More certain IU opens season against Howard

Few things were certain when IU stepped on Branch McCracken Court for last season’s first official contest.

IU coach Tom Crean said afterward that “his stomach knew it was a real game” as he watched 14 players who had never scored a regular season basket in Assembly Hall warm up before an 83-65 win against Northwestern State.

A year later, eight of those same Hoosiers are still in Bloomington, and they will play Howard at 8 p.m. Friday at Assembly Hall in their first regular season contest of the season.

Although there will still be a degree of ambiguity as to what to expect from the 2009-10 season, more is set in stone going into the first game.

“It’s a lot different,” sophomore guard Verdell Jones said. “We’re expecting more from our team on every play this year, than last year where it was a little unexpected what we were going to do.”

IU returns four players who averaged at least 20 minutes per game for the season and three who started 25 or more games. Based on sheer numbers, the Hoosiers are better off going into their first contest than they were a year ago.

The previous season’s opener featured 14 green players and a walk-on on the floor.
The weight of that 2008-09 contest could have been unbearable, but Crean extended several streaks for first-year coaches.

He became the ninth IU coach to win in his first appearance, prolonged the home opener record to 24 consecutive wins and continued the Hoosiers’ stint of 11
successive victories when unveiling a new team.

All of the streaks for IU men’s basketball stayed intact – initially. Six wins for the season and one conference victory followed, as IU struggled to gain wins with a young team.

The record of the 2009-10 team is currently blank, but much more will be expected than the six wins of a year ago. The difference in tone could be heard when Crean talked about IU’s preparation for Howard.

“I don’t want to look at it and say, ‘This team’s really fast, let’s slow it down,’” Crean said. “That’s what we had to do last year. I just want us to play.”

Crean isn’t necessarily making a conscious effort to create separation from last season. He recognized the changes stemming from the preceding season but said he is more interested in moving on and focusing on the present.

“It’s so much different,” Crean said. “There’s an old Bill Parcells saying. ‘You go by what you see, not what you remember.’”

In order to fend off last season, Crean has pushed his team in a way that he hadn’t before.

Jones said practice “ain’t no joke” this season, but conceded that the set lineup of last year allowed the frontrunners to settle in.

“Now you’re playing for playing time,” he said. “Last year, you knew certain players had to play, so I think we were a little more relaxed. This year, if you want to get on the floor, you have to compete every day.”

Part of the increased intensity comes from the coaches, but it also comes from those eight who returned for the 2008-09 season.

In turn, the freshmen preparing for the first regular season game of their careers are more briefed on what to anticipate. Freshman forward Christian Watford said the importance of game day was emphasized by older players from the beginning.

“They stressed that since day one,” Watford said. “Here it is. Now it’s just time to go out there and perform and do what we do.”

Jones said Crean’s amplified pressure for his team is warranted.

“Now we have a little experience. Last year, no one had any experience,” Jones said. “And I think he knew that. But now he’s pushing us because he knows the potential our team has.”