BOZICH | 5 things that must go right for Indiana basketball

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WDRB) — Don’t look for Indiana in the college basketball preseason Top 25 polls.

The Hoosiers won’t be there. The early forecasts have Archie Miller’s team picked ninth, 10th or 11th in the Big Ten, at risk of missing the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

A season after the Hoosiers (19-16) were toppled by bad play, bad mojo and bad injuries, they’re primed to begin practice without their top two players: Romeo Langford and Juwan Morgan.

Miller discussed his team Wednesday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Here are Five Things That Must Go Right for IU to make the NCAA Tournament.

1. Bigger Must Be Better: Position-less basketball remains the rage. Give a solid coach three or four guys who can handle the ball, shoot and excel on the perimeter, and you’ve got a dangerous team.

Nobody is afraid to start three or even four guards. They’ll worry about rebounding later.

That does not appear to be the direction Miller will take Indiana this season.

With a collection of solid inside players, an absence of proven shooters from distance and the three-point line moving back more than a foot in college basketball, Miller talked like a coach comfortable with playing a traditional center (Joey Brunk, a transfer from Butler, or senior De’Ron Davis) as well as a full-sized power forward (freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis or Race Thompson).

The analytics guys will argue that Indiana will be going against the trend, but look for Indiana to play for higher-percentage, two-point shots and a strong defensive presence in the paint.

Miller: “You know, that's the old-school lineup right there. That's the big-ball, traditional two bigs. Can it happen? Absolutely.

“How these guys find that niche will be their ability to defend together. That's obviously the hardest part for two bigs on the floor. It's not offense. You can run a lot of different types of offense, especially when you have some guys who can score the ball down low.

“But could they play together and defend a team who doesn't play traditional with bigs? That will be the question. Can those guys exist on that end of the floor a little bit?

“Very, very hopeful. Very, very hopeful with Trayce. His lateral mobility, athleticism, and watching him here early as the season goes, he knows he has to defend on the perimeter. He's going to have to do that to be able to play with other guys. He's going to have to learn early and probably go through some hard times getting used to guarding college actions and scouting and what-not.

“But for the betterment of him and our team, that's one thing I think that we're all hopeful for, is he can take that role as a guy who can defend inside and out a little bit. He's not a prototype typical big. He's very mobile, athletic. He's got great endurance for a young player. He's just going to have to get some experience under his belt.”

2. Turn Off The Noise: A mid-winter stretch of 12 defeats in 13 games sunk Indiana’s NCAA Tournament outlook.

Miller talked like a coach who believed that his players struggled dealing with the negativity around the team nearly as much as the Hoosiers struggled with Michigan, Purdue and Iowa.

With a larger group of veterans, Miller said he expected that to change. It has to change.

Miller: “Well, it was very odd to go through. I don't think a lot of people had been through that kind of streak before. When you hit adversity, whether it's one or two in a row, you're constantly on a quest to be able to get back on your feet and up off the mat. It takes great character to do that. Takes stay-with-it through tough times.

“Part of it is you have to be mature as a player and understand that in this day and age, winning is great, and you're all good. Losing one game doesn't end your life. At the end of the day, I think so many times you can compound a loss and make it a lot bigger or a lot harder to deal with with the way you approach things, the way you listen to things out in the general public, handle the adversity on your own.

“I think that maturity will be a huge part of the development of this team, is to not get carried away with the outside noise, the negatively, the cluster that everyone deals with in athletics in this day and age. You have to be able to stay tight, stay calm and be able to have great togetherness through those times.

“That's something I think as you looked at our team toward the end of the year, being able to even find a way to get off the mat, what were the key things? Well, we never stopped working to progress. Certain individuals stayed with it and had their best moments toward the end of the season.

“There are always some things you can learn with. I would say handling adversity, dealing with negatively when it's thrown at you, and rightfully so, you have to respond to those things in an unbelievably tough-minded manner. From me all the way down, you have to be really, really locked in and focused on the next step, the next day. You're not going to be able to do anything until you can get through those hard parts.

“To me, that would be a great maturity lessen for our returning guys, to be able to understand that those things happen and the way you respond is the most important thing.”

3. Hoosiers Go Green: Neither Morgan nor Langford was Indiana’s most effective player over the final seven games. That player was guard Devonte Green, who made more than 50% of his shots from distance and averaged better than 15 points over that stretch.

