The Indiana Northwestern game Saturday night was exciting with the outcome not decided until the final buzzer sounded. The Wildcats had a chance to pull off the upset of the year, but failed to take advantage of several opportunities in the closing minutes to secure their first victory in the Big Ten play.
A Shadow Of A Team
While all members of the Indiana team showed up for the game, it was clear from their performances on the floor that they were not the same team that has battled successfully to date for the Big Ten Championship. While interim coach Dakich escaped with a narrow victory, he knows that the burden of getting this team back to playing at the high performance levels they have displayed throughout the Big Ten slate, particularly in recent wins over Michigan State and Purdue, will be the principal challenge of his coaching career.
On the other bench Carmody, even if the result was severely distorted by a distracted Hoosier performance, may benefit from the perception of a competitive game. But he too has the challenge of salvaging something positive from this lackluster season and it would be a mistake to take too many positives away from this game.
Missing Defenses
It was clear that defense was not going to be a part of this game from the beginning toss. Both teams were able to shoot freely and defense did not seem to be the focus of either team. For Dakich the fact that his team allowed Northwestern to break 80 points is an indication of the uphill battle he has in bringing his team back together after the Sampson fiasco this past week. The highest point total for Northwestern in previous Big Ten games was 68 twice against Michigan and Penn State.
In their first game in Bloomington the Wildcats were held to 63 points. Had Sampson been in the coaching box for the game this past Saturday, it is near certain that the Wildcats would not have been able to pull off 8 backcuts that yielded wide-open lay-ups and 16 points. No other Big Ten team has surrendered this many points to the Northwestern backdoor attack.
While the backcut is occasionally successful for Northwestern when the opposing teams lose their defensive concentration, it seldom yields this many points in a single game. Dakich obviously had no answer for the backcuts since no adjustments seemed evident in the Hoosier’s play. Another sign of lackluster Hoosier defense was Kevin Coble’s career-high 37-point outing.
In recent games the opposing Big Ten foes had been very effective in containing Coble’s scoring by assigning one of their best defensive players to shadow him throughout the game. Anyone who has watched Northwestern play this year knows that keeping Coble from scoring is the key to beating them as they have a limited number of other productive scorers. In the three games prior to Indiana, Coble’s biggest output was a high of 14 points with a low of 4 points coming against Ohio State, one of the best defensive teams in the Big Ten. In the first game with Indiana he scored 12 points.
Playing strong team defense requires intensity both physically and mentally. It requires players to do things that often are not natural and instinctive. Good defensive play is not recognized and rewarded by the average fan so players have to be taught to maintain strong defensive postures throughout the game. A significant cost of the stressful week for the Hoosiers was a total breakdown in their defensive intensity.
White’s Pursuit of Excellence
Most Big Ten fans would agree that D.J. White is the strongest candidate for Conference Player of the Year. Indeed many college basketball observers have recognized him as a strong candidate for Naismith Player of the Year award. Given what D.J. has experienced in his four years of college basketball at Indiana, his performance this year has been magnificent.
He already had weathered the firing of Mike Davis who recruited him from his Alabama roots to come play for Indiana. Enduring yet another round of pain and sorrow in losing Sampson, a coach who had gained his trust and full commitment, probably affects no other Indiana player more deeply that it does White.
While displaying tremendous potential to be a strong post player during this first two years at Indiana, he did not come close to realizing it. Enter Kelvin Sampson who was not only very instrumental in keeping White at Indiana, but very effective in convincing him that he could be a great player in his final years at IU with hard work and in-game intensity. Those who have seen him over his four years tenure will attest to the fact that he is performing at a very different level this year. Sampson can take full credit for this turnaround.
Hoosier Heart And Soul
Saturday night D.J. had a strong first half, easily scoring when he received the ball or worked to grab offensive rebounds. He was 5 for 5 in field goals during the first half, but just before the half ended, he hurt his hand in play under the basket, possibly a severely spraining his thumb. He was quite visible in displaying the pain as the half came to a close.
In the second half Indiana did not run their offense through White as they had in the first half. Whether it was due to his sprained hand, one can only speculate. Had they continued to use White extensively in their offensive sets, I am convinced that the outcome of this game would have been far different as Northwestern has no answers for a player of White’s skill and power. White did not score a single field goal in the second half, having attempted only one.
He made all six of his free throws in the second half, and ended the game with 16 quiet points. White obviously was feeling the emotional exhaustion of the week and he was unable to sustain the passion he has displayed for the game over 40 minutes. The lack of a typical White offensive game is another major factor that figured heavily in the closeness of this game.
He has far too much at stake. His team will need him to continue his consistent strong play in scoring and rebounding. The success of the Hoosiers in the Big Ten NCAA tournaments will be determined by the success Dakich has in getting White to continue his strong efforts.
The Stretch Run
While Dakich has been a head coach, he has not faced the challenge he now confronts of putting a very good Hoosier team immediately back into focus. It is a tall order, but there is little time and virtually no margin for error. While their schedule is favorable, they must travel to East Lansing for a tough match-up with the Spartans. They face a hungry Buckeye team at home and a Minnesota team that would like to sneak into the NCAA tournament. A big win for the Gophers in Bloomington would be the quality win they have been seeking all season. The Hoosier’s final game is in Happy Valley where Michigan State was ambushed earlier this season.
Fishing Lessons, Et Al
While the factors are not identical Dakich may want to consult with Steve Fisher who took over the ‘88-‘89 Michigan Wolverine team after Bill Frieder announced that he was bolting for the Arizona State head coaching job. Frieder assumed he would be allowed to take his Michigan team to the NCAA, but A.D. Bo Schembeckler intervened and stated “I want a Michigan man coaching the Wolverines in the Tournament.†Steve Fisher took over as interim and guided the Wolverines to their only NCAA Championship. Fisher was named head coach after the tournament run. So Fisher may have some sage advice that can be helpful.
Another powerful motivator in athletic competition is to exhort the team to “win for the coach!†In this case, an effective ploy might be: “win it for Coach Sampsonâ€. Given the circumstances surrounding Sampson’s departure, exploiting the strong relationships the team members have to Sampson will be tricky, but it should be effective in this situation to keep the team focused. Players endure a great deal during a season and, if they like their coach, they develop great loyalty to their coach and they will overcome all types of adversity in the pursuit of wins.
Loyalty to Sampson is strongly rooted in the Indiana team and it will not go away quickly. Dakich would be well advised to tap into this reservoir of loyalty to sustain the performance of his team. Stay tuned to see whether Dakich is able to pass these major leadership tests.
