IU shot a three.
And another one. Then another five. One more for good measure
Taking on the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks in the Armed Forces Classic on Friday, the Hoosiers attempted eight three-pointers to start the game. No layups, dunks, jumpers inside the arc or even free throws, the Hoosiers wanted that extra point. Eventually at the 13:49 mark in the first half, freshman guard Curtis Jones missed a two-point jumper.
With their frontcourt depth, a bit of a changing of the guard was expected for the Hoosiers. The ball would now be fed to sophomores Thomas Bryant and OG Anunoby in the post, with the three-pointer as reinforcement.
That doesn’t seem to be the case, as even the big men are getting in on the action. Anunoby attempted seven threes, making a trifecta, and Bryant put up five attempts. That’s a third of the attempts that Bryant took all of last season.
Looks like that three-point shootout win at Hoosier Hysteria bolstered his confidence.
On 71 total shots, IU took 31 threes. It worked out this time on a national stage, but we’ve seen this show before and it has let us down.
Looking back over the last few seasons, one of the main complaints has been the play calling (or lack thereof) in key stretches.
One of the biggest moments of the game, with 1:46 left in overtime, was a step-back jumper from behind the arc by Jones. It was a tremendous shot. But is something like that truly sustainable?
In true isolation-fashion, junior James Blackmon dribbled the ball in a mad dash to nowhere. The ball eventually made its way to Jones, who took and knocked down the biggest shot of his admittedly short college career.
I would critique the play, but there isn’t one to critique. It’s just pure chaos.
Winning against a highly ranked Kansas squad is good.
Attaining a statement victory early in the season is a nice thing to do.
What worries me is the reliance of isolation-ball and contested 3-point shots that have plagued this team in the past.
The calling card of this roster is supposedly its ability to play inside out. The flexibility and depth should be able to create a more three-dimensional team that won’t fail where past seasons disappointed.
Before IU’s first practice at Cook Hall this season on Oct. 3, IU Coach Tom Crean addressed the media on what the team needed to improve on.
“We’ve found some places that we can be a lot better on the offensive and defensive end,” Crean said. “And I think it’s up to me and the coaches to make sure we’re adhering to that constantly in how we set up practice, and we can get way better moving without the ball. We can get way better at using more floor space.”
This win was a step in the right direction, but there is still quite a lot to improve on.
What happened in the Armed Forces Classic must be taken with a grain of salt.
IU will almost surely be a top 10 team in the nation after this overtime thriller victory over Kansas.
What’s fun about that is they can be so much better.
gigottfr@indiana.edu
@gott31
