Freshman Tracker: Creighton

FRESHMAN TRACKER (Creighton)

1. THOMAS BRYANT

In just three games, Bryant has shown why he was a McDonald's All-American. He finished with 17 points, four blocks, two assists and seven rebounds. Bryant looked comfortable on the court Thurday with his shooting. He did shoot four 3-pointers, but he ended up making one of them from the right corner. Bryant was the first player on the team to hit double-figures.

Bryant was 7 of 10 in field goals, but he did miss a couple free throws. He only had one foul and one turnover in 27 minutes of play. He has shown he is capable of controlling himself under the basket and when he goes up to shoot, he goes up strong. Bryant is more than just a big man for Indiana; he is a big man who has a presence under the basket that allows for more options for the Hoosier offense. This is the first time since Cody Zeller that they know they have someone on the inside who can actually do something with the ball, besides just pass it back out.

Bryant plays with power and works to get open. He drives hard to the basket and has the ability to finish shots in traffic. The story so far with Bryant, is that he plays with a ridiculous amount of energy, and the fans eat it up.

It isn’t something that has to be turned on with a switch- he plays that way the whole game. Assembly Hall went crazy after he had a blocked shot and tied up a jump ball and rewarded him with the chanting of Thom-as Bry-ant. Bryant feeds off the energy of the crowd, and the crowd feeds off the energy from Bryant. One of his biggest advantages is his ability to engage the crowd.

Bryant’s confidence is clearly growing and he’s shown a great amount of potential so far, in only three games. The combination of his power, passion and presence in the middle makes him exciting to watch.

2. O.G. ANUNOBY

Anunoby played two minutes in the first half and four minutes in the second. He was scoreless and had three fouls, two turnovers and one steal. Just 20 seconds after he checked in during the second half, he had a turnover and a foul. He did have a steal on one of those possessions, but he was taken out after the combination of another turnover and foul.

After his second offensive foul, Anunoby headed to the bench to talk to Crean. His minutes have decreased over the last three games, but he has potential, if he can stay patient. His defense didn’t look too sharp either, but with experience he can work out the little things and end up being a well-rounded player that could see some time off the bench.

3. JUWAN MORGAN

Morgan was 0-1 in field goals Thursday night in five minutes of play. He had one defensive rebound. In what little action he had, he seems comparable to Stanford Robinson. Morgan looked anxious, almost spastic, on the court and it ended up hurting him. He didn’t do anything impressive on either end, and had fairly sloppy defense.

If Morgan tightens up on some of the basics, he does have a big margin to show improvement over the course of the season; although he may be demonstrating his talents in practice, rather than in games.

4. HARRISON NIEGO

With just 28 seconds of play, Niego didn’t have an impact on the game. IU has plenty of dominant guards with Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr., Nick Zeisloft and Robert Johnson that Niego is likely to be pretty quiet this year.

5. QUENTIN TAYLOR

Taylor, another guard, didn’t see any playing time on Thursday night.