We've reached the final non-conference game of the season tomorrow night against the Jacksonville Dolphins. It should also be the final cupcake game of the season, as Big Ten play starts for IU on December 31 at Iowa.
The Dolphins are 5-7 and are coming off of a 65-53 victory over Furman. Their leading scorer is freshman Jarvis Haywood (11.2 ppg). The only other Dolphin scoring in double-figures is junior Keith McDougald (10.0 ppg). As a team, they are averaging 67.6 points per game on 42% field goal. The grab about 35 rebounds and hand out 12 assists per game.
The Hoosiers are coming off of an 88-52 win over Florida Atlantic in which Cody Zeller scored a season-high 24 points (while going 12-13 from the free throw line). There are five Hoosiers averaging in double-digit scoring: Cody (16.4 ppg), Victor Oladipo (13.5 ppg), Christian Watford (12.8 ppg), Will Sheehey (12.3 ppg), and Jordy Hulls (11.1 ppg). The Hoosiers are leading the country in scoring at 89.1 points per game on 52% field goal (2nd in the country). They are also 10th in rebounding and 12th in assists with 42 and 17 per game respectively.
According to the numbers, Jacksonville should be the weakest opponent IU will face this season, but at the same time, it is the first time in two seasons that the Hoosiers will have a game after the Christmas break before Big Ten play. It is the perfect time for them to work on their ball handling; while it was of little consequence to the outcome, the Hoosiers turned the ball over 19 times against Mount St. Mary's and 15 times against Florida Atlantic. On the other hand, they had 27 assists against the Mountaineers to counter the 19 turnovers. But this will be a whole different story come Big Ten play, as the other teams won't let IU get away with such sloppy play without some penalty. I'd also look for the Hoosiers to rebound the ball well, probably right around 40 or so (including quite possibly a ridiculously high amount from Hanner Mosquera-Perea, who grabbed 10 in 14 minutes of play against Florida Atlantic). And once again, I'd expect at least five Hoosiers to score in double digits (probably Cody, Christian, Victor, Will, and Jordy or Remy). I'm hoping for at least one double-double (Cody or Victor most likely), but I will settle for a solid all-around game against an underwhelming opponent.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
That's the Game: Mt. St. Mary's
So, with a final a score of 93-54, it would seem like there's not much to look at. But there were some highlights.
First, senior Derek Elston played in his first game of the season after tearing his meniscus, about a week or so ahead of schedule. He played 9 minutes, was 1-1 field goal for 2 points, 2 rebounds, and a big block. Upon entering the game, Derek received a well-deserved standing ovation, along with a somewhat uncoordinated attempt at a "Der-ek El-ston" chant with the students gone for Christmas Break. The thing from Derek's post-game conference which stood out to me was this:
Now, on to my predictions from yesterday.
1. The Hoosiers did not quite reach the rebound level I expected, but I did not take some things (absurdly high field goal percentage for example) into account when I made my prediction. IU grabbed 40 rebounds, 9 of them on offense. That number looks particularly impressive when you consider that the Hoosiers shot 71% from the field (more on that to come). On the other end, however, is the somewhat more important aspect in that the Mountaineers were only able to grab 15 boards, a +25 rebounding margin for the Hoosiers.
2. IU did shoot layups... lots of them. But they also shot a lot of jumpers (both 2- and 3-pointers). With a lot of success. They shot a beyond ridiculously high 71% from the field and an even more astonishingly high 75% from beyond the arc! The Hoosiers also had assists on an amazing 27 out of 36 shots, displaying both solid ball control and selflessness. While I didn't expect it to be this high, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to shoot 60+%, as the Mountaineers defense is not particularly well equipped to shut down either shooters or drivers.
3. IU did turn the ball over... a lot. IU recorded 19 turnovers on the night, with Victor leading with 5. At the same time, he did have 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals to balance it some. Yogi only had 2 turnovers at the same time as he had a career-high 9 assists. The Hoosiers were able to force 15 turnovers of their own, and I am fairly convinced (from my standpoint) that some of the IU turnovers in the form of offensive fouls were iffy at the same time as there were some pretty obvious no-calls (both fouls and otherwise) on the other end of the court. This turnover performance should not worry Hoosier fans, however, as this is where the Mountaineers excel, just as it is where VCU excels (as evidenced by their 32 forced turnovers against Western Kentucky yesterday!).
4. The Mountaineers did pretty much camp out in three-point land. Of their 54 field goal attempts, 24 were from beyond the arc, and of their 17 made shots, over half (9) were from deep. They only shot 37.5% from out there, but exactly half of their points did come in the form of 3-pointers. On a side-note, IU also made 9 threes on the night; the difference is the Hoosiers only attempted 12 total.
Overall, this was another blowout to add to the growing list. The Hoosiers beat their average by about 4 points. Five Hoosiers ended the night in double-digit scoring: Cody and Will (16), Christian (15), Victor (14), and Remy (12). Four other Hoosiers put up points tonight: Jordy and Yogi (8) and Derek and Raphael (2). Jeff Howard also recorded a block to end out the game. No one quite reached the double-double level, with the two closest being Christian with 15 points and 8 boards and Yogi with 8 points and 9 assists. Cody and Remy each had 6 rebounds and Victor had 4. But as I said, the most important part of this game was that it gave a quick turnaround time after Butler, and it forced the Hoosiers to correct their mistakes, sharpen their focus, and boost their confidence.
