INDIANAPOLIS — It was a moment of IU basketball history created Saturday by Rob Phinisee, but made possible by Juwan Morgan.
Fans inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse will remember the deep three-pointer made by Phinisee, IU’s fearless freshman guard, as time expired, giving IU a 71-68 win against Butler University.
But Morgan was the reason why that split-second of time meant something.
During an IU offensive performance featuring 15 turnovers and just seven bench points, Morgan was the same reliable, consistent offensive presence he has been during his four-year college career.
“Rob obviously will be the hero with the game winner,” IU Coach Archie Miller said. “But clearly there's a lot of guys that did great things. Juwan Morgan had as good of a game as I've been involved in in a long time.”
The senior forward scored 35 points, a new career-best, as he made 12 of his 14 shot attempts against the Bulldogs. His four of six performance shooting three-pointers marked only the second time in his career he made at least four shots from that distance.
Morgan’s perfect seven for seven day from the free-throw line was the first time this season he made all of his foul shots.
“I've changed my free throw up a lot this year,” Morgan said. “I think I found something that really works for me. As you can see from tonight, I just stepped up with confidence, knocked them down.”
It was a signature performance from the senior, one that fit in with his historic day. A bucket with a little more than two minutes to go in the first half marked Morgan’s 1,000th point with the Hoosiers, something only 51 other players have done.
Morgan described the accomplishment as a great honor, but just one piece of the puzzle for himself and the team.
That puzzle figures to reflect a youthful 2018-19 team, with Phinisee, freshman guard Romeo Langford and several sophomores all playing significant minutes for the Hoosiers. But that youth has been mentored and nurtured by Morgan, who averaged less than 10 minutes per game as a freshman before becoming a regular starter two seasons ago.
“He's not one of the veterans that leads by example,” Langford said. “He leads by example and his voice.”
Miller echoed the words of his star guard, describing Morgan as an extension of the coaching staff due to his ability to communicate things to other players.
While example and voice are ways to improve those around him on the court, Morgan also supplied something the Hoosiers need in addition to leadership — points.
There were four stretches during Saturday’s game in which Morgan scored five or more straight points for IU.
The Hoosiers led just three times for a total of 93 seconds during the win, something made possible by Morgan powering the offense to keep the game within reach when the Bulldogs tried to grow their lead to double digits.
“I approach every game the same way,” Morgan said. “Some games, the shots are going in.”
Of late for Morgan, those shots have gone in at an alarmingly efficient rate.
During a stretch of games over Thanksgiving Break against the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of California at Davis, Morgan willed IU to victory by playing 76 out of a possible 80 minutes.
In those games he scored 54 points as he made 22 of 29 shots.
IU’s current four-game winning streak, which have all featured wins by three points or fewer, have seen Morgan score 10 or more points each game.
“I just think we have a trust into each other, trust in the system,” Morgan said. “I think we'd like to get a couple wins where it's not within the last 10 seconds where we win. At the same time it's the ones that you grind out that are the best feeling. Come March time, those are the ones you're really going to need.”
Morgan is as appreciated for the confidence he brings to IU as he is for his scoring ability. But Miller said what he enjoys most about coaching Morgan is his consistency and the way Morgan is able to eliminate moodiness during the almost 150 practices Miller said he’s coached him for.
“Every day is the same,” Miller said. “Game day is no different than practice. That's what I get to see every day. Not that his game days are perfect, but the guy plays the right way.”
