Indiana men’s basketball has had its fair share of dominant players throughout the past 15 years, such as former forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and guards Yogi Ferrell and Victor Oladipo.
But for each overwhelmingly skilled hooper that has donned the Cream and Crimson, the Hoosiers have also possessed so-called glue guys — including former forward Will Sheehey and guards Zach McRoberts and Anthony Leal — who play tenacious defense, selflessly distribute and hunt rebounds.
In their first season under head coach Darian DeVries, the Hoosiers have premier scorers in redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries and fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson. However, they also have their all-important glue guy: redshirt senior guard Conor Enright.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Enright entered Indiana’s Sunday matchup with Washington averaging just 3.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per contest.
Throughout the Hoosiers’ 90-80 victory over the Huskies inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Enright demonstrated his importance to Indiana (11-3, 2-1 Big Ten). He finished with a season-high 12 points and a season-high nine assists.
“He plays the game with great enthusiasm, great energy, great passion,” Darian DeVries said postgame. “I love that about him. Your team needs a guy like that. Obviously, fans love having a guy like that, as well.”
Although some fans may naturally be frustrated when Enright has turned in below-average performances, each player is bound to have less-than-ideal performances throughout a 31-game season like Indiana’s. Still, he’s the type of hard-nosed player Indiana fans historically love.
So, no matter what kind of outing he’s coming off, the Mundelein, Illinois, native still brings the energy.
“It's what he does every day,” DeVries said. “Every day in practice, as well.”
Such energy was again present Sunday. Enright began the game assisting sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway on back-to-back 3-pointers. Then, Enright knocked down his own consecutive longballs before Conerway hit another.
Enright made a layup before tallying another assist nearly eight and a half minutes into the contest. He exited the game for just over four minutes, then returned and converted a difficult and-one layup to give the Hoosiers an 11-point advantage with under four and a half minutes left in the opening half.
Enright nearly hit a buzzer-beating mid-range jumper, but the ball remained in his hands when the horn sounded for halftime. He finished with 11 points and three assists in the first half.
Unlike the first half, Enright failed to connect on his two 3-point attempts early in the second. So, he leaned on his passing prowess. He then dished five assists in just over three minutes.
Although assists may not be as attractive statistically as scoring points in bunches, Enright takes more pride in delivering dimes to his teammates because it makes two people excited — himself and the shooter.
“I love sharing the ball,” Enright said.
Enright eventually added another assist in the last four minutes of the game and made a free throw with less than a minute remaining as the Hoosiers secured the victory.
Wilkerson and Conerway led Indiana in scoring with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Freshman forward Trent Sisley added 10 points. All three were players Enright singled out when it comes to setting up teammates for success.
“I got guys like Trent making some shots for me — Lamar, Tucker, Tayton,” Enright said. “It is pretty easy for me. I just got to go down there, read the floor, and these guys make those shots look really easy, so it helps me out.”
While Enright feels it’s easy for him when players are hitting their shots, Darian DeVries attributed Enright’s prowess to more than those around the point guard.
“He just knows how to hunt those guys down so that they can stay in the zone and find those shooters,” Darian DeVries said. “He just has such a great feel and understanding of the game.”
Indiana had entered Sunday on a 13-day break since its last contest: a Dec. 22 win over Siena University. The Hoosiers celebrated the holidays during that span, returning to their homes for a shortened break.
When the Cream and Crimson returned for practice Dec. 27, it would’ve been simple for the Hoosiers to ease back into the swing of the season. They had been back in Bloomington for the week leading up to Sunday.
Not for Enright.
“Doesn't matter how many days in a row we practice, he's going to bring it,” Darian DeVries said. “That just raises the standard for everybody else to try to match.”
The Hoosiers have a daunting stretch of games on the horizon. First, they head to Maryland for a 6:30 p.m. contest Wednesday. Then, Indiana is tasked with four consecutive ranked opponents — two at home and two on the road.
For the Hoosiers to be successful throughout the difficult sequence of games, Enright’s continued willingness to be the glue guy is crucial. Darian DeVries thinks the plays the point guard makes lead to winning, and, after all, that’s Enright’s primary focus.
“All he cares about is winning,” Darian DeVries said. “That's what makes him so special.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
