Indiana University Athletics
DIPRIMIO: The Quest Begins – IU Basketball Aiming High
10/14/2020 10:26:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The unknown is out there for Indiana basketball.
So is potential greatness.
Coach Archie Miller starts his fourth season with talent, depth, experience and versatility.
What he and the Hoosiers don't have is an etched-in-stone schedule.
Yes, there are bits and pieces of one amid the wreckage the pandemic has wrought (the season will start Nov. 25), but if you want certainty, consider this:
The Maui Invitational will be played -- in Asheville, N.C.
So it's not about what you don't know, but what you do know, not what you can't control, but what you can.
Miller targets that opening date against an opponent to-be-determined with laser focus.
"We do know that on the 25th we have to be the most-ready team," he says via a Zoom press conference as part of IU's virtual media day. "That is the quest."
The quest officially starts with Wednesday's opening practice.
"As we talk to our guy through the entire preseason, the rest of October heading into November, (the quest) is what it is about," Miller says. "It is about preparing, being ready and stay hungry for that one opportunity so when they say 'go,' you can go and we are ready to go.
"That has been the focus from day one. We have really hung our hat on the everyday approach. The players have done a good job of hanging in there with it. I like where we are at."
It helps to have one of America's best players in sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, last season's leading scorer (13.5 points), rebounder (8.4), shot blocker (59) and free throw shooter (115 made free throws).
He was recently named to Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook's third-team pre-season All-America. He's one of just four sophomores to earn All-America honors.
The 6-9 Jackson-Davis is a big reason, although not the only one, why the Hoosiers have their eyes on a special season.
"There are a lot of different types of teams out there," Miller says. "There are teams with a lot of newcomers, teams with a lot of veterans, but how you handle what is thrown at you really comes down to your leadership.
"We have some guys that have been a part of a lot of big games, been a part of a lot of college basketball experience and know what that feels like. To have that at your disposal, as a coach, you hope that plays a role in a positive way."
IU is coming off a 20-12 season that was building toward a big postseason (consider its blowout of Nebraska in its Big Ten tourney opener) before Covid-19 shut everything down.
Disappointing?
You bet, but this has never been just about one season.
"At the end of the day," Miller says, "winning and losing, playing minutes, making shots and missing shots all play a role in how you evolve.
"By any indication of how the season ended a year ago, how our guys have handled themselves when they were away, how we have handled ourselves since we first got started back and as the school year has unraveled in front of us, week by week, how we have handled our business, gives me a pretty good indication that our team is about the right things.
"We do have good leadership. Our young players are here for the right reasons. Improvement has been on the forefront of everyone's mind at all stages of time, from the end of the year until right now. Now we have to put that together."
Togetherness will come with Jackson-Davis, with veterans Aljami Durham, Rob Phinisee and Armaan Franklin at guard, with Joey Brunk, Jerome Hunter and Race Thompson at forward. It will come with an elite newcomer class led by 5-star freshman guard Khristian Lander, Indiana Mr. Basketball Anthony Leal, New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year Jordan Geronimo and a very talented Trey Galloway.
It is a versatile group that projects to hurt teams with power, speed, rebounding, strong shooting and depth as never before under Miller.
"We're always on a quest to have versatility and skill in what we're doing," he says. "For this group to be successful, we have to have a lot of different type of versatility offensively."
"Defensively, you're going to be able to do some things, scheme-wise regardless of who's on the floor with that team. You have to play hard."
That means different lineup combinations, the freedom to play together in space and with a deceptively simple approach so players "don't have to learn a ton."
"We want our guys to be aggressive in their roles and play that way," Miller says.
IU has improved every season under Miller, from 16 wins to 19 to 20, and everything seems in place for something special.
It starts, Miller says, not from hype, but from work and team chemistry.
"We have to be always about the team approach, defining roles and getting all of that stuff sorted out to be at our best early."
Miller had designed a schedule to maximize growth and develop.
That schedule no longer exists, but the opportunity does.
"Take away the things you cannot control, eliminate the things that distract you from the thing that is most important, which is, at the end of the day, how much better are we going to be now than we were a year ago when we finished as individuals and as a group," Miller says. "How much different can we be between now and (Nov. 25) when we jump ball?
"There is a lot of challenges that go into that with the lack of preseason, the lack of non-conference and lack of exhibition-type opportunities. It is a little bit unique. It is going to get revved up from Day One. We are going to have to mow through it with a lot of different types of speed bumps that are coming that we do not see.
