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CHICAGO – Verdell Jones III has a better grasp in several areas as he enters his second season with Indiana. Including what to expect at a practice.
“You just know on certain days how practice is going to be by how coach’s vibe is when he first walks in. Last year we weren’t really sure,” the sophomore guard said during Thursday’s Big Ten basketball media day at the Crowne Plaza. “This year, if (coach Tom Crean) comes in energetic, hyper and yelling, we’re going to have a long, hard practice. We know if we have a day off tomorrow, that day’s practice is going to be tough. We’ve become adjusted to those things.”
Last year, Michigan and Minnesota players made huge strides in their second seasons guided by John Beilein and Tubby Smith, respectively.
The Wolverines went from 10 wins to 21 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Gophers won 22 games and also made an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Indiana’s situation is a bit different as the program continues to emerge from a deeper hole. But Crean believes the Hoosiers are on an upswing after going 6-25 last season.
“We’re better than we were a year ago. There’s better talent, there’s more of it,” he said. “But we’re still a very young team that does not know the value of how hard you have to play, work and compete every day yet.”
The Hoosiers were competitive in home conference games against Michigan, Minnesota and Michigan State and at Northwestern but couldn’t find a way to win. It’s something the Wolverines learned with the extra year.
“We did a lot better closing out games than we did earlier,” Michigan guard Manny Harris said. “I remember against UCLA our freshman year we were up a lot, but we didn’t close out the game, and they came back and beat us. The second year, we were up, and we were able to close it out.”
For Minnesota forward Damian Johnson, familiarity leads to success.
“Guys are getting more comfortable with the system, they know exactly where to be at, exactly what coach wants from you,” Johnson said. “That helps out a lot when it comes to game time and game situations.
“A lot of the guys were not in the right place at the beginning of the year or doing the wrong thing offensively. Once guys got what coach Smith wanted, guys played much better, and it helped them out a lot.”
That paid off in a December upset of Louisville.
“I don’t think we would have won that the year before,” Johnson said.
“Louisville was a very athletic team. Last year we didn’t have the most athletic team, but we handled their press real well, pressed them and caused them to turn the ball over. That’s something we couldn’t have done before.”
A year later, Michigan forward DeShawn Sims said the Wolverines were better at executing plays.
“Execute (Beilein’s) offense in a way that it will make it efficient to work all the way,” Sims said. “The second year around was much easier because I was accustomed to it. I had seen it before. It ran much smoother. That whole year made us better for the next year.”
That’s something the Hoosiers are hoping for.
