Haunted Hall of Hoops has come a long way since it first started eight years ago. IU Associate Head Coach Tim Buckley remembers that first event. It only needed one group photo to be taken of all the kids in their Halloween costumes with the team.
Saturday, however, six different lines of dressed-up kids high-fived the IU basketball team before all posing for a group photo.
“I think our guys take a lot of pride in that,” Buckley said. “We talk about that it may be the only time these people get to see you live, so go out there and play well, play hard.”
Before the group photos, there was a scrimmage played in front of a couple thousand Hoosier fans. Split into two teams, Red and White, IU played three periods amounting to 26 minutes of action. Team Red won by a final score of 57-49.
Sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr. led all scorers with 17 points, including a few three-pointers. He also ran the point for the majority of the scrimmage for Team Red, after recovering from a torn meniscus this summer.
“He’s always had a really nice stroke that hasn’t changed yet,” Buckley said. “I’d say (Blackmon) getting more comfortable with the rhythm of the game and the rhythm of the shot in the speed of the game with these scrimmages.”
The scoring was started with a dunk by Team Red freshman forward O.G. Anunoby, who ended the game with 15 points on top of multiple deflections defensively.
Anunoby also made an open three-pointer near the end of the first period and picked up a steal, ran the floor and dunked again to start the second period.
“He’s eventually a guy who will develop and play out on the perimeter, and he can do that at times now, but he can also post up and play strong inside,” Buckley said. “He’s big and physical so he may have to guard those types of matchups.”
Anunoby, like most freshmen, still has some work to do in adjusting to the speed of the game. Another freshman who had a good outing in Saturday’s scrimmage was center Thomas Bryant, who finished with 15 points.
The final of those two points came on the last play of the scrimmage. With under a minute to play, Bryant laid the ball in while drawing a foul. After the whistle, IU Coach Tom Crean decided that was enough and ended the scrimmage.
Bryant also made a lay-up with under a second to play in the second period.
“I think he’s a guy who really changes things for you offensively because he reminds me of Cody, in that you can run the offense through him and the ball doesn’t go in there and he just shoots it every time,” Buckley said. “He finds cutters and he makes good passes and he plays with a great energy.”
IU also experimented with some things Saturday, using some full-court pressure and just playing more aggressively on the defensive end. The Hoosiers also used some larger lineups than in years past.
At one point, the 6-foot-10 Bryant, the 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Tim Priller and the 6-foot-7 Juwan Morgan were all on the floor for Team White. Team White also didn’t have the services of one of its forwards on the bench, junior Collin Hartman.
Hartman is still recovering from a rib injury he suffered a few weeks ago, and his timetable to return to the court is still unclear. He was dressed in full uniform, participated in all the warm-up drills, but did not play during the scrimmage.
“I know he’s chomping at the bit,” Buckley said about Hartman.
