It’s cupcake season.
Outside the North Carolina and Kansas matchups, IU has had what we in the sports industry call a trash schedule.
Liberty, Fort Wayne (stunned emoji), Mississippi Valley State, SIU-Edwardsville, Southeast Missouri State and the upcoming non-nationally televised game against Houston Baptist are certainly not the cream of the crop.
That’s OK.
Before the Big Ten season starts, the requirement for the Hoosiers is to build slowly but surely on the achievements of last season while simultaneously acclimating the new members of the squad.
As sports fans and personal trainers for longer runs who get paid by the hour to state the obvious say, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
The Hoosiers’ greatest accomplishment so far has been their ability to get the freshmen semi-meaningful minutes.
First-year forward De’Ron Davis in particular has shone in limited minutes and has given the IU faithful some hope for a stronger bench.
One of the few detriments last season where IU faltered was when the starters needed rest or entered foul trouble. Adding more pieces that can handle the spotlight in this scenario is what separates the very good teams from the great.
“I feel like I’m just scratching the surface,” Davis said after scoring a career-high 14 points against SIUE. “My teammates looked to give me the ball.”
Davis’ usage rate when he’s on the court is astronomical in these types of games. Usage rate measures the percentage of the team’s possessions by a single player when on the court. At 34.41 against SEMO, Davis’s rate was almost 10 percentage points higher than the next player, sophomore guard James Blackmon Jr.
The other freshmen, like Davis, have the majority of the opportunities when on the court. Both playing fewer than 15 minutes against the Redhawks, guards Curtis Jones and Devonte Green were at 23.43 and 20.99 percent, respectively.
The starters get the prime minutes and touches, but when the young-gunners are on the court, the ball flows through them.
Yes, cupcake season produces a sugar high. The best moments and easy victories look otherworldly. These cupcakes are best taken with a grain of salt.
Even so, the youth on this squad have begun to flourish. Davis, Jones and Green have all played well in these games. There is obviously plenty to improve before Wisconsin, Ohio State or Michigan come, but this is as good a start as IU Coach Tom Crean could have asked for.
Now all that’s left for the Hoosiers is to make sure they don’t have a sugar crash.
gigottfr@indiana.edu
@gott31
