Sheehey’s start pays dividends in win

IU Coach Tom Crean said Will Sheehey had been dealing with a groin injury. In addition, Sheehey was recovering from an ankle sprain that sidelined him for five games.

If he was still hurting, he didn’t show it Wednesday.

The sophomore forward filled the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in No. 23/24 IU’s (21-7, 8-7) 75-56 win against North Carolina Central University at Assembly Hall.

Despite flushing home a two-handed slam, Sheehey said it was obvious he wasn’t fully healthy.

“I’m not 100 percent yet, and you can tell,” Sheehey said. “I tried jumping off one foot, and it was pretty ugly.”

Sheehey started for just the third time all season and for the first time since the Feb. 1 loss at Michigan. In that game, Sheehey failed to register a point, rebound or assist. But he did manage to pick up three fouls and turned the ball over twice.

Wednesday night was kinder to Sheehey.

Though Sheehey entered the game earlier than his usual role of sixth man, he wasted little time getting started. The sophomore knocked down a pull-up midrange jumper two minutes into the game.

Sheehey said while making the first one is always nice, it didn’t affect his mindset.
“It definitely does help if you see a couple go in,” he said. “But good shooters like (senior guard Matt) Roth, you can tell, if he misses three and he’s open for the fourth, it’s still going up.”

But it wasn’t Sheehey’s shooting that concerned Crean.

“I don’t look at the stat sheet and look to see that he scored,” Crean said. “Is he impacting the game in a lot of different ways?”

That’s exactly what Sheehey did and early. The forward went into the half with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Crean said Sheehey’s defensive intensity matched his performance in IU’s 78-66 loss at Iowa on Sunday.

“Will Sheehey was tremendous again defensively,” Crean said. “He gave us a big lift in the second half at Iowa. He carried that right with us tonight.”

Sheehey spent most of his time in the second half pitted against Kansas State-transfer Dominique Sutton. Crean said Sheehey was causing havoc no matter who he guarded Wednesday night.

“Will’s another one,” Crean said. “You don’t want to deal with him. You don’t want to bring the ball up against him, you don’t want to post up, you don’t want to be in a trap when he’s in it. Will’s got an edge.”

The performance came a night in which junior forward Christian Watford failed to score a point for the first time in his IU career. Sheehey took on an increased scoring load with the struggles of Watford.

It was the first time Sheehey registered double-digit points since a 103-89 win against Iowa on Jan. 29. Sheehey’s six made buckets were his most since Nov. 21, 2011, against Gardner Webb.

But Crean said his focus is still on what Sheehey’s defensive skills, especially on an all-around performance like he had tonight.

“When he’s taking good shots, when it’s in the flow, when he’s driving the ball, good things are going to happen there,” Crean said. “But I’m way more interested in his overall game, which starts on the defensive end with the rebounding and the
deflections.”