LOUISVILLE, Ky. — 2013 Indiana signee Stanford Robinson scored six points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out four assists and had a steal as his team won the 2013 Derby Festival Basketball Classic on Friday at Freedom Hall.
Inside the Hall has compiled over a minute of high-definition clips of the versatile guard from the event, including footage from the 2-on-2 contest, in the embedded media player below:
Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our recap of the 2012-2013 Indiana Hoosiers. Today, the final installment: Indiana’s defense.
Final stats (36 games): 62.1 ppg, 43.2 FG %, 44.0 eFG %, 30.4 3P FG%, 27.0 % FTR.
As the 2011-12 college hoops season wrapped and many national pundits ranked the Hoosiers No. 1 heading into this past season — a ranking that eventually carried over to the official AP preseason Top 25 — there was one black mark on Indiana’s resumé: its defense.
“Indiana may well be the proper pick as the best team in the land, but I think if you locked people in a room in late March and made each individual figure it out on his or her own, it wouldn’t have been nearly as obvious that a team with a suspect defense last season should be the best team in the land this season, and at least a few people would have struggled to put them in the top five,” wrote Stats Lord Ken Pomeroy in late October.
ESPN’s Blog Star Eamonn Brennan on the same day: “As the Hoosiers themselves will readily admit, they were not a good defensive team last season. It is rare for a team with a defense so mediocre — they finished ranked No. 64 in adjusted defensive efficiency — to seriously contend for a national title the next season.”
All true and fair. But Indiana quickly shed such a reputation once the ball tipped on the season. It would finish the year No. 13 in adjusted defensive efficiency and show tremendous improvement across the board. The biggest change? Its communication and commitment to team defense. They understood when to switch, when to rotate, when to help and when to stay home. They held each other accountable. They realized good defense could turn into a quick transition bucket, that a turnover or long rebound often meant a dunk or 3-pointer on the other end.
The numbers bear it out. Where Indiana in seasons past struggled to defend the 3-point line — remember games like this or this or this? — they held opponents to a 30.4 percent mark from distance in 2012-2013, 30th best in the nation. An opponent 2-point percentage mark of 43.2 (No. 32) and eFG percentage of 44.0 (No. 15) also had them among the top teams in the nation.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One of the final opportunities to watch five of IU’s 2013 signees before they arrive in Bloomington in early June came over the weekend at Freedom Hall in the 2013 Derby Festival Basketball Classic.
The all-star game has become a regular stop for IU recruits in recent seasons as Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and several others have participated. Inside the Hall was in attendance at Wednesday’s closed practice, Thursday’s night of the future stars event at Floyd Central and Friday’s game, which was won by the black team featuring all five IU signees, 124-113.
Here are game statistics, observations and scouting notes on all five guys:
· Troy Williams – 21 points (9-13 FG, 2-2 3PFG, 1-1 FT), five rebounds (two offensive), four assists, two turnovers, one block in 18 minutes
Williams walked away with MVP honors for the black team and there’s a good argument to made that he was the best player on the floor on Friday. That wasn’t the case in Wednesday’s closed practice as he forced some shots and didn’t finish particularly well around the rim. Williams was once ranked as high as No. 6 nationally in the 2013 class and he’s an elite athlete that gets into the lane and finishes plays with dunks. While the setting of an all-star game doesn’t lend itself to defense or rebounding being areas of focus, Williams has the tools to be very good in both areas. He’s a long, high motor player with the ability to score in a variety of ways, which should earn him minutes from day one in Bloomington.
· Collin Hartman – 7 points (2-7 FG, 1-5 3PFG, 2-2 FT), four rebounds (all offensive), two steals, one assist in 18 minutes
Hartman’s forte is perimeter shooting, but it wasn’t his week to excel in that area. He struggled in the 3-point contest and in the game, but all was not lost as he found other ways to make an impact. Hartman was active on the glass with four offensive rebounds and also had two steals. Health has been an issue for Hartman over the past year as he battled concussions and also a wrist injury that forced him to miss time during the past high school season. He said he’s ultimately emerged stronger from missing time and said that unlimited gym access is what he’s looking forward to most in college. With work in the weight room, there’s potential for Hartman to grab a role as early as next season.
· Luke Fischer – 12 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 FT), six rebounds (three offensive), three steals, two blocks, one assist, one turnover in 17 minutes
Fischer is often compared to Cody Zeller and it’s a comparison that makes some sense because of their similar games and build. Zeller probably has a solid two inches on Fischer in shoes, but much like the former IU All-American, the Wisconsin native is a sound post player who understands how to play the game. Fischer was efficient all week in Louisville and didn’t need the ball thrown to him to make an impact. His footwork and ability to catch the ball are both very good and while he’s probably not the athlete Zeller is, he finishes well through contact and runs the floor hard. He’s also a very good passer who can come out to the high post and find his teammates. Like most incoming players, adding strength to prepare for the rigors of the Big Ten will be key, but the tools are present for Fischer to play significant minutes early.
Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our recap of the 2012-2013 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Indiana’s offense.
