‘That’s just Conor’: Enright’s energy fuels IU basketball in win against Kansas State
- Quinn Richards
- 2m ago
Tayton Conerway couldn’t help but smile when asked about teammate Conor Enright following Indiana’s 86-69 win against Kansas State on Tuesday night.
“I told him on the bench, ‘Man, you’re one of my favorite players to play with,’” Conerway said during his postgame press conference. “You just make basketball so much easier.”
His comments came moments after the Hoosiers overcame their toughest defensive test to date, P.J. Haggerty — college basketball’s leading scorer. Haggerty entered the matchup averaging a staggering 28 points per game in a Wildcats’ offense that totaled 92.8 points per contest.
Indiana’s solution? Well, it started with Enright.
“When the shot went up, we had him run to Haggerty on every shot so that we could jam him a little bit, make or miss, and not let them start their transition game,” Darian DeVries said. “It takes a lot of discipline to be able to do that every time and I thought he was terrific at it.
Haggerty finished with a season-low 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting and coughed up six turnovers.
DeVries is no stranger to Enright’s impact on the defensive end. The two spent three seasons together at Drake before diverging paths to different programs. Now, reunited in Bloomington, Indiana’s head coach is utilizing the same traits he recruited Enright for five years prior.
“He’s been that way his whole life,” Darian DeVries said. “Let me do all the scrappy things that impact winning. He doesn’t care about scoring. He can score, but he doesn’t care. He just wants to win. That’s why he’s the ultimate team guy. I love having him out there.”
It started just 30 seconds into the game. On Kansas State’s first offensive possession, Enright’s outstretched left hand denied a kickout pass to Haggerty on the perimeter, a steal that promptly resulted in a Lamar Wilkerson transition 3-pointer.
He set the tone for an aggressive Indiana defense that held the Wildcats to just one make in their first 11 attempts from the field. Kansas State’s 27 points in the first half were the fewest it’s scored in any half this season.
It’s tempting to slap the term “glue-guy” onto a player like Enright, but it’s a title that doesn’t fully encapsulate the true impact he has on the floor. It isn’t just hustle, a willingness to sacrifice one’s body by sprawling onto the hardwood or a commitment to play defense for a full 40 minutes. Those are traits Enright possesses, sure, but there’s more to the story.
What truly makes him valuable is his mindset. Enright wasn’t just willing to guard a player like Haggerty, he was eager for an opportunity to shut him down.
“He didn’t back down, man,” Conerway said. “He wanted all the smoke. He’s been talking about it. Three days ago, he was excited for this game. He wanted to show what he could do, so stepping up to the challenge and he executed.”
That kind of energy is contagious. As a whole, the Hoosiers notched seven steals, tallied four blocks and forced a season-high 19 turnovers.
Additionally, Indiana addressed a glaring issue it displayed last time out — rebounding. The Hoosiers gave up 16 offensive boards to Ohio Valley Conference foe Lindenwood last Thursday. Against Kansas State, Indiana cut that number in half.
Leading the way in that department, none other than the shortest player on the floor, Enright. At just 6-foot-1, he snagged a team-high six rebounds.
“I thought our defensive rebounding was much, much better,” Darian DeVries said. “Still plenty of room for improvement, but we’re taking some strides there.”
As Indiana continues to take strides, so does Enright. Despite entering the game averaging just 3.8 points per game, he confidently sank a pair of makes from beyond the arc against the Wildcats. While it’s clear that Enright’s role is not that of a primary scorer, an ability to stretch the floor at a high clip would make him an even more valuable asset for DeVries.
All of that — the defense, the rebounds, the unexpected scoring — is just a reflection of how he approaches the game every day. Enright’s energy is essential to the identity DeVries is trying to build in his first year at the helm.
“A lot of people just see it during the games and stuff, but he’s like that in practice,” Conerway said. “He’s like that everywhere. That’s just Conor.”
From the outside, Enright’s success in slowing down college basketball’s leading scorer was a statement, a surprise defensive showing that fueled Indiana to its sixth-straight win to open the season. But to Conerway and his teammates — that’s just Conor.
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