IU opens its 2014-15 season at 7 p.m. Friday against Mississippi Valley State at Assembly Hall.
The Delta Devils lost 10 games in a row to end last season. With only five returning players, Mississippi Valley State was predicted to finish second to last in the conference and is near the bottom of most college rankings.
But after an offseason filled with trouble off the court, freshman James Blackmon Jr. said he’s ready for the games to start counting and the season to begin.
“I’ve been so excited to play here,” Blackmon said. “I’ve been ready to play these games, so I’m just glad it’s here.”
After a 9-23 season last year, MVSU hired Andre Payne as its newest head coach in July.
Payne led Wiley to an NAIA Tournament appearance with a 25-7 record last season before taking the job at ?Mississippi Valley State.
IU Coach Tom Crean said IU studied film of Wiley and expects the Delta Devils to show IU a mix of defenses.
Payne’s teams tend to be trapping teams, playing out of a 2-3 zone and sometimes applying constant pressure on the ball handler.
Playing against full-court pressure may prove challenging to an IU team looking to limit turnovers while at the same time pushing the tempo this ?season.
Crean said MVSU forced more than 20 turnovers against Stillman in its lone preseason tuneup.
But with a new coach and only five players with experience playing, Crean admitted it’s hard to anticipate what IU will actually see from the Delta Devils on Friday.
“We know we’re going to see a lot of pressure from them, and then how they decide to play offensively, we’ll have to wait and see,” Crean said. “I would imagine they’ll come in and play fast, but they may not. They may try to shrink the game.”
Crean said the emphasis in practice this week — as it has been throughout most of the preseason — is on the defensive end with added stress on rebounding, especially with guards, due to IU’s lack of size.
For IU, that starts with the transition on the ?defensive end.
Crean said some of the older players such as junior guards Yogi Ferrell and Nick Zeisloft already understand that concept, but younger guards are still learning it through trial and error.
“I think the key is going to be just making the easy play,” freshman guard Rob Johnson said. “I think sometimes as younger players, you sometimes try to make the home run play or the spectacular play. I think the key for us is just making the easy plays.”
Crean added that he stresses running the court in transition and rebounding because those are the things his team does the most in a given game.
IU will once again be without a pair of forwards in sophomore Troy Williams and freshman Emmitt Holt as well as sophomore guard Stan Robinson, who will be sitting out their third of four game suspensions.
Every possession of every game continues to be a chance for an inexperienced IU team to grow.
For now, that means learning ways to limit turnovers, rebound against Mississippi Valley State and not being afraid to change strategy as the game goes along.
“We’re going to play to win the game, whatever it takes,” Crean said.
