
Multiple injuries have curtailed McRoberts' on-court contributions throughout the season. He made five starts earlier in the season but has been relegated to just 32 total minutes over the past six games.
Junior center De'Ron Davis, after progressing perhaps more quickly than expected in December after Achilles-tendon surgery in January, then wrecked his ankle in early January.
So right when the Hoosiers faced a gauntlet of tall, talented Big Ten foes, they didn't have their crucial 6-10 post presence available.
There are other injuries to talk about, too, but suffice to say that Miller played this season with roughly two-thirds of the team he'd hoped to have.
And those injuries began early.
Which meant that during the crucial building weeks of November and December – when coaches experiment with lineups, see which combinations work best, and develop roles into a consistent rotation through competitive practices – Indiana didn't have that luxury.
Izzo – who lost Jeremy Langford (averaging 15.0 points) for the season to a December injury and lately has been without key frontliner Nick Ward – spoke on what that is like, as a coach, after the loss at Indiana:
"It's a shame what happened today, and we just ran out of gas … (guys) played way too many minutes. That's the story of the past couple of weeks … they just kept running guys at us, and we didn't have the bodies to run at them. So we lost.
"So sick of coaching the way I've got to coach, to practice the way I've got to practice."
Again, that's a Hall of Famer and NCAA championship coach talking.
Injuries matter. For any team.
Miller, to his credit, has offered up zero excuses all season long. If he has discussed about injuries upon occasion, generally when asked, it was not in a manner that would excuse performance.
But after the Hoosiers gutted out wins over quality foes such as Butler and Louisville in December, they were without Phinisee and then Davis entering a Big Ten slate with six of eight games on the road:
At Michigan; at Maryland; Nebraska (where things really fell apart); at Purdue; at Northwestern; Michigan; at Rutgers; at Michigan State. And teams such as Maryland (with Bruno Fernando) and Rutgers had size up front that IU, without a healthy Davis, couldn't really counter.
So the good ship Indiana wasn't able to avoid that Big Ten iceberg, in a season when the league was as tough top-to-bottom as it's been in recent memory.
The Hoosiers were not fully-developed, as they might have been with better overall health. They were, in fact, fragile.
And an Indiana team that had shot well through December lost its confidence in that regard. Big Ten foes packed the lane defensively, limiting driving opportunities for IU scoring leader Romeo Langford and touches for senior frontliner Morgan.
It all added up to losses snowballing into an unprecedented skid.
The sort that would have crushed the spirit out of most teams.
But to the substantial credit of all concerned – players, coaches, staff – Indiana has played itself back toward "the bubble," back into at least the conversation for a possible NCAA tournament bid that seemed a near impossibility just two weeks ago.
The Hoosiers have acknowledged they could have probably handled the adversity a bit better, or perhaps sooner. And that some of the adversity was self-inflicted rather than injury-related or circumstantial.
However, they not only didn't quit after that 1-12 stretch, they upped their effort level to full-tilt-boogie.
And even after that effort level wasn't rewarded in excruciating losses against ranked foes Purdue (48-46) and Iowa (an overtime loss on the road after Hawkeye junior Jordan Bohannon pulled late 3s out of his backside, as he is wont to do), the Hoosiers kept right on plugging. And kept avoiding excuses.
"You make your own breaks," Miller said after that OT loss at Iowa.
That's what the Hoosiers did in subsequent close wins over ranked foes Wisconsin and Michigan State.
Then Thursday against Illinois, guided by Phinisee and Green up top, the Hoosiers played hard and surpassingly well on offense.
They shot .554 from the field, the first time they exceeded .500 since the Dec. 22 win over Jacksonville. Against a foe leading the Big Ten in forcing opposition turnovers (16.4 per game), IU made just seven while issuing 17 assists.
Indiana doubled up the Illini regarding points in the paint (52-26) and won about every other category one could think of: rebounding (35-27); offensive rebounding (13-7); bench points (24-19); fast-break points (14-9); second-chance points (14-10); points off turnovers (17-10) and so on.
Miller rightly praised his team's unselfishness and decision-making after watching it average a healthy 1.16 points per possession.
It resembled that long-ago Nov. 14 night when the Hoosiers ran a good Marquette team right out of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, 96-73.
Before several of the injuries had hit. Before the Big Ten haymaker hit.
Asked about his team's recent turn-around, Morgan said, "We've really got back to the basics and it's the perfect time to (do that).
"We always preach to each other that some team around this time (of year) is just going to find exactly what they need to do and keep it going. I think we're definitely one of those teams that could."
It could.
There is still much to do.
Indiana hosts Rutgers for the regular-season finale at 12 p.m. Sunday, and anybody who doesn't think Scarlet Knights will pose a considerable challenge hasn't been paying attention.
And even if Indiana wins that game, it likely will have to enjoy success during the Big Ten Tournament next week to secure that coveted NCAA bid.
But Thursday night, after so much trial and tribulation, Indiana looked happy and healthy again. And potent.
It sure looked like a NCAA tournament team to me.
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