If you were to tell any Indiana basketball fan that Tom Pritchard – Tom Pritchard – would deliver a positive highlight that would be passed around the Interwebs, most of us would have laughed at you. Of course we love Pritchard, and he’s our guy; but let’s just say that his career in Cream and Crimson has not been filled with highlight reel plays.

Last night though, in front of a raucous Assembly Hall crowd, Pritchard delivered one of the college basketball highlights of the year while leading his team to a big win over 20th-ranked Minnesota.

Video: Tom Pritchard Put-Back Dunk Against Minnesota

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I think my favorite part of the video, after the dunk of course, is the look on Victor Oladipo’s face as they run back down the court together. Victor looks completely shocked and confused, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the Pritchard’s dunk or because he can’t find his man. Either way, his face sums up how everyone watching the game felt.

And check out this photo of Pritchard’s dunk, which is just awesome:

Image credit: Peter Stevenson via Greg Rosenstein (hat tip The Big Lead)

What a moment, and what a game for Pritchard. With Christian Watford sidelined along with Maurice Creek, and Verdell Jones only being able to play limited minutes, Indiana needed someone to step up and play big to win its second straight home game against a ranked opponent. The much maligned Pritchard was the guy. He scored 12 points on 5-5 shooting from the field and, incredibly, 2-2 from the free throw line. (Actually, for most IU fans, Pritchard’s back-to-back free throws were actually the most unexpected highlight of his great night). Tom also had 7 rebounds and, amazingly, zero personal fouls.

It was Tom Pritchard’s finest moment in an IU uniform, and it led to a one of the two biggest wins of the Tom Crean Era. Let’s home T.P. has some more of that in him. With Watford out for an extended period of time, the Hoosiers will need it.

The 4-2 Maryland Terrapins visit the 3-3 Indiana Hoosiers in the 2009 Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

I am as patient a Tom Crean supporter as you will find anywhere. I was able to find the silver lining throughout the bleak blackness of last season. I was disappointed, but not dispirited, by IU’s porous 0-3 performance in Puerto Rico.

But make no mistake about it: I expect the Hoosiers to be very competitive at home tonight.

I’m not yet at the point of saying I expect a victory over a team with an outstanding senior guard like Maryland has in Greivis Vasquez, but I do expect IU to begin showing more poise down the stretch in close games.

And at a minimum, this should be a close game that the Hoosiers have a chance to win in the final 5:00. Anything less, at home, is unacceptable.

I fully expect these young Hoosiers to get run out of a few teams’ gyms this season. Michigan State and Purdue are both probably talented and experienced enough to put this year’s IU team away in the first half. I hope that’s not the case, but I am realistic.

At home, however, there is enough talent and, yes, experience on IU’s roster to be competitive with most teams. I know that IU has a lot of freshman in its rotation, but they also have Verdell Jones, Tom Pritchard, and Devan Dumes, each of whom played major minutes last year. The Hoosiers also have Jeremiah Rivers, who grew up in a basketball family and played two seasons at Georgetown. So IU is not completely devoid of experience.

Maryland is good, but not great. (They are currently receiving two votes in the Coaches’ Poll.) If Indiana gets beaten soundly by Maryland like we did against, say, Ole Miss, it will be extremely disappointing.

I still believe that a .500 record is a reasonable goal for this season, and I’m not expecting Tom Crean to work miracles. I just want to see growth and maturity as we progress through the season. A win over Maryland tonight would be outstanding, and eventually should be the expectation; a competitive, down-to-the-wire game should be the worst case scenario.

I have a lot of faith in Tom Crean and I think freshmen like Maurice Creek, Christian Watford, and Derek Elston are terrific building blocks for the future. Last year, all IU fans were forced to get both eyes firmly on the future. I think that now, in Tom Crean’s second season, it’s fair to keep one eye on the future and one eye on the present.

