Indiana Basketball: Al Durham grew in confidence, assertiveness throughout season
By Alec Lasley
It’s that time again where we take a look at the Indiana basketball roster and break down the season of each player. Today is Al Durham.
Previous Reviews: Juwan Morgan | Zach McRoberts | Evan Fitzner | De’Ron Davis | Devonte Green | Justin Smith
Now that Juwan Morgan has moved on, Al Durham has taken over the top spot in Indiana basketball fan’s hearts.
Always playing hard no matter what, Durham has made his name with his hustle plays and heart.
Whether it be on social media, in press conferences, or on the court, the soon-to-be junior guard has always represented Indiana basketball with class.
With a big offseason ahead of him, Durham has the chance to take a major step up in production and become one of the better players in the Big Ten.
Let’s take a look at this past season and what’s next for Durham.
2018-19 Season in Review
With freshman star Romeo Langford on the wing with Durham, he often times got lost in the shuffle of the offense.
At 6-foot-4, Durham spent the majority of his time playing off the ball. Taking just 6.9 shot attempts per game, 3.4 of them coming from three, in spot up opportunities, something he isn’t fully used to.
Averaging 8.3 points and 1.9 rebounds a game, albeit shooting 45.8 percent from inside the three-point line, he shot just 40.3 percent from the field overall.
Must Read. Bob Knight Returned To Campus For First Time Since Firing. light
His best game of the season came in the NIT, when Langford was not in the lineup. Against St Francis (PA), Durham finished with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, also a career-high in attempts. He went on to average 13.7 points in the NIT on 13.7 shot attempts per game.
For the season, Durham scored in double figures 13 times, with seven of them coming in Big Ten play.
What’s Next?
Going into next year, Durham needs to focus on being more assertive and aggressive on the offensive end of the floor.
As mentioned, taking only 6.9 shot attempts per game, he had nine games where he took four or less shots, and seven of those games were when he played more than 20 minutes.
One of the major improvements he needs to make heading into next year through is how he attempts his shots, and where he gets his points.
Though he did have a much better NIT, he shot 7-of-21 from three while only attempting four total free throws.
On the year, while only having six games with less than three threes, he had 15 without a single free throw attempt.
Next. Thomas Bryant Sets Wizards Franchise Records. dark
Granted it won’t always translate to higher numbers, in 13 games where he attempted two or more free throws, nine of them translated into double-digit scoring outputs, showing the importance at getting to the line and not settling on the offensive end.
Durham will have a lot more freedom next year with Devonte Green in the lineup, who thrives in spot up opportunities unlike Langford.
In order to reach his full potential, he needs to keep up his offensive aggression and be more consistent with his slashing, something that will help him remain in the groove.