Halfway through the second half of IU’s 79-54 victory over Princeton University showed a glimpse of what IU head coach Archie Miller’s vision is for IU men’s basketball this season.
Freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis flashed a high screen at the top of the three-point arc as senior guard Devonte Green ran off it driving to the paint. As the help defense came from the baseline Green dumped the ball off to sophomore forward Race Thompson who with a touch-pass found the cutting Jackson-Davis, finishing the play off with a two-hand slam.
This was one of the good times for IU when the offense came together in the half-court, the creativity and off-ball movement that Miller has emphasized throughout the early part of the season was on display.
With an almost completely healthy roster — senior forward De’Ron Davis did not play due to injury — the IU offense ran like it was supposed to, getting up and down the court quickly and sharing the ball as IU racked up 19 assists in the game.
The Hoosiers got production from the usual suspects in Jackson-Davis who scored 11 points, junior forward Justin Smith who finished the game with 14 points, and surprise contributor junior center Joey Brunk, who led the way, tied for a team high 16 points and also grabbed eight rebounds.
“Joey was ready to play tonight,” Miller said. “Joey’s a good offensive player but he hasn’t been as aggressive or assertive in games. In our previous games he’s tried to play the right way but in many ways we need Joey to be selfish down there.”
An even more encouraging sign for IU was that junior guard Devonte Green’s six-point performance against Troy University was likely just a fluke.
Green lived up to his preseason hype as he tied Brunk’s team high 16 points and dished out four assists.
“At the end of the day Devonte knows that he is a playmaker for us,” Miller said. “It’s the simple plays. It’s being aggressive within the framework of what we’re doing. He’s our best playmaker in terms of making the pass that you can’t see because he sees it early.”
As well as IU played at times in this game — granted Princeton is still winless with an 0-4 record— it was not all roses.
At other times — especially in the first half — IU’s offense looked discombobulated as they threw the ball away, dribbled it off their feet and wasted fast break opportunities.
On a beautiful drive and behind-the-back pass from Green to Thompson, Thompson was slow to corral the ball and subsequently missed the open layup.
The Hoosiers also had six turnovers in the first half and went just 1-6 from beyond the arc.
When the Hoosiers weren’t quickly getting up and down the court and wasn’t decisive with the ball in their hands, the offense got stuck in the mud.
If IU played like it did in the first half against a Big Ten opponent only mustering 35 points against a Princeton team that’s No. 233 in adjusted defense according to KenPom, the Hoosiers would find themselves in a hole they likely wouldn't be able to climb out of.
It’s encouraging for IU to finally see glimpses of what Miller envisioned when he put together his offense, now the question is if the Hoosiers do it on more than just a possession-to-possession basis.
“We're clearly a team that aspires to play the break, the movement inside/out and play off of that,” Miller said. “And I thought we did a pretty good job.”
