Indiana Basketball: The Time Is Now For Crean’s Hoosiers
By Jay Siskin
Mar 3, 2015; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Yogi Ferrell (11) talks to guard James Blackmon (1) during a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Assembly Hall. Iowa defeats Indiana 77-63. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The #15 Indiana Hoosiers took on the #1 Canadian School, Ottawa in exhibition play and routed them 82-54.
The University of Ottawa, the number one team in Canada, visited the Indiana Hoosiers on Tuesday night. And it was exactly what Hoosier nation and Tom Crean wanted out of IU’s first game of the season.
James Blackmon led the charge for the Hoosiers with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Indiana wanted revenge against the same Ottawa team that knocked them off a winning streak during their Great White North tour last year in the preseason. This time, the Hoosiers got their revenge.
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Thomas Bryant was solid in first collegiate game. Bryant had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. The kid might just make an impact similar to some Zeller guy that played for the Hoosiers ages ago. The energy that he showed against Ottawa was tremendous. Bryant showed a high motor to go after rebounds and loose balls. The freshman’s gives the Hoosiers something the absolutely needed last season — a big guy that plays true to his position and size! Bryant showed an ability to score like a traditional big man — with his back to the basket.
Max Bielfeldt started at the four (Power Forward) position for Indiana, and it came with no surprise. The five who started were: Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon, Troy Williams, Bielfeldt and Bryant. The four position will be switched all season long, especially between Bielfeldt and Williams.
Bielfeldt, a transfer from Michigan, tallied 19 minutes of play and finished with 8 points (4-7 FG), 8 rebounds (5 were offensive), 4 steals to go along with a block. During stretches of the game, he played mostly the stretch-four slot. I don’t believe he will be a Noah Vonleh or Christian Watford, but he was constantly going to glass to rebound. His energy alone helped the Hoosiers tremendously.
This is what Crean had to say after the game about Max:
“It’s going to be really important for Max to be a true quarterback,” Crean said. “He doesn’t have to be the babysitter or the big brother of the young guys, but he does have to be the quarterback because he’s very smart. He’s changing his role.
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It’s going to be hard to stop this guy from getting a rebound. Good luck, Big Ten. All of this is exactly what Indiana needed to show in the scrimmage. That the team improved. “Really, really happy that we chose to play them,” Crean said. “We would play them again.”