First, senior Derek Elston played in his first game of the season after tearing his meniscus, about a week or so ahead of schedule. He played 9 minutes, was 1-1 field goal for 2 points, 2 rebounds, and a big block. Upon entering the game, Derek received a well-deserved standing ovation, along with a somewhat uncoordinated attempt at a "Der-ek El-ston" chant with the students gone for Christmas Break. The thing from Derek's post-game conference which stood out to me was this:
“The standing ovation, that just shows that these people really haven’t forgotten about me. It shows that maybe I do [matter] to this program. Sometimes when you get hurt like that and you’re out so long, you feel like people kind of forget about you. Sometimes, inside of any player, especially me, I feel like people just don’t remember you. But when I go out there and I get that, that standing ovation, it makes me feel special.”This really hit me because I know so many people (myself first among them) who could not wait for Derek to get back on the court, but more importantly to get healthy. I'm glad that Hoosier Nation was able to show Derek just how special he is and how much of big deal he is to this program.
Now, on to my predictions from yesterday.
1. The Hoosiers did not quite reach the rebound level I expected, but I did not take some things (absurdly high field goal percentage for example) into account when I made my prediction. IU grabbed 40 rebounds, 9 of them on offense. That number looks particularly impressive when you consider that the Hoosiers shot 71% from the field (more on that to come). On the other end, however, is the somewhat more important aspect in that the Mountaineers were only able to grab 15 boards, a +25 rebounding margin for the Hoosiers.
2. IU did shoot layups... lots of them. But they also shot a lot of jumpers (both 2- and 3-pointers). With a lot of success. They shot a beyond ridiculously high 71% from the field and an even more astonishingly high 75% from beyond the arc! The Hoosiers also had assists on an amazing 27 out of 36 shots, displaying both solid ball control and selflessness. While I didn't expect it to be this high, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility to shoot 60+%, as the Mountaineers defense is not particularly well equipped to shut down either shooters or drivers.
3. IU did turn the ball over... a lot. IU recorded 19 turnovers on the night, with Victor leading with 5. At the same time, he did have 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals to balance it some. Yogi only had 2 turnovers at the same time as he had a career-high 9 assists. The Hoosiers were able to force 15 turnovers of their own, and I am fairly convinced (from my standpoint) that some of the IU turnovers in the form of offensive fouls were iffy at the same time as there were some pretty obvious no-calls (both fouls and otherwise) on the other end of the court. This turnover performance should not worry Hoosier fans, however, as this is where the Mountaineers excel, just as it is where VCU excels (as evidenced by their 32 forced turnovers against Western Kentucky yesterday!).
4. The Mountaineers did pretty much camp out in three-point land. Of their 54 field goal attempts, 24 were from beyond the arc, and of their 17 made shots, over half (9) were from deep. They only shot 37.5% from out there, but exactly half of their points did come in the form of 3-pointers. On a side-note, IU also made 9 threes on the night; the difference is the Hoosiers only attempted 12 total.
Overall, this was another blowout to add to the growing list. The Hoosiers beat their average by about 4 points. Five Hoosiers ended the night in double-digit scoring: Cody and Will (16), Christian (15), Victor (14), and Remy (12). Four other Hoosiers put up points tonight: Jordy and Yogi (8) and Derek and Raphael (2). Jeff Howard also recorded a block to end out the game. No one quite reached the double-double level, with the two closest being Christian with 15 points and 8 boards and Yogi with 8 points and 9 assists. Cody and Remy each had 6 rebounds and Victor had 4. But as I said, the most important part of this game was that it gave a quick turnaround time after Butler, and it forced the Hoosiers to correct their mistakes, sharpen their focus, and boost their confidence.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The Game Ahead: Mt. St. Mary's
When possible, I'm going to do a preview of the upcoming game. But I tend to be busy with classes, so it probably won't happen often.
So, Mt. St. Mary's. The Mountaineers are currently 4-4 heading into Assembly Hall (which should be interesting as Assembly Hall holds over 8 times the number of people as are enrolled at Mt. St. Mary's). The Mountaineers are coming off of a loss to Loyola-Maryland, and their averages are fairly underwhelming: 61.3 points, 24.3 rebounds, 10.8 assists, and 41% field goal. They have three players, Rashad Whack (11.5), Julian Norfleet (10.5), and Sam Prescott (10.3), averaging double-digit points.
The offensive stat which stands out the most to me is that they are averaging almost 26 three-point attempts per game (compared to the 19 which IU chuck up), connecting on almost 9 per game. That's only 34%, but there is something to be said for the theory that if you take more shots, you'll miss more shots but also make more shots. But this style seems to rely too heavily on the three, and all it takes is a particularly off game to make a not-fun night.
Defense, however, is where this game could get interesting. The Mountaineers' coach, Jamion Christian, was an assistant at VCU up until this season. Now, VCU should sound very familiar to anyone who followed the Hoosiers last year, and I'll get to them in a second. But the defense of Mt. St. Mary's is basically the same as that of VCU, just with less experience. The Mountaineers play defense for what seems like the sole purpose of getting steals. They rank 5th in the country in forcing turnovers. But, when your primary goal is to steal, it leaves some vulnerabilities. It's pretty easy to run up the foul count very quickly, which could lead to a lot of free throws for a Hoosier team which is already shooting a lot of them. This defense also has the problem of allowing teams to get easy buckets. Mt. St. Mary's' opponents are hitting a ridiculous 62% of their 2-pointers.
Now, a bit about VCU. IU faced Shaka Smart and his Rams on the way to the Sweet Sixteen last year in a very tight 63-61 game. Taking a quick look at those stats, and the first thing your eye comes to is that IU turned the ball over 22 times. The Hoosiers turned it over fewer times in the rest of the Tourney combined than they did against VCU (including only 8 turnovers against eventual-champion Kentucky), and it's almost double the number of turnovers IU averaged against Big Ten opponents. Now, luckily for IU, the Hoosiers have improved in the turnover category, averaging a respectable 12 turnovers per game, and Jordy Hulls is doing a phenomenal job at handling the ball, turning it over only 9 times in 10 games.
