Indiana Basketball: Can De’Ron Davis find bigger role down the stretch?

The Indiana basketball senior is coming off of a career-high performance against Michigan and with IU’s frontcourt struggles, more time could be available.

It was one of the worst performances of the season for the Indiana basketball program over the weekend in the blowout loss to Michigan and now there seem to be more questions about the team than answers.

Sitting at 11th in the conference race is a shock to just about every Indiana fan and while the Hoosiers are still sitting on the bubble, they still need to finish the season strong to be dancing in March.

Despite all of the negativity around the program over the past few days, there was one bright spot that came in the way of De’Ron Davis. The senior big man had a career-high 18 points on 9-of-9 from the field against the Wolverines and showed signs of the player many thought he could be when he came to IU.

Injuries have plagued the big man ever since stepping foot on campus, most notably a torn Achilles his sophomore season. This season, however, Davis has showcased his skill and been very productive in short segments. But now the question is, can he play for longer periods of time and carve his way into the rotation full-time?

There is no question that the frontcourt production has dropped off significantly over the past few weeks, and the inconsistent play of the backcourt is starting to make its way to the big guys. One of those guys who has seen his play fall off has been Joey Brunk. After a great start to the year, and Big Ten play, the Butler transfer has been seemingly nonexistent over the past month, averaging just 5.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in the last six games. This play has been really concerning for a guy who had five double-digit rebounding efforts in six games before this drop-off and has hurt IU in so many ways.

Is De’Ron Davis the answer? No, but he has proved his value over the past few games and quite honestly has been more productive in a lot less minutes. With an offensive rating of 110.6, eight points higher than Brunk, and a defensive rating the same, having Davis see extended segments may be an adjustment that is needed.

Davis still can’t go for long segments, with 19 minutes on Sunday being his season-high, but increasing his minute average to around 12-14 minutes a game instead of 8.6 could provide the Hoosiers with some sort of spark and toughness in the frontcourt down the final stretch of the season.

Obviously the rotation has been ever-changing, mainly due to the fact that relatively nobody on the team is very consistent. But in a time when consistency and fire is what you’re searching for, Davis could be that guy, and quite honestly, there isn’t a lot to lose.