Indiana University Athletics
DIPRIMIO: ‘Locked In’ -- Special IU Basketball Season There For the Taking
9/27/2019 9:45:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Is Indiana about to rock the Big Ten basketball world?
That's the plan in Year Three of the Archie Miller coaching era.
Seasons of 16-15 and 19-16 have fueled the resolve that this is the season the Hoosiers return to NCAA tourney relevance.
The talent suggests it's there for the taking.
"This team is going to be pushed," Miller says. "For us to have a great season, we have to be locked in, bought in.
"We have to play everybody. There can't be a game or a day that we don't feel like we can use everybody. Every guy should expect to help this team.
"That's a good thing that everybody has a chance to contribute. How much is up to them."
It starts with senior guard Devonte Green, who by the end of last season had turned into a defense destroyer. He led the team in 3-point shooting (41.0 percent) and averaged 9.4 points. He averaged 16.8 points in his last five games, and made 17 3-pointers in his last four games.
No wonder Miller calls Green, "Our most talented offensive player, without question."
The rest of the returning backcourt is solid with Al Durham (8.3 points, 54 assists last season) and Rob Phinisee (6.8 points, team-leading 94 assists).
At forward you have versatile Justin Smith, who has shown flashes of dominance on offense and defense. Miller says of the 6-7 Smith (8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds) that, "When his mind is right and he's really focused, he will be one of the better defenders in the Big Ten."
There's center De'Ron Davis (5.4 points, 2.5 rebounds), swingman Damezi Anderson (1.5 points, 1.1 rebounds) and forward Race Thompson (0.7 and 2.1).
Don't forget redshirt freshman Jerome Hunter, who missed all of last season with a serious leg condition, but who has recently been fully cleared for all basketball activity. As a senior at Pickerington High School in Ohio, he averaged 20.2 points and 10.2 rebounds.
Finally, there's a newcomer class of last year's Indiana Mr. Basketball Trayce Jackson-Davis (averages of 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for Center Grove High School last year), Indianapolis standout guard Armaan Franklin (23.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists as a junior at Indianapolis Cathedral High School) and Butler transfer forward Joey Brunk (7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds last year).
Now it's a matter of maximizing that potential.
"From an identity perspective," Miller says, "we always want to be a hard-playing, tough-minded team that plays hard on both ends."
Offense is key. Miller-coached teams have always been defensively stout, but the offense the last two seasons -- particularly the perimeter shooting (31.2 percent from three-point range last year) -- hasn't been good enough.
Yes, the Hoosiers are addressing that.
"You work on it," Miller says. "That's the simple thing. Each guy individually has taken some time to address it, work on it. There has been some improvement with guys.
"I also think the quality of shots is the key. The guys who are shooting and where they are shooting it from, how they're getting them."
In other words, if IU's best shooters take good shots, look out.
"If that's the case," Miller says, "we have confidence in making them."
Beyond that, Miller wants more motion in his offense. He has a line up full of length and versatility, and plans to take full advantage.
"We're going to have to be much more difficult to deal with," he says. "We have to have a lot more randomness into what we do. We have to utilize our versatility with the guys that can plan multiple positions together.
"There is some versatility and some interchangeable parts. The quest for this team, by far and away, is to have more ball movement and play more people."
IU can play big with the 6-10 Davis, 6-11 Brunk, and 6-9 Jackson-Davis. Could two of them play at the same time?
"That's the old-school lineup," Miller says. "That's the big-ball, traditional two bigs. Can it happen? Absolutely.
"How these guys find their niche will be their ability to defend together. That's the hardest part for two bigs on the floor. It's not offense, but could they defend a team that doesn't play traditional with bigs? That will be the quest. Can those guys exist on (the defensive) end of the floor?"
Public answers will start coming during the annual Hoosier Hysteria, set for Saturday, Oct. 5, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Tipoff is at 4 p.m. and the men's and women's teams will participate. It's free admission, but fans are asked to donate a canned food item to benefit the Hoosier Hills Food Bank.
IU has one exhibition -- against Gannon on Oct. 29 -- before opening its season on Nov. 5 against Western Illinois.
For now, it's about preparation and work.
"I think our older guys have been very calm," Miller says. "They've been very good with their leadership on and off the floor.
"I think our newcomers fit in seamlessly. They've been a pleasant surprise with how much they're embracing the challenge of joining the group, and also embracing the challenge of striving to be the better players on our team, the better leaders. They're not waiting around to learn."
"From an identity perspective," Miller says, "we always want to be a hard-playing, tough-minded team that plays hard on both ends."
Offense is key. Miller-coached teams have always been defensively stout, but the offense the last two seasons -- particularly the perimeter shooting (31.2 percent from three-point range last year) -- hasn't been good enough.
Yes, the Hoosiers are addressing that.
"You work on it," Miller says. "That's the simple thing. Each guy individually has taken some time to address it, work on it. There has been some improvement with guys.
"I also think the quality of shots is the key. The guys who are shooting and where they are shooting it from, how they're getting them."
In other words, if IU's best shooters take good shots, look out.
"If that's the case," Miller says, "we have confidence in making them."
Beyond that, Miller wants more motion in his offense. He has a line up full of length and versatility, and plans to take full advantage.
"We're going to have to be much more difficult to deal with," he says. "We have to have a lot more randomness into what we do. We have to utilize our versatility with the guys that can plan multiple positions together.
"There is some versatility and some interchangeable parts. The quest for this team, by far and away, is to have more ball movement and play more people."
IU can play big with the 6-10 Davis, 6-11 Brunk, and 6-9 Jackson-Davis. Could two of them play at the same time?
"That's the old-school lineup," Miller says. "That's the big-ball, traditional two bigs. Can it happen? Absolutely.
"How these guys find their niche will be their ability to defend together. That's the hardest part for two bigs on the floor. It's not offense, but could they defend a team that doesn't play traditional with bigs? That will be the quest. Can those guys exist on (the defensive) end of the floor?"
Public answers will start coming during the annual Hoosier Hysteria, set for Saturday, Oct. 5, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Tipoff is at 4 p.m. and the men's and women's teams will participate. It's free admission, but fans are asked to donate a canned food item to benefit the Hoosier Hills Food Bank.
IU has one exhibition -- against Gannon on Oct. 29 -- before opening its season on Nov. 5 against Western Illinois.
For now, it's about preparation and work.
"I think our older guys have been very calm," Miller says. "They've been very good with their leadership on and off the floor.
"I think our newcomers fit in seamlessly. They've been a pleasant surprise with how much they're embracing the challenge of joining the group, and also embracing the challenge of striving to be the better players on our team, the better leaders. They're not waiting around to learn."
Players Mentioned
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