Junior guard Robert Johnson had been flying under the radar.
Averaging 13.8 points per game, Johnson had quietly played his part in his three seasons at IU without garnering too much hype.
With fellow junior guard and leading scorer James Blackmon Jr. out with a left knee injury against Mississippi Valley State, Johnson delivered exactly the Hoosiers needed from him.
His 14 points helped IU beat MVSU, 85-52, Sunday.
Johnson and Blackmon have played together since they were freshmen, and with Johnson’s backcourt partner out, he showed what makes him great.
“Rob is capable of doing what he did tonight. He’s capable of even more,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “They have really played well together this year so far.”
While not having Blackmon hurts IU, the players know they all have to continue to do their jobs with him off the court.
“The game doesn’t change really that much,” sophomore forward Thomas Bryant said. “Everybody knows their job out there on the court. It’s hard to not have James out there, but we have key things that we go to when James isn’t. Nothing really changes, everybody else steps up.”
Johnson’s job was to attempt to replicate what Blackmon brings as a sharpshooter, and Johnson did his best impression by making four of nine 3-pointers.
Junior guard Josh Newkirk also stepped up in Blackmon’s absence. While he didn’t score as much as Johnson did, he played the role of facilitator effectively and finished with six assists.
Freshman Curtis Jones, whose heroics lifted IU against Kansas, played a pivotal role in the second half. His nine points and five assists helped the offense when Johnson and Newkirk went off the court.
“I think that Curtis has a great confidence about him,” Johnson said. “Playing here as a freshman, you’re going to have to play, especially as a guard, and I think that with that confidence and the smarts he brings to the game, I think it makes it easier for everyone.”
Crean was impressed with the freshman’s game and said he had been pressing a little bit after the impressive performance against Kansas.
The other freshman guard, Devonte Green, also played significant minutes. He did not make a shot.
As well as they played, the four guards were primarily responsible for IU’s turnover problem. IU had 15 turnovers against MVSU, and the four guards combined for five turnovers in the first half. They improved in the second half and only tallied three among them for the rest of the game.
With Blackmon out, Crean praised the ball movement that the entire team provided.
“Of all the games we played, including Kansas, and I know it was a little different competition today than it was against Kansas, I thought the ball moved the best today,” Crean said.
