Capobianco shows growth in practice, games

Sitting down at a Starbucks in his hometown of Loveland, Ohio last winter, I fired a number of questions at then-high school senior Bobby Capobianco in a lengthy sit-down interview.

Unlike most other teenage basketball prospects, Capobianco was never a kid of just a few words.

Instead, and much to the delight of any journalist who ever spoke with him, Capobianco was like a well-oiled interview machine.

He gave long answers, he was honest and he always seemed to say just the right thing.

When asked about the role he anticipated having during his freshman season at IU, the 6-foot-9 big man talked about simply listening to his future coach, Tom Crean.

“I don’t know if he’s going to throw me out there and say, ‘Bobby, we need you to score.’ If he says that, then by all means, I’m going to try my best to score. If he says, ‘Bobby we need you to go out there and play defense and rebound,’ I’ll do that,” Capobianco said. “I just want to go out there and make a difference and help the team win.”

Though Capobianco has averaged just 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds through 17 games, the former Loveland Tiger is certainly making a difference and he played a major role in IU’s 81-78 win Sunday.

Although he fouled out in only 15 minutes of action against Minnesota, Capobianco pulled down three offensive rebounds, hit his first-career 3-pointer and recorded two steals.

He also hit that scoop shot from 16 feet out to beat the shot clock and to save junior guard Jeremiah Rivers from his bad play.

Outside of the box score stats, the freshman forward battled hard against Minnesota’s 6-foot-11 center, Ralph Sampson, and made other plays to help the team.

Along with his 7-point, 10-rebound performance in an early season loss to George Mason - as well as a 7-point, 4-rebound game in the win versus Pittsburgh - the Minnesota game was likely Capobianco’s best outing.

Despite averaging just six minutes in the five games that took place during winter vacation, Capobianco has seen 21, 15 and 15 minutes, respectively, in each of the last three games.

At his press conference on Wednesday, Crean called the search for a consistent starting big man to compliment freshman forward Christian Watford “a complicated situation.”

Crean said he would like to give everyone minutes – including the seldom-used senior center Tijan Jobe and freshman center Bawa Muniru.

But as Crean figures things out, from the sounds of it at least, Capobianco is making it tough on the other members of the front court through his strong play in practice.
Crean spoke about one drill, in particular, in which the team went four-on-four and was not allowed to dribble.

“(He) made the most passes, got the most rebounds, made the most baskets,” Crean said. “Those are the signs that he is going to be a pretty good player because he does have a pretty good understanding and feel for the game.

“He’s just got to get experience and I think his confidence will grow. If anybody grew up the other day it was him, in the sense of a game. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”

Fellow freshman Jordan Hulls, who has played with Capobianco since the eighth grade, said his former AAU teammate is “getting better everyday.”

“He’s a hard worker and he just does whatever needs to be done,” Hulls said. “He’s willing to do whatever it takes to win and, today in that drill, he was rebounding like crazy and getting all the putbacks.”

Last winter, Capobianco said he has always admired San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan, a great player “who is never flashy.”

While Capobianco, himself, is never full of flash and isn’t all that athletic, in tonight’s game at Penn State, he will have another opportunity to prove himself and gain more confidence.

He might not start and he might not do much scoring, but if he gets the minutes, look for “Big Bobby” to make a difference against the Nittany Lions.

Prediction: IU 68, PSU 64