Men's basketball opens exhibition schedule with contest vs. Franklin

With his most experienced team since taking over as IU coach, its no surprise Tom Crean is ready to begin the season.

He’ll get his wish tonight, as the Hoosiers take on Franklin College at 7 p.m. at Assembly Hall in the first exhibition game of the season.

“We’re excited to play, I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Crean said.  “It comes fast as a coach.  I’ve said it every year and I’ll probably continue to say it for as long as I coach, you are never where you want to be when you play the first game.  But we are anxious to be able to play.”  

In Franklin, IU faces a team that finished 8-18 last season.  The Grizzlies will bring experience to Assembly Hall, as its top three scorers from last season – junior center Will Conoley, junior guard Clay Starrett and junior center Zach Merschbrock – all return.  

One reason the Hoosiers scheduled Franklin for the exhibition matchup was because of their ties to Bloomington.  

Head coach Kerry Prather holds bachelor and master’s degrees from IU.  Assistant coach Jarrod Brett also has a master’s degree from IU while fellow assistant Adam Martin is a Bloomington native.  

Crean said Franklin will provide a challenge that will make his team better in the long-run.

“We think they are going to be a worthy opponent,” Crean said.  “It’s been fun to watch them on film because they do a good job playing inside and out. They’re going to put some pressure on our pick-and-roll defense, which I’m excited about.”

One major advantage the Hoosiers have compared to Franklin is size.  The tallest player on the Grizzlies is Conoley, who stands at 6-foot-6.  In contrast, IU has seven players that height or taller.  

Despite the size difference, sophomore forward Derek Elston believes Franklin will be a good test for the first game.

“They like to get out and run, they have a lot of kids that are scrappy,” Elston said.  “We’ll see how we match up with them.  We’ll see how our toughness is compared to last year.”

And similar to their coach, the IU players are excited to finally play someone from a different school.

“It’s great to finally get out there and show people what we’ve been working on,” sophomore forward Christian Watford said.  “I’m looking forward to it and it should be fun.”