With sophomore forward De'Ron Davis undergoing season-ending Achilles surgery this week, a window of opportunity officially opened for freshman forward Clifton Moore to see more meaningful playing time.
While Moore's seven minutes in IU's 66-46 win over Northwestern on Sunday didn't rank highly among Hoosiers who saw the court Sunday night, it was a building block for the Pennsylvania native the rest of Big Ten play.
"I felt that I was ready because we work hard in practice," Moore said. "So throughout the season, just learning the concepts, learning how Coach wants me to play, I felt comfortable out there."
Moore recorded two blocks within his first four minutes on the court, but only saw three minutes the rest of the way. He also added a steal on the defensive end.
He at times struggled with defending the pick and roll and also attempted just one shot, but arguably his most significant contribution was being able to help IU sustain junior forward Juwan Morgan's early foul trouble. Morgan had picked up two in the first 2:07 of the contest.
"It's big for us," IU redshirt senior guard Josh Newkirk said. "When one guy gets in foul trouble or whatever, it's big for guys like Clifton to step up, be ready and just be aggressive."
This won't be the last game Morgan will likely battle foul trouble in Big Ten play, or even Indiana's other forwards.
The expectation is Moore will get more comfortable and become more involved, according to IU head coach Archie Miller.
"It's going to happen, and the fact that he was in there in the first half and back in there in the second half should give him encouragement," Miller said. "He's at the beginning stages, but his time is now. Juwan goes down with foul trouble, Zach's foul trouble, you have to be ready to go.
"This is encouraging for him to get a chance to play, and it also should be encouraging that he gets a chance a gain. Now he's got to build on that opportunity in practice this week and continue to try and compete like he has to in a game."
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