Transition game will be key this year

For Hoosier nation, Friday night was something akin to a baby’s first flu shot – scary, but in the end, really not that bad.

Oh, there was dread.

For weeks, there hung over Assembly Hall like a Big Ten championship banner lingering questions: “Can these Hoosiers even beat Anderson? Are they really that bad?”

No.

The truth was, the new Hoosiers actually looked remarkably not bad in their real-game debut. Sure, the competition could be best described as feeble, but this night was never about anyone not wearing Cream and Crimson.

After months of posturing, prognosticating and preparing behind closed doors, the Hoosiers finally unleashed themselves – if that’s the right word – on the world at large.

And among the most noticeable positives was something Tom Crean will want from his Hoosiers all season long: running the floor (yeah, I just did that).

All night long and against opposition that could barely even catch its breath, IU moved the ball with unexpected fluidity up and down the court. Even more impressive was their court vision, with players weaving in and out of lanes and hitting each other for easy baskets.

Such was the Hoosiers’ success that seven different players had at least two assists. Even more impressive, IU whipped Anderson in fast break points 29-7, and their 50-28 advantage in points in the paint came in no small part due to transition layups.

After the game, Crean expressed his pleasure at his team’s ability in the open court.

“I think it’s good,” he said of his team’s overall court vision, laying out their practice strategy of having spots on the floor to run to in the transition game.

Crean said his coaches and he lay out four ‘Xs’ on the court in practice, spots where they want players to go in the transition game. Most notable among those were the “corners,” where Crean said guards go if they cut through the lane and don’t get a feed.

Friday night, the guards found those corners, especially early, and it helped spread what defenders could get back apart, opening the lane for more hurrying Hoosiers to fill.

“We want to have those spots filled all the time,” Crean said. “When we get that kind of feeling of where guys are going to be, our vision will even get that much better.”

If it does, this team will have a real tool in its belt, especially come conference season.

The Big Ten is a tough, pounding conference, and one this tiny team has little chance of competing in if it has to play the way opponents will want.

But get the lumbering, sluggish, grind-it-out Wisconsins and Ohio States of the league out and running early, and Crean’s boys might just have themselves a few ballgames.

Combine that with the same kind of pressure that forced 21 turnovers Friday and conditioning that, by all accounts, makes in-game action look relatively tame, and there might not be many teams that could keep up if the Hoosiers can turn games into a schoolyard sprint.

It’s not the difference between 10 wins and 20, but it’s an advantage – albeit a small one. Right now, this team can’t afford to turn that down.

See you Tuesday.