Senior season spells success

Mike Davis was still looking for a consistent scorer to complement Jared Jeffries and Tom Coverdale when the Big Ten season started. Davis also needed a second frontcourt player to help Jeffries in the paint.\n"I challenged Jarrad Odle before the Big Ten season began," Davis said. \nBut Odle could only do so much from his spot on the bench and not in the starting lineup. His chance would come, though, right as the Big Ten season began. Literally, right when the Big Ten season began for IU.\nIn the conference opener at Northwestern, George Leach hurt his ankle on the opening tip. Odle came off the bench to spark the Hoosiers to a 59-44 victory, getting 16 points and 15 rebounds, both career-highs.\nOdle said he hasn't changed anything in particular from early in his career but was glad to see his time come.\n"I don't think anything specifically changed," he said. "I kind of focused on my game a little bit more and figured some things out that I needed to do to get the team rolling a little better.\n"I think we're all starting to learn our roles." \nFor Odle, that role has been to be a consistent rebounder and score when he is able to. Through 10 Big Ten games, Odle is averaging 9.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and has started the last nine games for IU (15-7, 8-2), seven of which have been victories.\nBefore this season, Odle had started six games in his career and only one in the Big Ten. The most points Odle had averaged in season was the 3.4 points he averaged last year. That kind of production wasn't what Odle had in mind, especially for a guy who led the state of Indiana in scoring his junior season at Oak Hill High School with 29.4 points per game. That beat out another Indiana prep that season named Luke Recker.\nTo come to IU and be relegated to the bench was hard for Odle. He found solace in his parents, Gary and Beccie, who were back in Odle's hometown of Swayzee, Ind.\n"My mom and my dad have been very supportive and been super proud of me whether I've played minutes or whether I didn't play minutes," Odle said. "It's always nice to call home and talk to somebody who really cares about you no matter what you're doing on the basketball court.\n"Our relationship has gotten a lot closer in the last four years. I think that's another bright spot out of coming here."\nA big-time player in high school, Odle did have opportunities to go to other schools throughout the Midwest. But he said transferring never crossed his mind.\n"I think this was the place for me. I don't think there was ever any doubt. I know I'm not going to be a superstar," Odle said. "I felt this was the best fit, the teammates, the coaches. Everything seemed to really fit my lifestyle and personality."\nOdle began to break through at the end of last season, with a solid performance in IU's upset victory against Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament. He had five points and seven rebounds in a career-high 29 minutes. \nThat performance led Davis to believe Odle could be a factor for the Hoosiers, but only if he worked hard to makeup for his lack of the natural athleticism that is needed in Davis' system, which sometimes calls for quickness over power.\n"He has to work hard because he doesn't have the ability some players do," Davis said. "He has to be in the right position all the time."\nOdle, who goes 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, agreed. He has gone up against the likes of Brian Cook and Reggie Evans, two of the best big men in the league and the country. Against Evans Tuesday night, Odle had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Evans had just eight points. IU beat the Hawkeyes, 79-51.\nA big thing has been Odle's willingness to work on the blocks. Because he has good footwork and attacks the basket at good angles, he almost always has proper positioning when he gets inside. \n"That's just being aware of the game and educated of the game," Odle said. "With my size and my stature, I sometimes get overwhelmed by the other guys, so I have to do little things to be able to compete and be successful.\n"(Coach Davis) basically just set me down and told me I had to do the things I did in the Big Ten Tournament last year. If I could do that, he would put me on the court as much as possible and give me the opportunity to play."\nOdle has capitalized on the opportunity and has not let go of his starting spot since he started against Penn State Jan. 5. Since he started that game, the Hoosiers are 7-2.\n"He's been the difference for us," Coverdale said. \nNow that the frustration of having to watch from the bench is gone, Odle is enjoying his senior season as the co-captain of a team that is in the hunt for its first conference title since 1993. Although it is nice to have reached some personal goals, Odle prefers to focus on the team and do something he has yet to accomplish at IU.\n"I've been here for four years and really haven't won anything, and I want something to show for myself when I get out of here," Odle said. "I want to go home and be able to say we won a Big Ten championship. I think we are in the best spot we can be in.\n"In the end, it's all worked out"