Following IU’s seventh practice of the season, Tom Crean met with the media (a few of us were also present for practice) to discuss a number of topics. Video is available in the embedded player below, courtesy of IU Athletics:
(Editor’s Note: The specifics and details of today’s practice were off the record, so we will not be able to answer questions or provide additional information on what was observed.)
It’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2010-2011 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Victor Oladipo.
Victor Oladipo arrives in Bloomington via DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. For those unfamiliar with DeMatha, let me enlighten you with a few fun facts:
1. Morgan Wootten, widely considered one of the best high schools coaches of all-time and also the all-time wins leader for basketball on any level, coached there from 1956-2002. Wootten has 1,274 wins.
2. The school has produced several notable alums, including current Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley, current N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe and CBS broadcaster James Brown. And this is an abbreviated list.
3. The basketball program is mentioned annually as one of the best in the country and has 34 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles. Oladipo starred on two of those title teams.
I present these facts not as a history lesson, but as a brief perspective on the background Oladipo is coming from prior to his arrival in Bloomington. It’s a background of winning. And it certainly jives with Tom Crean’s stance that he’ll make it a focus to recruit talented players from winning programs.
Oladipo brings a unique mix of talents that were noticeably absent from Crean’s first two Indiana teams. He is, by far, the most explosive finisher to arrive in recent years not named Eric Gordon. Fans saw a brief glimpse of his freak athleticism at last Friday’s Hoosier Hysteria when he dominated the dunk contest. He will, undoubtedly, bring Assembly Hall to its feet several times in the next four years.
But more important than his finishing ability is Oladipo’s ability to defend and rebound from the guard position. It’s no secret that IU’s defense the past two seasons left plenty to be desired. Opponents were stronger, quicker and tougher on the perimeter. Oladipo has the tools to provide an immediate upgrade as a perimeter defender. It’s also no secret that Crean wants his guards to rebound. Oladipo, from all accounts, will help immediately there as well with his length and toughness.
It’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2010-2011 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Tom Pritchard.
Ah, the curious case of Tom Pritchard. Ah, the cliche of using odd, catchy movie titles as ledes. Which one shall we talk about today?
I choose Pritchard. So let’s talk about Pritchard, the Ohio native whose career started so well but hasn’t really taken off since, at least not in the way we expected it would. I’ll throw out what is a rather shocking stat, brought to my attention by old friend Jordan Cohen during the production of our season preview magazine:
Over his first 16 career games, Pritchard had five double-doubles, including two in his first two, making him at that time the only Indiana freshman ever to accomplish that.
Number of double-doubles in the 46 games since? Zero. Not one. Never even broke double digits in rebounding last year. Pritchard committed 98 fouls last year, better than three per game, and fouled out four times. Both were team highs.
So why am I feeling upbeat about Tom Pritchard in 2010? Well, for a number of reasons.
First, without trying to be clever, Pritchard has little else to do but get better. With a few rare exceptions, (Purdue, Bryant, Howard) Pritchard looked various combinations of slow, sloppy and lacking confidence last year. As the pressure to perform turned up, his performances often seemed to get worse, until he was essentially relegated to a secondary role in the offense. And this from a kid many thought was a primary part of IU’s future down low.
Second, I’ve gotten to see Pritchard up close a couple of times this offseason, and he just looks like he’s in better shape. Much better. He looks slimmer and at the same time more muscular. We won’t pretend that an extra say, 8-10 pounds of playing weight were the difference between night and day last season, but when they’re not there and they used to be, there will be a discernible difference.
Third, while I don’t believe in chalking up a poor season to some unquantifiable cliche like a “sophomore slump,” I do believe in experience. Tom Pritchard has it. All the criticism, the struggles, often it helps a player to have to go through that, and learn the value of always improving.
+ Tom Crean and assistant coach Tim Buckley, in case you missed it, were reportedly in Washington this morning to watch Cody Zeller’s early AM workout with the Hatchets. Crean obviously cannot tweet about specific recruits he is out watching, but his string of tweets from earlier in the day indicate he was in Zeller’s neck of the woods. Zeller is finished with two of his official visits (Butler and North Carolina) and will take his final visit, to Bloomington, the last weekend of October for “Night of the Living Red” and the Northwestern football game. The overall vibe on Zeller continues to be very positive for Indiana, but as most of you know, both Cody and his family are keeping the process very tight lipped. The fall signing period begins on November 10.
