Lack of depth key to IU losses

IU is missing lots of weapons — a sharpshooter, a big man and a leader. Even coach Tom Crean, who said his eyesight has deteriorated since joining the Hoosiers, can see that.

But the team is missing something bigger than one individual: depth.

Throughout the season, IU has only been able to rely on two different players to carry the scoring load for the Hoosiers — freshman forward Christian Watford and sophomore guard Verdell Jones.

When those two fail to deliver — as they did against Minnesota on Saturday — IU has to rely on other players.

Which has been a problem.

“We need to learn how to cover for one another,” Crean said.

With the losses of sophomore guard Matt Roth, a 3-point specialist, and freshman guard Maurice Creek, the team’s leading scorer through December, to injury, has gone two of IU’s biggest scoring options. Now, Watford and Jones’ averages account for 40 percent of IU’s total points. For example, when they played Wisconsin on Feb. 13, Watford and Jones had 26 of IU’s 55 points – or 47 percent.

But against Minnesota, the duo couldn’t be the only options for its team.

Watford and Jones were a combined 3-of-20 from the field and had 13 points combined, though they individually average 12.3 and 14.6 points per game, respectively.

“You can’t really plan for that,” freshman guard Jordan Hulls said when asked what the team can do if its stars go cold. Senior guard Devan Dumes (20 points) and junior forward Jeremiah Rivers (10 points) picked up the slack against the Gophers, but the Hoosiers only managed a 32-percent effort from the field.

The depth problem doesn’t let Crean and his staff teach his players a lesson by benching them, either.

With the luxury of a full and capable roster, coaches straighten questionable play by benching a player, something Jones said he experienced personally when his AAU coach — also his father — made him sit.

“Being on the bench is a great motivator,” Jones said. “It’ll get you into it. When you finally get to play, you’ll give it your all because you don’t want to be on that pine anymore.”

Crean said putting a player on the bench can be an effective strategy, but when the Hoosiers can only rely on the same few players, taking a starter out to prove a point isn’t always a realistic option if you want to win.

Despite the team struggling offensively, Hulls said that shouldn’t matter when it comes to the other end of the floor.

“You can always play defense if your shots aren’t falling,” he said. “You can always get a steal or a stop on defense, and that can create offense for us.”