The Hoosiers are also coming off of a loss, an overtime nail-biter to in-state rival Butler. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Hoosiers had trouble rebounding and defending the perimeter, the latter of which could become important against Mt. St. Mary's. IU has five guys averaging double-digits: Cody Zeller (15.7), Victor Oladipo (13.2), Will Sheehey (12.2), Christian Watford (12.1), and Jordy (11.5). They are coming in averaging 88.8 points, 42.6 rebounds, 17 assists, and 51% field goal.
I foresee a few things happening:
1. The Hoosiers are going to grab every single rebound which comes anywhere remotely close to them. They are going to look like they have basketball-magnets in their hands. As Coach Crean said after the Butler game, "I’m excited about the rebounding drills we’re gonna do, I’m not sure there will be many people that will be sharing that joy with me, but I know I’ll be excited about it because, right now, that’s an area we've got to really shore up." I'm betting that this was a strong focus in the practices since Saturday, meaning these guys are going to come out ready to prove that they can get the boards. It will be especially helpful that the Mountaineers do not have an abundance of height, which means that players like Cody, Christian, and Vic should all be crashing the boards hard.
2. IU will shoot layups... a lot of them. Not only has IU been settling for jump shots in the last few games and probably looking to correct that, but the Mountaineers being so focused on stealing the ball should lead to both very open lanes (which guys like Vic and Yogi will exploit at will) and very easy transition points (especially with Cody-the-gazelle sprinting up the court as he did against UNC). This will in turn lead to an absurdly high field goal percentage and probably a very high score.
3. IU will turn the ball over... probably a lot. There are two major reasons for this. First, this is where the Mountaineers thrive. This is what they do, and they do it pretty well. Second, any time you play as fast as the Hoosiers like to, you will turn the ball over. IU will probably take it at the Mountaineers and play quickly, a style which lends itself to a high turnover rate but at the same time a higher number of possessions to balance it.
4. The Mountaineers will try to camp out in 3-point land. They love the three, even more than the Hoosiers. And after watching a Rotnei-Clarke-spurred Butler shoot lights-out against the Hoosiers, they'll probably see this as their best option. It also won't hurt their case that they are undersized and will probably be reluctant to even try to venture much into Zeller-land. This means that the Hoosiers will need to lock-down on the perimeter, but also not go so far as to give the Mountaineers easy buckets.
Overall, this will be another blowout to add to the early-season nonconference list. I don't know if it'll be a Qdoba night (100+ points), but IU should at least hit their average. I see at least 6 Hoosiers in double-figure scoring (probably Cody, Vic, Jordy, Christian, Will, and either Yogi or Remy) and possibly two or three with double-doubles (Cody, Vic, and Christian could each end up with 10+ rebounds, and although less likely, Jordy or Yogi could end up with a lot of assists, particularly in transition). The biggest thing with this game is it gives a quick turnaround time after a tough loss, which allows the Hoosiers to correct their mistakes, sharpen their focus, and boost their confidence.
So, Mt. St. Mary's. The Mountaineers are currently 4-4 heading into Assembly Hall (which should be interesting as Assembly Hall holds over 8 times the number of people as are enrolled at Mt. St. Mary's). The Mountaineers are coming off of a loss to Loyola-Maryland, and their averages are fairly underwhelming: 61.3 points, 24.3 rebounds, 10.8 assists, and 41% field goal. They have three players, Rashad Whack (11.5), Julian Norfleet (10.5), and Sam Prescott (10.3), averaging double-digit points.
The offensive stat which stands out the most to me is that they are averaging almost 26 three-point attempts per game (compared to the 19 which IU chuck up), connecting on almost 9 per game. That's only 34%, but there is something to be said for the theory that if you take more shots, you'll miss more shots but also make more shots. But this style seems to rely too heavily on the three, and all it takes is a particularly off game to make a not-fun night.
Defense, however, is where this game could get interesting. The Mountaineers' coach, Jamion Christian, was an assistant at VCU up until this season. Now, VCU should sound very familiar to anyone who followed the Hoosiers last year, and I'll get to them in a second. But the defense of Mt. St. Mary's is basically the same as that of VCU, just with less experience. The Mountaineers play defense for what seems like the sole purpose of getting steals. They rank 5th in the country in forcing turnovers. But, when your primary goal is to steal, it leaves some vulnerabilities. It's pretty easy to run up the foul count very quickly, which could lead to a lot of free throws for a Hoosier team which is already shooting a lot of them. This defense also has the problem of allowing teams to get easy buckets. Mt. St. Mary's' opponents are hitting a ridiculous 62% of their 2-pointers.
Now, a bit about VCU. IU faced Shaka Smart and his Rams on the way to the Sweet Sixteen last year in a very tight 63-61 game. Taking a quick look at those stats, and the first thing your eye comes to is that IU turned the ball over 22 times. The Hoosiers turned it over fewer times in the rest of the Tourney combined than they did against VCU (including only 8 turnovers against eventual-champion Kentucky), and it's almost double the number of turnovers IU averaged against Big Ten opponents. Now, luckily for IU, the Hoosiers have improved in the turnover category, averaging a respectable 12 turnovers per game, and Jordy Hulls is doing a phenomenal job at handling the ball, turning it over only 9 times in 10 games.
The Hoosiers are also coming off of a loss, an overtime nail-biter to in-state rival Butler. As I mentioned in my previous post, the Hoosiers had trouble rebounding and defending the perimeter, the latter of which could become important against Mt. St. Mary's. IU has five guys averaging double-digits: Cody Zeller (15.7), Victor Oladipo (13.2), Will Sheehey (12.2), Christian Watford (12.1), and Jordy (11.5). They are coming in averaging 88.8 points, 42.6 rebounds, 17 assists, and 51% field goal.