A solid (dare I say winning?) home performance tonight against a quality ACC opponent will go a long way towards regenerating the initial excitement that Tom Crean built when he took the job last year. I know that IU fans are trying, but 28 losses in 37 games is difficult no matter how much you expected it or can rationalize it.

The Hoosier fan base is one still clinging for anything resembling hope, optimism, and positive direction for the future. Tom Crean has laid a good foundation of all three during his 1+ seasons at the helm. Tonight, he and his team have the opportunity deliver a signature win upon which the next phase of the rebuilding project can be constructed.

Go get ‘em tonight Hoosiers.

My completely biased, unobjective, and wishful thinking prediction: IU 79 | Maryland 77

Revenge for 2002 is ours!

Note: For all the game info you need, visit the Peegs.com Hoosier Gameday page. To see when IU plays next, visit our 2009-10 Indiana mens basketball TV schedule.

The game is now over, with the Boilermakers winning 81-67. My prediction was a 4-point win for the Boilers, I think they were favored by 22, and it ended up at 14. I guess that sounds about right. Here is the IU-Purdue box score if you’re interested.

While I am never happy about a loss, especially to Purdue, I think Indiana represented itself it well by playing hard, looking competent for stretches on the offensive end, and not allowing Purdue to ever run away with the game. Until E’Twuan Moore’s three-pointer with about 3:30 minutes left, the Hoosers were hanging around between 6-10 points down, just a few quick threes away from making it a game. But Moore’s three was a dagger that pushed the Purdue lead to 12 and effectively ended IU’s hopes of a comeback.

Here are a few observations and things we learned today:

1 – It is an absolute travesty that IU and Purdue are only playing once this year

This point is really too obvious to spend a lot of time worrying about. Does the Big Ten conference just stick its head up its own rear when it decides on the schedule? Certain rivalries should always be played twice a year, end of story. Indiana should always play Illinois and Purdue twice a season, no questions asked. I’m not even saying anything else because it is the one thing that IU and Purdue fans can agree on. There should be a meeting in Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers might not win, but they certainly could make it a competitive game. Now that this game is over, the fact that IU and Purdue are only playing once this year is really starting to piss me off.

2 – If Purdue shoots well in March (and Hummel is healthy), they can make a tournament run

I am impressed with this Purdue team. They struggled out of the gates in the Big Ten season but are playing really well right now. They play suffocating man-to-man defense and have solid continuity on offense. And when E’Twuan Moore is shooting the ball well from outside they become especially difficult to defend. The big caveat is Robbie Hummel’s health. I don’t think they have enough multi-dimensional players to compete with the top teams in the nation if Hummel is out, as evidenced by their 1-3 Big Ten record without him. With Hummel in the game, however, he provides that one guy with size who can do a little bit of everything.

3 – JaJuan Johnson is talented, but will never realize his potential until he learns how to focus

Full disclosure: This is the first full Purdue game I have watched this year, so Boiler fans can correct me on this one if I am wrong; but JaJuan Johnson really seems to lack focus. He played a very good game today though. 14 points, 10 boards, and 5 blocks. He showed range on his jumper, obvious athletic ability, and has undeniable talent. Yet, he made some really careless turnovers and got caught out of position a number of times on defense. And while I love Tom Pritchard and Kyle Taber, they are not in the upper echelon of big men that Johnson will have to face come March. If Johnson increases his ability to focus, he could be a monster as a junior and senior. He’s so talented, he may be anyway.

