Junior guard Al Durham moved his left hand down the stat sheet to find his name.
Once Durham found his statistics, he sprung up and was alert. Sophomore guard Rob Phinisee couldn’t hold back a laugh as Durham announced how he performed.
“Oh, we were seven for seven today,” Durham said.
Durham was second on the team in scoring with 21 points as IU men’s basketball secured a 98-65 season opening victory Tuesday night against Western Illinois University.
“My teammates were finding me and trusting me to knock down shots,” Durham said. “I feel like I prepared for this moment and it went my way today.”
Durham missed the exhibition game against Gannon University last week after sitting out for 10 days with a knee contusion. On Monday, Durham announced he was back to being 100% healthy, just in time for the season opener.
He joined freshman guard Armaan Franklin to make up the starting backcourt Tuesday in game one. Franklin had no problem as the lead guard by himself against the Golden Knights last week, but Durham made his presence felt early and often next to Franklin.
With Western Illinois leading 3-2, Durham showcased his offensive potential now in year three as a Hoosier. In a span of 78 seconds, Durham scored seven points. He did it with two mid-range jump shots and a three-pointer.
It was the type of shooting performance IU head coach Archie Miller talked about his team needing from someone if IU was to become a better offensive team.
“Al's an important part of what we do,” Miller said. “He's played a lot of minutes, he's a leader on our team. He did the same thing in the Marquette game; he ran our team, played with great tempo, was smart. And, again, tonight was able to make some shots and I think that's a positive sign for his confidence level.”
Even after the hot start to begin the game, Durham continued to show his shooting ability winding down the first half. Each time he took his shot, he looked confident, expecting it to go in.
As IU led 38-22 with 2:26 remaining before halftime, Durham didn’t hesitate to let the ball go.
He hit a three-pointer from the left side then followed it up 34 seconds later with another long-range shot from the center of the arc off a fast break pass from sophomore forward Damezi Anderson.
“We talk about it every day in practice, pushing the tempo and just outrunning our opponents really,” Durham said. “So, if we can outrun our opponents for most of the game, we can run them down.”
Last season, it took until the first round National Invitational Tournament matchup with Saint Francis University for Durham to score 20 or more points.
It’s only the first game of the season, but Durham already proved he’s capable of carrying more of an offensive load going forward.
“I think he did a nice job, obviously, with our team in terms of leading them,” Miller said. “But I think you can tell he's very comfortable right now in how we're playing, and he's got to stay with it.”
