Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. We wrap up the player profiles today with Devan Dumes.

Devan Dumes led Indiana in several statistical categories a season ago: total points (344), points per game (12.7), 3-pointers made (59) and indefinite suspensions (1). Here’s a brief synopsis of his 2008-2009 season: he was Tom Crean’s most reliable option on offense and for a period in February, he was Crean’s biggest headache following an ejection for throwing elbows against Michigan State.

Dumes was at his best offensively in late January and early February when he averaged 19.6 points during a five-game stretch that included IU’s one conference win over Iowa. Unfortunately, his season-high 27 points against Iowa was preceded by an elbow to Goran Suton’s groin and an indefinite suspension that lasted two games. He apologized shortly after the incident, but struggled mightily in three of the final four Big Ten games, suffered a knee injury in the regular season finale and had surgery on his finger over the summer.

His role in 2009-2010 will be far different than a year ago: available shots and minutes won’t be as plentiful. He could find himself as a reserve because of Indiana’s added backcourt depth. Coming off the bench could actually be a positive for Dumes and for IU because his ability to provide instant offense and energy may be better utilized as a sub.

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Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Tijan Jobe.

I don’t feel confident about much in my life. I’m wrong about a lot, and even the stuff I get right leaves room for doubt. But if there is something I feel wholly confident stating, it is that — and I say this without the slightest hint of exaggeration — the Hoosiers’ most important player in 2009-10 will be Tijan Jobe.

Of course, this should come as no surprise to any faithful Indiana basketball fan. If you paid attention last year, you saw the seeds of what should turn out to be a legendary IU basketball career begin to sprout. Jobe is a dominant big man, a versatile force on the inside, a veritable monster from end to end. Some players, if they’re big and strong enough, earn the nickname “Baby Shaq.” Little known fact: When Shaq first started playing basketball, they called him “Baby Tijan.”

Perhaps the highlight of the 2008-09 season was watching Jobe enter games at crucial moments and simply take over. Few players have that quality, but Tijan is one of them. It was a shame Jobe didn’t play more minutes last year, but one can understand why: Tom Crean clearly made the strategic decision to keep Tijan on the bench in an attempt — futile though it may have been — to keep Jobe’s profile low. In 2009-10, the Big Ten better look out. No such mercy will be granted. Jobe will be freed. And it will be spectacular.

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Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Jeremiah Rivers.

There is no player on this 2009-10 Hoosiers squad I’m more interested in seeing on the court than Jeremiah Rivers. I’ve heard and read so much about him: how he’s the leader the team so desperately needs; how he looks terrific in practice; how he’ll be a rock at point guard for IU. He is part of a basketball pedigree with his father being Doc Rivers, while leaving a school, Georgetown, that’s been quite good in recent years to transfer to Indiana.

I don’t think there’s a doubt in anyone’s mind that he’ll be the starter from day one, and it’s his job to lose as the season progresses. There’s a sentiment that with Rivers at the helm, everything feels safe: there is no wildness of Daniel Moore, there is no Verdell Jones perhaps playing a bit out of position. There is a point guard. A true point guard.

But have we all been duped? Think about the level of competition Rivers practiced against last season, the one he looked so good against. It wasn’t exactly stellar. As a sophomore at Georgetown, he only averaged 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and one assist in 18.6 minutes. I know he was brought in mainly for defense, and wasn’t a go-to guy. But that’s hardly anything to write home about.

Look: Rivers will be an upgrade over what the Hoosiers marched out at point last year. He’ll be better. And, trust me: I want Rivers to be as good as advertised. I want him to lead this team. It’s just that, based on past performance and a year of practicing against weaker competition, I’m  going to be cautiously optimistic about him heading into this year.

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Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Matt Roth.

When Matt Roth signed a Letter of Intent with Indiana, former coach Kelvin Sampson compared his shooting ability to Lee Humphrey, a catalyst in Florida’s back-to-back national championships. The comparison was a high billing considering Humphrey is the all-time leader in three-pointers made in the NCAA Tournament. The Washington (IL) native showed flashes of shooting brilliance as a freshman, but for the most part, he was a one-dimensional threat who lived and died by the three-pointer.

Roth attempted 174 shots in 2008-2009 and 153 came from behind the arc. While many considered Devan Dumes to be IU’s streakiest shooter, Roth was actually less effective than Dumes in shooting the basketball. If you throw out his extraordinary performance against Ohio State where he connected on 9 of 11 attempts, his three-point percentage checked in at just 34 percent.

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Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Tom Pritchard.

Heading into last year’s campaign, there were a lot of question marks. How would this team of virtual unknowns look? Would IU lose every game? Does Tom Crean really drink that much Diet Coke? But early on, there was a question mark that was quickly answered: if nothing else, we had a guy down low that might not have the prettiest game, but he was going to try and grind and bruise his way to a double-double every night. This guy’s name was Tom Pritchard.

Now, Pritchard did disappear some games last season, particularly in Big Ten games where more experienced and skilled opponents knew to key on him because we didn’t have much else. But for a freshman on a team such as last year’s, the numbers are pretty good: five double-doubles, an average of nearly 10 points a game, and his 6.4 rebounds was good for eighth in the Big Ten.

As many of you are predicting, Tom Pritchard will likely get the starting nod to begin the season, though if he isn’t improving and battling, he might be unseated by Derek Elston or Bobby Capobianco when it’s all said and done.

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Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Verdell Jones.

In a year of horrific gosh-they-just-play-so-hard basketball, Verdell Jones was a pleasant surprise. Whether he’s anything more than that — whether he’s a legitimate Big Ten point guard, or merely a seat-saver for the likes of Jeremiah Rivers — is the predominant question facing him in 2009-10.

But first, his 2008-09. Jones was second on the team in minutes in 2008-09, which, considering the frequency with which Daniel Moore played, is a testament to how bad the Hoosiers were last year; there were times when Jones and Moore actually shared the floor. Jones was second on the team in points per game to Devan Dumes, but he did it at a more efficient rate, with a slightly better effective field goal percentage than Dumes. (Dumes made more threes, though, so take that as you will.) But Dumes, as turnover-prone and erratic as he was, actually committed fewer turnovers than Jones, who gave the ball away over three times a game. That is not good, especially not from a point guard.

The real revelation with Verdell Jones comes in the eye test. He has the calm, casual manner of someone used to controlling games. He can hit outside shots and slash to the rim — his slash is more of glide, but you know what I mean — and his passing ability is probably his best attribute. Even with explosive recruits on the horizon, the Hoosiers still need scoring; if Jones can provide an extra threat, all the better.

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Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Derek Elston.

Derek Elston, the first player to commit to Indiana’s 2009 class, made the call to become a Hoosier in September of 2007. After his decision, he watched Indiana go from a top ten team during the 2007-2008 to a program decimated by Kelvin Sampson’s excessive phone calls. Once Tom Crean was hired, it only took a couple of conversations between the coach and the player to decide that Elston’s commitment was still a perfect fit.

At 6-8 and 225 pounds, the Tipton (IN) forward has the body to play inside and the versatility to step out and play the three. He averaged 19.8 ppg and 10.8 rpg his senior season and finished third in the voting for Mr. Basketball. His ability to rebound and defend will put him in position to play major minutes from day one. It’s not out of question that he could lead IU in rebounding this season.

What remains to be seen is how much Elston has improved his mid-range game over the summer. Mechanically, his stroke is very sound and if he can consistently knock down shots from the perimeter, he becomes a much tougher player to guard. He’s also a solid ball handler and when he doesn’t finish in the paint, he consistently gets to the line and knocks down free throws.

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