Basketball recruiting updates from the B1G and Chicago area

The Build-up

Despite being 8-0 and winning each game by more than 10 points, Indiana was not favored to win today at Assembly Hall. In fact, most people outside of Indiana did not even really think twice about Indiana’s chance to win today. The reason? The top-ranked, undefeated and uber-talented rival Kentucky Wildcats were coming to town.

John Calipari’s bunch was fresh off of a win over previously top-ranked North Carolina that vaulted them up to that number 1 spot. In addition to that, Indiana hadn’t beaten UK since 2007. But none of that matter to Tom Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers. Because of that, their program has been changed forever.

Most Hoosier fans will tell you that this year’s IU team has been playing better than the non-ranking given to them by national media. They have been receiving votes in each poll but had yet to crack the Top 25. Indiana’s first 8 wins did not exactly come against top competition, though they had won 2 true road games (Evanston and NC State) and a tough home win over Butler. There was a lot to be excited about in Bloomington and with an entire week to prepare for this game, Hoosier Nation was in heavy anticipation for their date with Number One.

Kentucky came into Saturday’s game with 8 wins of their own, coming against the likes of UNC, Kansas and St. Johns, but had yet to play a true road game. With a young team, a road trip to a wild environment like Assembly Hall is a real challenge.

The Game

The game lived up to the hype (both IU fans’ excitement and the endless ESPN “Road Test Saturday” promos) in that it was a match-up of two blue-blood rivals that really want to beat the stuffing out of the other. Kentucky had bragging rights – 3 straight huge wins over Indiana had Calipari asking UK fans if it was a rivalry they would like to see dropped from the schedule – and as the new top-ranked team in the nation there was a ton of pressure to keep winning. Indiana really had nothing to lose and with the loud and exciting atmosphere in Assembly Hall, Hoosier Nation was all in.

A series of runs were the story of the game action tonight. For Indiana, getting Kentucky’s star freshman (and shot blocking machine) Anthony Davis in foul trouble midway through the first half was crucial to their offense. Once Davis hit the bench, the Hoosiers went on a 16-2 run that culminated in a UK timeout and Calipari bringing Doron Lamb, also playing with two fouls, back into the game to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately for IU, that is exactly what Lamb did in leading Kentucky to it’s own 7-0 run in the final minutes to cut Indiana’s halftime lead to 1.

Drawing more fouls on Davis was a focus early in the second half for Indiana and it didn’t take long for the big man to rack up 2 more and head back to the bench. About halfway through the second half, Davis closed out on Verdell Jones III and fouled him as he shot a 3-pointer. Jones made all three FTs and more importantly, capped a 10-0 run that gave the Hoosiers a 9 point lead. Calipari had no choice but to put Davis back into the game to keep it from getting out of hand. That’s where things got interesting.

As an IU fan watching the game, the best way to describe the last 8 minutes or so is “absolute frustration.” Indiana’s own star freshman Cody Zeller, who was having a good game and really couldn’t be stopped by anyone but Davis, was not getting the ball. Davis was playing with four fouls, so the only options he had were to soften up on defense or risk fouling out for good. Yet for some reason, the Hoosiers were not getting the ball downlow to Zeller. There was a stretch of about 4 positions late in the half where I was literally mind-boggled by the fact that even with Zeller open with position on Davis, who could not afford a 5th foul, the ball would stay on the perimeter until one of the guards or wings took an ill-advised shot. The only thing keeping Indiana in the game was 3-pointing shooting, highlighted by a stretch in which the Hoosiers made 7 straight and opened the second half 6-of-6 from behind the stripe.

On the other end of the court, Kentucky made it a game of 1-on-1. Kentucky’s talented guards were too much to handle and with no help defense, they were crossing guys over and getting to the basket with no trouble at all. Not to mention Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who was UK’s best player Saturday, was cleaning up the boards and making every shot he got up no matter how contested. Marquis Teague, the Indianapolis-native who was a ghost in the first half, came alive and scored 15 points in the second mostly by driving and/or getting to the free throw line.  Teague, along with sophomore Doron Lamb and senior Darius Miller had no trouble getting lay-ups and all of the sudden Kentucky had a 69-68 lead with 2:01 remaining in the game.

With all the back-and-forth action, it was still astonishing to me the way that Indiana was not trying to exploit the mismatch of Davis and Zeller down low. The reason I say it is a mismatch is because you have Zeller, a talented big man who is a good scorer and a great passer capable of changing the entire offense, facing off against Davis, who is either going to play soft on him or risk fouling out of the game. If Indiana had lost the game, that may very well have been the reason for their demise. The other shocking element of this game was the complete disappearance of preseason All-American Terrence Jones, who scored 4 points, grabbed just 1 rebound late and was a complete non-factor in the second half. Camera close-ups showed a player who was simply out of the zone. He looked like he did not want to be there and had no business being on the court.