I foresee a few things happening:
1. The Hoosiers are going to grab every single rebound which comes anywhere remotely close to them. They are going to look like they have basketball-magnets in their hands. As Coach Crean said after the Butler game, "I’m excited about the rebounding drills we’re gonna do, I’m not sure there will be many people that will be sharing that joy with me, but I know I’ll be excited about it because, right now, that’s an area we've got to really shore up." I'm betting that this was a strong focus in the practices since Saturday, meaning these guys are going to come out ready to prove that they can get the boards. It will be especially helpful that the Mountaineers do not have an abundance of height, which means that players like Cody, Christian, and Vic should all be crashing the boards hard.
2. IU will shoot layups... a lot of them. Not only has IU been settling for jump shots in the last few games and probably looking to correct that, but the Mountaineers being so focused on stealing the ball should lead to both very open lanes (which guys like Vic and Yogi will exploit at will) and very easy transition points (especially with Cody-the-gazelle sprinting up the court as he did against UNC). This will in turn lead to an absurdly high field goal percentage and probably a very high score.
3. IU will turn the ball over... probably a lot. There are two major reasons for this. First, this is where the Mountaineers thrive. This is what they do, and they do it pretty well. Second, any time you play as fast as the Hoosiers like to, you will turn the ball over. IU will probably take it at the Mountaineers and play quickly, a style which lends itself to a high turnover rate but at the same time a higher number of possessions to balance it.
4. The Mountaineers will try to camp out in 3-point land. They love the three, even more than the Hoosiers. And after watching a Rotnei-Clarke-spurred Butler shoot lights-out against the Hoosiers, they'll probably see this as their best option. It also won't hurt their case that they are undersized and will probably be reluctant to even try to venture much into Zeller-land. This means that the Hoosiers will need to lock-down on the perimeter, but also not go so far as to give the Mountaineers easy buckets.
Overall, this will be another blowout to add to the early-season nonconference list. I don't know if it'll be a Qdoba night (100+ points), but IU should at least hit their average. I see at least 6 Hoosiers in double-figure scoring (probably Cody, Vic, Jordy, Christian, Will, and either Yogi or Remy) and possibly two or three with double-doubles (Cody, Vic, and Christian could each end up with 10+ rebounds, and although less likely, Jordy or Yogi could end up with a lot of assists, particularly in transition). The biggest thing with this game is it gives a quick turnaround time after a tough loss, which allows the Hoosiers to correct their mistakes, sharpen their focus, and boost their confidence.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Season to date
Since I'm starting this in December and the season started in November, I'm going to give a basic run-down of what's happened this season up to now.
The Hoosiers are 9-1, and will hopefully be somewhere near the Top 5 (definitely Top 10) when the polls come out later today after being at the top of the polls since the preseason. The lone loss came against Butler this past Saturday by 2 points in overtime (more on this later). The wins have been against mostly cupcake teams. The combined record of every team the Hoosiers beat is 48-39, and that includes two ranked teams in Georgetown and North Carolina. If you take those two teams out, the record drops to 31-36. So not much of a challenge. IU is also leading the country in points per game at 88.8, is 9th in FG percentage, and 15th in both rebounds and assists per game. Five Hoosiers are averaging double-digit points.
I'm not going to breakdown every single game (reference the previously mentioned cupcake-ness of most teams). But there are some things which stand out. The Hoosiers have had 2 games in which it scored at least 100 (Ball State and Central Connecticut State), and two more in the upper 90s (Bryant and Sam Houston State). Half of the games were won by 30 points or more, and seven were won by 24 points or more (including against North Carolina). All but 3 of these games were at the friendly environment of Assembly Hall, and those 3 were at neutral sites. Georgia and Georgetown were played at the Barclay's Center (aka Assembly Hall East) in New York and Butler was at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in Indy. These games were the only games within 20 points, and one of them was a loss. But it does need to be noted that these were NOT away games. The environments (even in Indy) were mostly-friendly, especially compared to Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan, all of which we'll be visiting at some point this season, not to mention Minnesota and Iowa.
Now, I will briefly address the Butler game, as I feel it is an important step in the season. First, Butler was underranked. They had already taken down an admittedly overranked UNC and Marquette. And to be honest, when state bragging rights are on the line, any Indiana team can beat any other Indiana team on any given night (well, maybe not Purdue, but I'm sort of biased). I did not get to attend this game and instead was watching it on CBS. This does take away from what I can see; however, there were some important things I did notice.
1. IU was out-physicalled by a smaller team. Butler led in rebounds, points-in-the-paint, and second-chance points. Anthony Smith fouled out in regulation. Cody Zeller had 0 fouls. In 37 minutes. In a very physical game. Now, I'm not one to advocate fouling just for the heck of it, but it should be basically impossible for Cody (or any other big man) to go that long without fouling. If nothing else, there should be the typical don't-let-them-get-the-easy-layup foul. But no. So at the same time as the Hoosiers are 15th in the country in rebounding, they got out-rebounded by a smaller team. Props to Yogi Ferrel for pulling down a career-high 8 rebounds. At 6'0". He had as many rebounds as Cody and Christian Watford combined, which should never happen. That is nothing against Yogi; he's an amazing player. But he's 6'0", maybe. Both Cody at 7'0" and Christian at 6'9" should have more boards than Yogi. On a side note, this would have been an amazing opportunity for Derek Elston as basically an enforcer on the defensive end. He's one of the most physical players on the team, and we could have used that on Saturday.
