All eyes on Adam

SALT LAKE CITY -- Only three other teams in the country can relate to the predicament facing IU.\nMaryland, Memphis and Virginia are the only teams in the nation that know what it is like to play Duke's J.J. Redick and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison. After Saturday night, the Hoosiers will be able to relate.\nAnd perhaps the only thing scarier than playing both players is the tendency for one to upscale the other. Morrison played Maryland and Virginia first, and scored 25 and 27 points. Redick then dropped 27 and 35 in his two meetings with Maryland, and 40 against Virginia. But Memphis played Redick first and held him to just 15 points. Morrison then showed up Redick by scoring 34 against the Tigers.\nThat doesn't bode well for the Hoosiers who allowed 29 points to Redick in November.\n"I think we allowed (Redick) to get too many open looks," junior Rod Wilmont said. "We never made him work to get the ball, but I know tomorrow we're going to make Morrison work to get the ball."\nThe 6-foot-8 junior from Spokane exploded onto the national scene this year, averaging a nation-high 28.6 points per game. After watching tape of the lanky 21 year old, several Hoosiers said his danger comes in his versatility.\nMorrison's long arms allow him to post up and shoot hooks or jumpers over his defender, but he can drain the long ball just as easily, shooting 44 percent from range.\n"He's definitely the player of the year," IU coach Mike Davis said. "He's the best player."\nLearning their lesson from Redick, the Hoosiers understand that it's more important to defend a player of that caliber when he doesn't have the ball as opposed to when he does.\n"You have to keep him from getting it, because once he gets it, you're at his mercy," sophomore A.J. Ratliff said. "He has numerous amounts of moves, from ball screens to driving to the hole."\nRatliff, standing just 6-foot-2, will most likely draw a fair amount of time trying to guard Morrison. IU's guard talked to his friend Justin Cage of Xavier about guarding the player of the year candidate, and the main thing he learned was to keep his mouth shut.\n"Near halftime (Morrison) only had 10 points, so Justin started telling him 'Yeah, you're on lock'," Ratliff said. "But then (Morrison) went off for 35 points, so I don't think you want to talk trash."\nThough Ratliff spoke as if he would be seeing at least some time on Morrison, Davis wouldn't divulge exactly who would draw the assignment.\n"I was thinking about putting (my 7 year-old son) Antoine on him, but I couldn't get his eligibility before tomorrow's game," Davis joked. "No, we may put Errek Suhr on him."\nHaving been a defensive specialist in his playing days, Davis also went on to explain why he would have been able to contain Morrison.\n"They didn't call fouls in my day, so I would have won the battle," Davis said. "I would have fouled him every time."\nBut regardless of who guards Morrison, or how they approach the assignment, many of the Hoosiers understand that a player that talented will score his points. They key for Saturday may be simply limiting the rest of the Bulldogs.\n"In 32 games nobody has figured out, yet, how to stop him," Davis said. "So I don't think we can do it in two days. But I'm hoping that we can just contain everybody else"