BLOOMINGTON – Meyers Leonard stood near Indiana's basket, dazed.Indiana will honor Devan Dumes, Steven Gambles, Tijan Jobe and Brett Finkelmeier on Senior Day today when it plays Northwestern.
But it’s been a freshman, Derek Elston, who has made strides in recent weeks for the Hoosiers (9-20, 3-14).
Elston is coming off a 13-point, seven-rebound performance Wednesday against Purdue.
“I talked to Coach before the game and he told me, ‘We need you to shoot the ball,’ ” Elston said after the game. “I hit my first couple of shots and started to feel good. I relaxed a little bit. I got my feet down and played my game.”
The 13 points were the most he has scored since the season opener when Elston had 14 points against Howard.
Still, his best Big Ten scoring performance came in another loss, a school-record tying 11th straight.
“We realize it. It’s not like we’re not trying hard,” Elston said. “We really are trying hard. We give 100 percent. To come out with a loss, it’s heartbreaking.”
Elston is averaging 5.3 points and 3.8 rebounds, and he has reached double figures in scoring in two of the last three games.
IU coach Tom Crean said Elston has become more aggressive on the offensive end.
“Over a period of time we want him to shoot the ball,” Crean said. “He got his confidence (against Purdue). But we certainly need him to be confident. … Derek is going to be a very, very good player, there’s no doubt about that.”
“He’s making progress. It’s such a confidence game. I mean you saw, the shot goes in for him and it looks like the Atlantic Ocean. And then he’s down and he didn’t probably have a ton of defensive mistakes.”
Elston’s minutes have been tied to his results on defense. The 24 minutes against Purdue matched a career high.
“I feel like I’m coming along pretty well,” Elston said. “Defending and rebounding, I’ve got to do my best. If I defend and rebound, I’ll be on the floor.”
Northwestern (19-11, 7-10 Big Ten) has a chance for the first 20-win season in school history and a probable No. 7 seed in next week’s Big Ten tournament, where an IU-Northwestern first-round matchup is also likely.