Final stats (36 games): 78.6 ppg, 48.2 FG %, 54.8 eFG %, 40.3 3P FG%, 74.3 FT %, 45.9 % FTR.
Indiana’s offense was once again elite in 2012-2013, and paired with a much improved defense that wasn’t present in 2011-2012, the Hoosiers spent a majority of the regular season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press top 25 poll.
Despite a tough last month in which it scored just 1.03 points per possession, Indiana finished the season with the nation’s second best offense at 1.21 points per trip. That was up slightly over last season when IU finished at 1.206.
The improvement was a bit more defined in Big Ten play where IU scored 1.136 points per possession compared to 1.112 last season.
Once again, the efficiency was led by Cody Zeller’s presence in the middle, getting to the foul line and IU’s ability to find shooters on the perimeter. Zeller’s biggest impact was in getting to the foul line, where he posted a free throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 73.2. Indiana shot 904 free throws and made 672 of those attempts compared to 563 attempted for its opponents. Offensive rebounding was a big area of improvement this season as Indiana rose from 59th nationally in on the offensive glass all the way up to seventh. Both Zeller and Victor Oladipo ranked in the top seven in the Big Ten in offensive rebounding.
The 3-point shooting percentage was down from last season, but was still fourth best nationally with four guys — Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford, Oladipo and Remy Abell — finishing at better than 40 percent. After shooting better than 41.2 percent in each month from November through February, the Hoosiers managed just 31.5 percent from behind the arc in March, which was a big reason the offense sputtered down the stretch.
The offense was again incredibly balanced with five guys scoring 9.5 points per game or more and a sixth, Yogi Ferrell, averaging 7.6. The two biggest movers year-over-year were Oladipo and Watford. After an up-and-down sophomore season, Oladipo put it all together as a junior and finished seventh nationally in effective field goal percentage (64.8). Watford shot a ridiculous 48.4 percent on threes, which was up nearly five percent from his junior season and almost 17 percent from where he finished as a freshman.
This weekend marked the first of two April evaluation periods, and one of the nation’s top events was session one of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) in Los Angeles.
Tom Crean and assistant Kenny Johnson were on hand at different points throughout the weekend tracking James Blackmon Jr. and various prospects being recruited for 2014, 2015 and beyond.
Here’s a rundown of how many of the names on the IU radar performed over the weekend:
· James Blackmon Jr., Spiece Indy Heat: Indiana’s lone commitment in the 2014 class had a terrific weekend in Los Angeles. Blackmon Jr. averaged 19.0 points and 4.8 rebounds and shot 53.4 percent from the field. Blackmon’s high scoring game of the weekend (21 points) came in a 72-69 loss to Team Texas Pro, which features five-star point guard Emmanuel Mudiay. Spiece Indy Heat finished the weekend 2-2.
· Theo Pinson, CP3 All-Stars: Pinson (pictured), who is one of IU’s top recruiting targets in the 2014 class, had a tough weekend shooting the ball as he hit just 32.6 percent of his shots over four games. His weekend averages were 12.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 1.5 assists and one block per game. Pinson, who has already taken an official visit to Bloomington, has Indiana in his top three schools.
· Trevon Bluiett, Spiece Indy Heat: Bluiett’s weekend ended prematurely as he did not play in Sunday’s game after suffering a knee sprain. In three games, the Park Tudor senior-to-be averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals and shot 47.1 percent from behind the 3-point line. Bluiett worked in an unofficial visit to UCLA following the EYBL event.
· JaQuan Lyle, Spiece Indy Heat: As is typically the case with Lyle, he found ways to fill the statsheet besides simply scoring the ball. Over four games, the combo guard averaged 7.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.8 steals. His turnover numbers, however, were a bit high at 3.5 per game. Lyle’s list of schools remains at six with Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State and Tennessee in the running.
· Elijah Thomas, Team Texas Elite: Thomas, who we profiled back in January, is one of the elite players nationally in the 2015 class. His list of suitors is full of the nation’s elite programs and Thomas played well in Los Angeles, averaging 15.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 19.8 minutes per game. One area where the 6-foot-9, 225-pound Texas big man didn’t excel was the free throw line, where he hit just 12-of-25 attempts for 48 percent.
· Phil Booth, Team Takeover: Booth, who took an unofficial visit to Bloomington for the Michigan game last February and said he expects to be back this fall for an official visit, left Los Angeles with Team Takeover unbeaten in EYBL play at 4-0. Booth averaged 10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 22.0 minutes per game.
Indiana recruiting target Dante Exum (class of 2014, Australian Institute of Sport) helped the World Team beat Team USA 112-98 at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore., on Saturday night.
Exum showed off his ability to get to the basket and scored 16 points (6-of-8 FG, 3-of-5 FT) to go along with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block.
His highlights:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — 2013 Indiana signee Troy Williams scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out four assists and had a block as he won MVP honors at the 2013 Derby Festival Basketball Classic on Friday at Freedom Hall. Williams also was runner-up in the event’s dunk contest.
Inside the Hall has compiled over 20 high-definition clips of the versatile wing from the event, including footage from the dunk contest, in the embedded media player below:
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