IU vs. Duke

First and foremost, I hate Duke. I hate them a lot. Well, you could analyze this one to death. But to keep it simple, turnovers and inability to score in the first half followed by poor free throw shooting in the second half really cost the Hoosiers tonight. And of course, the fact that they couldn't come up with a big play in their last 3 possessions. The real killer is that they had them. They could have beat Duke at Duke. On the down side, I really don't think that Duke is really that good this year (certainly not compared to typical Duke teams). But on the plus side, you go into Duke without your hottest shooter in Stemler, your star D.J. White still isn't playing like a star yet, and the three other guys that you thought would be season-long starters in Calloway, Ratliffe, and Wilmont were not even a factor in the game. Suhr, Bassett, Shaw, Mike White, Ben Allen, and D.J. White went into Cameron Indoor Arena and took it down to the wire. Another big factor in the game was that IU did not have any timeouts down the stretch. Now this is not something I am going to be critical of because I am a big believer in using your timeouts whenever you need them throughout the game. I thought Sampson did a good job of that and it likely kept them in the game. I never understood the logic of having 3 timeouts left at the end of the game that you are losing by double-digits after the other team went on a run and you "sat" on your timeouts. That said, a timeout on one of those last two possessions would have really helped. It would have also allowed a substitution. Even though Ratliffe and Wilmont hadn't done much, you may want them in the game when you need a 3 to tie. Suhr and Bassett had played incredibly, but they simply aren't the type of guys that can get off a 3 whenever they want. Unfortunately, your best option in those situations is Stemler -- he's already hit a couple big late-game shots and has the height at 6' 8" to get his shot off. Overall Team Performance: B Horrible in the first half. Did a great job making the comeback in the second half, but couldn't get over the hump and make the big play at the end. Kelvin Sampson: B+ Any time you lose, you can pick apart this, that, and the other. I already commented on the timeout sitatuation and don't have a real big problem with that -- it would have been nice to have one at the end, but they were all used earlier in the game when they were needed. I continue to be impressed with they way they come out of timeouts (and halftime tonight). I still don't understand why they don't run more of those plays in their regular offense because their regular offense stinks. We pretty much knew that's what we were getting in Sampson -- mediocre offense at best, but will play good defense and will play tough. Tonight, they did that but now they just need to translate it to wins. I do like that Calloway, Ratliffe, and Wilmont are not just given a standard 30 minutes a game. It's clear that you better perform if you want to play. I do question whether maybe one more rotation of subs may have been a good idea. IU had tied it at 40-40 but then only scored about 6 points over the next 8 minutes or so. I thought that giving Wilmont another try in the middle of that stretch may have been a good idea. And I also think that they need to work on getting Wilmont shots when he is in there. Wilmont can be a game-changer when he gets 10-12 shots. Even if he only goes 4-12, it seems like the 4 makes are always big ones. When he only shoots 2-4 times a night, he's a non-factor. I still feel like Sampson is heading in the right direction with this team, but the grading standard will now get tougher. At a record of 3-2, we desperately need to go on a winning streak. We have Charlotte this weekend -- I still have nightmares about that half-court shot, so we need to make sure to take care of business. D.J. White: C- I'm pretty sure his foot is broken again and he just isn't telling anybody because he doesn't want to sit out another season. Just seems to be struggling to get back to form. Those post moves that he hit with such regularity his freshman year are not looking very polished. He also isn't posting strong enough -- maybe that foul-happy officiating of the first game is still messing with him mentally but he needs to post stronger and demand the ball. The IU offense also needs to be more creative in getting him the ball as well. When the offense goes flat, they need to be able to get it down to D.J. on 3 or 4 straight possessions. Even while still rusty, he will convert 1 or 2 of those and prevent some of these 6 minute draughts. To me, a good post player is like a good running game in the NFL -- you need to keep pounding it. D.J. did come through with a couple nice blocked shots tonight. Ben Allen (aka Bendeman): B- Reminder -- these grades are against expectations. 1-6 from the floor including missing two layups is inexcusable at 6' 11" and there was an ugly turnover in there as well. He fouled out in only 16 minutes, but that doesn't bother me as much if he is playing aggressively. On the plus side, he did have 6 boards in those 16 minutes and a couple of those were tough fought-after boards. He also had a really nice hi-lo down to D.J. for a dunk (I think that may have been the opening possession of the 2nd half). I'm not giving up on Bendeman yet. Armon Bassett: A This guy was incredible tonight. If he could have found a way to convert on one of those last few possessions, he would have received an A+. Lot of poise for a freshman to go into Duke and play that way. Led the team with 16 points including some big shots and was the only IU player without a turnover. A.J. Ratliffe: C- It's beginning to look a lot like last year. Earl Calloway: B- Had a couple nice buckets, but needs to be more of a catalyst and create some easy shots for his teammates. Should be ashamed of himself for letting Suhr and Bassett take his minutes. I hope he keeps fighting because they definitely need him this year. Roderick Wilmont: C- Not that he played bad, he just wasn't a factor. As I stated above, Rod needs to be a major part of the offense when he is in the game. I don't care if he jacks up face-guarded 25-footers -- he does a better job of making those than Bracey Wright ever did. And once you get him going, it always seems like a steal and easy layup are coming shortly. Errek Suhr: A- Are you kidding me? If you go to the HPER or SRSC on IU's campus and join a pickup game where Suhr is on the other team, you quickly point to Suhr and tell your teammates that you got this guy because you think you can take him. You'd be wrong. Suhr's two scoring plays in the paint were huge. He was taking DeMarcus Nelson and Greg Paulus off the dribble and finishing. And they were at key points in the game. Unfortunately, a couple costly turnovers near the end -- especially the ill-advised pass on the out-of-bounds play. All in all, you have to love the way this guy plays. He must have taken at least three charges. Would have been a story-book ending if he could have thrown that one in at the buzzer. Mike White: B I was really happy to see Mike White get a lot of minutes because I think he does some really good things that can help a team win. He really mixes it up underneath and rebounds well -- led the team with 8 tonight if the early box score is accurate. Unfortunately, we found out why he never calls a foul in practice -- what's the point if you miss them all. The poor FT shooting really cost the Hoosiers -- Mike was 2-7 including a front-end. Joey Shaw: B A perfect 3-3 from the field. Would like to see him find more shots -- seems to have a nice mid-range shot that a lot of guys struggle with. Went 3-5 from the line, but the two misses were on the same trip and were at a key point in the game. Well, as I mentioned earlier, it's time to get on a winning streak. And yes, that definitely includes a win at Kentucky. This team has had the ugly loss to the smaller in-state rival, they had 9 days off between games to work on a lot of things, and now they have the "stood toe-to-toe but still lost to the big-time program on the road". No more excuses, it's time to put it all together and start chalking up some big-time wins. Go Hoosiers.