Freshman Tracker: Kennesaw State

1. Thomas Bryant

After some highs and lows over the past few weeks, Bryant played well Tuesday night finishing 8 of 9 from the field with a career-high of 20 points. Bryant also pulled down five rebounds and added two assists and two blocks.

Going in to Tuesday night’s game, Bryant was first on the team and 7^th in the nation in 2-point percentage, shooting 74.6 percent on 50 of 67 shots.

Bryant was active in the paint on the offensive end, proving he can be effective, if and when, IU’s guards feed him the ball. He had 10 points early with 11:45 left in the first half, running the floor and adding some good, strong finishes for the Hoosiers.

He is likely to be a big factor for IU with its remaining schedule if it continues to feed him the ball inside, if he can keep up and compete with guys who are bigger and stronger than him, with more experience.

Bryant led the way for IU with 14 points in the first half. Kennesaw State proved to be a good opportunity for Bryant to tune-up, offensively, before IU begins Big Ten play.

He has the heart, the passion and the offense, but Bryant still struggled some on defense. After being torn up by Notre Dame, Bryant didn’t show much improvement against Kennesaw State. All of Bryant’s highlights Tuesday night came offensively, while he remains fairly quiet on defense.

If IU has any hope at hanging with the bigs in conference play, Bryant has to learn how to defend under the basket and not get in foul trouble. After Tuesday night’s game, he addressed the team is aware of this and needs to improve as a group before moving forward. IU is likely to struggle if it cannot figure out what to do on defense in the coming weeks. The Hoosiers simply won’t be able to win games while letting players drive into the lane to shoot easy layups.

2. OG Anunoby

Anunoby had 11 minutes off the bench Tuesday night for the Hoosiers with five points, two rebounds and one block. He made his first collegiate three with a hand in his face as the shot clock was running down in the final minute of the game. His other two points came from a layup.

He seems to be emerging as a player with a lot of potential for IU, judging by his highlight performance against Notre Dame and then Tuesday night against Kennesaw State. It was nice to see Anunoby getting more minutes as IU continues to struggle to find a lineup of guys that will consistently exert 110% effort, while playing defense. His numbers offensively don’t suggest a key player, but defense and rebounding is where Anunoby matters.

I think Anunoby is a good option off the bench for the Hoosiers. Anunoby has been playing more defense than other IU forwards, like Troy Williams, and is also calm and composed when he has the ball. For being a freshman, he goes out there and will do whatever job needs to be done, whether it be rebounding or on defense, and he has the ability to make plays on offense.

He’s a player that doesn’t have too many turnovers and I think coach Tom Crean should be considering giving him significant minutes as the Big Ten season begins. He has shown he can have an impact in tight situations and he could be useful for IU down the stretch.

3. Juwan Morgan

Morgan entered the game early in the second half and showed right away that he has the potential to be a key defender for IU when he is fully healthy. He had 11 minutes Tuesday night and although his presence is not there yet offensively, on the other end, he was a breath of fresh air for an IU team lacking in defense.

I thought it was good to see him get some quality minutes and be rewarded for his effort of play while other IU starters sat the bench for not playing defense.

He finished with a dunk, two rebounds, one block and one steal against Kennesaw State and the crowd definitely noticed his efforts to contest shots, get defensive stops and hustle on both ends of the court.

After missing some time due to injuries, it may be too early to say, but Morgan showed he has potential to be one of IU’s best defensive players right now. His presence is key and he could find himself seeing more minutes when IU really needs the help on defense.

For a freshman, the offensive threat will come with experience as he gets more comfortable and I think he has definitely shown he deserves to play with his ability to change the outcome on defense. On an IU team full of shooters, Morgan is one guy who looks like he sees the importance of the other end of the court as well.

4. Harrison Niego

Niego only had three minutes of playing time Tuesday night and spent some time as the point guard for IU towards the final minute of the game. With Yogi Ferrell, Collin Hartman, Robert Johnson and James Blackmon Jr. dominating the guard positions, Niego will be likely to remain on the bench and it looks like this won’t change-no matter how large of a lead IU has.

5. Quentin Taylor

Taylor and Niego remain the only freshmen that have yet to see significant minutes for the Hoosiers. Against Kennesaw State, Taylor only had about 30 seconds of playing time.