2. Perimeter defense is an issue. Butler went 11-24 from three-point land, with Rotnei Clarke going 5-11. In comparison, IU was 5-12 as a team. Now, there is a lot to be said of Clarke. He's one of the best shooters I've seen, and that's saying something since I've been watching Hulls for going on four seasons. This kid must have ice in his veins with some of the shots he made, while being guarded by Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey, two of IU's best defenders. But, there were many times when someone was left open on the perimeter, whether it was a miscommunication (like toward the end of the game) or just simply slow help defense. Whatever the problem, it needs to get sorted out, the sooner the better.
3. IU is settling too much on offense. Instead of going all the way to the hoop, the Hoosiers are taking mid-range jumpers, quite often forcing them more than necessary. At the same time, our perimeter appears to have been shut down (at least by Butler). This worries me with the caliber of shooters we have. Christian has proven he also has ice in his veins, but he is very streaky in his shooting. Jordy, as implied above, is one of the best shooters in the country. His unique shot (instead of bringing it up in front of his face, he brings it up directly in line with his right elbow) is averaging 50% of the 3s he puts up. Commentators such as Dick Vitale and Coach Bobby Knight have nothing but good to say about Hulls. Yet he was limited to just two 3-pointers taken against Butler. The Hoosiers need to find a way to get this kid open! So many others on the team can make outside shots, including Remy Abell, Mo Creek, and Will Sheehey, with Jeremy Hollowell and Victor Oladipo able to put a few in from time to time as well.
4. Free throws, free throws, free throws. While 71% may look good for a team, missing 11 free throws in a game which came down to 2 points in overtime is a game-breaker. Christian is doing very well in this aspect, making 91% of his attempts. Yogi is making 90% and Remy is making 85%, but neither one has gone to the charity stripe very often. Cody, on the other hand, is 66% from the free throw line, almost 10% lower than last season. I'm not sure what's causing this, but he's already attempted 74 free throws in 10 games, so the more he can hit, the better IU will do.
As much as that game was not fun to watch as an IU fan, I think it will have about the same effect as the Hoosiers beating Kentucky last year did for Kentucky. I'd rather see the loss now than in March or April.
To wrap this up, I'm going to give an overview of how the players have done so far this season.
Victor Oladipo - It is impossible to say enough about Victor Oladipo this season. He has been the most consistent all-around so far, and his energy and passion have been invaluable. As Dana O'Neil said on twitter, Victor is the Energizer Bunny... on speed. He's everywhere at once and is one of the biggest pests I have ever seen on the defensive end. He's also one of the most explosive drivers in the game. He is turning over the ball less than last season and showing just an overall higher level of control (at the same time as he is incredibly emotional and passionate). He has been my favorite player to watch by far, and it's hard to believe that he was ranked just 144 coming out of high school. My one complaint is his mid-range and outside jump shot. He has improved quite a bit over last season and he's more willingly taking these shots, but if he wants to stand a shot at being drafted after this (or hopefully next) season, he really needs to prove that he can make these shots in games and not just in practice.
Cody Zeller - This season has been somewhat less-than-expected for Cody so far. He started off the season dealing with asthmatic bronchitis, which I know from experience is not fun at all and very difficult to play through. But he should be back as close to 100% as a player is during the season at this point. While he has been putting up points for the most part (even in an off game like Butler he had 18 points), some other numbers are concerning (at least in the fact that they haven't really gone up from last season). He's averaging about 8 rebounds per game, which is not bad until you realize that he's a 7-footer who has been playing against mostly cupcakes. While his numbers themselves are not bad, he just has not been as dominant of a force as he should be. Based on his drive and work ethic, however, I expect this to change in the very near future, particularly when the Big Ten comes into the picture.
Jordy Hulls - Jordy has really impressed me overall this season, and as I wrote for a class paper, he's one of the basketball players I most admire. He was told he could not compete in the Big Ten being only 6'0", but he is doing it game in and game out. As mentioned, he's shooting 50% from three-point land. He is also doing phenomenally well at handling the ball. He has 41 assists to just 9 turnovers, for a 4.5-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is much better than last year's 1.5-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is also spending more time on the court than anyone else at 28.8 minutes. My complaint with Jordy is the same complaint from seasons past: defense. While his defense has improved, he really needs to learn how to guard guys who are bigger than he is (which is quite a few of the guys he faces). As long as he can keep the opponent in front of him and out of the post he tends to do just fine. But Jordy is not as quick as Yogi or Vic, which means he has to work even harder to do the same things as them.
Yogi Ferrell - Yogi has also impressed me, especially considering he's only a freshman. He has the same "undersized" problem as Jordy, but he tends to make up for it some with his incredible speed. On the offensive end, he's averaging over 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is great considering the amount of time he has the ball in his hands. He's also pulling down just over 3 boards per game, which is great for his size. On the fun side, he also has 2 blocks so far this season. As mentioned above, he is shooting about 90% from the free throw line while shooting around three free throws per game. My big issue with Yogi is is overall shooting and field goal percentage. He's averaging 6.5 points per game, which I could accept coming from such a great distributor. However, he's only shooting 30% from the field, which means he's not capitalizing on his opportunities. This could be an issue later in the season when the Hoosiers face teams with comparable levels of talent.
Christian Watford - Christian has begun this season with the same inconsistency which he displayed last season. To be sure, he has had strokes of brilliance. His free throw percentage is through the roof, especially considering he's averaging over 4 free throws per game. But his field goal percentage is not much better than Yogi's at 40%. This is not acceptable for the 6'9" senior. He's averaging almost 7 rebounds a game which is alright but could definitely use some improvement. Christian has proven that he can make clutch plays (see IU vs UK last year), and has shown that he can come up big in key games (he was named to the All-South Regional team last season). But if he's really serious about going pro (and if IU really wants to stand a shot at postseason success) Christian needs to be that clutch player every game and not just once in a while.
