So far, IU basketball's offense is fun to watch. When was the last time we could say that?
In its 90-51 win over Jackson State on Friday, IU showed offensive potency in a variety of ways. The Hoosiers shot 10-of-22 (45.5%) from deep. They shot 12-of-16 (75%) from the free-throw line. Plus: 44 points in the paint, 11 second chance points and 24 fast-break points.
Early this season, IU (6-0) has flashed offensive firepower. The Hoosiers' scoring average is up from 77.5 to 88.8 points per game compared to last season's first six games.
Yes, it is still early in the season. And yes, IU hasn’t gotten into the meat of its schedule yet. But even on the road against Xavier, IU’s highest-level opponent to date, the Hoosiers put up 81 points. Early returns suggest this IU team has the chance to be much better offensively than it was last season. Not only that but — as Friday showed —- IU can pound its opponents in different ways offensively.
Insider:IU's bench is becoming a weapon. 'That just makes us even scarier.'
'He put it all together.'Tamar Bates' career performance for IU reveals improvement, maturity
This has been, for IU fans, a nice change of pace. This program has mostly been hanging for its dear life offensively in recent seasons. Free-throw and 3-point struggles haunted IU during Archie Miller's tenure. After Mike Woodson took over as coach, early time was mainly devoted to defense.
That was evident last season. IU’s defense was a big reason the Hoosiers won games. The offense struggled at times and was clearly behind the defensive’s development. It felt like if IU could marginally improve its offense, it’d go a long way given its defensive prowess.
Last season, the Hoosiers shot just 33.3% from 3 and 70% from the free-throw line. Compare that to thus far this season: 38.3% from deep and 71.9% from the charity stripe.
IU also seems to have better flow offensively. Seemingly more times than in the recent past, IU’s offense is enjoyable to watch.
“We kind of understand the offense more now because when we first put it in last year, it was kind of just us trying to figure it out like during the season,” sophomore guard Tamar Bates said. “But the fact that we went through last season and we had a whole offseason of just executing coach's offense and what he likes for us to do, we kind of just were able to flow in everything and just execute at a higher level.”
Part of the improvement, too, is the summation of internal improvement and external additions.
Khristian Lander, Rob Phinisee, Parker Stewart and Michael Durr were all part of last season’s roster. Lander rarely played. Phinisee, Stewart and Durr each contributed at varying levels but were relatively one-dimensional offensively. Stewart could hit 3s but was limited elsewhere. Durr didn’t have the dexterity to produce regularly. Phinisee made plays but was inconsistent.
Each of those four transferred out. IU brought in a four-man freshman class of Jalen Hood-Schifino, Malik Reneau, CJ Gunn and Kaleb Banks. Hood-Schifino and Reneau have made the biggest impact thus far. Hood-Schifino has struggled to shoot the ball, but adds another dynamic layer of ball-handling and facilitating to IU’s offense. Reneau has been the reliable third big man IU has lacked the past two seasons. He has great hands, feathery touch and a versatile skill set. Gunn has been a pleasant surprise. He has flashed shot-making ability, plus passing and finishing at the rim.
The pieces IU brought in have proven to be much more versatile offensively than those that departed.
It’s not only the newcomers, but the development of those who stayed. Among the offensive concerns entering this season was who could produce from beyond the arc. Miller Kopp and Xavier Johnson have answered the call.
Kopp shot 36.1% from deep last season. This season he has been playing like the shooter IU needs him to be, currently holding an eye-opening 52% from deep. Though Johnson shot 38.3% from 3 last season, he probably wasn't atop most lists of those presumed to fill the 3-point shooting need. But he has proven to be a dead-eye shooter thus far, shooting 66.7% (8-of-12) from deep. Adding that aspect to his dynamic game, which already includes creating shots for himself and others, makes him nearly unguardable.
“I can't ask for much more than that than what he has done,” Woodson said of Johnson. “So he just has to keep it going. We need him as a senior to run our team and get us where we need to go.”
It still feels like we're still learning who IU can count on to make shots from deep outside of Kopp and Johnson. Bates (7-of-18) is capable but has been inconsistent on a game-to-game basis thus far. Gunn (1-of-7) has the potential to. So does Jordan Geronimo (2-of-6), though he hasn’t taken a high volume of shots from deep. Trey Galloway (2-of-4) has shown flashes as well, but he has been snake-bitten and has been sidelined some. IU has time to figure that out.
Even though it has been against mostly lower-level competition, the current state of its offense is encouraging. It can beat you in a handful of ways. If it’s not from deep, it could be in transition. If it’s not in transition it could be pounding the ball inside to Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has been dominant. IU could reach a pick-your-poison level, where defenses have to decide whether to double-team Jackson-Davis and pay for it from the outside or go single coverage on the talented big man.
Perhaps for the first time in the past few seasons, it feels like IU has an offense it can count on. The more pressing question now becomes whether it can be sustained.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball: Hoosiers offense showing signs of improvement
