Welcome back, Jordan Hulls

Indiana got its general back.

No, not The General, but the Hoosiers’ floor general made his return Sunday.

Junior guard Jordan Hulls had been marred by mistakes in IU’s three consecutive losses prior to the 73-54 victory against Penn State.

In the loss at Ohio State, Hulls shot 1-of-6 from 3-pointer range with five turnovers. Against Nebraska, he missed the front end of a one-and-one foul shot with 24 seconds left and IU up by one. With the ball in his hands for the Hoosiers’ last shot and down 70-69, Hulls missed a contested layup and wild 3-pointer to seal the loss.

In the losing streak, the point totals had stayed steady — 13, 11, 12 — but the leadership and poise just weren’t there.

This lackluster play even dragged on into the first half Sunday, as the only blips on Hulls’ stat line were a pair of rebounds and an assist.

After the first 20 minutes, IU was down 29-27 at home to Penn State because freshman forward Cody Zeller was the only Hoosier with a pulse.

Somebody under 6-feet-11-inches had to spark the Hoosiers if they had any hope of keeping this losing streak from spiraling out of control.

After a Zeller tip-in to tie, another Indiana Mr. Basketball returned to his former self.

Hulls stole the ball a little past half-court, hustled to grab the loose ball and began his charge toward the basket.

Immediately, I had flashbacks of the Nebraska loss — Hulls at full speed, cutting into the lane and rising as the defense towered over him.

This wasn’t the same Hulls who broke under pressure in Lincoln, Neb. This time, he made an adjustment midair to feed the ball to senior guard Verdell Jones III, who made the easy layup.

“Yeah, definitely, those were two big plays for us,” Hulls said. “We knew coming out of the locker room that we needed to have a good start coming into the second half.”

Zeller scored only six in the second with foul trouble, as Hulls helped key the comeback.

The 6-foot junior guard took over the role this team needs him to play. Vocal in the huddle, controlling the offense at the top of the key, intensity on defense and ball-handling without a turnover for the first time in a game since Savannah State on Nov. 19 — that is the Jordan Hulls who wins games.

Did Hulls sense more confidence on the floor? He mulled over the question for three seconds before acknowledging that past mistakes have not dictated his future.

“I wouldn’t call it more confident,” he said. “I mean, I guess we kind of were, but it just starts with our defense. When our offense isn’t going as well, we just have to rely on our defense to create our offense off of that. You just got to have that mentality that we can’t let a mistake or two get us down. We just have to stop ’em on the next play.”

Many aspects decide a Hoosier game, but it all starts with your floor general.

The quarterback on the hardwood will touch, if not start, every offensive possession. Strong guard play might not register the most points, but it will serve as an extension of the head coach and control the team when it looks for leadership and direction.

This season, Jordan Hulls has to be that guy. He wasn’t during IU’s three-straight losses, but Sunday, the floor general got back on his horse and led his team to victory.

­— azaleon@indiana.edu