Will Sheehey - Will has been great as 6th man, and could actually be the best 6th man in the country. He's that kind of player opponents hate; just when they get used to the Hoosier starters, Will comes in and throws it all to hell because he plays so differently from anyone else. He's shooting 56% while averaging 12 points per game, along with 4 rebounds. There's a reason that Vic and Will have had the nickname "Sheeladipo" since they got here; they are very, very similar in their energy, passion, and work ethic. Will, along with several other role players, could be starting just about anywhere in the country, which is incredibly impressive when you look at him coming to IU ranked just 131.
Remy Abell - Remy has been playing very well in the amount of time he's played. He's hitting 62% of his threes and pulling down over 2 rebounds and putting up 7 points in 15 minutes. He adds some welcome height to the guard lineup, and is very good at being pesky on defense. His minutes will continue to increase throughout the season and into next year. (On a side note, he is the leading scorer of any Hoosier player from the state of Kentucky in IU basketball history. Remy is only the third such player however).
Jeremy Hollowell - Jeremy really impressed me the first few games but then seemed to get majorly shook up when IU went to New York and has only recently seemed to regain his confidence. While he has made some freshman mistakes during the season, he has also made some very not-freshman-like plays to balance it out. I see Jeremy's playing time dropping off a bit now that Hanner is eligible, but both will be critical if IU wants to succeed late in the season.
Maurice Creek - It cannot be understated how excited Hoosier Nation is to have Mo back on the court. He has fought through so much to get to this point. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that Mo will ever get back to his freshman form (doing things like putting up 31 against Kentucky his freshman year). He started off the season very well but has dropped off some since. As he gets used to being back out there in games I hope to see his numbers improve. But very little will ever move me as much as the standing-ovation reception Hoosier Nation gave Mo when he came into a game for the first time this season.
Austin Etherington - Unfortunately, Austin is out for the season with a fractured knee cap (sounds familiar, right?). Up until that point, however, he was playing well, especially considering he was being asked to play bigger than he is. About the only thing more moving than Mo's first game reception was the scene immediately after Austin went down. It was obvious from the beginning that it was not good. Then they brought out a stretcher. When the training staff and coaches called for a couple guys to come out to help get Austin onto the stretcher, the entire team immediately jumped up and went out to the court as a group, surrounding their fallen friend. It's been two weeks and I can still see it in my head like it was yesterday. I hope to see Austin come back bigger and better next season, and I know he's got the work ethic to do so.
This was a very long post. They won't all be this long, but there was a lot to cover from the first 10 games of the season. My next post should come no later than Wednesday night, as that is when the next game will be played (against Mt. Saint Mary's), which should be another blow-out cupcake game.
The Hoosiers are 9-1, and will hopefully be somewhere near the Top 5 (definitely Top 10) when the polls come out later today after being at the top of the polls since the preseason. The lone loss came against Butler this past Saturday by 2 points in overtime (more on this later). The wins have been against mostly cupcake teams. The combined record of every team the Hoosiers beat is 48-39, and that includes two ranked teams in Georgetown and North Carolina. If you take those two teams out, the record drops to 31-36. So not much of a challenge. IU is also leading the country in points per game at 88.8, is 9th in FG percentage, and 15th in both rebounds and assists per game. Five Hoosiers are averaging double-digit points.
I'm not going to breakdown every single game (reference the previously mentioned cupcake-ness of most teams). But there are some things which stand out. The Hoosiers have had 2 games in which it scored at least 100 (Ball State and Central Connecticut State), and two more in the upper 90s (Bryant and Sam Houston State). Half of the games were won by 30 points or more, and seven were won by 24 points or more (including against North Carolina). All but 3 of these games were at the friendly environment of Assembly Hall, and those 3 were at neutral sites. Georgia and Georgetown were played at the Barclay's Center (aka Assembly Hall East) in New York and Butler was at Banker's Life Fieldhouse in Indy. These games were the only games within 20 points, and one of them was a loss. But it does need to be noted that these were NOT away games. The environments (even in Indy) were mostly-friendly, especially compared to Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan, all of which we'll be visiting at some point this season, not to mention Minnesota and Iowa.
Now, I will briefly address the Butler game, as I feel it is an important step in the season. First, Butler was underranked. They had already taken down an admittedly overranked UNC and Marquette. And to be honest, when state bragging rights are on the line, any Indiana team can beat any other Indiana team on any given night (well, maybe not Purdue, but I'm sort of biased). I did not get to attend this game and instead was watching it on CBS. This does take away from what I can see; however, there were some important things I did notice.
1. IU was out-physicalled by a smaller team. Butler led in rebounds, points-in-the-paint, and second-chance points. Anthony Smith fouled out in regulation. Cody Zeller had 0 fouls. In 37 minutes. In a very physical game. Now, I'm not one to advocate fouling just for the heck of it, but it should be basically impossible for Cody (or any other big man) to go that long without fouling. If nothing else, there should be the typical don't-let-them-get-the-easy-layup foul. But no. So at the same time as the Hoosiers are 15th in the country in rebounding, they got out-rebounded by a smaller team. Props to Yogi Ferrel for pulling down a career-high 8 rebounds. At 6'0". He had as many rebounds as Cody and Christian Watford combined, which should never happen. That is nothing against Yogi; he's an amazing player. But he's 6'0", maybe. Both Cody at 7'0" and Christian at 6'9" should have more boards than Yogi. On a side note, this would have been an amazing opportunity for Derek Elston as basically an enforcer on the defensive end. He's one of the most physical players on the team, and we could have used that on Saturday.
