Oladipo’s ‘D’ helps No. 5 Indiana shake Jacksonville

admin December 29, 2012 0

By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Come hell or high water, the Dolphins of Jacksonville were swimming with the No. 5 team in the nation on its home floor. With 11 ½ minutes gone by, Indiana’s lead was just 21-17 over the scrappy team from the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Then Victor Oladipo made a splash.

Hounding man-to-man defense on Russell Powell forced a shot clock violation. The crowd applauded Oladipo’s effort as he waved his arms to egg them on. Then the Hoosiers’ Will Sheehey inbounded and found Jordan Hulls, who instantly made a long 3-pointer. On Jacksonville’s ensuing possession, Oladipo fanned the flames even more. With Glenn Powell seemingly free for an easy lay-in, Oladipo swatted the ball from behind. More oohs and aahs, and the Hoosiers were on their way. The lead was 15 by halftime.

“Defense is the energizer,” Oladipo said. “That’s all that really matters.”

Indiana coach Tom Crean said what makes Oladipo so valuable is that he can swing games on offense, too. Oladipo had 14 points to go along with seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks in Indiana’s 93-59 victory Friday night.

“He can energize a team on both ends,” Crean said. “Not a lot of people can do that.”

Here’s how it went down inside a snow-surrounded Assembly Hall:

IN A NUTSHELL: Indiana (12-1) started slowly, perhaps shaking off the rust after a week without a game. Ultimately, the Hoosiers shot over 50 percent from the field for a third consecutive time since losing to Butler Dec. 15. Hulls had 20 points, including 17 of IU’s 48 in the first half. Yogi Ferrell had six points and 10 assists. Cody Zeller scored 16, Christian Watford had 11, and Sheehey added 14. Indiana reached 90 points for the sixth time in 12 wins. Oladipo’s aforementioned defense occurred in the middle of an 11-4 Hoosier run that finally bounced the lead into double digits with 5:07 remaining in the first half. Jacksonville (5-8) hung around by mixing a 2-3 zone with an occasional switching man-to-man defense. But the differential in skill finally did them in, as the Dolphins shot a horrendous 12-of-39 inside the arc and only had three free-throw attempts before halftime. Jacksonville only had one player score in double figures.

STAR OF THE GAME: Hulls, who entered the night averaging 11.1 points, scored a season-high 20, his most since getting 17 on Nov. 25 against Ball State. The Bloomington native did it all in just 26 minutes of playing time and took all his shots from downtown. Hulls made 6 of the 9 3s he attempted. Afterward, teammates and coaches expressed gratitude that Hulls had gone off. Hulls had scored 10 points or fewer in Indiana’s last five games. After Crean spoke with Hulls, the 6-foot shooting guard got back to shooting. “Whatever he took from it, he responded,” Crean said. “We need him to play that way. We want Jordan hunting 3s. Our team’s much better when he’s aggressive.” Oladipo has been Hulls’ teammate for three seasons and said Hulls willingly scores 30 or 40 straight points in practice. “We need him to shoot the ball more (in games),” Oladipo said. Hulls said he understands what Oladipo and Crean want. The difficulty lies in his ingrained patterns. “Growing up I was always a pass-first guy,” Hulls said. What was clear Friday is that Hulls shouldn’t pass up 3-point looks.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Indiana attempted 19 3s and only 17 2s in the first half on its way to a huge point total. The Hoosiers entered the game shooting a scalding 41.9 percent on 3s as a team. On 2s, the Hoosiers were an excellent 56.6 percent, although that figure is inflated by inferior nonconference competition more so than the 3-point reading is. Nevertheless, shooting a 3 is an amazingly good proposition for Indiana mathematically. Last year’s team, which consisted of most of the same players, hit 43.1 percent. One could easily argue at least half of Indiana’s field goal attempts should come from behind the arc. In the Hoosiers’ lone loss this season, they tried only 12 3s against 51 2s. In 2011-12, Indiana shot 51.5 percent from inside the arc. At that rate, if the Hoosiers took 100 2s, they would score 104 points. If, on the other hand, Crean’s crew tried 100 3s, the average return would be about 126 points. Last season Indiana’s 3-point ratio was approximately 1:3. When asked by IndySportsLegends.com Friday whether he had an ideal ratio for 3s to 2s, Crean said the offensive mix is not something he worries about. “We’ve never been a quantity 3-point team,” the fifth-year coach said. “We don’t want to hunt 3s, unless it’s Jordan. We want to shoot 3s off kickouts and offensive rebounds. Percentage is the number that’s critical.”

CAUSE FOR CONCERN: Zeller had some foul trouble, picking up four in 19 minutes, but that’s not a big deal. One of those occurred because of a smart ploy by a Jacksonville guard who paused while bringing the ball up the floor when he felt Zeller running slightly beside him. Predictably, Zeller couldn’t stop his momentum and ran the guy over. Elsewhere, Crean said reserve big man Derek Elston is on a minutes limit (he played 11 Friday) after returning from knee surgery and that freshman backup Hanner Mosquera-Perea is still feeling his way and doesn’t yet know all the team’s offensive sets. It’s evident that Peter Jurkin is too raw to be a part of the rotation at this point, so with Jeremy Hollowell still absent because of a personal matter, Crean is left without a fully functional second unit as far as power forward and center are concerned. That’s a bit troubling with Big Ten play beginning Monday afternoon.

YOGI-ISMS: Ferrell had 10 assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes. The 5-11 point guard already has 71 assists in the first 13 games. Hulls led the Hoosiers last year with 120 dimes, and it took him all 36 games to get there. If Indiana plays 36 again, Ferrell would be on pace for about 197 assists. “For someone so short, I don’t know how he sees the court,” Oladipo said. “He does a great job of it.” While it would seem Ferrell has changed the Hoosiers, Ferrell said the team has changed for him. “My teammates do a great job of moving and running with me,” Ferrell said.

NEXT: Cue up Auld Lang Syne, because the Hoosiers start conference play on New Year’s Eve on the road at Iowa. The Hawkeyes are 11-2 and led by Roy Devyn Marble, who averages 15.7 points per game. Iowa has won five of its last six against Indiana.