Harrison Niego’s Season Recap: Surprising Impact and Intriguing Potential
By Edward Koton
Harrison Niego surprised many this season with his impact. Now the question is: where do we go from here?
If you follow this site and read my articles regularly, you already know I have a great passion for Harrison Niego. One can call it “love”, but that’s creepy. So, I’m going to avoid going down that route for now.
Earlier this season I wrote an article on why Harrison Niego is the most important player on this Indiana basketball team. Of course that strong of a sentiment is intended to be satirical, but I genuinely meant everything I said in that article. Harrison Niego means a lot to this basketball team, but most of that importance is derived from his mentality. His unrelenting effort and dedication to the program are not simple attributes that can be looked over. Harrison Niego truly has made an impact on this team when nobody expected it. I mean, what is there to expect at all from a freshman walk-on?
Now, if you specifically look at his play on the court, his impact truly reached its peak on February 11th. For that was the day that Harrison Niego single handedly ignited a Hoosier victory against the #4 team in the country, Iowa. It was his drawn charge early in the second half which sparked Indiana to victory in that game. He may have only had two points in seven minutes of playing time, but one could easily argue that he was the most important player in that game.
That game in the grand scheme of things truly embodied what Harrison Niego was able to do on the court all season. Niego has had to work hard to carve out minutes anyway possible, and when he has, he has made the little plays that no one else is willing to. His ability to dive on the floor and be pesky has found its way to inspiring great play from the rest from his teammates.
Harrison Niego may have only averaged 4.4 minutes per game and 0.4 points per game, but his ability to do the little things were pivital to Indiana’s success at times.
Now with all of this said, it’s important to note that part of the reason for Niego’s surprise impact this season was the lack of depth at the point guard position. Thanks to injuries to James Blackmon Jr. and Robert Johnson, the only real ball handler on this team was Yogi Ferrell.
Of course Yogi will be graduating this off-season, but that doesn’t exactly mean there is going to be an abundance of room for Niego next year. With the additions of transfer student Josh Newkirk, and recruits Devonte Green and Curtis Jones, Harrison Niego may actually be seeing a reduction in minutes next year.
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The only way to avoid this happening would be a vast improvement in Niego’s game. If Niego can spend the offseason focusing on his perimeter defending and shooting there might still be a role for him. With the departures of Yogi Ferrell and Nick Zeisloft, this team can always use some help at the perimeter. Perhaps Harrison can become something of a specialist. Either a defensive specialist that can alleviate James Blackmon Jr. on key possessions, or a three-point shooting specialist that can focus on coming off ball screens for shot opportunities.
Either way, one role that is guaranteed with Harrison Niego is his leadership. With new point guards coming into the program, Niego is going to have to help Devonte Green and Curtis Jones develop and get adjusted. Niego’s experience is going to be crucial, and based on how dedicated he has been to the program in the past, that shouldn’t be a surprise.
No matter what happens next year specifically with Niego, his development over the next 3 years is going to be fun to watch. He personally checks off all of the boxes for the mental part of the game, so his hard work and dedication could propel him to a growing role year after year.