Guard's hard work pays off

While sophomore guard Tom Coverdale remained on the court in Assembly Hall for a television interview after IU's 70-62 win Friday against South Alabama, junior guard Dane Fife sat in the men's locker room. Fife remembered playing a pick-up game last summer with Coverdale and noticing a difference -- his teammate was playing hard.\nThis summer was a turning point for Coverdale, whose play in the final minute Friday helped IU to a second-round National Invitation Tournament victory in front of 12,581 people. It was Coverdale's first collegiate start, and he made the most of it on offense and defense.\nCoverdale, who scored 10 points in 10 games a year ago, had a career-high 13 points in 32 minutes Friday. Last season he played 41 minutes. And he got no TV time.\n"I think last year he got a little discouraged because he wasn't playing much, and he let his attitude slip," Fife said. "I don't think he was really enjoying the game because he wasn't playing, and this year he had the whole summer to work, and he regained that enjoyment for the game... He wants to play, and he wants to win."\nCoverdale's attitude change from last year was evident Friday, when IU was ahead 63-62 with less than a minute remaining. Coverdale, a former Indiana Mr. Basketball from Noblesville, escaped his defender, found an opening and drove in for a layup.\n"We just wanted to get the best shot we could," Coverdale said. "My man was pressuring the ball pretty hard, so I just went past him and no one picked me up, so I had a wide open layup. They couldn't leave Kirk (Haston) because he'd knock it down in that situation."\nSeconds later, sophomore forward Jeffrey Newton blocked a three-point shot by South Alabama's Emmett Thomas. Junior forward Kirk Haston grabbed the ball out of the air and found Coverdale, who was fouled by Demetrice Williams.\nCoverdale, who is shooting 55 percent this season from the free-throw line, sank both shots to give IU a 67-62 lead with 19 seconds on the clock. IU struggled from the free throw line all night, completing 18-of-31.\nThe team needs to practice free throws for at least an hour a day, Coverdale said Friday. The Hoosiers had a brief practice at 6 a.m. Saturday to work on free throws. IU made 12-of-30 free throws Tuesday against Pepperdine.\n"I know I wasn't happy with mine in the first half, and I knew I had to step up in the second half and knock those two down for us to win," Coverdale said. "That's going to be an emphasis before we go to New York. We're going to have to improve on that if we're going to win up there." \nCoverdale started Friday in place of sophomore guard Kyle Hornsby, who damaged a nerve in his leg last week and did not practice Wednesday. Hornsby said the competition for a place in the starting lineup is healthy and makes everyone work harder, especially the guards.\n"People have been questioning our guards all along," Hornsby said. "If we keep pressuring ourselves and pressuring each other to become better players to compete for playing time, I don't think that's going to be a problem by the middle of the year."\nCoverdale, who joined the Hoosiers last year after a season at New Hampton Prep School in New Hampshire, said his goal entering this season was to become a starter. And because three seniors graduated from last year's roster, he thought he might have a chance this year if he played hard, he said.\n"If you're a competitor, it's never fun to sit on the bench," he said. "Last year I got kind of down because I wasn't playing, and I wasn't playing as hard as I should've in practice, and I know that. My confidence was way down, and it's way up this year, and I think that's the main difference"