Hoosier State of Mind
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Indiana Basketball: The Potential of Indiana’s Backcourt Next Season

By Trevor Gersmehl

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 02: Devonte Green #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers drives past Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 02: Devonte Green #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers drives past Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – DECEMBER 22: Devonte Green #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers shoots the ball against the Jacksonville Dolphins at Assembly Hall on December 22, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – DECEMBER 22: Devonte Green #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers shoots the ball against the Jacksonville Dolphins at Assembly Hall on December 22, 2018 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Mindset

When Langford came to IU, those of us who had never seen a New Albany High School game expected a cold-blooded killer and a bad man on the offensive side of the court. What we got instead was a guy with smooth skills and obvious talent, but with a seemingly passive, non-alpha mindset.

There were several times this year where Langford could have and should have taken over the game. You would expect a 3,000 point scorer in high school to relish the opportunity to give the team buckets when they needs it most. More often than not, however, Langford seemed either unwilling to take over the game, or simply unable (the two exceptions coming against Arkansas and Maryland). This presented many problems when mixed with Rob Phinisee’s own natural passivity and pass-first playing style. Indiana needed an alpha dog in the backcourt, and although Langford had all the credentials, he never filled that role.

Love him or hate him, you can’t deny Devonte Green has confidence (maybe irrational confidence at times, but confidence nonetheless).

He takes big time shots and expects to make them. He has no problem shooting 15 shots per game, even when he shouldn’t.

He brings a certain swagger that Langford’s calm demeanor does not. Assertiveness is not an issue in a Phinisee/Green backcourt. The perhaps over confident mindset of Green balances out the perhaps under confident mindset of Phinisee. This has the potential to give Indiana a huge edge next season.

Of course, seeing Phinisee take a more assertive approach on offense would help too, as we have seen that great things happen when he takes more shots i.e. vs. Illinois.

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