With 14 seconds left in the game, Tom Crean drew up a play which certainly looked like it was supposed to go to a cutting Zeller who would roll off a screen towards the hoop. The play was going to get Cody a good shot, too, but sophomore Victor Oladipo dribbled the ball off of his foot before he could dish it and Doron Lamb came up with it. After a quick foul, Lamb missed his first free throw and Tom Crean called his final timeout to draw up plays for a make or miss. Lamb came back out and rattled the second one home to give UK a 2-point lead with 5.6 seconds remaining. That’s when Verdell Jones took the ball up the court and, in the midst of what looked like a broken play, kicked it back out to Christian Watford for the game-winning three-pointer. Cameras panned to Calipari, who was yelling to his players “why didn’t you foul?!” – a pretty good question since UK had a couple fouls to give at that point.

Watford’s game-winner will be the lasting memory, but he scored 20 points in the game and pulled down 5 rebounds. He was 4-6 from beyond the arc, most of his buckets coming at crucial times throughout the game. When the offense was not going after Davis late in the second half, Watford took it upon himself to get inside and make baskets. Watford hit a layup with about 3 minutes to go in which Davis could do nothing but watch him go by.

Victor Oladipo had a strong game despite some suspect shot selection in the first half. His 7 rebounds tied him for the team lead, and his dunk in the second half just about blew the roof off of Assembly Hall. Cody Zeller took advantage of the touches he got and contributed 11 points and 7 boards. Jordan Hulls also scored 11 points, including a trio of crucial 3-pointers. Will Sheehey added 10 points and Jones III had 8 to finish out the scoring. Crean only played 8 players Saturday night and all 5 starters were in the game for at least 30 minutes.

credit: InsideTheHall, ESPN

What Does It All Mean?

This type of win validates all of the work that Coach Crean, his staff and his players have put in over the last 3 years. It also builds up the team’s respect on the national level, beating the #1 team in the country on ESPN Saturday Night with Dick Vitale on the call. And finally, it is a momentous occasion for the fans who have suffered through 3+ rough seasons. Most of the IU student body has never seen a winning basketball season in their time in Bloomington. Last year, wins over ranked Illinois and Minnesota were great but the end result was disappointing. This year the team is making real strides. The offense has been completely changed with the addition of a solid big man in Cody Zeller. All of the guys are a year older, a year stronger and a year better, especially Sheehey and Oladipo who have really come into their own. Jordan Hulls has developed into a true leader and Christian Watford finally has the chance to shine in his more natural position. This young season has been an absolute team effort with different guys stepping up each night, and Saturday was certainly Watford’s night.

Recruits will also take notice of this game. Indiana on a national stage, beating what has been the “sexy program” in recruiting the past couple years, will put a different perspective in high school kids’ minds. Remember, no high school kids were even alive the last time Indiana won a National Championship (nor was I) and they were in elementary school (at best) the last time they made a Final Four. The program they have seen the last three years is not indicative of Indiana historically, but it is all they know. You can’t really blame kids, especially from out of state or from non-IU families, for thinking of Indiana in a negative light. Saturday’s win is a huge step in breaking that stigma. Indiana is not a doormat. Indiana is a big time program and they will shortly be a ranked team. They have dusty banners on the wall, but when you get to know more about the program you find out that they have more banners than almost every other program in the country. If you look closely at the picture above, you will see 2012 signee Jeremy Hollowell in the background. Cameras also picked up his buddy and fellow signee Ron Patterson, and Twitter tells us that Trey Lyles, JaQuan Lyle and Byron “Bo” Zeigler were also in attendance. If you can imagine the effect that game would have on a recruit watching from home, imagine how the young guys felt seeing it first hand.

The sea of red at the end of the game is a validation of the fan’s patience and of this program’s perserverance. Tom Crean did not know exactly what he was getting into when he came to Bloomington in April of 2008, but he has made the best of the situation and now has Indiana back on the national stage. There have been a number of firsts already for Crean at IU this year, beating Kentucky, winning a B1G/ACC Challenge game, and having 2 true road wins. Now he has a 9-0 record and will soon have a Top 25 ranking to show for it. Indiana may still be a year or two away from National Title contention, but Saturday’s game showed the country that Indiana is a force to be reckoned with. Crean and company are not going to be the doormat of the conference any longer and it is time for them to elevate the program back to where it belongs. A close loss to Kentucky would have gave the fans and country the sense that IU is probably headed in the right direction. But the win cements that thought. The win silences the critics. The win shows the country that Indiana Is Back.