Abell’s aim sinks Purdue

Purdue forward Robbie Hummel said the Boilermakers scouting report would allow Remy Abell to shoot the 3-pointer.

The IU freshman guard who averaged 3.2 points per game had never played in Mackey Arena. He had only hit five 3-pointers in his entire IU career. He hadn’t even attempted a 3-pointer in the game.

But with IU clinging to a six-point lead with 1:32 to go, IU junior forward Christian Watford found a wide-open Abell in the corner.

Abell provided the dagger.

Abell’s 3-pointer closed the door on IU’s 78-61 win Saturday night, marking the Hoosiers’ first victory at Mackey Arena since 2006.

“Oh, that’s pretty huge,” IU sophomore guard Victor Oladipo said. “That’s a big shot for Remy. Remy’s really good. He’s growing. A lot of people might not see that, but we see it in practice every day. He’s just growing every day, and he’s becoming a great player.”

In addition to knocking down the 3-pointer to seal the deal, Abell posted a career-high 13 points. The performance came in the absence of senior guard Verdell Jones III, who was out with a shoulder injury.

“It feels great,” Abell said. “With Verdell being out, I knew I just had to come in and step up.”

Jones went down at the end of the first half in IU’s 68-56 loss at Michigan on Wednesday. In that game as well, Abell played significant minutes down the stretch.

IU Coach Tom Crean said Saturday’s performance was a carryover from the Michigan game.

“Remy Abell built on what he did the other night against Michigan,” Crean said. “He was very, very valuable for us in that game in the comeback. What he’s learning to do is not only play the game to the talent level he has but to continue to understand the way the game has to be played. I thought he did some really good things.”

Though Abell did not start the game in Jones’ place, it didn’t matter in the second half. Abell came in off the bench and scored by attacking the basket on a night in which IU only made three 3-pointers.

When Crean substituted players in and out throughout the second half, Abell was hardly one of them. He played a 7:28 stretch in the second half, the longest of his career.

He kept looking to the bench, but Crean showed confidence in the freshman guard, which Abell said went a long way.

“That felt great,” Abell said. “Sometimes, I might get taken out a little early. But tonight I had to step up. I had to take a deep breath, keep moving forward and keep grinding.”

Shooting 83 percent (5-of-6) from the field, Abell jolted an IU offensive attack that put up 45 points in the second half. But Crean said Abell’s night was about more than just scoring.

“There are a lot of things that go into being a point-guard type player, and it’s even that much more when you’re a freshman,” Crean said. “Again, you have to understand how you play, but you have to understand what everybody else needs, and you’ve got to play on both ends. He did that.”

On a night in which Jones was on the shelf, Watford shot 0-for-7 from the floor and IU junior guard Jordan Hulls didn’t make a 3-pointer, it was a freshman not named Zeller who made buckets down the stretch.

“There’s no question he’s going to be a big part of the rest of our season because his improvement level has continued to rise,” Crean said. “His confidence level is now being rewarded for that because of the way he’s improved.”