12/19/2018 basketball Edit

Indiana Basketball: Devonte Green Shows He Can Be Third Scorer For IU

Stu Jackson • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

Stu Jackson covers Indiana University basketball, football and recruiting for TheHoosier.com. He also hosts Heard on The Hoosier, the site's official podcast.

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Through 12 games, Indiana has yet to find a consistent third scoring option after freshman guard Romeo Langford and senior forward Juwan Morgan.

It might have found its solution Wednesday.

The offensive spurts in a 86-53 blowout win over Central Arkansas at Simon Skjodt Assembly hall were driven largely by the play of Devonte Green, who made a case for that role with a team-high 19 points in 28 and a half minutes off the bench.

"He is a huge part to what we are doing and his defense (is too)," IU head coach Archie Miller said. "He hasn't had a great shot at it, the month of November he was hurt and he's had to play his way into games and I was happy for him to be able to bust some shots."

Green saw expanded role in the wake of starting freshman point guard Rob Phinisee exiting the game after taking a knee to the head approximately seven minutes into the first half.

With Phinisee out, Green shot 4 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half. He drained his last attempt just before the halftime buzzer after taking advantage of a mismatch against a taller and less athletic defender.

Overall, Green shot 6 of 10 from 3-point range, adding nine rebounds and six assists with just two turnovers.

"I think I had a lot of open ones. That definitely helped," Green said. "I think just running the offense, getting those open shots was the main thing, if it wasn't so open, I mean, probably wouldn't have went in as much."

When it came to getting his overall rhythm back, Green credited his defense. It showed on the stat sheet, as he accounted for four of Indiana's seven steals.

"I would say defense, if I had to choose something, because everything starts on defense and I think once the defense starts going, offense comes with it," Green said.

Miller said after Wednesday's game the team plans on being without Phinisee for an extended period of time as Phinisee deals with concussion protocol. The expectation is for Green to continue to play at a high level as a result.

"We're going to need him to step up," Miller said. "I don't know what Rob's situation is, he's in concussion protocol, and so you know, from my standpoint right now we're planning on having to be without him for a while and Devonte obviously slips right in."