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Indiana Hoosiers (Last Year: 10-21, 4-14 in Big Ten)
2010-11 Projected Depth Chart:
F/C: Tom Pritchard (Jr)/Bobby Capobianco (So)/Guy Marc-Michel (Jr)
F: Christian Watford (So)/Derek Elston (So)/Will Sheehey (Fr)
SG: Maurice Creek (So)/Victor Oladipo (Fr)
G: Verdell Jones III (Jr)/Matt Roth (Jr)
PG: Jeremiah Rivers (Sr)/Jordan Hulls (So)/Daniel Moore (Jr)
Gone: SG-Devan Dumes, C- Tijan Jobe, C-Bawa Muniru (transfer-Tennessee State)
2010-11 Outlook:
When Tom Crean left Marquette for Indiana, he said the decision was made because, “It’s Indiana. It’s Indiana.” In his first two years on the job, Crean has learned that “Indiana” does not have the same juice it once had, as the Hoosiers have been unable to land the highly touted recruits as expected, yet (though the 2011 class is beginning to take shape nicely.) The university is further away from re-establishing their program than originally hoped after the Kelvin Sampson debacle but they are still slowly heading in the right direction.
The Hoosiers followed up their worst season in school history with a five-win improvement. That is impressive considering they lost stud freshman and leading scorer Maurice Creek 12 games into the season with a fractured left knee. With a healthy Creek alongside Christian Watford and Verdell Jones III who both played well last season, Indiana returns a solid core. Jeremiah Rivers is also back to run the show as the only senior though he may see less time actually handling the ball. Sophomore Derek Elston really impressed me with his play late last season and will be someone to keep an eye on. The weakness of this group lies down low where there is no true post presence.
As Bill Murray said in What About Bob?, “Baby steps.” Indiana’s re-birth should continue this season but it certainly will not be a drastic jump in an incredibly talented Big Ten. As long as the fan base and administration is patient, Crean should get the Hoosiers back into the top half of the conference sooner rather than later. If steps are not made in 2010-11 though, Crean’s seat could be heating up a bit.
Player to Watch: Maurice Creek, SG
Creek came out of the gates strong scoring in double digits in his first seven games as a Hoosier. He really opened eyes with a 31-point outburst in a blowout loss against Kentucky before the aforementioned season-ending injury. His presence on the court will help open things up for Jones III and Watford who were forced to play bigger roles without Creek in the lineup. He is a big-time scorer who can stroke it from deep and might be a sleeper candidate for the All-Big Ten team.
Key Non-Conference Games:
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