Different day, different Hoosier star

After two exhibition games, IU coach Tom Crean said the No. 1 thing he learned about his players is that they need to play with heartfelt passion all the time.

Crean said if they don’t, the Hoosiers won’t be able to stay in many games this season.
With the vast inexperience on the team, that passion and energy might not come from the same people every night.

The amount of energy coming from various players has been exemplified in their exhibition games. In the victory against Anderson, it appeared that IU’s starting backcourt of freshman Verdell Jones and junior Devan Dumes could be stars for the Hoosiers throughout the season.

Jones notched 18 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Dumes led all scorers with 22 points. Despite their strong performances in the first game, neither starting guard reached double-digit points totals against Bemidji State, and both played sparingly in the second half after the Beavers started the half on a 10-0 run.

After the Beavers’ run, Crean began subbing players often, hoping to create a spark.    
“It’s hard for me to look at it and say, ‘Ah let’s just play through this,’” Crean said. “We don’t have any demonstrated ability that we know how to play through it.”

With Dumes and Jones on the bench, freshmen do-it-all Malik Story and guard Daniel Moore sparked the Hoosiers. Story scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, while Moore pestered the Bemidji State guards on defense, generating turnovers and quick buckets for IU.

The young Hoosiers expect to have different players step up periodically throughout the season. In fact, Crean said he will continue to shuffle the lineup throughout each game to find the group that is most energetic.

“There can never be a time where we back off,” Crean said. “We’re not built like that. We don’t have the experience. We don’t have the size.”

Crean added that the key for everyone is consistency. But with a team so young, inconsistency might be common, meaning players on the bench like Story and Moore need to be ready to play often.

“Tonight, it felt like my job was to bring energy off the bench and defend my man very well and hustle on offense and defense,” Story said after Tuesday’s exhibition win.

One way Crean hopes to create consistent energy is by constantly making the team compete in practice. For example, Crean said adding guard Kipp Schutz to the team helped inspire Moore’s spirited play.

One player who hopes to be consistent in his play is the lone senior of the team, Kyle Taber. In only 15 minutes of play against Bemidji State, he pulled down nine rebounds.

Being one of the few big men on the team and the only one with significant regular-season playing time, Taber will need to be consistent.

Whether it’s the starters or the bench, the scholarship players or the walk-ons, Crean said whoever takes the floor during the games needs to make the team better that day. Otherwise, he won’t play for long.

“We put you out there, we’ve got to expect that you’re going to make us better,” Crean said.