Analysis; How about Thomas Bryant?

[IndyHutch 1,718]

When he ran down the court mid-second half and started yelling at the student section behind the basket then at the GA section, the place went nuts. I already love this dude.

 

When I went back and watched the replay this morning I forgot about a play in the first half when somebody challenged him and pushed off with his left hand was called for the offensive foul, and Bryant showed a lot of emotion going down the court that time, too. I just like players that are more than just robots out there. And what you said about yelling at the student section, that's good stuff, too.

[IndyHutch 1,718]

I think it could be argued that Vonleh was a good post presence, but there wasn't anything surrounding him to make the team look good as a whole.

 

I guess you could say that but I never felt like Vonleh really commanded the ball in the post. I always thought he was happier to be 15 feet away from the basket and spotting up for jumpers. This isn't to say he didn't do a good job on the boards because he did but there was just something there that I never thought of him as the next great big man. The most amazing stat for me about Vonleh was that he never scored more than 20 points in a college game. Think about that. That's amazing that he was then a high first round pick. Maybe not amazing, but still worth noting.

[IndyHutch 1,718]

 Love to see a big guy,defender helplessly sealed on his hip waving his arms as he pounds palms together screaming for the ball.

Whats even better is a team that's aware and makes a concerted effort to reward him.I saw that tonight for the first time in a long time and props go out to the players and coach for the focus.

 Also a little off topic but I agree with Seth Davis that IU with Williams initiating at the top of the key are really hard to defend.That may have been the most complete game I've seen Troy play.

Very few of the bonehead plays.

 Go Hoosiers ,Beat Wake !!!

 

Wow. Very few of the bonehead plays? I don't know about that. I think Troy does a lot of good things and the amount of good things he is doing now compared to his freshman year is amazing. He's making some nice passes and really cutting well without the ball. But there are still a lot of times out there that I wish he would slow down and playing within the offense instead of looking to be 'The Man'. When he slows down and lets the game come to him (Sports Cliche violation right there) he's fun to watch. What drives me crazy is the exasperated look he gets on his face when he forces something and then it doesn't work out. He's always expecting to get bailed out. Now again, I'm not into Troy bashing I would just like to see him a little more under control. Thoughts are welcome.

[biteoftheapple 4,115]

Wow. Very few of the bonehead plays? I don't know about that. I think Troy does a lot of good things and the amount of good things he is doing now compared to his freshman year is amazing. He's making some nice passes and really cutting well without the ball. But there are still a lot of times out there that I wish he would slow down and playing within the offense instead of looking to be 'The Man'. When he slows down and lets the game come to him (Sports Cliche violation right there) he's fun to watch. What drives me crazy is the exasperated look he gets on his face when he forces something and then it doesn't work out. He's always expecting to get bailed out. Now again, I'm not into Troy bashing I would just like to see him a little more under control. Thoughts are welcome.

I agree. He believes the spectacular play can be made, when the good would be better. With that said, his athleticism is awesome to watch.

[GloryDays 5,913]

Wow. Very few of the bonehead plays? I don't know about that. I think Troy does a lot of good things and the amount of good things he is doing now compared to his freshman year is amazing. He's making some nice passes and really cutting well without the ball. But there are still a lot of times out there that I wish he would slow down and playing within the offense instead of looking to be 'The Man'. When he slows down and lets the game come to him (Sports Cliche violation right there) he's fun to watch. What drives me crazy is the exasperated look he gets on his face when he forces something and then it doesn't work out. He's always expecting to get bailed out. Now again, I'm not into Troy bashing I would just like to see him a little more under control. Thoughts are welcome.

 Your right' should have said fewer.I do think his court awareness and passing have improved dramatically.

 I think we'll miss him when he's gone.

.

[HoosierCoop 3,885]

I agree with the comments in this thread.

 

One glaring thing that I see is that his energy tends to make everyone around him better.

 

How many times did we see big leads only to be squandered because our energy disappeared?  I haven't seen that happen yet and that is a big change from last year (see the Eastern Washington game).

 

I love the fact that we are actually seeing role players on this team.  Max and Tom have actually used post moves that have been vacant for some time.

 

To me, this acts like a play action pass in football.  If you utilize the running game, it opens up the pass.  Very hard to defend.

 

With a post presence threat, we can kill you on the blocks or the wings.

 

Starting to come together, but need a good test to gauge strength.

[IndyHutch 1,718]

 Your right' should have said fewer.I do think his court awareness and passing have improved dramatically.

 I think we'll miss him when he's gone.

.

