Thoughts After 3 Games

The first thought that comes to mind....I heart Cody Zeller.  This kid appears to be as good as advertised and makes this team better in so many ways.  The best news of all....he's only going to get better.  He notched a double-double in his debut, marking the 3rd time in 4 years that an IU player has had a double-double in their college debut (Pritchard, Watford).  I don't think I'd be going out on a limb to say that Cody will have many more than Pritchard and Watford combined when it is all said and done.  My vision for Cody is to stay all 4 years, stay healthy, re-write the record books, 2 Big Ten titles, and a 6th banner.  Sure, that's asking a lot, but the key point is that it isn't out of the realm of possibility.  He's that good.

Again, his best attribute is how he helps this team in so many ways and makes everyone around him better -- he scores, he rebounds, he gets steals, he gets blocked shots, he makes a decent percent of his free throws, he runs the floor, he doesn't get frazzled, he gets hit in the nuts and still blocks the shot and then calmly tells his coach and the ref resulting in an ejection and 4 free throws that sparked a huge IU run, he gets a steal and dribbles coast-to-coast for a dunk, he catches the ball when thrown to him, he draws double-teams, he passes to the open shooter, and the most refreshing quality of all.....he knows how to put the biscuit in the basket.

Let's take a look at his numbers so far:

* Game 1:  16 pts (5-6 FG; 6-8 FT), 10 rebs, 2 assts, 2 blks, 3 steals

* Game 2:  7 pts (2-3 FG; 3-5 FT), 5 rebs, 0 assts, 1 blk, 6 steals

* Game 3:  14 pts (6-7 FG; 2-3 FT), 9 rebs, 1 asst, 2 blks, 1 steal

That's right, 6 steals in Game 2.  The last Hoosier to have 6 steals in a game was Earl Calloway.  And take a look at that FG shooting, that's 13-16 on the year for 81.3%.  12.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.7 bpg, 3.3 spg.  Pretty damn good.

Now, looking at Zeller with a little more critical eye, I think his biggest fault right now is that he has been beat badly on a couple 1-on-1 post moves by the opponent.  Once we play some teams with legitimate big men, I think they will try to go right at him to either try to get him into foul trouble or because they simply like the match-up.  Cody is making up for some of those deficiencies with some blocked shots, a lot of steals, and a ton of deflections.  He will get better defensively, but I do think some teams will really try to go right at him.

Ok, I'm done with my Cody lovefest (for now), how about the team as a whole?  I have to tell ya, after last night's game, I am pretty damn excited.  I was predicting a win for IU last night, but considering it was a road game (last road win was 22 months ago) against an Evansville team that had already beaten Butler, I was predicting a close game throughout and a 4-point victory.  But this game was never close, IU beat the shit out of them from the outset and held a 24-point lead at halftime!  If you did not watch the game live online, you can still watch the replay on espn3.com.  I strongly recommend that you at least watch the first half, it's one of the better halves of basketball of the Tom Crean era.  The Hoosiers built the lead to 30+ in the second half and the scrubs got plenty of PT in the 94-73 win.

NCAA Basketball Stats

From a team perspective, a few things are jumping out at me:

+ Different guys stepping up and leading the team to victory.  Last year, if Watford had 7 points, VJIII had 7 points, and Hulls had 4 points, that would have been a guaranteed loss, no matter who we were playing. Well, that's what happened in the opener against Stony Brook, but thankfully our Super Sophs and Fantastic Freshman came through.  Oladipo was sensational with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals.  Sheehey poured in 13 points and added 5 rebounds in just 10 minutes of play (did not play in second half due to the flu).  And we've already talked about Zeller's double-double.  We also got nice contributions from Elston (11 pts), Roth (8 pts), and Etherington (8 pts). 

NCAA Basketball

In Game 2, a 78-53 win over Chattanooga, Oladipo was terrific once again with 21 points and 5 rebounds.  Verdell had a nice night with 16 points and 4 steals, but the turnover bug got him again with 5 turnovers.  The good news is that Verdell has been pretty steady with the ball outside of this game.  However, Game 2 belonged to Jordan Hulls.  He caught fire from the arc with 6-9 from long distance for 18 points.

College Basketball Stats

Then, in the Evansville game, it was Watford that stepped up.  After struggling with his shot in the first two games, Watford really sparked the Hoosiers in this game.  He had 15 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3PT, 3-3 FT) and 8 rebounds.  Verdell was also outstanding in this one with 17 points that was sparked by a perfect 4-4 from the arc.  Verdell added 7 assists against 3 turnovers, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks.  Also, Hulls was really good again with 14 points (5-7 FG, 2-3 3PT, 2-2 FT).  In this game, I thought Oladipo and Sheehey were pressing and forcing the issue a bit (both 3-8 FG).  I think both those guys are at their best when they play with high energy, but still let the game come to them and take advantage of those opportunities.

NCAA Basketball Stats

I love that we don't have to rely on any one or two guys to have a great game or we're screwed.  Between Verdell, Watford, Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, and Zeller, I think we have 6 guys that can have big nights and lead this team to victory.

Hot Shooting - Through 3 games, IU is shooting 57% from the field, 47% from the arc, and 74% from the line.

Defense - I thought the defense was terrible in the opener against Stony Brook, but greatly improved the last two games.  It's tough to tell against lesser competition, but these guys have been getting after it on defense, getting steals, and a ton of deflections.

NCAA Tourney?  Yes, it's very very early, but I'm feeling like my 16-17 predicted wins may have been selling this team short.  I still think the tournament is a stretch, but I think this team has potential to be on the bubble.  The biggest questions that remain are whether they can win close games and whether they can win on the road in the Big Ten. 

Other Notes:
* Tom Pritchard has just 23 minutes, 2 points, and 2 rebounds this season.
* Elston is off to a nice start with 10-14 from the field and 2-3 from th arc.
* Jordan Hulls only has 2 rebounds in 3 games (81 minutes), Daniel Moore has 7 rebounds in 3 games (30 minutes).
* Assist-to-turnover:  Jones 16:9, Hulls 11:6, Moore 5:1
* Cody Zeller leads the team in rebounds, blocks, and steals
* Oladipo leads the team in scoring (15 ppg).  I didn't even have him on the poll question.
* FG Shooting: Zeller (81%), Elston (71%), Hulls (68%), Oladipo (62%)
* Our "pure shooters" are 13-20 from the arc -- Hulls 8-13, Roth 3-5, Etherington 2-2
* Jordan Hulls has made 43 consecutive free throws.  Problem is that he's only shot 2 this year.  You make 'em at that rate and you have to find ways to get to the line more often.

Next Up: Savannah State on Saturday night at 8pm ET (7pm CT) on BTN. 

Prediction:  IU 81  SSU 60

Go Hoosiers!