Indiana Basketball: Takeaways from tough loss against #20 Florida State

Indiana Basketball: Takeaways from tough loss against #20 Florida State

Disappointing performance for Rob Phinisee

Rob Phinisee had an awesome freshman season. His poise, confidence, and pure point guard skills gained the respect of many IU fans. In the midst of a tumultuous season, Phinisee was one of the few constants.

The problem is Phinisee hasn’t really grown much as a player since that freshman year. He hasn’t gotten worse by any means, but every year of experience gained as a college basketball player raises expectations for production. Phinisee didn’t standout much last season, and it has been the same story through the first four games this season.

The only times this year that I have watched Phinisee and thought, “Oh, he couldn’t do that last season.” was when he made a three when his defender went under a ball screen, and when he hit one baby step back. That is two moments in four games for those keeping track at home.

There was a lot of hype for Phinisee over the offseason. Players and coaches raved about his growth as a player and as a leader. So far, we haven’t seen any growth on display. The season is still early, but the question remains. When is Phinisee going to take his game from a B to an A?

Armaan Franklin: lockdown defender

I tweeted out that I was nervous about who was going to be guarding Scottie Barnes, Florida State’s talented freshman. Armaan Franklin may be five inches shorter and 125 spots below Barnes in the recruiting rankings, but he dominated the McDonald’s All-American. Even when Barnes euro-stepped to the basket for the game-winning layup, Franklin was all in his jersey.

Barnes finished the game 3-10 from the field. Franklin even out-rebounded the five-star recruit eight to four. The Cathedral product managed to do all this without fouling despite giving up a ton of size. Barnes shot just four free throws in the game, and Franklin’s four fouls mostly occurred when he tried to rotate over to take a charge on other players.

Franklin also spent a large amount of time on Stanford’s Ziare Williams, another top-10 recruit. Williams finished that game 1-10 from the field.

Is it too early to declare Armaan Franklin the five-star stopper? I don’t think so.