Well, IU's first exhibition matchup is finished, a 95-50 victory for the Hoosiers. We'll have our full coverage on IDSNews.com and in the print edition tomorrow, but since the game wasn't televised locally (at least that we know of) I figured it was as good an idea as any to start a little post-game discussion here.
(NOTE: When the "real" games get started, we'll do a lot more reader discussions, which will rely heavily on your comments. More on this in the future.)
It's no surprise that the University of North Dakota didn't provide much of a challenge Sunday; athletically, IU is 40 points better, and the score showed that. With that in mind, IU's offense needs a lot of work in the coming weeks to be ready for stiffer competition in the Preseason NIT. While the Hoosiers got points - again, the score showed that - they were usually the result of a fast break or an offensive rebound, not a smartly executed offensive set.
Rod Wilmont had a good game for the Hoosiers and an exceptional second half, pouring in 14 of his 18 points in the second period. He also had the most acrobatic play of the day, blocking a shot and then trying to call a timeout in midair as he crashed into first-row spectator seats. Unfortunately for Rod, in the NCAA players can no longer call a timeout while in midair or floating out of bounds. It took Rod a few minutes to get up after the fall. Reckless, that one, but his effort is, as in past years, unmatched.
Perhaps most surprising was freshman Armon Bassett, whose 16 points and six assists was probably the most complete performance of the day.
Sampson said a lot in his post-game press conference, so here are some goodies that didn't make it into our main coverage tomorrow:
On offensive philosophy:
I don't like threes. I like the three-point shot, but go inside-out. In transition - with Lance Stemler and Armon (Bassett) - we've got some guys who can spot up in transition and shoot threes. Those are good shots for those kids, but let's make sure we go inside-out.
On Lance Stemler's progress:
Lance is a good basketball player. He might be the last player picked in a pickup game, but a lot of people confuse people with basketball with rat-ball games. I refuse to watch a rat-ball game. There is nine other people on the floor that Lance knows how to play. He's active, he shoots the ball with confidence. He has an extremely high IQ. He's not a great athlete, obviously. Everyone can see that. But he's really good between the ears.
On whether he felt a special sense of acceptance at IU in his first game:
No, I didn't feel anything. I coached a team. That's what I do, I coach a team. This game is not about me. I understand this is my first game, but that will go away, and the focus will be on these kids...We have a long way to go, and we haven't proved anything yet. What goes on all around it is what makes Indiana basketball special, but at the end of the day, coaches have to coach their team.
On Ben Allen's progress:
I'm proud of Ben. I think when Ben gets the rebound he kind of wishes he was at the three point line so he could shoot a three. I remember - I know Earl and Rod and D.J. remember - on Oct. 13 and 14 Ben used to just go after rebounds. Now he's actually getting rebounds. Now his next step is finishing in traffic, finishing plays. Good players can make plays, very, very good players finish plays. He had six offensive rebounds today, and the only basket he made was a free throw line jumper. His next step is getting those rebounds and going up strong and finishing them and getting some and-1's. Our team is a lot like that - he's like a metaphor for what our team is doing right now. We're doing some good things, but we can just get so much better in every area.
