WASHINGTON, D.C.— IU believes its defense could be the strength of the team.
After losing so much offensive firepower from last year’s team, IU turns to its array of defensive weapons to help them win games this season.
“I don’t think there is a ceiling for this team on the defensive end because we keep improving each day,” sophomore center Thomas Bryant said. “We don’t take anything for granted, and we know that defense will win us games. We know last year, defense won us an outright Big Ten championship.”
Defense helped IU advance to the Sweet 16 last season, but this group believes its defense can be even better than it was last year.
“I feel like we are a little more athletic than we were last year,” Bryant said. “Also, we are all in better condition than we were in last year.”
Conditioning is going to be to key for this defense, as it is instituting more ball pressures.
IU Coach Tom Crean said the Hoosiers are going to use their guards to pressure higher up on the court, hoping to turn teams over.
Depth and finding strength in numbers are the biggest keys to their defensive scheme, Crean said. Injuries have plagued the Hoosiers so far, and he says he wants to establish enough depth so they can start to wear down opposing teams.
“This is a team that should eventually be able to play different ways,” Crean said. “Pressure, half-court, trap, switch, all the different things. The more we can stay on a rotation because of how we can pressure the ball or how we can switch things, and the more we can bring fatigue to the game because of the way we can pressure the ball, the better we will be.”
The Hoosiers have experienced guards who are capable of pressuring the ball. Junior Robert Johnson has been known as a strong defender his entire career, and Crean said junior James Blackmon Jr. is improving defensively.
It goes beyond Blackmon Jr. and Johnson, however. Crean said junior guard Josh Newkirk has a pitbull mentality, and freshman Devonte Green is second on the team in deflections.
The team has a potential stable of guards that can pressure opposing offenses.
On the backline, a trio of sophomores — O.G. Anunoby, Juwan Morgan and Bryant, who all flashed their length and defensive potential last season — anchor the Hoosiers. All three of them can guard multiple positions, which provides the defense with flexibility.
Johnson believes having those three versatile forwards is going to help them create turnovers.
“I think that’s something we’re definitely going to be able to do,” Johnson said. “Especially with Thomas and O.G. having more experience and having those guys on the back line to protect. I think it’s going to allow us to pressure the ball more.”
Pressure leads to turnovers, which lead to easy baskets.
Last season, IU forced an average of 13.1 turnovers per game, up from 2015 when the Hoosiers forced an average of 10.7 turnovers per game. IU’s defense last season was ranked 59th in the nation, according to KenPom.com, a drastic improvement from the 2015 season, when the Hoosiers were ranked 201.
Crean knows turnovers will increasingly help this defense become even better than last season’s improved defense.
“For this team to take the next step, it has to bring fatigue to the game,” Crean said.
