The top two recruits for Indiana Men’s Basketball entering the 2016-17 season are guard Curtis Jones and forward De’Ron Davis.
Tom Crean historically has been known to recruit some of the best talent in the country to play for him.
No different in 2016, Indiana grabbed the No. 40 recruit Curtis Jones and No. 51 De’Ron Davis from ESPN’s Top 100. These two players hold a major role in why Indiana was shaping up to have their strongest year under Tom Crean. The quick 8-1 start has brought a lot of confidence to the vision of the season. A strong push through non-conference play and continuing to dominate in the Big Ten.
Curtis Jones, the stand out guard from Huntington Prep has shown flashes of greatness in the first nine games of the non-conference schedule. Jones is averaging nearly 7 points per game and shooting 45% from the field. The highly touted four star recruit is serving as one of the best players coming off the bench in a recent stretch of games.
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Indiana’s bench has outscored opponents 100 to 30 in their last three games. Curtis Jones has been an essential part of that scoring over 25% of those bench points during this stretch. While Jones seems to be a major key in the rebuild of Indiana’s team after losing two of the top scorers last year in Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams to the NBA.
De’Ron Davis, the length 6’10 forward recruited as the best player coming out of Colorado in 2015-16. While Curtis Jones has seen a slight edge in minutes over the other freshman De’Ron Davis, I have been most impressed with Davis. His post moves make him one of the brightest spots on coming off the bench. Through the first nine games, Davis has been the relief when big man Thomas Bryant exits the floor. Davis has been impressive in the only 13 minutes he is averaging so far this season.
There is room for improvement for Davis on the rebounding aspect of his game though. Many believe that he could learn under the wing of Thomas Bryant to become an elite defender and rebounding machine. De’Ron Davis needs to find ways to stay out of foul trouble. The last three games he has four, five, and three fouls respectively. This might just take time to adjust to the fast pace game that Indiana plays and the talent level of the NCAA.
Curtis Jones and De’Ron Davis’ points per game are a bit misleading. Both players averaging 6.8 points per game, their field goal percentage is quite lucrative. Davis shooting over 60% from the field and Jones shooting 45%. The bench mob lead by mostly freshman has been putting the NCAA and Big Ten Conference on notice of their impact.
The back-to-back 14 point games Davis has tallied should be a reason for Tom Crean to take an close look at his team moving forward. His ability to make the most of his touches on the offensive side of the ball should give Crean and the rest of his coaching staff a reason to expand his role.
While not down playing the role that Juwan Morgan or Josh Newkirk have played for the Hoosiers so far, it begs positive questions. Will the two freshman have an expanded role on this 2016-17 team?
The expectation that forward Colin Hartman will be returning could reduce the playing time for Davis and company. If the Hoosiers find themselves struggling with the three guard, two forward lineup it could hinder the minutes Jones sees.
Coach Tom Crean has formulated what seems to be one of his strongest teams since the 2012-13 season. Oklahoma City Thunder’s Victor Oladipo and Charlotte Hornet’s Cody Zeller were both a part of the success.
Most will say, “Why make a change when things are going well?”.
Making a change is not the problem. Simply, if things start to trend downward for the Hoosiers heading into conference play, they have more than enough options.
The experience that Thomas Bryant gained in his first year starting was invaluable to his success this season. Much of the same could be said with expanding the role of De’Ron Davis.
If Josh Newkirk continues to be a liability handling the ball, Curtis Jones could easily step in to a more versatile and dynamic role. Tom Crean is loaded with talented scorers and play makers. The options exist outside of years past.
The Hoosiers set to square off against No. 18 Butler at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Saturday at 5pm ET.