2. Perimeter defense is an issue. Butler went 11-24 from three-point land, with Rotnei Clarke going 5-11. In comparison, IU was 5-12 as a team. Now, there is a lot to be said of Clarke. He's one of the best shooters I've seen, and that's saying something since I've been watching Hulls for going on four seasons. This kid must have ice in his veins with some of the shots he made, while being guarded by Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey, two of IU's best defenders. But, there were many times when someone was left open on the perimeter, whether it was a miscommunication (like toward the end of the game) or just simply slow help defense. Whatever the problem, it needs to get sorted out, the sooner the better.
3. IU is settling too much on offense. Instead of going all the way to the hoop, the Hoosiers are taking mid-range jumpers, quite often forcing them more than necessary. At the same time, our perimeter appears to have been shut down (at least by Butler). This worries me with the caliber of shooters we have. Christian has proven he also has ice in his veins, but he is very streaky in his shooting. Jordy, as implied above, is one of the best shooters in the country. His unique shot (instead of bringing it up in front of his face, he brings it up directly in line with his right elbow) is averaging 50% of the 3s he puts up. Commentators such as Dick Vitale and Coach Bobby Knight have nothing but good to say about Hulls. Yet he was limited to just two 3-pointers taken against Butler. The Hoosiers need to find a way to get this kid open! So many others on the team can make outside shots, including Remy Abell, Mo Creek, and Will Sheehey, with Jeremy Hollowell and Victor Oladipo able to put a few in from time to time as well.
4. Free throws, free throws, free throws. While 71% may look good for a team, missing 11 free throws in a game which came down to 2 points in overtime is a game-breaker. Christian is doing very well in this aspect, making 91% of his attempts. Yogi is making 90% and Remy is making 85%, but neither one has gone to the charity stripe very often. Cody, on the other hand, is 66% from the free throw line, almost 10% lower than last season. I'm not sure what's causing this, but he's already attempted 74 free throws in 10 games, so the more he can hit, the better IU will do.
As much as that game was not fun to watch as an IU fan, I think it will have about the same effect as the Hoosiers beating Kentucky last year did for Kentucky. I'd rather see the loss now than in March or April.
To wrap this up, I'm going to give an overview of how the players have done so far this season.
Victor Oladipo - It is impossible to say enough about Victor Oladipo this season. He has been the most consistent all-around so far, and his energy and passion have been invaluable. As Dana O'Neil said on twitter, Victor is the Energizer Bunny... on speed. He's everywhere at once and is one of the biggest pests I have ever seen on the defensive end. He's also one of the most explosive drivers in the game. He is turning over the ball less than last season and showing just an overall higher level of control (at the same time as he is incredibly emotional and passionate). He has been my favorite player to watch by far, and it's hard to believe that he was ranked just 144 coming out of high school. My one complaint is his mid-range and outside jump shot. He has improved quite a bit over last season and he's more willingly taking these shots, but if he wants to stand a shot at being drafted after this (or hopefully next) season, he really needs to prove that he can make these shots in games and not just in practice.
Cody Zeller - This season has been somewhat less-than-expected for Cody so far. He started off the season dealing with asthmatic bronchitis, which I know from experience is not fun at all and very difficult to play through. But he should be back as close to 100% as a player is during the season at this point. While he has been putting up points for the most part (even in an off game like Butler he had 18 points), some other numbers are concerning (at least in the fact that they haven't really gone up from last season). He's averaging about 8 rebounds per game, which is not bad until you realize that he's a 7-footer who has been playing against mostly cupcakes. While his numbers themselves are not bad, he just has not been as dominant of a force as he should be. Based on his drive and work ethic, however, I expect this to change in the very near future, particularly when the Big Ten comes into the picture.
Jordy Hulls - Jordy has really impressed me overall this season, and as I wrote for a class paper, he's one of the basketball players I most admire. He was told he could not compete in the Big Ten being only 6'0", but he is doing it game in and game out. As mentioned, he's shooting 50% from three-point land. He is also doing phenomenally well at handling the ball. He has 41 assists to just 9 turnovers, for a 4.5-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is much better than last year's 1.5-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He is also spending more time on the court than anyone else at 28.8 minutes. My complaint with Jordy is the same complaint from seasons past: defense. While his defense has improved, he really needs to learn how to guard guys who are bigger than he is (which is quite a few of the guys he faces). As long as he can keep the opponent in front of him and out of the post he tends to do just fine. But Jordy is not as quick as Yogi or Vic, which means he has to work even harder to do the same things as them.
Yogi Ferrell - Yogi has also impressed me, especially considering he's only a freshman. He has the same "undersized" problem as Jordy, but he tends to make up for it some with his incredible speed. On the offensive end, he's averaging over 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is great considering the amount of time he has the ball in his hands. He's also pulling down just over 3 boards per game, which is great for his size. On the fun side, he also has 2 blocks so far this season. As mentioned above, he is shooting about 90% from the free throw line while shooting around three free throws per game. My big issue with Yogi is is overall shooting and field goal percentage. He's averaging 6.5 points per game, which I could accept coming from such a great distributor. However, he's only shooting 30% from the field, which means he's not capitalizing on his opportunities. This could be an issue later in the season when the Hoosiers face teams with comparable levels of talent.
Christian Watford - Christian has begun this season with the same inconsistency which he displayed last season. To be sure, he has had strokes of brilliance. His free throw percentage is through the roof, especially considering he's averaging over 4 free throws per game. But his field goal percentage is not much better than Yogi's at 40%. This is not acceptable for the 6'9" senior. He's averaging almost 7 rebounds a game which is alright but could definitely use some improvement. Christian has proven that he can make clutch plays (see IU vs UK last year), and has shown that he can come up big in key games (he was named to the All-South Regional team last season). But if he's really serious about going pro (and if IU really wants to stand a shot at postseason success) Christian needs to be that clutch player every game and not just once in a while.
