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With 4:30 left within the second half, College of Indianapolis’s Kendrick Tchoua caught the ball on the left block, spun baseline, and positioned beneath the basket in opposition to Malik Reneau.
Then, Anthony Walker got here to the scene. He drifted down from the elbow and snatched the ball out of mid-air together with his proper hand. Two dribbles had been all it took for the Miami (FL) switch to get from the baseline to mid-court and begin an Indiana quick break.
Trey Galloway caught the outlet and made the additional go to Mackenzie Mgbako for the nook 3-pointer. Money — it gave IU its largest lead.
The Greyhounds known as a timeout, and Walker lifted his arms on the Indiana heart emblem, egging on the gang.
It was nice play in a easy 74-52 exhibition win in opposition to UIndy on Sunday afternoon for Indiana. Nevertheless it highlighted one of many Hoosiers’ vibrant spots on the day — depth and stellar bench manufacturing. Walker completed with six factors, three rebounds and three assists in 22 minutes.
One among Indiana’s most vital issues final season was inconsistent bench play. Mike Woodson struggled to seek out bench combos that resulted in optimistic, mistake-free minutes when his starters wanted a breather final winter.
On Sunday, the Hoosiers beginning unit struggled within the first 5 minutes. Indiana was lacking layups and free throws. Nevertheless it was the second unit of Gabe Cupps, CJ Gunn, Anthony Leal, Walker and Payton Sparks that introduced issues again in Indiana’s favor.
A fifth-year senior, Walker offers the Hoosiers size and expertise on the ahead place. He’s an clever participant that may be taught on the fly. Throughout a timeout Woodson obtained on the Baltimore native, he thought Walker was too hesitant and tentative in opposition to the zone. Within the subsequent jiffy, he scored two buckets in opposition to the identical protection.
“I assumed our second unit was implausible,” Woodson stated postgame. “I assumed Gabe got here in and obtained that group round him and so they began to essentially defend and obtained the lead that we would have liked to have.”
“I’ve at all times burdened that the second unit is simply as vital because the second unit…I feel we’re deep sufficient if we are able to steer clear of accidents, that we are able to maintain that over the course of the season.”
Cupps, a freshman level guard taking part in in his first recreation within the Cream and Crimson, was a pest on the defensive finish. He pressured a 10-second violation and was diving throughout Meeting Corridor’s ground for free balls. The Dayton, Ohio, native added 4 factors.
“His effort and his defensive strain is contagious to all of us…it makes us need to get stops, get deflections, and get steals,” Gunn stated postgame.
Walker chimed in, “Particularly coming from a freshman, for him to come back out his first recreation and apply the strain that he did actually made a press release for the workforce and the opposite guards.”
The Hoosiers outscored the Greyhounds 22–16 on the bench. Walker and Cupps had been balls of vitality of their first Indiana recreation, and their size and pace created points for UIndy.
This created quite a lot of fastbreak and transition alternatives for the Hoosiers. Indiana had 28 factors on the break. Gunn, the wiry sophomore guard, scored seven factors within the first half — together with a breakaway jam.
Walker and Gunn’s athleticism and size give Indiana versatility on protection as they will poke balls in passing lanes and guard a number of positions.
Woodson stated he needs to have the ability to play 9 and even 10 guys this season. Whereas that’s unlikely to come back Massive Ten play, the Hoosiers’ second unit has quite a lot of upside and offers the Hoosiers with strong depth. IU was additionally with out one other athletic bench participant, Kaleb Banks, who sat with a groin damage.
Cupps, Walker and Gunn stood out within the first style of the new-look Hoosiers, and with extra time collectively, Indiana might discover itself with a very good drawback — an excessive amount of expertise oozing off the bench and never sufficient minutes for everybody to play.
Filed to: Anthony Walker, Gabe Cupps, University of Indianapolis Greyhounds
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