D.J. knows he still has a ways to go

D.J. White knows he'll get better. Kelvin Sampson knows it, too. But White's reaction to the IU coach as he addressed his power forward's lack of defensive aggresiveness in the first half against the University of North Dakota wouldn't tell you that.\nHe fidgeted with a towel as he sat to his coach's right, and after Sampson dropped this bomb, you'd think he was about to bury his head in it for good.\n"(His) defense in the first half was nonexistent," Sampson said sternly. "No. 54 (North Dakota forward Mike Gutter) I'm sure thought he was playing skeleton offense because there was nobody guarding him the first three possessions."\nDespite Sampson calling out his junior, the general tone from both White and his coach after Sunday's 95-50 whack-job against the Fighting Sioux was that they aren't worried. And they shouldn't be. After all, it's the junior's first game since Jan. 7 when he broke a bone in his foot against Ohio State in Bloomington. Sampson stressed that it's been two seasons since D.J. started out the year free of injury.\nIt's going to take time for White to get back into game form, where he's used to making moves in the post and hitting short jumpers or being an intimidating shot blocker under the rim. \nAnd Sunday's matchup was an exhibition. The early games are all about finding your stride and getting back into game form. They're about figuring out your spot within the team's offense (and in this case, a completely different offense from last year's under a new coach). White's return to form isn't going to happen overnight. But it will happen.\n"You can tell he's rusty," Sampson said. "I told him, 'Don't worry about any of this.' These exhibition games are what they are. You're supposed to develop some rhythm, get some chemistry on the court and just work to get better."\nD.J. had his looks; he just didn't hit many shots. At one particular instance, you could see his frustration after a close jumper he took rattled off the rim. He clapped his hands together and let out a yell as he headed back down the court on defense.\n"It's an off-night," said White. "They're shots I usually hit. Coach knows that. My players know that. I know that. I just didn't hit them. It's something I got to do to help my team."\nIt's not that D.J. played particularly badly -- he just didn't play up to the level he knows he can or that Hoosier Nation expects from him. He showed flashes of his former self with a perfectly executed pick-and-roll alley-oop slam from Earl Calloway for the game's first two points. He had a powerful block on the aforementioned Gutter early in the second half.\nAt times it looked as if he was almost trying too hard, flying around the court and trying to block every shot from the Fighting Sioux.\nWhen asked what he thought about his coach's assessment of him, White agreed.\n"He's right," the junior said. "Like he said, I was a little rusty. That comes along with it. I feel like as the games go on, I'll get my familiarity out there on the court and I should be fine. It's no worries."\nNo worries here either.