Offensive outburst propels IU

On Thursday, IU Coach Tom Crean said IU had undergone the least amount of offensive development he had seen as a head coach.

It didn’t show.

The Hoosiers won their first and only exhibition game, defeating the University of Indianapolis, 90-72, Saturday  at Assembly Hall. IU was aided by a 50-point outburst in the first half, that allowed IU a double-digit lead the entire second half.

Leading the Hoosiers’ scoring were sophomore forward Will Sheehey with 18 points, freshman forward Cody Zeller with 16 points and junior guard Jordan Hulls with 14 points. Three players in double digits, something Crean said has been a major point of emphasis.

“What we’ve tried to really address and harp on with this team is that if we’re going to score points that’s needed to win at a high level,” Crean said. “And it doesn’t just come from one or two people. It comes in a balanced way.”

One of IU’s offensive cogs was Hulls, who had a clean line, shooting 3 for 3 from the field, including 2 for 2 from beyond the arc, and knocking down all six of his free-throw attempts. The junior point guard also distributed the wealth, dishing out five assists.

Sheehey, who averaged 4.8 points per game as a freshman last season, led the offensive attack, shooting 8 for 11 from the field. Sheehey only scored in double figures three times last season, none of which were higher than his 18 points on Saturday.

“I think he could (lead the team in scoring), but like I said, we don’t care who gets the credit,” Hulls said. “We’d love for everybody to score 20 points. If Will scores all the points, great. He’s fully capable of it, obviously.”

The Hoosiers turned the ball over seven times, allowing IU to control the tempo in the half-court game. It’s an area Hulls said IU must continue to improve on.

“That’s something we’ve really been harping on in practice in the summer and in all those workouts is taking care of the ball,” Hulls said.

While IU was able to get double-digit efforts from multiple players, last year’s leading scorer, junior forward Christian Watford, was limited to eight points. Watford, who averaged 16 points per game last season, is coming off an ankle injury.

But Crean said Watford made his presence felt in the second half by putting the clamps on UIndy’s Adrian Moss, who led all scorers with 22 points.

“I was really happy with the way Christian guarded,” Crean said. “We’re trying to get him integrated back because he’s been out for a while, and he’s really only had a couple practices that I would say are Christian Watford-level-of-play practices, but he came in tonight, and he defended.”

Watford and the rest of IU will have a full week of practice to work out the kinks before they open the regular season with Stony Brook on Friday at Assembly Hall. But as he said before Saturday night, Crean said the emphasis is still on the defense.

“Right now, our team defense has got to carry us, and eventually, we’re going to have to have some individual guys that can really lock people up, and we’re not there yet,” Crean said. “A lot of room for improvement, but a lot of improvement was made.”