Fighting for position down on the block, junior center Joey Brunk spun around junior forward Josh Carlton and received the bounce pass from junior guard Al Durham. Brunk collected himself, took one dribble before spinning again toward the basket and finished through the contact for a three-point play as IU took the lead in a 57-54 win over the University of Connecticut.
Before then, the Hoosiers looked to be headed toward frontcourt turmoil as both Brunk and senior forward De’Ron Davis struggled to score on the offensive end and contain the Huskies’ bigs on the other end.
Brunk, who has been a consistent starter for IU this season, was outmatched in the first half.
The transfer from Butler University struggled early in the game getting two of his layups swatted by freshman forward Akok Akok as Brunk only played seven minutes in the opening half.
Davis, who for the first time all season showed glimpses of being the go-to forward down low couldn’t consistently string together good possessions either. Davis started strong going 2 for 3 from the field in only five minutes during the first half but didn’t contribute anything while on the court in the second.
For the majority of the game, the only frontcourt lineup that was working for the Hoosiers was when they went small playing freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and junior forward Justin Smith together.
The two athletic forwards combined for 14 of IU’s 34 first-half points and nearly half its rebounds.
While IU’s smaller lineup has been its most effective throughout the season, IU head coach Archie Miller knows it’s unrealistic to rely on a 6-foot-9 forward to anchor the Hoosiers throughout Big Ten play.
Yet until the second half against UConn when Brunk seemed to turn a corner — scoring nine points and willing IU to the finish line — the dilemma of what to do with the frontcourt rotation had to have been on Miller’s mind.
There have been too many times this season when IU’s forwards have struggled outside of Jackson-Davis and Smith for Miller to not begin thinking about committing to small-ball.
Miller has preached for three seasons the desire to get up and down the court with speed and that is easy with two athletic players like Jackson-Davis and Smith running the court who fit his scheme perfectly.
While everyone loves the high-flying possibilities of Smith and Jackson-Davis taking the lead in the frontcourt it would only be a short-term solution. IU saw what happens when it almost exclusively play small-ball last season, when Juwan Morgan was forced to play the center position and was occasionally bullied on the block.
For Miller, his choices in the frontcourt seem to be about which option is the lesser evil.
Miller can stay the course with Brunk handling a lead role and hope he plays through his struggles. Or is it time to run and gun and pray the offense can make up for the deficiencies on defense?
If I was calling the shots — and thank goodness I’m not — I’d look to go small and know that I have Davis, Brunk and even sophomore Race Thompson as change of pace forwards who can bring size if it becomes too much of a mismatch on defense.
As of now, Brunk’s second-half performance seems to have bought him time. How much time, though, is a question the Hoosiers will need to answer soon.