Will Sheehey - Will has been great as 6th man, and could actually be the best 6th man in the country. He's that kind of player opponents hate; just when they get used to the Hoosier starters, Will comes in and throws it all to hell because he plays so differently from anyone else. He's shooting 56% while averaging 12 points per game, along with 4 rebounds. There's a reason that Vic and Will have had the nickname "Sheeladipo" since they got here; they are very, very similar in their energy, passion, and work ethic. Will, along with several other role players, could be starting just about anywhere in the country, which is incredibly impressive when you look at him coming to IU ranked just 131.
Remy Abell - Remy has been playing very well in the amount of time he's played. He's hitting 62% of his threes and pulling down over 2 rebounds and putting up 7 points in 15 minutes. He adds some welcome height to the guard lineup, and is very good at being pesky on defense. His minutes will continue to increase throughout the season and into next year. (On a side note, he is the leading scorer of any Hoosier player from the state of Kentucky in IU basketball history. Remy is only the third such player however).
Jeremy Hollowell - Jeremy really impressed me the first few games but then seemed to get majorly shook up when IU went to New York and has only recently seemed to regain his confidence. While he has made some freshman mistakes during the season, he has also made some very not-freshman-like plays to balance it out. I see Jeremy's playing time dropping off a bit now that Hanner is eligible, but both will be critical if IU wants to succeed late in the season.
Maurice Creek - It cannot be understated how excited Hoosier Nation is to have Mo back on the court. He has fought through so much to get to this point. Unfortunately, it is very unlikely that Mo will ever get back to his freshman form (doing things like putting up 31 against Kentucky his freshman year). He started off the season very well but has dropped off some since. As he gets used to being back out there in games I hope to see his numbers improve. But very little will ever move me as much as the standing-ovation reception Hoosier Nation gave Mo when he came into a game for the first time this season.
Austin Etherington - Unfortunately, Austin is out for the season with a fractured knee cap (sounds familiar, right?). Up until that point, however, he was playing well, especially considering he was being asked to play bigger than he is. About the only thing more moving than Mo's first game reception was the scene immediately after Austin went down. It was obvious from the beginning that it was not good. Then they brought out a stretcher. When the training staff and coaches called for a couple guys to come out to help get Austin onto the stretcher, the entire team immediately jumped up and went out to the court as a group, surrounding their fallen friend. It's been two weeks and I can still see it in my head like it was yesterday. I hope to see Austin come back bigger and better next season, and I know he's got the work ethic to do so.
This was a very long post. They won't all be this long, but there was a lot to cover from the first 10 games of the season. My next post should come no later than Wednesday night, as that is when the next game will be played (against Mt. Saint Mary's), which should be another blow-out cupcake game.
Let's Get Started
I'll start this out by clarifying that I am in absolutely no way an expert. I have absolutely no inside information. This is simply me talking basketball (specifically IU basketball) based on what I see during games. I may be way off the mark at times, but even the people who get paid to do this kind of thing get it wrong sometimes.
Now that that's out of the way...
I am a diehard Hoosier. That does not mean, however, that I will never offer criticisms. Part of being a fan means knowing both your teams strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, I will also find plenty of opportunities to give praise, which will be the part which is a lot of fun.
I am hoping to post after each game, but I also know that this will not exactly be realistic; I am a student and time is one of those things that is not always at my disposal. I may or may not do an intense player-by-player, play-by-play type of breakdown, but at the very least I'll try to do some highlights and general thoughts. Every once in a while I may also write a pre-game post.
Comments are very welcome on anything, with a few guidelines:
1. You may be critical of any comments made by myself or others. That does not mean that you can be mean or rude toward any individuals. No name-calling and don't make things personal. Also try to stay relatively on-topic.
2. Never, ever, ever bash a player from any team. These are 18-23 year old kids who are working their tail ends off to play ball and succeed in the classroom. You may be critical of their performance but, once again, do not make this personal. All of these kids deserve the utmost respect, and I will make sure they get it.
3. Try to limit profanity. Anyone who actually knows me will probably laugh at the irony of me putting this in here. At the same time, I will be limiting my use of profanity so I ask that you do the same. I do understand that things get heated, and I will let some minor swears through (as I will probably offer a few of my own from time to time), but do make an effort to not go overboard.
I do reserve the right to remove any comments which I feel do not meet these guidelines.
Now that that's out of the way...
I am a diehard Hoosier. That does not mean, however, that I will never offer criticisms. Part of being a fan means knowing both your teams strengths and weaknesses. On the other hand, I will also find plenty of opportunities to give praise, which will be the part which is a lot of fun.
I am hoping to post after each game, but I also know that this will not exactly be realistic; I am a student and time is one of those things that is not always at my disposal. I may or may not do an intense player-by-player, play-by-play type of breakdown, but at the very least I'll try to do some highlights and general thoughts. Every once in a while I may also write a pre-game post.
Comments are very welcome on anything, with a few guidelines:
1. You may be critical of any comments made by myself or others. That does not mean that you can be mean or rude toward any individuals. No name-calling and don't make things personal. Also try to stay relatively on-topic.
2. Never, ever, ever bash a player from any team. These are 18-23 year old kids who are working their tail ends off to play ball and succeed in the classroom. You may be critical of their performance but, once again, do not make this personal. All of these kids deserve the utmost respect, and I will make sure they get it.
3. Try to limit profanity. Anyone who actually knows me will probably laugh at the irony of me putting this in here. At the same time, I will be limiting my use of profanity so I ask that you do the same. I do understand that things get heated, and I will let some minor swears through (as I will probably offer a few of my own from time to time), but do make an effort to not go overboard.
I do reserve the right to remove any comments which I feel do not meet these guidelines.
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