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djsalway

2013-14 Preview: Indiana Hoosiers

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Here is a nice little article that was on ESPN as a part of their B1G Preview for the upcoming season. It's an insider piece and I'm not sure how many people on here have insider, so I decided to post it.

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2012-13: 29-7 (14-4)
In-conference offense: 1.13 points per possession (1st)
In-conference defense: 0.98 points per possession (5th)

 

In half a decade, Tom Crean has rebuilt a sanction-laden Indiana Hoosiers program into a national power, with a climb that has been both steady and stunning. Now, after losing as much talent as any team in the country, this season we'll start to learn if Crean really has returned the proud IU program to its former level. If so, the Hoosiers will once again be the kind of blue-blooded program that reloads, not rebuilds, no matter who moves on to the NBA.

 

Indiana entered last season No. 1 in the AP poll, the first time in a decade the Hoosiers had been atop the ranking. They spent nearly the entire season in the top five, rolling up 29 wins, a total surpassed in school history by only three Bob Knight squads. Led by Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo (both Rookie of the Year candidates in the coming NBA season), the Hoosiers flashed the nation's second-most efficient offense per KenPom.com, and the top attack in the Big Ten. Indiana's season ended in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year, this time when a smothering Syracuse zone held the high-powered Hoosiers to 34 percent shooting and a season-low 50 points.

 

The last game was a bit of a downer, but with 56 wins over two seasons, there is no debating that Crean has re-established the Hoosiers as one of college basketball's marquee programs. Now comes the hard part: Staying there.

After the Syracuse game, Crean waved goodbye to about 72 percent of last season's minutes. Oladipo and Zeller went second and fourth in June's NBA draft, respectively, while Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford and Derek Elston will be earning their professional dollars overseas. On top of that, oft-injured Maurice Creek and wing Remy Abell transferred.

 

Neither saw a whole lot of court time last season, but Abell hit nearly half his 3-point shots, played 452 minutes and was part of Crean's postseason rotation. Abell was among four Hoosiers who hit 44 percent or better on 3s, and all of them are gone.

 

With en masse departures like that, it's easy to write off the coming season as a transitional campaign for Crean, but an injection of one of the country's most impressive recruiting hauls could keep the Hoosiers humming right along. The names, both incoming and returning, are impressive, but who knows how they're all going to fit together.

 

The freshman class features four ESPN RecruitingNation Top 100 talents and finished as our fourth-ranked class overall. The crown jewel and only surefire starter is forward Noah Vonleh, who enters college as a 4, but may eventually land in the Anthony Bennett class of combo forwards when it comes time to ponder his future at the next level. Vonleh is a consensus top 10-15 recruit, and in this year's class that's saying something. The McDonald's All-American is a scout's dream, with inside-out scoring ability and a knack for going after rebounds, all in a still-developing but projectable body. His skill set is different from Zeller's or Oladipo's, and he may not be the best player on this season's Hoosiers. However, Vonleh has the most star power of anybody on the Indiana roster. His intangibles draw raves from Crean, who has lauded his work ethic, attitude and gym-rat tendencies. Sounds like a keeper.

 

Fellow freshman Luke Fischer will draw inevitable comparisons to Zeller because of his body type and combination of interior and face-up skills. The Parade All-American is a lean 6-11 and may well join Vonleh as a first-year starter. Wing Troy Williams is a highlight-reel slasher with the length and athleticism to become a perimeter stopper in the Oladipo mode. The last top-100 recruit is Stanford Robinson, a solid athlete with a nice lefty stroke who could help fill some of the shooting deficiencies left in the wake of Indiana's departures. The other two freshmen offer useful niche skills: Devin Davis as perimeter stopper and Collin Hartman as a sharpshooter.

 

The six freshmen will be augmented by Evan Gordon, an Indianapolis native who transferred from Arizona State and whose brother is former Indiana star Eric Gordon. He is a likely backcourt starter who offers experience to a very young squad. Gordon shot 34.7 percent from 3-point land last season for the Sun Devils, which isn't eye-popping, but it's better than any of the returning Hoosiers.

 

Speaking of which, the cupboard isn't quite bare thanks to the return of senior wing Will Sheehey and point guard Yogi Ferrell. Unless Vonleh explodes this season, Ferrell will likely be Indiana's team leader. He will seek to emerge from the shadows of his talented teammates from last season, when he struggled to get quality looks and hit just 30.3 percent from deep. Like Sheehey, Ferrell played for Team USA in the World University Games over the summer, and both were among the five double-digit scorers for the squad. Ferrell hit 13 for 42 (31 percent) from the longer international 3-point line, and Sheehey knocked down 7 of 11.

 

Crean likes to play fast, at least in relation to the rest of the Big Ten, ranking in the top four in league pace factor in each of his five seasons at IU. Ferrell often split playmaking duties with Jordan Hulls last season, but this season, the keys to the attack are all his, and he can keep the tempo fast. Ferrell will have plenty of running mates, and it's not just the newcomers. Sophomore forwards Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Jeremy Hollowell are both solid athletes who, along with Sheehey, will push for increased playing time. Mosquera-Perea has emerged as a breakout candidate based on summer reports. The Hoosiers are also hoping for shooting from sophomore wing Austin Etherington, who is recovering from a fractured patella.

 

The Hoosiers' production won't be as focused as last season, but the overall talent level is still as strong as any team in the Big Ten. There probably aren't two top-of-the-lottery talents left in Bloomington, but then again, Oladipo grew into that kind of asset, a testament to Crean's ability to develop players. What we do know is that Crean's teams play fast, apply pressure defense and crash the offensive glass. With so many unproven players, there may be growing pains, but it certainly looks as if Crean has the athletes to run his system, the floor leader in Ferrell to orchestrate the deep rotation and the upside talent in Vonleh that could make the Hoosiers a dangerous team come tournament time.

 

If it all comes together, there could well be another talent drain in Bloomington. By then, there won't be any worries, because Crean will surely have the next wave of exciting replacements on the way.

 

Projected 2013-14 conference finish: 5th

 

Projected 2013-14 Starting Lineup:

C Luke Fischer (Fr.)

F Noah Vonleh (Fr.)

F Will Sheehey (Sr.)

G Evan Gordon (Sr.)

G Yogi Ferrell (So.)

                                   

 

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Can't say I like the projected line-up. Tiny backcourt and injured freshman center. Also, Hollowell needs to be on the floor as much as possible.

I'm afraid Luke's injury will be a problem. Doubt that he will be a starter. Jeremy Hollowell will need to contribute more offensively this year. I think the game was a little faster last year than JH was comfortable playing. I think it messed with his shooting rhythm. I'll bet he's got that jumper ready to go.

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