 

He made some passes I can't remember if it was Eastern Illinois or Austin Peay that I thought were some of his better plays of the night. That backdoor cut when Hartman came from the corner on left baseline and then stuffed it was really a perfect pass in stride. I think it's great when he can mix up his game and do some of that. The other thing I like is when you see guys like Yogi or JBJ drive and it looks like they're run out of room and they find him cutting to the basket for a bucket. That's good to see, too.

[MartintheMopMan 7,765]

I agree. He believes the spectacular play can be made, when the good would be better. With that said, his athleticism is awesome to watch.

I'm hoping (probably in vain) he'll be less highlight reel when games are closer. It's easy to mentally justify going for the dunk instead of passing for an easy layup when you're ahead by 18. Classic fan symptom, I watch the first three games and assume all the good things are permanent and all the bad things are a result of the timing/competition.

[Josh 12,542]

I'm so happy we landed Bryant. He's a difference maker in a hundred different ways.

One thing I'm disappointed in...what happened to that extra 36" in his vertical Crean bragged about? I doubt Bryant could hop over Coach's playbook.

[Alford Bailey 12,348]

 

Indiana's freshman center is quickly becoming a fan favorite at Assembly Hall. Based on the way he played in the win over Creighton Thursday night, it's easy to see why.

How much fun it is to watch Thomas Bryant develop before our eyes?

 

I think it’s a blast.

 

With every game I see the big man play, I think he gets a little bit more confident.
Thursday night he had 17 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field in Indiana's convincing 86-65 victory over Creighton. He made a 3-pointer from the right corner. He had a play in the second half where he exhibited great body control when he went up for a shot inside, hung in the air for just a second, and then banked it in softly off the glass.

 

He had four blocked shots and was active on the boards. He had a pair of assists. He made all six of his shots inside the 3-point arc.

 

But you know what I liked the most from him on Thursday night – his emotion.

 

He had a sequence in the second half where he had a block and then there was a scramble for the ball after he tried to block a second shot. The officials called a jump ball and Bryant was clearly happy to have gotten a piece of it.

 

And as his team went to a time out he was clearly engaged in the moment and was really fired up and the fans showed their appreciation with a loud ovation.

 

He had a couple of those ovations Thursday night. He had another time when he came back on the court following a timeout after he had scored a couple of buckets where the fans did the two-syllable “Thom-as Bry-ant” chant. I’ve talked to players over the years who have said there is no bigger rush than to hear your name chanted like that.

 

Bryant seemed completely focused on the defensive end as the fans chanted his name but somewhere in the recesses of his mind you have to figure he heard it.

 

And you know what, he deserved it, too.

 

Bryant is quickly becoming a fan favorite at Assembly Hall and it’s easy to see why.

 

He works hard. He plays with great intensity. He seems to take constructive criticism well and he just has a presence in the middle.

 

And when you think about that’s the biggest improvement here: a presence.

 

Indiana hasn’t had a presence in the middle since Cody Zeller.

 

Hanner Mosquera-Perea wasn’t a presence. Luke Fischer had the chance to be but didn’t stick around long enough for us to find out.

 

But Bryant has that presence and the great thing for Indiana fans is that you just feel like he is just scratching the surface of how he could potentially play as the season progresses.

 

Bryant played 19 minutes in the opener against Eastern Illinois and 21 minutes against Austin Peay. Thursday night, he played 27 minutes.

 

And here’s another great statistic from Thursday night. In 27 minutes, Bryant had one foul and one turnover.

 

If Bryant can continue to improve, play with energy, stay out of foul trouble and be that commanding presence inside for the Hoosiers, it’s simply going to make Indiana’s outside shooters even deadlier than they already are.

 

And this season is going to become very much like Bryant.

 

A lot of fun to watch.

Click here to view the article

 

Did you forget about Noah?

[GloryDays 5,913]

I'm so happy we landed Bryant. He's a difference maker in a hundred different ways.

One thing I'm disappointed in...what happened to that extra 36" in his vertical Crean bragged about? I doubt Bryant could hop over Coach's playbook.

Considering Crean's playbook along with the analytic charts are 40'' or better that good enough for me. :)

 

[Old Friend 8,389]

I think it could be argued that Vonleh was a good post presence, but there wasn't anything surrounding him to make the team look good as a whole.

I'll go another direction with this, if only for the sake of discussion, to compliment the kid, and to make a point which I made a couple of years ago and have made many times since.   Noah Vonleh was in college for one reason and one reason only.  He wanted to showcase himself for the next level and show off his skill set.  He was a one year rental, and said as much.  A talented kid who was all wrong for this program; and I'd feel that way even if his team succeeded.  He chose not to play in important conference games due to what turned out to be very minor injuries and some soreness.  The act of a very selfish player, which he was. Talented, but very selfish.

