You’re going to work.
You like your job. Pretty decent at it. I mean, you got a promotion recently. Good for you, but what’s this? A few young guns are here. They want your spot. Their names are Devonte Green and Curtis Jones. You’re going to have to be better and get that pep in your step once again. It’s time to put down that cup of joe and get going.
You’re Josh Newkirk, junior point guard for IU. Either wake up or become irrelevant.
On Sunday against Rutgers that’s exactly what happened to the proclaimed starter. He started poorly again. This time, unlike the past few games, there was someone there to take his place.
Someones to be exact. Freshmen guards Green and Curtis were stupendous lightning rods in the first half.
I don’t think the phrase "age before beauty" translates to basketball.
A step-back 3-pointer by Jones gave the Hoosiers a much-needed basket at a time when easy shots were few and far between.
A defensive hustle play from Green, stripping the ball from Scarlet Knight big man Jonathan Laurent, led to a dunk by sophomore forward Juwan Morgan.
These two plays are just two examples of the constant dynamism and vigor that these freshmen generate.
Yes, they have lapses. Defensive gaffes and dumb shots plague the duo, as they do all freshmen. Green’s lob to junior forward Freddie McSwain Jr. in the waning seconds of the game also signifies a need for a bit more maturity.
However, there is a certain panache and swagger that the team has with one or both on the court.
Instead of the usual 30-second slog that is the IU offense, these Wunderkinder make basketball fun again not just for the fans but for their fellow players as well.
“They bring energy, both of them, and when they’re locked into the game plan and they come out like that, like they did today, it really gives us a lift," junior guard James Blackmon Jr. said.
Here’s a little stat for you. Newkirk was minus 6 in plus-minus while he was on the court in the first half, which means that during his playing time the team was outscored by six. Green, on the other hand, was plus 15. Jones was plus 12. The statistics replicated what we were all seeing.
But guess what?
Newkirk woke up.
To start the second half, he played like his job was on the line. He scored six points early, ran the fast break impeccably and moved the ball in the way that a point guard should do.
He finished the game with a plus-minus of zero, indicating how much better he played in the final 20 minutes.
A little competition is far from the worst thing for Newkirk. He now must prove he belongs on the court with talent lurking right behind him.
This team is at its best when there’s tension, a charge between the players creating beauty on the court.
Near the end of the first half, when IU finally played like the team it's supposed to be, Blackmon soared for a rebound. He found Green for an outlet hustling down the left side of the court. Ahead of sophomore big man Thomas Bryant, Green passed it with two hands backwards to the center. Bryant collected himself, leapt and slammed the ball through the hoop.
That’s what Green and Jones bring to this team — a jolt of oomph that otherwise would be absent.
Out of the doldrums, this team is actually entertaining again.
That’s the first step to returning to Big Ten prominence after the horrific early showings.
