Am i the only one?

Am I the only one that feels as though the Indiana University (IU) Men’s Basketball team is right on the cusp of being very very good? Sure there are issues that still need addressed, but each and every game there seem to be less of them, and even the one’s that are still there and have yet to be completely corrected are getting better game by game.

The one area that gets talked about the most is IU’s point guard play, and rightfully so. But sometimes stats alone don’t show improvement. Xavier Johnson’s ability to get to the rim is something the Hoosiers haven’t had in quite some, and he defends at a very good level too. The biggest adjustment that he needs to make on both ends of the floor are his decision making. On offense, him knowing when to take one less dribble and look for Trayce Jackson-Davis or Race Thompson, kick it out to Parker Stewart or Miller Kopp on the wing, or use a little floater in the lane, would be huge improvements that would not only benefit his numbers, but also the team as a whole’s numbers. Same thing on defense. Accepting you’ve been beat this time and let Trayce and Race defend the basket instead of a late in the drive reach in that results in “and one.”

His effort can’t, or shouldn't be questioned. He plays hard. Not always smart, but hard. Sometimes downshifting to 4th gear and out of overdrive can be a plus to the offense. He is an extremely emotional player, and Coach Mike Woodson’s biggest job with him is trying to get him to harness that emotion without taking it completely away. If you emphasize he’s too emotional and take that out of his game completely, then Xavier Johnson is not the same player. We’ve all seen it happen too many times with other players.

Sticking with point guard play right now, let’s talk about Rob Phinisee. Phinisee is as good an on the ball defender as the Hoosiers have. When he is locked in he can, and has shut done some very good players in his IU career. I also believe that Phinisee can help on the offense as well. He may even be more suited in a two point guard lineup like we saw a lot of yesterday against Notre Dame in the final Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis. Whereas Johnson may be a little too confident sometimes, I feel it’s the polar opposite with Phinisee. Phinisee just needs learn to play the next play and not the previous one. He needs to develop a great relief pitchers mentality and let it go. A short memory could be the key to Phinisee’s ability to help this team take the next step.

I feel that Stewart & Kopp are opposites in that one (Stewart) knows his role, but needs to keep expanding it on the offensive end. Defensively he has been better than I thought he may be, especially after seeing him early on. He’s not athletic enough to be a great defender, but I feel like he has held is own and is very aware of how much good positioning can make you a better team defender. Offensively he is as good a pure shooter as IU has had in awhile. He is really developing into a guy that when he shoots you expect it to go in, not hope it goes in. Being more of a threat besides from 3-point range will help not only him, but also the team. Kopp seems the most unsure of his role. When left open he’s a pretty good shooter as well. But sometimes he seems hesitant to let it fly and instead forces a pass that isn’t there or shoots a contested baseline jumper when the open three would have been the higher percentage shot. He also has been adequate on defense. His athleticism is not going to blow you away, but he understand defensive positioning pretty well also. Both have helped IU get to 9-2 on the year and do more positives every game.

Race and Trayce are what they are. They play well together. Trayce is an absolute monster when he wants to be and gets room to operate inside. Race is just simply a guy that every coach in America would like to have on his team. As Trayce continues to improve when it comes to reading the defense, especially double teams, the sky is the limit for how good he, and IU can be. Every other aspect of his game has improved, and not to slight him, that area has improved also, but if he masters it, watch out BigTen (B10) opponents. Very few teams are going to try and guard him one on one, so he just needs to continue to improve in that area from game to game. Make opponents pay for doubling him. Make opposing coaches “pick their poison.” Race is going to do very little that makes you come out of your seat and jump up and down, but he is going to make winning play after winning play, game in and game out. I, nor anyone else wants him jacking up 3’s, but if he could hit one a game or so this team can take it to another level.

IU’s bench has been pretty solid too. Trey Galloway being out with an injury has probably added to the minutes that Anthony Leal has gotten on the floor, but Leal’s hustle and smart decision making have kept him on the floor. A coach having the confidence to look down the bench and call your number is a result of you making the most of whatever opportunity you’ve been given on the floor. Tamar Bates was out Saturday due to a death in his family, and our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family through this difficult time, but up until Saturday’s game Bates seemed to be raising his level of play each game as well. Sure he still makes the occasional Freshman mistake, but when your mistakes are aggressive mistakes and you are a Freshman, they’re a little easier to live with. Bates is probably the only Hoosier who is a real threat from all three levels on the floor. And although his slight build probably hinders him some on both ends of the floor, he doesn’t hurt IU at all when he’s out there and had just started to really show signs of being able to be a major contributor.

Michael Durr is obviously still recovering from an early injury. He’s nowhere close to being in game shape when you look at film of him at South Florida and watch him now. Once Durr is in game shape I feel like he will be more than a serviceable backup for Trayce Jackson-Davis. Being able to spell Jackson-Davis for a stretch or two each half will help to keep IU’s All-American candidate a little fresher for will be a brutal B10 season. I’m not sure anyone expected a big contribution from Freshman Logan Duncomb this year, and rightfully so. But even though it has been in “mop up” minutes, Duncomb has shown that the tools are definitely there to build on. The last time he saw the floor he took advantage of his opportunity, which is good because we are an injury or serious foul trouble away from his number being called and we want kids who want are waiting for the opportunity to take advantage of it.

Jordan Geronimo and Khristian Lander are two kids who I also feel can help IU in the right situations this year. Geronimo is a young man that seems to be oozing talent and ability, but just hasn’t found his niche yet. He is kind of position-less when it comes to the offensive end of the floor, he’s just a basketball player that does everything pretty well, but nothing great. On the defensive end he can just about guard all five positions. He plays hard and will continue to get opportunities because of it. I feel he could have a true break out game at any time. Like it’s all going to click at the same time and when it does, watch out. Lander is an enigma to me. I watched him in person numerous times in high school and although I’m not a scout, I believe his 5-Star ranking was warranted. His quickness, his vision, his passing ability, his leadership, pretty much everything except his shooting were top notch. My biggest concerns were his slight build and his defense. The build would come with time and hard work, the defense would come with teaching and understanding that he had to play it to see the floor.

I personally believe that Lander can play at this level, but he looks like a young man that’s confidence took a hit last year that he hasn’t recovered from yet. Should he have reclassified? That’s not for me or you to decide. That decision was made for a reason and here we are. There have been instances this year when Lander has been on the floor that he looks more comfortable and the vision, passing ability and quickness I saw in high school have been on display. But for everyone one of those, there have been the freshman mistakes that you can see immediately effect his confidence again. He struggles mightily on the defensive end, which is mind boggling sometimes considering his quickness. I honestly think the biggest issue with Lander is he is trying too hard on both ends of the floor. The game is still moving way too fast for him. A lot of players talk about the moment the game slowed down in their minds for them, and I don’t feel like Lander has had his moment like that yet. There are minutes to be had backing up Johnson and Phinisee, or even playing beside one of the two, and I hope that it all clicks with Khristian Lander this year because he can bring a different look that the other two can’t which only helps the team going forward.

IU has two very winnable games to end 2021 which means they should be 11-2 (1-1) before the B10 really starts to heat up. With continuing improvements in the areas I’ve mentioned above that I personally feet like need to continue to be made and we could be in for an exciting 2022 as Hoosier fans. This IU team could very easily compete at the top, be firmly in the middle of the pack, or unfortunately struggle with closing games out and end up in the lower half. But yesterdays response to Notre Dame erasing a 10 point lead and tying it up, and IU pulling back away shows me they are at least learning how to close games out, which is improvement from game to game and also inside of a game.

I like the potential…Am I the only one? GO HOOSIERS!!!