Al Durham set to return, guide team from point guard vs. Western Illinois
Indiana junior guard and co-captain Al Durham is set to return from his 10-day knee bruise and relieve freshman Armaan Franklin from his point guard duties in the Hoosiers' season-opener against Western Illinois.
When the ball is tipped and Indiana’s 2019-20 season begins Tuesday night against Western Illinois, it won’t have one of its captains on the floor – senior guard Devonte Green, who has also been called the “most dynamic” offensive player on the team by head coach Archie Miller.
In the long days leading up to the season, between the Oct. 20 closed scrimmage, the open exhibition against Gannon and now the season-opener, it wasn’t certain that even one captain would be on the floor, as both Green and junior guard Al Durham sat out of the exhibition due to injury.
Miller said Monday that at this point in the season, most captains are ready to lead their teams onto the floor in as established of a system as possible for the first game of the season, but that will be a restricted opportunity for Indiana on Tuesday.
“Back court health has been the big concern here in the month of October,” Miller said. “It's definitely been a challenge, the back court not being together. The reality is it's probably our most experienced group of people playing together that haven't been a part of it.”
The three primary guards on the roster have missed significant time heading into the season because of their injuries.
Green has and will miss the most time because of a lingering hamstring injury that Miller said he is using caution not to rush back from. Sophomore guard Rob Phinisee suffered a lower abdomen injury that kept him out for most of October, as the Gannon exhibition was his first five-on-five action of the month and his first practice since Oct. 4.
Green also missed October, and it’s unknown how much more time he will miss, while Phinisee, who played 14 minutes against Gannon, might need to monitor his injury on a week-to-week basis, Miller said on his radio show Monday evening.
Durham’s injury was different than his two teammates’, as a contact knee injury against Marquette in the closed scrimmage kept him out for just 10 days. He is expected to be back for the game against Western Illinois, as well as Phinisee – in a limited role – which might salvage a foundation to build off of entering non-conference play.
“We’ve all been healthy at one point, been on the floor together, so we've kind of gotten a niche going for all of us together,” Durham said, calling back to last season. “Injuries happen to everyone, so it's just been everybody has to step up and turn it up a notch now that we're short on a couple guys.”
One of those players so far has been freshman guard Armaan Franklin, who hasn’t played an official game yet but has proven, as solid as any proof can be at this stage of a season, that he can work from the point in games against weaker non-conference opponents. He scored a team-high 14 points in the closed scrimmage and added 12 more against Gannon, has totaled seven assists to seven turnovers and brought down 11 rebounds.
Franklin also flashed his passing ability in front of the public against Gannon, but he has clearly been out of position and is green to the college game. Miller made it clear that Franklin will not be a point guard this season or in the future, as long as it can be avoided.
But Durham has been impressed by the freshman, as he will most likely be working with him against Western Illinois on Tuesday.
“He's most definitely got it down pat, and most definitely, I will help him with whatever he needs and give him pointers here and there,” Durham said. “Not too much to overbear him, but just little things I see to help him uplift his game really.”
While Phinisee will be the primary point guard this season and Franklin has stepped into the role during exhibitions, Durham taking over at point guard is actually part of what Miller wants to see in his team this year.
The head coach said he expected Durham to split point guard reps with Phinisee and keep Green as an off-ball guard, and as that scenario has played itself out, Miller said he’s been impressed with the way his junior co-captain has handled the responsibility.
“He's done a good job of it, so I feel very confident in Al,” Miller said. “I wouldn't even term him as the backup. I think Al's a very, very vital piece to what we're doing with the ball.”
On Tuesday, Durham will be able to play in what junior forward Justin Smith labeled as “awkward” lineups on the floor, where players who don’t typically play together have been on the floor at the same time. Much of that has been due to injuries in the back court, but Now Durham can flesh out some new personnel combinations, which he said he believes provides an advantage for the Hoosiers moving forward.
“We probably can't be predictable if we have a bunch of different combinations that work and go together,” Durham said. “Those different combinations, the competition we have with each other in practice, going at each other, I feel like it's done nothing but made us better. I feel like it'll help us in the long run.”
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