Hoosiers take Action in first exhibition of season

To prepare for Friday night's exhibition game against Athletes in Action, the Hoosiers said they emphasized transition defense in practice.\n"We worked a lot on it," freshman guard Bracey Wright said. "We knew coming in that they shot a lot of threes and they really got on the fast break. So that was one of the key points, to get back on defense and run the floor on offense. So we did a lot of that the week before the game and it paid off."\nIU was able to successfully stop AIA's offensive attack in a 97-56 victory and, while they may have been worried about the exhibition team's 3-point shooting, it was IU that put on a show from behind the arc.\nThey connected on 18 of 35 threes for the game and recorded a better shooting percentage from long range (51.4 percent) than they did for their overall field goal percentage (49.3 percent).\nAIA left the Hoosier sharpshooters with wide-open looks on many of their 3-point attempts and had trouble hitting shots of their own in both transition and set plays. \nCoach Mike Davis attributed the visiting team's lack of offensive and defensive intensity to their extensive traveling and noted that the game in Bloomington was AIA's third in three days.\n"(AIA) really sagged off of us a lot," he said. "We got some good looks. Out of the 35 threes we may have forced five or six. When you have (senior guard Kyle) Hornsby shooting 6 for 7(from 3-point range) that's good, that's great. But I thought AIA was tired and … if you're open and you can shoot them, take them."\nHornsby recorded 20 points in the game, 18 of which came from beyond the 3-point arc. He led all scorers and was one of four IU players to score in double figures. Senior point guard Tom Coverdale, Wright, and senior forward Jeff Newton each had 15 points. \nHornsby said although the Hoosiers won convincingly, there were things the team needed to work on.\n"We've still got a long way to go," he said. "There are a lot of things that we need to improve on still … The everyday fan could see that we had mental lapses and we need to get all those out."\nThe Hoosiers got off to a hot start on both ends of the court to begin the first half, however. \nWright initiated the offense when he hit a three to put IU on the board. On the next possession Hornsby sunk his first 3-pointer of the game off an assist from Wright. \nAIA's Ryan Sears then turned the ball over and Wright skied through the lane on the ensuing fast break for a put-back dunk off a missed lay-up by junior center George Leach. \nOn the Hoosier's next possession, Newton stepped out and knocked down his only three of the game. Coverdale then got into the act, sinking the first of his five threes on the night.\nWhen all was said and done, IU had bolted out to 19-3 lead in the first five minutes of the game and went into the locker room at halftime with a 47-25 advantage.\nThe second half was more of the same as the Hoosiers sunk nine more threes and never gave AIA a chance to catch up.\nSophomore guard Ryan Tapak was substituted in for Wright with five minutes left in the game. \nAs Wright walked off the court, he received a standing ovation from the ten thousand IU fans in attendance for his 15 point, 7 rebound effort. \nDavis said Wright and fellow freshman guard Marshall Strickland will provide a talented duo in the backcourt for years to come.\n"I said this last year when we signed him, that I thought (Wright) was the best guard in the country at the two position," Davis said. "He's gonna be really good. When you put Bracey and Marshall in the backcourt for the next three years here at Indiana, it's going to be something really special. \nBut it's really good (for them) to be able to play with Hornsby and Coverdale. Those two guys are really good basketball players. They played in the ultimate game in college basketball and that's for a championship."\nDavis also announced Friday that he will redshirt freshman guard Roderick Wilmont.\n"I think Rod is going to be a very good player," he said. "From a talent standpoint he's pretty good. But he's a little behind as far as the fundamentals go in the game. I wish I could have redshirted (AJ) Moye, he was the same way."\nNow Davis will have six guards vying for playing time instead of seven and his talented backcourt came through Friday, shooting and distributing the ball well.\nCoverdale, who had eight assists to go with his 15 points, said the team was far from polished, but was well on its way.\n"It's a good start," he said. "We played the way we wanted to play, we executed well. Obviously we've got a lot to work on though. We could have played better defense on certain possessions and could have gotten better shots on certain offensive possessions. So we've got a lot to work on, but I think everyone does at this point in the year"