 

He didn't care one bit about "Indiana," and was therefore the wrong kind of player for our program, no matter how talented he is.  I am very much on record as saying Tom Crean's biggest downfall as a recruiter has not been getting kids to say yes and come to Indiana.  It's recruiting kids who understand the program, the expectations, the fans, the fishbowl, and why playing at Indiana is very different than playing at Miami (with all due respect to Mr. Brown, who looks like he wouldn't have been a fit, either despite his talent).   That's why I believe so strongly in prioritizing the surrounding area because your odds of finding the "right" kids are higher.  Bryant is one who's not from here yet completely gets it, and I think it's great.   I hope it signifies a change in Crean's recruiting pattern.  

 

Holt, Vonleh, Robinson, and many others have not been the same kind of player...and nor was Jeremy Hollowell, so it's incumbent upon Crean to really do his diligence when he recruits, because Indiana will always be successful when we recruit talented kids and great team mates who understand where they are.  I would bet every kid who plays for Duke understands the deal when they arrive on campus, and that's why Duke succeeds every season.  And it's why Indiana will succeed this season.  Rather than Emmitt Holt and Stanford Robinson, we have Thomas Bryant and Max Bielfelt. Both hard workers who get it.  I don't think Bielfelt is more talented than Holt, but I think he cares more about where he is; and we've seen with Vonleh that a talented post player can only do so much if he doesn't truly give a damn.

 

When you go play football at Notre Dame, you're getting into a situation very different than that of, say, Maryland or Virginia.  Both very good schools.  But it's just different at Notre Dame.  When you come to play basketball at Indiana, it's different than Miami or Georgia or Iowa or Purdue or Illinois or almost any school in the country.  Therefore, a kid HAS to understand where he is to truly succeed, and he has to be at Indiana for reasons beyond himself.  Vonleh was not.  It appears, despite a youthful mistake a couple of months ago, Bryant is.   He does appear to understand where he is and more importantly why it's important.    I watch something as simple as his running back on defense and see a completely different player than I saw in Vonleh.  Emotion is a great thing.  So is being a great team mate.  So is working to improve so your team succeeds rather than so YOU succeed.  Oladipo was a great example of this, too.  Marco Killingsworth....was not.  Bryant is the kind of kid (apparently) we need and around whom we can build championships.  We need this kind of player in every recruiting class for as long as we have a basketball program.

 

Indiana is NOT like everyone else, and as long as we get kids who understand that, we'll be just fine no matter who the coach is.   Very pleased with Thomas Bryant so far, and he's gonna' be fun.   Enjoy the ride. 

[Alford Bailey 12,348]

Most of us love the fire we see from TB. Something we didn't see from Cody. Completely different personalities. Will be interesting to see if Bryant can control himself and stay out of foul trouble when we get into the meat of the schedule the way Cody did.

[KingPG21 6,582]

I love what Bryant brings to the table! I don't like that he's looking like a possible one and done though

...... The season is three games in. Lets wait until he plays against players who aren't average before declaring him one and done

[Miller'sTheMan 1,652]

...... The season is three games in. Lets wait until he plays against players who aren't average before declaring him one and done

Hence the term "possible"

[Hoosiers High Life 278]

This kid is awesome very emotional person and I like it!!!! Watching the game last night he gets fired up big time

[davewood 119]

I think it could be argued that Vonleh was a good post presence, but there wasn't anything surrounding him to make the team look good as a whole.

Just from the first few games I think Bryant is much better. Vonleh looked slow and uninterested at times. Bryant has energy oozing from him. Although I'd be uninterested too if I never got the ball on the block.

[OliviaPope40 6,421]

I'm not ready to jump on the bandwagon yet.

[bleedhoosier 3,627]

Was at the Creighton game and they had quite a few fans present. They seemed to be super impressed with TB and didn't realize he might be a total package. I don't think I did either. Dude needs some more conditioning as he gets winded easily but that will come. He actually almost runs as if he has had injuries in the past but I'm not aware of any. He runs carefully on his knees, like a 40 year old would lol.

Anyway - the coaching staff did such a great job getting TB and those late stage Syracuse drama really helped, I'm sure. Ithink with a player like he is, emotionally, it can really pull a fan base behind a team again. Just seeing a player visibly care so much about his team is so refreshing. Somebody just said, these kids act like robots out there. Loosen up fellas, ur rock stars!

[DChoosier 7,735]

In regards to Noah.
He was a rebounding presence but not much of one underneath on the offensive end.
Even when he called for the ball he tended to stand next to the defender with his arm in the air, rather than seal him off, and did not "present himself" in positions with good passing angles.

It is early but TB seems to instinctively know how to put himself in a better position to be a presence underneath.