SHOOTING\nWhile the Hoosiers lead the Big Ten in field goal percentage, they’ve also done a lot of their damage on offense from the free throw line.\nIU not only leads the conference in free throws attempted, it also shoots the highest percentage from the charity stripe. A majority of those free throws have been shot by Eric Gordon, who entered last night’s game averaging 23 points per game, the 10th highest average in the nation. Gordon shot 127 free throws in the first 15 games of the season, making 108. Couple that with the efficient inside presence of D.J. White, and you have the Big Ten’s best offense through the first half of the season.\nThe one offensive aspect of concern for the Hoosiers is their assist-to-turnover ratio which is rated toward the bottom of the conference. Kelvin Sampson seems leery of implementing an offensive scheme with a lot of ball movement, preferring to rely on the superior athleticism of his players. Not exactly the Princeton offense, but it has worked up to this point.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
REBOUNDING\nRebounding seemed an area of concern for the guard-oriented Hoosiers heading into the season. Those concerns have been largely alleviated, however, by the aggressive \nball-snatching of White.\nWhite entered Thursday night’s game averaging 10.9 rebounds per game, the ninth highest average in the nation and nearly four rebounds per game better than his average last season. Playing Robin to White’s Batman on the boards, Jamarcus Ellis surprisingly has the sixth best rebounding average in the Big Ten at 7.4 boards per contest. Not bad for a 6-foot-5 flex player.\nAs a team, the Hoosiers have been strong on the defensive boards and boast the eighth best rebounding margin in the country, averaging nearly ten more rebounds than their opponents.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
COACHING\nKelvin Sampson entered his second season at IU with two seemingly conflicting things: an inexperienced team and high expectations. Sampson, however, has made it work, guiding his team through a weak non-conference schedule with little on-court drama, while preparing them for stiffer Big Ten competition.\nThe Hoosiers’ winning ways have quieted the scrutiny that embroiled Sampson after it was revealed last October that his staff violated the NCAA sanctions that were put in place shortly after he was named head coach at IU. Calls for the next heir to Bobby Knight may resurface quickly, however, should the Hoosiers falter in conference play.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
DEFENSE\nHeading into last night’s game, IU allowed 60 points or more seven times. They lost only one of those contests, allowing Xavier to rack up 80 points during the season’s first month.\nIU hasn’t excelled in any particular defensive category, but it’s no slouch either. The Hoosiers rank in the top half of the conference in blocks and steals, but are ranked near the bottom where it matters most: scoring defense. \nIU displayed signs of improvement on the defensive end last Sunday against Illinois. The Hoosiers held the Illini under 60 points and didn’t allow a field goal for a seven-and-a-half-minute stretch in the second half. The return of A.J. Ratliff is expected to boost the Hoosier’s aptitude on the defense. Ratliff made a key block and strip in the final minute against the Illini.\nIt appears, though, that the Hoosiers’ best defense is a good offense.
2 OUT OF 5 STARS
THE MEDIA CIRCUS\nThere’s always plenty of hoopla surrounding IU basketball year-in and year-out, but one-year wonder Eric Gordon has brought a little extra buzz to Assembly Hall this year. \nThe press room was bursting at the seams last Sunday in anticipation of Gordon’s first on-court encounter with Illinois, the team he originally committed to as a high school senior. Gordon and White regularly pop up in national discussions and All-America chatter. Should IU continue its winning ways, the circus will only grow.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
