Indiana Basketball: Where do the Hoosiers go from here?

Problem: Point guard play has been underwhelming

It could be possible that many Indiana fans have been holding on to memories of recent point guard Yogi Ferrell. The expectation for the point guard to follow is daunting. How do you follow a four-year player who broke the all-time assists record in school history? A player that was instrumental to the leadership and control on the court. How does one follow that type of expectation set in the last four seasons?

The plan seemed to be handing over the keys to the offense to then-Pittsburgh transfer Josh Newkirk. A player who sat out all of last season in order to play in Bloomington. Newkirk’s play this season has been, well, underwhelming to say the least. Not just Newkirk, but other guards who have tried to control the offense have struggled to find a rhythm.

A problem that Indiana has suffered with for the past few seasons. The fast pace play that Indiana thrives off of has negative consequences. It speeds up the offense and allows for more quick decision-making. Thus, the struggle of turnovers. Granted that Indiana this season especially has struggled with giving the ball away, it comes with the direction of the guards.

Through just 17 games this season, Newkirk has turned the ball over 37 times. In 34 games for Pittsburgh in 2014-15 he had 49 turnovers total. Newkirk is turning the ball over on 22% of Indiana possessions, also the highest of his career. His assist percentage is down from his last season at Pittsburgh (14-15: 26% 16-17: 22%) and his attempts from the three have seen a decline (37%, 32%).

Solution: ‘Point guard by committee’ has to go

By now Indiana Basketball has shown that their ‘point guard by committee’ is not exactly working as planned. The absence of veteran guards have allowed for a gap in who runs the offense. The plan for Josh Newkirk to take on most of the responsibility at point has been underwhelming. The turnovers have been consistently high not just for Newkirk but Indiana as a whole.

While we are well underway in Big Ten Conference play, this is a must fix for Indiana. The hesitation to allow freshman guard Curtis Jones to start might be part of the problem. Jones, who was a highly touted Top-100 recruit for Indiana it seems as though Tom Crean is hesitant to allow him more minutes.

Next: Indiana Basketball: A mission to prove critics wrong

At this point, Crean and company need to stick to a plan when running the offense. Whether that’s allowing Josh Newkirk to battle through some of his struggles, or hand over the offense to James Blackmon Jr. Either way, this in large part is one of the reasons Indiana has seen a significant dip in their points per game over the past six weeks.