No Backing Down – Enright Changes the Game Even Without Scoring

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Who needs to score when you're Conor Enright, when you disrupt all offensive comers, even the nation's leading scorer in Kansas State's PJ Haggerty?

Enright is listed as a 6-foot-1 guard, but he might as well be 6-foot-9 with the way he messes with a guy's mind.

He did plenty of messing with Haggerty Tuesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, helping to hold the All-American guard to 16 points (12 below his average) on 7-for-17 shooting in Indiana's 86-69 victory.

"Conor had done it before when we were at Drake," coach Darian DeVries says. "We had him run to Haggerty on every shot to jam him a little bit, make or miss, and not let (the Wildcats) start their transition game."

DeVries says the strategy was to ensure Haggerty wouldn't bring the ball up in transition.

"It takes a lot of discipline to do that every time," DeVries says, "and I thought Conor was terrific at it."

So did Kansas State coach Jerome Tang.

"He did a great job. He took on the challenge. As a player, when you're more concerned about what the guy is doing to you than playing the game, you feed into what they want to do. So, credit to Conor. We watched a lot of (Indiana) film, so we knew there's a good defender, and he doesn't back down."

Enright was an all-around factor, totaling seven points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. For the season, he averages 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. His 23 assists are second on the team to Tayton Conerway's 32.

"He's been that way his whole life," DeVries says about Enright's defensive intensity. "It's like, 'Just let me go guard him. Let me dive on the floor. Let me take charges. Let me do all the scrappy things that impact winning.'

"He doesn't care about scoring. He can score but he doesn't care. He just wants to win. That's why he's the ultimate team guy."

Beyond Enright, the No. 25/24 Hoosiers (6-0) throttled one of the nation's most prolific offenses, holding Kansas State to 23 points below its scoring average. They forced 19 turnovers, the most by an opponent since Elon had 19 in 2022.

They also made 10 3-pointers, the fourth time they've reached double figures this season.

Tang was impressed.

"They were better than us. They kicked our butt. They were tougher from top to bottom.

"It starts with me. I did a poor job preparing this team. Darian obviously did a way better job of preparing his. They won every statistical category that matters in the game of basketball today. This was just a complete butt-whooping. Credit to them. Great environment."

IU's hope for another great environment at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday when it hosts Bethune-Cookman (2-5).

Senior guard Jakoby Heady leads the team in scoring (14.7 points). He was named Southwestern Athletic Conference newcomer of the week after totaling 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists in a win over Ohio University.

Bethune-Cookman also gets 14.0 points and 5.7 rebounds from guard Arterio Morris, 12.4 points and 4.0 rebounds from forward Quentin Heady, and 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds from forward Daniel Rouzan.

No Backing Down – Enright Changes the Game Even Without Scoring

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Players Mentioned

Tayton Conerway

Conor Enright

Indiana University Athletics