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Calling this Indiana team the "Romeo Langford Show" would be tantamount to overlooking the list of talented players assembled by head coach Archie Miller – with the help of Tom Crean – in Bloomington during the last two years.
Langford is Hoosiers' best player, that's not disputed. The 3,000-point marker at New Albany High School, 100 miles south of the Indiana campus, was a recruiting move for Miller that immediately changed the outlook for the 2018-1919 season for IU. In a decisive 96-73 win against No. 24 Marquette on Wednesday night, Langford was all he had been announced as one of the top 5 players in the freshman class this year. He led the Hoosiers with 22 points and one pass in two blocks and three interceptions at the other end.
It is not surprising that Langford is excellent. The most impressive aspect of Indiana's methodical demolition of a Big East candidate was the support cast's performance around his star, especially when you take a look at the injury report. Missing four likely contributors, Indiana had six non-Langford players scoring between seven and 16 points against Marquette. Coaches like to call these games in mid-November "discovery games". That night, the country learned a lot about the danger these Hoosiers pose.
Indiana started his game for the Gavitt Games, a bit like Michigan versus Villanova a few hours earlier. The Hoosiers took a 19-4 lead by accelerating the transition and relentlessly attacking the basket. They never looked back, taking a 13-point lead at half-time and stepping aside to make this fierce fight an eruption that ended in UI clashes on the floor of the boardroom. Indiana shot 59% of the field and maintained Marquette's high score at 37%, limiting Markus Howard to 18 points on 14 shots. It was a dynamic and energetic presentation of a team composed of players of all origins.
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There are other members of the top 10 Indiana freshmen. Playmaker Robert Phinisee, a four-star recruit from Lafayette, IN, was the second-best Hoosier player for most of the night. He scored 12 points and awarded eight assists in a single round, repeatedly throwing his 6'1 "frame into the paint and converting acrobatic tablecloths or finding teammates. Damezi Anderson, a four-star rookie from South Bend, left the bench to play a good defense and drop a triple. Justin Hunter, the other top 100 rookie in the class, was one of the players who missed the game.
There are exciting second-year players in the exciting Miller class at Dayton. The left-handed Aljami Durham had 13 points, 5 assists and was a weapon during the quick break. The monstrous athlete Justin Smith – owner of a 48-inch vertical – added eight high end points to the rim. The new Redshirt race race race Thompson, another of Miller's five four-star races over the last two cycles, was injured.
There are the remains of the Crean era. Tom Crean won two Big Ten titles and produced a lot of NBA players during his nine years at IU, but did not win any matches with the regularity expected at the flagship school of a crazy basketball state. -ball. The great senior man Juwan Morgan, the rest of this generation, amassed 13 points and eight rebounds against the Golden Eagles. De'Ron Davis Junior Center (seven points) and Devonte Green (injured) are the two remaining players in Crean's latest recruiting class. Zach McRoberts, the fourth player unavailable Wednesday, was transferred to IU under Crean and played 22 minutes per game last season.
There is the transfer of graduates. Evan Fitzner, a 6-foot-10 midfielder from midfielder St. Mary's (CA), presented his valuable game upside down in a 16-point effort. He went 4-for-4 in the three-point range and will be space for the floor for Indiana all season as a 42% career career shooter
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Last but not least, there is the 2019 lottery pick. Nothing in the Langford night announces the possibility that it will come back in red and white next season. This is a fantastic handball player who attacks the basket with incredible finesse, scoring on floats and layups with one or the other of the hands. He made 8 out of 10 shots out of two and one out of every five, although his sound form indicates that there will be better shooting days ahead. On the defensive side, the control of his body and his acceleration make him a solid potential in both directions.
Miller has a good problem on his arms. Once his lineup is in good health, he will have the task of spreading 200 minutes between 12 players deserving to play. He'll probably tinker with his rotation before the Big Ten game gets tough, and the depth above means Indiana is about to survive the injuries of anyone outside of Langford.
It's just one game, but Indiana looks like a team ready to compete for the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have a mix of young talent and veteran experience that should give them a chance to win every time they speak. The country's toughest challenge is expected in just under two weeks: a trip to Cameron Indoor on November 27th to face Zion Williamson and a Duke team making headlines the first week of the season. Until then, Indiana can be proud of the way it has not only managed its first test of the year, but has also been the subject of it.
The second year of the Archie Miller era is about to begin.
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