Mentally drained Hoosier defense suffers

The shortest month of the year has seemed to last forever for the Hoosiers.

After winning the first game of the month against Iowa, IU has gone on another prolonged losing streak, currently at six losses.

As the losses mount, the once seemingly tireless, always-spirited Hoosiers have started to lose some of their vigor. Even in the worst of losses, TV commentators and fans alike have applauded the efforts of the smaller, younger IU squad.

But as the regular season hits its last leg, the Hoosiers have begun to limp toward the finish line.

IU coach Tom Crean said he and his staff have tried to keep the team mentally fresh, even taking them to the movies earlier in the week instead of holding practice.

But ultimately, the combination of youth and losing has exhausted the Hoosiers.
“They’re good kids. They really are,” Crean said. “They’re good kids. There’s no question they’re mentally drained, but we can’t stop working.”

Crean and his staff realize that if IU is to win another game this season, the team must dramatically improve in a variety of aspects of the game. At the same time, Crean must do everything possible to keep his team mentally invested for the rest of the season.

“It has to change,” Crean said. “There’s so many things that we have to get better at, and we’ve known that all year. But the steam’s running dry a little bit right now.”
Breakdowns on defense have accompanied the mental lapses.

In the past two games the Hoosiers have allowed the opposition to shoot more than 55 percent from the floor, with the opponent scoring an average of 78 points.

IU averages fewer than 60 points per game – meaning the defensive effort needs to improve if the Hoosiers hope to break the losing streak.

Freshman Nick Williams said that mentally, he and his teammates are fine, but the ongoing quest for communication on the defensive end needs to continue to improve for future success.

“We just have to be better on the defensive end, and the points will come,” Williams said. “We just have to be better on the defensive end and talk to each other more.”
Williams insists the team is improving from practice to practice but can’t seem to translate it into the games.

“We’re getting better every day, and we just got to bring our practice mentality to the court,” Williams said. “I don’t know what that will take, but we just have to do it.”

One player who appears to be as mentally sharp as ever has been senior Kyle Taber, who has surpassed his career high in points in the past two games. Taber doesn’t buy into the notion that his teammates are mentally wiped, but he agreed with Williams that the team needs to take its practice habits on the road with them this weekend.

“No, I think we’re fine,” Taber said about the mental state of the Hoosiers. “That’s all a mindset. I mean, we play hard every day, and we’re fine in practice, so we should be fine in the game.”