4 – Indiana has a team full of role players, but two guys have emerged as pieces to build around for the future

Nick Williams, Devan Dumes, Matt Roth, and Malik Story all bring unique individual abilities to the floor, and all will be solid players in the cream and crimson for the next year (Dumes) or three (the others, all freshmen). However, on a good team that can contend for a Big Ten title, they should be bench players who fill specific roles playing 10-15 minutes a game. And I don’t think that is a knock on them at all. They are getting tons of playing time as freshman because IU had so little coming back this year, and will be better players because of it. But each has critical deficiencies that put ceilings on their potential:

• Nick Williams is too short to be a guy who lacks quickness and handle
• Devan Dumes is not consistent enough as a shooter and plays out of control with the ball
• Matt Roth is a non-factor if he is not getting open looks from 3, and lacks quickness to get open if defenses focus on him
• Malik Story is simply average from a skill standpoint and athletic ability standpoint

With all that said, all four of these guys have tremendous heart and because of it they have been more productive than their respective talent and skills would suggest they’d be. They have also continued to fight in the midst of an awful season and will forever have my appreciation and respect, as well as that of Hoosier fans everywhere. And while they will improve moving forward, these are the kind of guys who should be like Pat Graham, Brian Evans, and Todd Leary on the 1993 team: solid role players who are not asked to do more than they are capable of doing and who contribute to a winning team.

There are two guys on this year’s team, however, that are proving to be future starters that IU can build around: Tom Pritchard and Verdell Jones.

Pritchard has been pretty consistent all season, though his play dipped a bit recently. I thought he played well today though. He was active offensively, made some tough shots, did a solid job on the boards, and played well with fouls in the second half. He finished with 12 points and 8 boards, which I think will be a similar line to what he’ll put up as a senior when he plays Purdue. Pritchard has obvious deficiencies in foot speed, overall athletic ability, and free throw shooting — only one of which he can really do anything about. But he is a physical presence with decent skills and a high basketball IQ. He can be a Matt Nover-type contributor who you can pencil in for 10-14 points and 8-10 boards every night. He is almost that right now as a freshman.

In terms of improvement, no Hoosier has improved more from the beginning of the season to now than Verdell Jones. Honestly, at the beginning of the season I was wondering why we gave him a scholarship and why he was playing so much. He looked scared, he turned the ball over left and right, and had no physical toughness. Over the last few weeks, Jones has shown off his offensive abilities and become a much more poised leader with the ball in his hands. He still does not dribble especially well and makes lazy passes, and he simply has to get stronger, but 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in his first trip to Mackey is nothing sneeze at.

I thought Verdell was outstanding today. For the first time all season I thought he looked completely comfortable on the floor. He made some beautiful passes, did a great job of pulling up for the 10- to 15-foot jumpshot, and led an IU offensive attack that played pretty well, all things considered, against a team that really knows how to lock down on defense.

Verdell Jones also has one huge advantage that cannot be taught: height. At 6’5, he is a tough matchup for most guards in the Big Ten. He has gotten eaten alive though by shorter, quicker players this season when he is careless with the ball; but as his ball-handling and decision-making improves he is going to become a really tough matchup on a night-in, night-out basis. With talented players Maurice Creek and Christian Watford, among others, coming in at the guard and wing spots next season, this year’s freshmen will have more competition for playing time. Verdell Jones is proving that he has the talent to be a starter on a top-flight Big Ten team. If he can continue grow physically, as a ball-handler, and in the mental aspect of the game, we could be looking at a player who puts up stat lines like today’s on a nightly basis.

5 – The IU-Purdue rivalry is going to be really fun again

In the late 80s and into the mid-90s, the IU-Purdue rivalry was awesome. Calbert Cheaney against Glenn Robinson. Brian Evans against Cuonzo Martin. AJ Guyton against Chad Austin. And of course, Bob Knight against Gene Keady. Over the last decade or so, while the game is always exciting, it has lacked that extra bit of star power and top-level performance. A major part of it has been the two programs’ transition from legendary coaches to the guys at the helm now. Another part of it is a huge lull in the two programs’ ability to keep the top in-state talent at home. And honestly, it has been rare recently for both teams to be really good at the same time.

But I think with Tom Crean and Matt Painter settling in as the long-term stewards of Indiana and Purdue basketball, this rivalry is on the right track towards becoming one of the elite rivalries again on a yearly basis.

