He would pay careful attention to how Indiana played under Archie Miller, noting the offensive and defensive schemes and tendencies.
An early commit, Rob Phinisee's subsequent unofficial visits effectively gave him an early idea of what he'd be going into by the time he arrived on Indiana's campus in June.
If his frequent trips to Bloomington didn't speak to his preparedness, his level of play early this season has.
"Honestly I feel like Rob, out of all the freshman, besides Romeo (Langford), he's doing a great job but Rob just came in ready for college basketball," IU junior forward De'Ron Davis said. "His body is real good. He's mentally tough and smart on the court and makes good passes, good decisions, and he just encourages us on the court. He talks, so honestly, I feel like he steps into his role with Devonte being hurt pretty well and I think he's seizing his opportunity."
Phinisee posted 12 points on an efficient 4 of 6 shooting from the field in 26 minutes in Indiana's 80-35 win over Montana State Friday night. The majority of his damage from 3-point range, hitting 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
In his debut, he recorded 6 points, 5 assists and just two turnovers in 20 minutes.
Even with preseason-anointed starting point guard Devonte Green healthy, Phinisee has started in each of IU's first two games.
"I felt Rob played real well," IU freshman guard Romeo Langford said after the Hoosiers' win over 104-55 win over Chicago State. "He didn't play like a freshman guard's first game in Assembly Hall. He showed that he can pass the ball and everything that he's capable of doing. He basically translated his game from high school into college, off this game pretty well."
The telltale sign that Phinisee could see the court sooner rather than later in his first year wasn't his offense but his abilities at the other end of the court. IU head coach Archie Miller said at last month's Big Ten Basketball media day in Chicago that Phinisee was already a college-level defender.
In the season-opener, Miller was pleased with Phinisee's overall poise.
"Rob is under control. As he learns our system and our style and exactly what we want him to do from that position, he can execute that," Miller said. "I think guys have a lot of confidence in Rob. I think he has a lot of confidence in himself."
The competition is about to ramp up, though, and it will test Phinisee. There's a good chance he draws Marquette point guard Markus Howard - who scored a game-high 37 in the Golden Eagles' 92-59 win over Bethune-Cookman Saturday afternoon - as his defensive assignment next Wednesday in IU's Gavitt Games matchup.
Like he has already through the first week of the season, he'll lean on IU's veterans as he prepares.
"I'm still learning," Phinisee said. "I learn from our older guys like Juwan and the captains, Zach. Just keep doing what I'm doing and I feel like I'll do a lot better."
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