"We have to be on a quest to be ready for the first day."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The unknown is out there for Indiana basketball.
So is potential greatness.
Coach Archie Miller starts his fourth season with talent, depth, experience and versatility.
What he and the Hoosiers don't have is an etched-in-stone schedule.
Yes, there are bits and pieces of one amid the wreckage the pandemic has wrought (the season will start Nov. 25), but if you want certainty, consider this:
The Maui Invitational will be played -- in Asheville, N.C.
So it's not about what you don't know, but what you do know, not what you can't control, but what you can.
Miller targets that opening date against an opponent to-be-determined with laser focus.
"We do know that on the 25th we have to be the most-ready team," he says via a Zoom press conference as part of IU's virtual media day. "That is the quest."
The quest officially starts with Wednesday's opening practice.
"As we talk to our guy through the entire preseason, the rest of October heading into November, (the quest) is what it is about," Miller says. "It is about preparing, being ready and stay hungry for that one opportunity so when they say 'go,' you can go and we are ready to go.
"That has been the focus from day one. We have really hung our hat on the everyday approach. The players have done a good job of hanging in there with it. I like where we are at."
It helps to have one of America's best players in sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, last season's leading scorer (13.5 points), rebounder (8.4), shot blocker (59) and free throw shooter (115 made free throws).
He was recently named to Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook's third-team pre-season All-America. He's one of just four sophomores to earn All-America honors.
The 6-9 Jackson-Davis is a big reason, although not the only one, why the Hoosiers have their eyes on a special season.
"There are a lot of different types of teams out there," Miller says. "There are teams with a lot of newcomers, teams with a lot of veterans, but how you handle what is thrown at you really comes down to your leadership.
"We have some guys that have been a part of a lot of big games, been a part of a lot of college basketball experience and know what that feels like. To have that at your disposal, as a coach, you hope that plays a role in a positive way."
IU is coming off a 20-12 season that was building toward a big postseason (consider its blowout of Nebraska in its Big Ten tourney opener) before Covid-19 shut everything down.
Disappointing?
You bet, but this has never been just about one season.
"At the end of the day," Miller says, "winning and losing, playing minutes, making shots and missing shots all play a role in how you evolve.
"By any indication of how the season ended a year ago, how our guys have handled themselves when they were away, how we have handled ourselves since we first got started back and as the school year has unraveled in front of us, week by week, how we have handled our business, gives me a pretty good indication that our team is about the right things.
"We do have good leadership. Our young players are here for the right reasons. Improvement has been on the forefront of everyone's mind at all stages of time, from the end of the year until right now. Now we have to put that together."
Togetherness will come with Jackson-Davis, with veterans Aljami Durham, Rob Phinisee and Armaan Franklin at guard, with Joey Brunk, Jerome Hunter and Race Thompson at forward. It will come with an elite newcomer class led by 5-star freshman guard Khristian Lander, Indiana Mr. Basketball Anthony Leal, New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year Jordan Geronimo and a very talented Trey Galloway.
It is a versatile group that projects to hurt teams with power, speed, rebounding, strong shooting and depth as never before under Miller.
"We're always on a quest to have versatility and skill in what we're doing," he says. "For this group to be successful, we have to have a lot of different type of versatility offensively."
"Defensively, you're going to be able to do some things, scheme-wise regardless of who's on the floor with that team. You have to play hard."
That means different lineup combinations, the freedom to play together in space and with a deceptively simple approach so players "don't have to learn a ton."
"We want our guys to be aggressive in their roles and play that way," Miller says.
IU has improved every season under Miller, from 16 wins to 19 to 20, and everything seems in place for something special.
It starts, Miller says, not from hype, but from work and team chemistry.
"We have to be always about the team approach, defining roles and getting all of that stuff sorted out to be at our best early."
Miller had designed a schedule to maximize growth and develop.
That schedule no longer exists, but the opportunity does.
"Take away the things you cannot control, eliminate the things that distract you from the thing that is most important, which is, at the end of the day, how much better are we going to be now than we were a year ago when we finished as individuals and as a group," Miller says. "How much different can we be between now and (Nov. 25) when we jump ball?
"There is a lot of challenges that go into that with the lack of preseason, the lack of non-conference and lack of exhibition-type opportunities. It is a little bit unique. It is going to get revved up from Day One. We are going to have to mow through it with a lot of different types of speed bumps that are coming that we do not see.
"We have to be on a quest to be ready for the first day."
Players Mentioned
Forward
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Guard
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Guard
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Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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