As IU’s top returning scorer as well as its most experienced player, Green is a guy with the talent to be one of the 10 best players in the Big Ten.

Miller: “You know, Devonte did finish the season fantastic for us. I mean, if you look at the games that we were able to win toward the end of the season, some of the games that we were able to play, we've always had sort of another perimeter or two perimeter players really kind of play well.

“When he's played well throughout his time with us, we've had some great wins. Consistency is what we're looking for, but he's coming into his senior year. Mentally, he is in the best place he's been since I've been here. His five-week preseason and offseason has been very distraction-less on the floor, and in the weight room and conditioning areas, he's hit all-time high marks. He's good there. Best he's been.

“He's our most talented offensive player without question. To be able get the most out of him, you're going to have to live with him doing some things at times that probably you would like to take back. But for him to be able to be himself, for him to be able to do it at another level more consistently, he's got to have some more rope.

“I think that's where guys like Al (Durham) and playing the (point guard) more comes into a little bit more play. Devonte, when he needs to score, we have to have the ability to put him in situations where he's a more primary offensive weapon. Where he's not bringing it up. He's more or a receiver than a facilitator.

“I think the way that he scores, the way he can create, Devonte is going to have to play off the ball a little bit offensively for us. He's a talented, talented player. With those ranges, he's got to be solid. I think he's at place where that's mature. He's a smart guy. He understands this is his last go. Hopefully has the humility, sort of, to understand that how he finished last year is a by-product of him staying with it.

“He didn't have a great start in November when he had back-to-back quad injuries that took him out of the starting lineup at the beginning. Then he sorted of worked his way through it, but he finished in a way that was really, really positive. So hopefully uses that as driving force to get started this year.”

4. Hunter Stays Healthy and Available: The announcement Monday that sophomore Jerome Hunter was cleared for all basketball activities and is expected to play this season improved Indiana’s outlook.

If Hunter can deliver, he can fill two major voids in Miller’s lineup: a wing who can make three-point shots and create scoring opportunities for himself and others off the dribble.

Some observers of IU’s workouts last season before Hunter was sidelined for the season with an undisclosed medical condition said that Hunter performed better than Langford or Morgan.

Miller: “He's bigger and stronger, yet he's not playing as strong as he once was. I think all that is going to come with repetition of being out there every day. We're hopeful. One day at time. We work with him every day. Communication is always the most important thing.

“I suspect there will be some days he doesn't feel as good ad the other guys as well. We're all very, very hopeful. I think he's very, very grateful. I know I am very, very grateful. The doctors and the training staff and just our administration in general how much work and information went into sharing and working toward getting him just back on the floor.

“So to his credit, he did his part. He worked very, very hard. When you work that hard to get back off any kind of setback, there is a little bit of pride in yourself. So he's anxious to get back, too.

Hopefully, adding Jerome into our mix here a little bit as we get started with the flow of the season …

“… Jerome's best gift as a young player will be his outside shooting. As as he comes off a year where he hasn't played, the rust and all that other stuff you're going to go through trying to find it, hopefully he can find some rhythm.

But he's another guy that I think can shoot ball a little bit."

5. Taking a Better Shot: Even if Indiana plays more power-oriented basketball, the Hoosiers still must improve their shooting, especially from distance.

Indiana ranked last in the Big Ten and 311th in the nation in three-point shooting as well as 11th in the Big Ten and 328th in the nation in free-throw shooting. Make a few more shots or free throws, and the Hoosiers would have made the NCAA Tournament.

Miller has talked and joked about his team’s shooting issues during the offseason. But he understands that it won’t be a joke if it happens again.

Miller: “You know, I think you work on it. That's the simple thing. Each guy individually has taken some time here, and we’re addressing it, working on it. I think there has been some improvement with guys.

“Also think the quality of shots you get is the key. The guys that are shooting the ball and where they are shooting it from, how they're getting them, those are the good ones. If that's the case, we have confidence in making them.

“Like I said: This team is built a little bit differently. Our versatility is more inside out than it is outside in. I do think we have some guys that are going to have to stretch the floor for us to be effective, and that starts with our back court.

“Our perimeter guys have to shoot it in, we'll have to find some other guys that can find that niche. Damezi (Anderson) is a guy we have some hope for in that regard. As a sophomore, he's going to have to have a role on our team. One of the best things that Damezi does is he can shoot the ball. You got to start with that with him.”

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