COLUMN: Fischer's role vital to IU's success

When freshman center Luke Fischer made a free throw to put IU up 26 with 3:35 to play, he was subbed out for freshman forward Noah Vonleh.

Chants of ‘Luuuuuuuuke’ echoed throughout Assembly Hall.
“Luke is knocking on the door, right now, of being a really productive player for us,” IU Coach Tom Crean said.

And the praise was deservedly so.

In the final tune-up game before Big Ten play begins nine days from now at Illinois, IU beat Kennesaw State 90-66. The Hoosiers improved to 10-3.

With conference play ahead, the rotation needs to be solidified.

IU will need their best from the big men, specifically –Fischer.

He finished with a career-high 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 blocks and countless intangible plays in 19 minutes.

Although you would like to see a 6-foot-10 center grab more then 2 rebounds in 19 minutes, Fischer shined today.

When Vonleh, who has primarily played center this year, gets into foul trouble, Fischer needs to respond.

Sophomore forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea is only 6-foot-9. While he can be a good change-of-pace at the power forward, I don’t believe he can play center because of his lack of size.

That leaves Fischer as the only viable option when Vonleh comes out.

And Fischer can flourish in the role.

If you were in a coma last spring and awoke today, you’d do a double take on Fischer, thinking Cody Zeller is still on the team.

While he has similar physical characteristics, his game is different from that of Zeller’s.
Fischer isn’t as talented as Zeller. But the Wisconsin native is bigger and more solid then Zeller.

During the first half, Fischer had as good a half he’s had all season.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Fischer recorded dunks on back-to-back possessions.

The second dunk happened because Fischer ran out ahead on the Owl defense in transition.

A little later, Fischer had a great block on a Kennesaw State that led to a sophomore guard Kevin ‘Yogi’ Ferrell three-pointer in transition.

In the half he also drew a charge, and dished out a beautiful assist to a cutting Troy Williams, which led to an easy layup.

Fischer brings in nice intangibles to a front line that is lacking depth.

If Fischer is so good, why not play both Vonleh and Fischer at the same time?

I don’t think this can be done. I haven’t seen enough from either Vonleh or Fischer to suggest either one has a reliable jump shot.

Both belong on the block, and taking one out and stationing them on the elbow would prove ineffective. Defenders wouldn’t respect the jump shot.

Thus horrible spacing issues would ensue, leaving the IU offense, which has struggled to generate points at time this year, even more hard pressed.

However, that doesn’t mean Fischer is a scrub. He just can’t play on the floor with Vonleh.
Vonleh’s incredible length can bother opponents on defense. Plus he has the tools to become a legitimate threat on the post.

Therefore Vonleh should get the bulk of the minutes.

But when Vonleh comes out, the drop off won’t be dramatic.

Fischer finished his high school career going 56-0 in his final two seasons for a reason.

The big man can play.