Indiana's senior guard Devonte Green, in just his second game back from injury, scored a team-high 16 points off the bench against Princeton. He logged 26 minutes in the game and was effective as a passer alongside his scoring abilities.
Green finished the game with four assists, but had the chance for more if not from some mishandles by his Hoosier teammates. He'll be a crucial part to the team come conference play.
It’s not often a team’s leading scorer comes from the bench with as many minutes as its starters. But with two games under his belt, Devonte Green is cracking through the rust after sitting out the first three games of the season with a hamstring injury.
Against Princeton, Indiana’s senior captain led the team in scoring in a 79-54 victory and was second on the team in assists during his 26 minutes on the floor. His performance came just three days after posting six points against Troy — his first game of the season.
“Definitely feeling a lot more comfortable,” Green said. “I've been out for a while, but it feels good to be back, and I feel comfortable out there with my team.”
Green shot 5-of-8 from the floor and finished with 16 points, but his ability to move the ball seamlessly through the defense created opportunities for not only himself but also his teammates.
Indiana head coach Archie Miller said the 6-foot-3 guard is the Hoosiers’ best playmaker, praising his shot selection and craftiness as a passer. He stated that Green is able to see passes early and make them before they’re seen.
If not for a few mishandles under the basket from redshirt sophomore forward Race Thompson and a missed shot from redshirt junior Joey Brunk, Green would have been flirting with a double-double.
Instead, he finished the game with just four assists. He never lost confidence in his teammates, however, and was constantly keeping a tight handle on the basketball in order to find open players.
“You love having somebody that's looking for you, wants to reward you,” Brunk said of Green. “You want to play hard with him because you know he's going to get you the ball in the right spots.”
The team has already seen explosiveness from junior forward Justin Smith and freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis in their ability to finish possessions with ferocious dunks. With Green, there’s similar energy resonating from his innate ability to shoot the basketball, unlike other Hoosiers.
Green instantly made his presence felt when he checked into the game against the Tigers. It took 20 seconds for him to find himself at the wing, ball fake and sidestep a defender for an easy, pull-up jump shot.
“The ball goes into the basket, baby,” Miller said. “There's one thing that makes [Green] feel good, in my opinion, and that's him being able to impact the game by making a shot early, a play early. And he got that tonight.”
Green has the ability to shoot from almost every possible spot on the court, but his biggest contributions for Indiana will come from the three-point line. In his first game back from injury, Green launched six shots from beyond the arc but was only able to convert on one.
Against Princeton, though, he nailed two tough shots from three-point range. His first came with just over four minutes left to go in the first half, which seemed to be the shot that settled him into the game for the second half.
What made this shot different was that it was anything but routine. As Green approached the top of the key and called for an on-ball screen from Thompson, and he let it fly despite a defender standing at his hip. The shot hit the bottom of the net, nothing else.
The bucket brought his point total to six at the time, but he carried the momentum of that shot and added another 10 after halftime.
“He's hard to guard,” Brunk said. “Obviously I'm happy not the one guarding him and he's on my team and I'm not getting out there on ball screens trying to hedge it. I'm happy he's on my side.”
Green brings several offensive skills to the table for Indiana. While 16 points at this stage of the season is a huge positive, especially after an injury, he’ll be expected to play his style of basketball and lead the team’s scoring efforts almost every week once he’s at full strength.
As Green garners more practice time, he’ll continue to build his chemistry with a young Hoosier team and will eventually begin to crack into the starting lineup. It’ll be a common occurrence him to post double-digit points come conference play.
On the other hand, his do-it-all style can sometimes hinder his effectiveness. Miller said he needs to play the right way — within the framework of what the team is looking to accomplish during any given game.
“He's so aggressive and he knows he can impact the game,” Miller said. “But you've got to understand those when you're aggressive, how to take them. I think that's the only thing I stress to him is to play smart and play simple. If he does that, he'll play a big role with what we're doing.”
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