It's October, and that means Hoosier Hysteria and the start of the IU men's basketball team's season is right around the corner. Let's take a look at the Hoosiers' 2010 roster and what to expect from its top players.
Overview: Capobianco is a 6-9 sophomore forward from Loveland, Ohio. He started five games in 2009, averaging 2.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Capobianco scored a career-high 8 points in an overtime victory against Northwestern in the regular season finale. He was rated as the No. 100 player in the country by ESPN coming out of high school, where he averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds as a senior at Loveland High School.
Best case: Capobianco becomes a go-to big man off the bench, using high-energy play to grab rebounds on both ends of the court. He shows off his long-range touch as well, knocking down a 3-pointer or two each game to rile up the crowd. He creates mismatches at the power forward spot and often approaches double digit scoring.
Worst case: Capobianco regresses as a rebounder and gets pushed around by bigger forwards, forcing coach Tom Crean to use other big man options in lean rebounding times. He continues to be passive with his shot, passing off open jumpers and frustrating fans.
Outlook: He wasn't the most impressive freshman out of the 2009 recruiting class last season, but Capobianco holds a very important role for this year's Hoosiers. Crean isn't going to ask him to knock down game-winning shots, but he will ask him to hit a few baseline jumpers when teams are focusing on stopping IU's guard tandem. He's a 100 percent hustler, and his year of experience will combine with that to make smarter, tougher plays off the bench.
