Nico Perrino

Basketball

For the Hoosiers Hoopsters to improve before Big Ten play, Perrino says, "Stop with the Jeremiah Rivers love parade!"

Having a 6-25 record is not usually something you strive for at the beginning of the season, yet that is exactly the record Indiana ended it’s dismal campaign with last year. This year they have already amassed half of their 6 victories, having tallied a 3-4 record, but they had a similar record at the same point last year, so what gives. Is this team better? Will they win a single Big Ten game? To both of those questions I answer, “yes.” But, there are a few things Indiana needs to fix before heading into Big Ten play if they wish to compete.
 

Indiana’s 5 Keys to Big Ten Success:

• Stop turning the ball over! Although, they have turned the ball over fewer times this season cumulatively than their opponents (116-131), they still average nearly 17 turnovers a game, which is way too many. Plus, they seem to like to commit turnovers during crucial parts of the game (namely the end) when they get restless because they are down.
• Get inside the arc! After watching their game against Maryland it became pretty apparent that IU loves to pass the ball around the top of the arc to nearly no end. It appears it is impossible for IU to drive underneath the basket, which forces them to settle for the deep ball. But, unlucky for them, they are not the greatest 3-ball team. Dumas loves to shoot them, but he loves to miss them even more. Get the ball away from trigger happy Dumas and feed it instead to Watford and Pritchard who need to do a better job of driving inside.
• Stop with the Jeremiah Rivers love parade! He’s scrappy and sloppy and doesn’t score. I don’t understand the hype…
• Play with your opponents when it matters! All of last season IU would be able to stick with their opponents through the first half, but would get demolished in the second. This year it is the same story, but they appear capable of playing it close until the game clock winds down to about 6 minutes, when they see it conveniently fit to let their competitors cover the spread. Yea it’s all fine and good that you can play with the good teams most of the game, but it means nothing if you can’t close. Haven’t they ever seen American Pie? Watch that movie –or any other teen movie- and you’ll understand the importance of closing.
• Keep feeding it to Creek! Maurice Creek leads all Big Ten freshman in scoring averaging 16.7 ppg and he is obviously your go to guy. Him along with Elston, Jones, and Watford comprise the foundation of this team and it is of the upmost importance to keep getting them the ball throughout the rest of the season.