Indiana freshmen Austin Etherington, Cody Zeller and Remy Abell, along with sophomore Will Sheehey, met with the media on Saturday following Hoosier Hysteria.
Watch and listen to what all four Hoosiers had to say following the annual tipoff to the IU season in the embedded media players below. (Note: Expand the video to full screen by using the arrows in the bottom right hand corner of the player.)
(Photo credit: Jamie Owens)
The 2011-2012 season is officially underway.
Hoosier Hysteria produced an electric atmosphere on Saturday night as 16,100 screaming fans packed Assembly Hall.
The Hoosiers, minus a slightly hobbled Christian Watford, took the court for the first time for a 3-point shootout, dunk contest and a 15-minute scrimmage to close out the evening.
Bill Raftery MC’d the event. D.J. Steve Porter spun records near half court. Former Hoosiers D.J. White and Eric Gordon both made an appearance. And countless recruits, including seven verbal commitments and Gary Harris, took in the festivities.
All in all, a good night was had by all. With that, we turn it over to you for your thoughts and observations on your first look at this year’s team.
Former Hoosiers Eric Gordon and D.J. White met with the media prior to Hoosier Hysteria on Saturday at Assembly Hall. Watch and listen to what both had to say in the embedded media players below. (Note: Expand the video to full screen by using the arrows in the bottom right hand corner of the player.)
Link to live streaming: Hoosier Hysteria ($)
IUHoosiers.com: Skills Contest Participants for Hoosier Hysteria
In the men’s 3-point/long shot contests look for junior Jordan Hulls, sophomore Victor Oladipo, sophomore Will Sheehey, senior Daniel Moore, freshman Austin Etherington, sophomore Taylor Wayer, freshman Remy Abell, senior Matt Roth, junior Derek Elston and freshman Cody Zeller to compete against one another.
For the dunk contest it is expected that Sheehey, Oladipo, Zeller and freshman Raphael Smith will take part. All of the above however, is subject to change.
It’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2011-2012 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Verdell Jones III.
On the surface, Verdell Jones’ numbers during his junior campaign were respectable. He averaged 12.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in just over 28 minutes per contest. Not bad, right?
Peel them back a little further and you can piece together a solid argument that the Hoosiers would have been better off using Jones in a lesser role and redistributing his minutes to more efficient teammates.
His offensive rating (which measures a player’s personal efficiency) was just 94.8. That mark barely eclipsed Jeremiah Rivers (93.5) and Bobby Capobianco (93.8), who were IU’s two worst offensive players. He shot just 67 percent from the foul line and a dismal 29.8 percent from behind the 3-point line. And Jones took 27.2 percent of IU’s shots while on the floor, which was second highest on the team behind Christian Watford.
As Jones prepares to embark on his final season in Assembly Hall, a shift in his role could be pivotal to Indiana’s hopes of climbing out of the Big Ten cellar. His low efficiency marks and high turnover rate (22.4 percent) suggest he should be using fewer possessions and playing off the ball this season. Defensively, Jones was just as responsible as anyone in the backcourt for the 40 percent 3-point mark Big Ten opponents achieved last season.
