Hoosiers search for go-to man

With former guard A.J. Guyton graduated and drafted to the Chicago Bulls, the Hoosiers are searching for a go-to man. There were signs of promise from junior forward Jarrad Odle and freshman forward Jared Jeffries Sunday in IU's 84-74 win against Athletes in Action (5-2).\nOdle, who averaged three points per game last year, led the Hoosiers in the first half with 11 points. But it was Jeffries who accounted for 32 percent of IU's scoring Sunday. Jeffries nailed 10 of 11 free throws and led the team with 27 points.\nWith the loss of Guyton, former point guard Michael Lewis and former coach Bob Knight, much has changed for the IU offense. The motion offense has been replaced with a 1-4 scheme and more set plays. And Odle is expected to score this year.\n"Without A.J. Guyton, we have to really spread it out a lot more, and it's a matter of who's going to step it up, and I'm sure it will be a different guy scoring every night," Odle said. "I think it's going to be whoever's playing the best that night, and tonight Jared Jeffries has proven he's a great scorer."\nJunior center Kirk Haston is the team's top returning scorer, averaging 15 points per game. Sunday he was held to 11 points. Jeffries, a Bloomington native, scored 22 points in the second half, 11 of which came from the free throw line. As Indiana's Mr. Basketball last year, Jeffries averaged 23.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game for Bloomington High School North. He is one of the five freshmen on this year's team who is expected to be a major contributor.\n"I'm not a real vocal person when I play, but I think I do a good job of leading by example," Jeffries said. "That's what I want to do." \nInterim head coach Mike Davis said Jeffries played tentatively until the second half, when Davis decided to take the ball to him inside.\n"In the last three or four practices I thought Jeff Newton had done a really good job against Jared in practice and that helped him late in the game to come out and attack," Davis said.\nOdle said he knew from the beginning of the season that his role would change. Junior guard Dane Fife said Odle needs to guard the opponents' power forward or small forward and he needs to knock down open shots but that his all-around game has improved this season.\n"I wasn't surprised that Jarrad came out and played the way he did," Fife said. "He's been playing really well at practice. That's what I expect out of Jarrad. He's been really shooting the ball well and he's improved in every aspect of his game."\nAthletes in Action is a strong team on the perimeter and nailed 48 percent of its three-point shots, compared to the Hoosiers' 17 percent. Odle said he is weak at guarding the perimeter, which is why he didn't play much in the second half.\n"With the spread offense they were running, you have to have quicker guys in to guard the perimeter, and that's one of my weaknesses," Odle said. "So it will be a matchup game, as it always has been, but I'm going to have to step up even more."\nDavis said he was satisfied with Odle's performance and he expects more from him as the season progresses.\n"I just want Odle to play relaxed and free and have fun," Davis said. "If he could play like he did today for us, that's great. If he could give us half of that, that's great. He's been really working hard. I look for a lot of really good things from him"