Freshman Tracker- Illinois

1. Thomas Bryant

Bryant had nine points and four rebounds for the Hoosiers on Tuesday night. This wasn’t a particularly standout performance for Bryant, but he had one 3-pointer in the first half and shot 3 of 5 from field goal range.

He has continued to make consistent improvement offensively since the beginning of the Big Ten schedule and has shown he can hold his own in the paint. As the season has progressed, it’s not unusual to have a Thomas Bryant dunk featured on the highlight reel for the Hoosiers, but that is frankly what’s expected of him now. He goes up strong and hard and is an essential piece to the IU offense.

One problem Bryant still has is that once he is tired, he gives up completely on defense. Guarding a simple pick and roll isn’t one of Bryant’s specialties. One point in particular stood out to me after Bryant made his three, he looked completely exhausted on the court.

IU made 19 threes on Tuesday night, which is the reason Bryant was a little quieter than normal. On night’s where IU’s outside shooting is on fire, they don’t necessarily need Bryant as much to contribute down low. However, Bryant proved again he has the ability to dominate in the paint. He can score and get rebounds, which is what the Hoosiers need to be successful down the stretch.

No matter if he is a freshman or not, Bryant looks strong and assertive and earns his shots. He doesn’t expect the ball on every play, but if he is open and wants the ball, he is going to let the rest of the IU offense know.

If Bryant continues to be able to handle his own against some of the matchup he still has to face in the Big Ten, IU should be feeding him the ball more. Especially on nights where it is struggling from the outside, giving Bryant the ball down low can be an effective way to change the tempo and keep IU in the game.

@AssemblyCall tweeted on Tuesday night: “I do look forward to the first foul that Thomas Bryant agrees with … ;-)”

And that is also something we’ve come to expect from the freshman. Bryant is known and recognized as an energetic and emotional player and although at times he may be exaggerating or a little out of hand, he hasn’t been penalized for arguing a call yet, so I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.

He celebrates on the floor ‘raising the roof’ and on the bench with the ‘bow and arrow,’ and he is just one player who plays with excitement. You have to admit he’s been fun to watch, especially if the Hoosiers continue to play how they are.

Anunoby has been seeing an increase in playing time over the past few games due to James Blackmon Jr. being out from knee surgery. Anunoby had 12 minutes of play against Illinois with nine points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. He plays with hustle and has shown that he deserves to be a contender for IU’s sixth man.

He is the sort of player who has a big impact on the court, even if it is not always represented in the box scores. He does all of the little things right, and always seems to be in the right place at the right time to get a key rebound or steal for the Hoosiers off the bench.

Against both Minnesota and Illinois, Anunoby picked up two quick fouls off the bench, which is something he needs to be more careful on if he wants to continue to see increasing minutes. Getting into foul trouble for taking unnecessary risks isn’t a habit I want Anunoby to pick up.

Out of IU’s five freshmen, I think it is appropriate to make the case that Anunoby has made the most improvement. He makes the IU bench a lot deeper than I think people realized at first. He is an athletic player that looks consistent and calm on the court, both on offense and defense.

Anunoby hasn’t had necessarily a lot of experience at this level of play, but he has shown he can keep his composure in a variety of situations. I don’t see his playing time decreasing anytime soon, especially when he shoots a perfect 4 for 4 from the field and he also made his only 3-point attempt to help IU tie its school record of 18 3-pointers in a game.

@IndianaOnBTN tweeted Tuesday night: “Degree of difficulty on the spelling of OG Anunoby’s name: 9.5. Degreee of difficulty on his reverse dunk: 10. WATCH!”

After a breakaway pass from Max Bielfeldt, Anunoby finishes with an impressive reverse dunk in the second half to force an Illinois time out and bring Assembly Hall to its feet. Anunoby has become one of my favorite players to watch and I think IU fans are starting to realize now just how good he can really be.

3. Harrison Niego

Niego finally got some more playing time for IU and had 10 minutes against Illinois and he made it count. The walk-on freshman finished with the three point shot from the left corner with 51 seconds left in the game to give IU a new school record of 19 3-pointers made in a game, and bring Assembly Hall to its feet yet again. He also had one defensive rebound and two steals.

In addition to his offense, Niego sticks out to me in particular for his defense. It seems as though as soon as Niego is in the game, IU’s defense steps up a few notches.

@Justin_Albers tweeted: “Harrison Niego can guard. That’s why he’s earning minutes. #iubb”

And I agree with that. The Hoosiers struggled on defense early on, but once the Big Ten season started, it looks like they are starting to get things figured out and guys who can play defense, will continue to get more minutes. I don’t expect Niego to have more than 10-12 minutes per game right now, but if he continues to take advantage of his opportunities and continues to improve, he has the potential to be a contender to step up and fill Yogi Ferrell’s shoes next year.

4. Juwan Morgan

Morgan had nine minutes against Illinois for one assist, one block and two offensive rebounds. He doesn’t look as confident on the court as the rest of the freshmen, but in his defense, he hasn’t really had much playing time recently.

Specific things that stuck out to me in the Illinois game were that Morgan didn’t shoot the ball when he had an opportunity and his defense was still a little sloppy. Right now, it’s clear Morgan still has some things to improve on, and until then, I don’t see him getting an increase in playing time, except in situations when IU has a 30-point lead.

5. Quentin Taylor

Taylor, another walk-on finally had two minutes on the court against Illinois and had one defensive rebound and one assist. These were Taylor’s first minutes since Dec. 22, 2015 against Kennesaw State and his first career action in the Big Ten.