In November, Indiana looked like the worst defensive team in major conference basketball. December didn't exactly make me feel good, but there were a few good performances and some signs of life on defense.
One of the two main issues (to me anyway) are Mr. Crean's philosophy on defense, which emphasizes disrupting shooters more than typical and frequently the tradeoff is giving up angles to the hole. This results in Indiana doing a good job against three point shooters but doesn't seem sound underneath. In a sport where the game is increasingly won and lost on the three point line and fewer and fewer teams have post players worth their salt it makes some sense but its not something that appeals to my sense of defensive basketball and I know I share that with many of you from other posts on the subject.
The other issue offers more hope and is the individual defensive play from several players.
* Some players who were awful last year are showing some signs of adequacy in the basics and making many more positive plays (Troy and Hanner). Hanner was the worst defensive player in the league last year in his limited minutes. Now he can guard the pick and role and has even shown some activity on help defense. Its far from consistent, but in some games he's been a presence inside. I thought he intimidated Butler a little and he was the best interior player in the Nebraska game against a player that used Noah Vonleh last year. Hanner still makes some mistakes, but he's much more vocal and seemingly on his way to somewhere in terms of development whereas last year he was seemingly without hope. I expected Devin Davis to be our best post defender and play about twice as many minutes as Hanner. But Hanner has come along. Troy and Hanner have a little ways to go to be consistent defenders and need to keep improving their recognition in zone and man but neither is the doormat they were last year.
* Yogi is very good on defense and has improved again this year imo. It seems like whomever he gets put on in the second half will have bad percentages. Occasionally someone sticks a shot in his face because of his lack of length but he knows how to play defense. He gets help and can pressure the ball. He's played some tough match-ups and looked good in it (Stauskus last year in Bloomington an obvious example).
* Blackmon has struggled quite a bit but I thought he had his best game defensively against Illinois. He got a lot of attention for extending on the last sequence, but he was staying in the saddle long after I expected him to get bucked all game. He gave up some drives, but there should've been help. I will take that progress from the freshman.
* Nick has also been awful on defense this year but yesterday I thought he wasn't just better, but actually good. He really held his own. The block down the stretch was huge and he really held his own. He even got physical with Egwu a couple of times.
* Hartman was a good defender in high school and it shouldn't be any surprise that he's translating into a solid defender as a soph. He was a little on the weak side last year but has come around well. He doesn't have the length to be a stud defender against one of the rare offensive star type of players Indiana will run into, but he's very solid and versatile. I like him against somewhat more athletic wings and somewhat bigger players. Not against extreme athleticism or size, but thank goodness he can do what he can do defensively.
* Holt has good instincts but is up and down still. I like his reach and shot blocking instincts, he will be a good player on defense eventually. He needs more minutes.
Anyway, not a good defensive team, but somehow Indiana has become a good rebounding team out-rebounding most of the good teams they have played. This has been extremely gratifying as an Indiana fan. And the defense is coming along. There is no way to not be vulnerable when Hanner is your only big man, especially without him. There will be some headaches, but I like the progress they are showing individually not only from last year, but within the season. Maybe I caught Nick on his one good night, but doing it on the road in front of 17000 screaming fans and a terribly excited set of announcers was a good sign.
One of the two main issues (to me anyway) are Mr. Crean's philosophy on defense, which emphasizes disrupting shooters more than typical and frequently the tradeoff is giving up angles to the hole. This results in Indiana doing a good job against three point shooters but doesn't seem sound underneath. In a sport where the game is increasingly won and lost on the three point line and fewer and fewer teams have post players worth their salt it makes some sense but its not something that appeals to my sense of defensive basketball and I know I share that with many of you from other posts on the subject.
The other issue offers more hope and is the individual defensive play from several players.
* Some players who were awful last year are showing some signs of adequacy in the basics and making many more positive plays (Troy and Hanner). Hanner was the worst defensive player in the league last year in his limited minutes. Now he can guard the pick and role and has even shown some activity on help defense. Its far from consistent, but in some games he's been a presence inside. I thought he intimidated Butler a little and he was the best interior player in the Nebraska game against a player that used Noah Vonleh last year. Hanner still makes some mistakes, but he's much more vocal and seemingly on his way to somewhere in terms of development whereas last year he was seemingly without hope. I expected Devin Davis to be our best post defender and play about twice as many minutes as Hanner. But Hanner has come along. Troy and Hanner have a little ways to go to be consistent defenders and need to keep improving their recognition in zone and man but neither is the doormat they were last year.
* Yogi is very good on defense and has improved again this year imo. It seems like whomever he gets put on in the second half will have bad percentages. Occasionally someone sticks a shot in his face because of his lack of length but he knows how to play defense. He gets help and can pressure the ball. He's played some tough match-ups and looked good in it (Stauskus last year in Bloomington an obvious example).
* Blackmon has struggled quite a bit but I thought he had his best game defensively against Illinois. He got a lot of attention for extending on the last sequence, but he was staying in the saddle long after I expected him to get bucked all game. He gave up some drives, but there should've been help. I will take that progress from the freshman.
* Nick has also been awful on defense this year but yesterday I thought he wasn't just better, but actually good. He really held his own. The block down the stretch was huge and he really held his own. He even got physical with Egwu a couple of times.
* Hartman was a good defender in high school and it shouldn't be any surprise that he's translating into a solid defender as a soph. He was a little on the weak side last year but has come around well. He doesn't have the length to be a stud defender against one of the rare offensive star type of players Indiana will run into, but he's very solid and versatile. I like him against somewhat more athletic wings and somewhat bigger players. Not against extreme athleticism or size, but thank goodness he can do what he can do defensively.
* Holt has good instincts but is up and down still. I like his reach and shot blocking instincts, he will be a good player on defense eventually. He needs more minutes.
Anyway, not a good defensive team, but somehow Indiana has become a good rebounding team out-rebounding most of the good teams they have played. This has been extremely gratifying as an Indiana fan. And the defense is coming along. There is no way to not be vulnerable when Hanner is your only big man, especially without him. There will be some headaches, but I like the progress they are showing individually not only from last year, but within the season. Maybe I caught Nick on his one good night, but doing it on the road in front of 17000 screaming fans and a terribly excited set of announcers was a good sign.