+ Crean also mentioned Evansville in his tweets from today and the prospect in that area of note is likely 2014 Evansville Harrison guard Ernie Duncan, who attended Hoosier Hysteria. Not a lot out there yet on Duncan, but there is this YouTube video. Duncan was also listed on ESPN’s first 2014 rankings at No. 75.
+ Steve McClain was also out today, per a tweet from Crean, and according to our friend Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star, the first year IU assistant was at Lawrence North watching Michael Chandler. The 6-10 center, who originally committed to Louisville and then backed out last spring, has already taken official visits to West Virginia and Providence. According to Neddenriep, Chandler will take his third official visit this coming weekend to Xavier.
+ IDS men’s basketball beat reporter Greg Rosenstein posted Q & A’s with both Yogi Ferrell and Jeremy Hollowell and while there’s nothing earth shattering in either piece, both are worth a look to get each player’s prospective on Hoosier Hysteria.
+ Since we’ve had a few emails and questions in the comments, here’s the pertinent info for “Night of the Living Red,” per IU:
Our next public event will be Night of the Living Red, Friday October 29 in Assembly Hall. Everyone is invited to trick or treat at 7 p.m. And a Cream and Crimson scrimmage will begin at 8 p.m.
+ And also, this was officially announced on Friday, but we tweeted it a couple of weeks ago, Taylor Wayer has been added to the roster as a walk-on:
Taylor Wayer has been added to the men’s basketball roster as a non-scholarship player. A guard from Indianapolis, he graduated from Bishop Chatard last year and averaged 18 points and 3 assists. He was a member of the All-City Tournament team and was a preseason All-State honorable mention team. A three-year letterwinner he was team MVP as a senior and played for Travis Daugherty.
It’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2010-2011 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Jeremiah Rivers.
I’ve watched a fair amount of the Chicago Bulls this NBA preseason.
In particular, new coach Tom Thibodeau has his team running plays in which center Joakim Noah gets the ball at either the left or right elbow, and looks for cutters off the wing going to the basket.
Sometimes, this cutter is point guard Derrick Rose.
Wait, isn’t a point guard supposed to be assisting a center on looks at the basket?
Well, traditionally, yes.
But Noah is one of the best passing big men in the game, and Rose is a terrific finisher around the basket. For all his speed and athleticism, Rose isn’t quite a crafty, all-seeing floor general.
Thibodeau is simply playing to his players’ strength, whether it’s what the position traditionally calls for or not.
And it got me thinking about Jeremiah Rivers.
Rivers had some high expectations placed on him last season. Many believed he’d him to control the floor with moxie. On a team full of new, young players, Rivers was supposed to possess the veteran leadership at point guard the team would need during a transitional season.
But this wasn’t quite the case.
Rivers was often an erratic ballhandler and poor decision maker. By the end of the season, it appeared as if Tom Crean lost his patience, and so he inserted freshman Jordan Hulls into the starting lineup at point guard instead. He wasn’t a dynamic presence, but he appeared to come with less risk.
But just because Rivers may not have worked out as the starting point guard doesn’t mean he’s unable to provide anything to the team.
In fact, he’s got enough strengths to see contributor’s playing time this season.
2010-2011 Player Profile: Bobby Capobianco
What did we learn about Bobby Capobianco in his freshman season of 2009-2010?
Like all youngsters, there’s room for improvement.
Capobianco provided some nice energy in a reserve frontcourt role, but his turnover percentage (22.1 percent), free-throw shooting (11-of-24, 45.8 percent) and two-point shooting (22-of-52, 42.3 percent) could all stand an upswing.
Capobianco averaged a shade under 12 minutes a game last year, and whether he sees more playing time this season could be largely dependent on just how much progress he shows heading into his sophomore year.
The good news? Capobianco, like seemingly all his second-year Hoosier counterparts, has added some bulk to his frame this summer. It could very well help him bang in the paint better on both sides of the ball.
The bad news? Capobianco will likely have some competition. If Guy-Marc Michel proves to be the defensive presence we continue to hear he can be, he’ll get more minutes than Tijan Jobe or Bawa Muniru did last season, which could squeeze Capobianco out of seeing an uptick in minutes. And with Christian Watford and Derek Elston, both players who are shaping up to be a big part of this season’s rotation, having the ability to play in the frountcourt as well, Capo will need to prove he deserves to be a part of the rotation.
Continue reading this post »