Painter has done a great job of building a solid nucleus around in-state players. Tom Crean is bringing some good Indiana kids in next year and supplementing them with top-flight national talents like Creek and Watford. Give IU one more year to settle in next season, and then I think these two programs are poised to be in the upper third of the Big Ten for the next decade. And with these two coaches we know that the games will be extremely physical and hard fought.

For once, I am not completely despondent after a Purdue loss. I have resigned myself to the pitiful fate of seeking moral victories in every loss. The state of our program demands it. Today, the Hoosiers showed that they have two starters and four solid bench players ready to go for next season. Assuming three or four of the new guys are ready to step in and contribute right away, we can look forward to a still young but much more talented team next season that should be ready to compete for a Big Ten title again in 2011.

And hopefully, God willing, moral victories will no longer be an option.

Earlier tonight, reserve guard Malik Story sparked the Hoosiers off the bench with 15 points en route to a 72-54 victory over Division II Bemidji State. Malik Story was one of the three players in double figures, along with freshmen Nick Williams and Tom Pritchard, both of whom scored 12 points. Follow the link to view the box score from tonight’s game between Indiana and Bemidji State played at Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

Thanks to the Big Ten Network I was able to catch some of the 2nd half of tonight’s game online. The much maligned network has fallen into my extreme good graces so far this year. First, when I found out that the Big Ten Network was being carried on Verizon in Dallas; and second, when I learned that even when games are not on TV, they can be streamed live.

And guess who does the play-by-play for the live streaming games on the BigTenNetwork.com? That’s right, the incomparable Don Fischer and and his trust sidekick Todd Leary.

Leary made a couple of interesting points during the part of the game I was able to see. Vincennes transfer Devan Dumes and freshman Verdell Jones did not play a great deal in the 2nd half. According to Leary, both were making too many mistakes in the first half and Tom Crean was using the bench to send a message that they needed to bring more focus to the floor. Leary was also impressed with the rebounding of Nick Williams and Tom Pritchard, who grabbed and 9 and 7 boards a piece, respectively.

Obviously there is not a whole lot that can be ascertained this early in the season with such a young team in a game against competition that is not comparable to what the Hoosiers will face once the regular season starts; but, from what I saw there was one very noticeable positive and one very noticeable negative:

• Positive: Ball movement. I liked the ball movement on display during the period I watched. There was some interior passing that led to layups for Tom Pritchard and Kyle Taber, and Malik Story had one drive-and-dish in particular that was very nice. The Hoosiers only had 10 assists against 13 turnovers for the game, but I thought the pacing and movement on offense was solid for this early in the year.
• Negative: Shooting. At home, you always expect to shoot well. But the Hoosiers struggled from the field tonight, shooting just over 41%. More ominously, we only made 56.3% of our free throws. With such a young team, the home court advantage of being comfortable with your own gym probably has not had time to set in yet, so I’ll give the Hoosiers a pass on this one. Hopefully as the season goes along we will be able to make shots at home. Wins will be hard to come by this year and with our undersized lineup it will probably be hard for us to win games that we do not shoot well.

The main feeling I took from the 2nd half of tonight’s game against Bemidji State was just excitement that another season of Indiana basketball is right around the corner, and optimism at the energy and style of play under new coach Tom Crean. I have never tempered my expectations so much heading into a season, but as Mike Davis was famous for saying, “help is on the way.”

The other big Indiana basketball news from today is that November 12th marks the beginning of the early signing period for college basketball recruiting. Tom Crean has received verbal commitments for next season that have many people ranking Indiana’s incoming recruiting class for 2009 among the best in the country. All of the recruits who have verbally committed are expected to sign on the dotted line tomorrow (or today I guess, since it’s now past midnight.)

But that’s for next year. First, we have to get through this season. The games start counting for real on Friday and despite the tempered expectations of Hoosier fans everywhere, I know that I cannot wait for the first step of the Tom Crean era to begin.

[tags]indiana hoosiers, tom crean, college basketball[/tags]