Late in IU’s victory over North Carolina, the air quickly left Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Down, crumpled on the floor was sophomore forward OG Anunoby after twisting his ankle on another thunderous dunk.
Anunoby would be diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and has been out the past two games for IU.
Sophomore forward Juwan Morgan would become his replacement in the Hoosiers’ starting lineup.
Morgan is the “other” sophomore – the one who didn’t spend the summer garnering heaps of praise from NBA draft pundits like Anunoby and Thomas Bryant did.
But in his two games this season as a starter, he hasn’t missed a single shot and has filled in admirably for Anunoby.
“It’s hard to go 12 for 12 over two games,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “But he led the way with defense and rebounding.”
Morgan has been highly efficient, along with being able to be nearly everything on the court.
He’s a capable ball-handler and at times has actually played the point and run pick-and-rolls.
In the games he’s started, he’s scored 29 points after failing to break double digits in any game prior.
Besides his scoring prowess from anywhere on the floor, Morgan is a rabid defender and adept at nabbing rebounds.
This season, Morgan is third on the team in rebounds — averaging 6.3 per game — and Crean noted Morgan was rebounding for two guys after the SIU-Edwardsville game.
After that victory, Morgan talked about how he’s returning to the way he played last season when he played a key role for the Hoosiers off the bench.
“I think just mentally I’ve been thinking too much about shooting, things like that,” Morgan said. “I just got back to what I was at last year and things that helped the team and I didn’t have to make plays or anything. And if I ran hard and set a screen, I knew my teammates would find me and things like that.”
Crean said he noticed how earlier Morgan was thinking too much, but is coming into his own as a player with Anunoby out.
“But you can go through shifts in that where guys are really becoming complete players,” Crean said. “Remember now we started — he’s played point guard for us at different times even as a starter. So we’re throwing a lot at him.”
But, he’s handled everything he has been asked to do.
It wasn’t just imperative that he step up without Anunoby, IU needed him badly because the Hoosiers were playing a grueling stretch of four games in eight days.
Minutes needed to be spread out more and he’s taken up the mantle.
“He was locked in,” freshman forward De’ron Davis said after the SIU-Edwardsville game. “He’s been focusing all week really being on the boards and just being locked into everything we’re doing, being the great leader he was, he came out and led us today as you can see. He was all over the boards (Friday). It was a big accomplishment.”
While last week was critical and helped the Hoosiers notch four wins, they also came out of that stretch with an answer to a question that had been hounding the team ever since Yogi Ferrell departed Bloomington: who would become a leader?
It didn’t necessarily need to be the point guard, nor did it have to be an upperclassman. It could be someone like Morgan.
Not only has Morgan showed what he’s capable of as a player, he’s also taken leadership out on the court.
Being perfect from the floor isn’t sustainable, but when Anunoby returns, Morgan can be a perfect sixth man who also doubles as one of IU’s emerging leaders.
“I would say, Juwan and Thomas out in this category,” Crean said. “They have been on point and on attack and on a mission since a week ago when it comes to really taking more responsibility for their teammates and setting the tone with their energy every day.”
