In a week which saw Indiana play a tiresome four games in eight days, junior guard Robert Johnson provided consistent energy for the Hoosiers.
“Rob controls the tempo on the floor,” IU freshman forward De’Ron Davis said. “He controls everybody pretty much.”
Johnson paced the Hoosiers with a game-high 17 points, adding seven rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of an 83-55 win over Southeast Missouri State on Sunday.
Although he’s had strong, consistent performances overall over the past week, it was his work before halftime that energized the Hoosiers.
In the first half of the North Carolina game, Johnson had a team-high 10 points and five rebounds and was one of three players with two assists. He had eight points, one rebound and two assists by halftime of the Southeast Missouri State game last Sunday.
Johnson said having quick starts to Indiana’s games isn’t really something he focuses on.
“I try to approach every game the same,” Johnson said. “Just take what the defense gives me. And this game, guys did a good job of finding me.”
Between those two games, Johnson turned the ball over just once before halftime and averaged just two per game.
Over the course of the entire season, however, it’s been a different experience for the Richmond, Virginia, native. Johnson is playing without Yogi Ferrell, Indiana’s all-time assists leader and a former All-American now with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, in the backcourt for the first time in his career.
Johnson has dished out three fewer total assists but has scored 40 more points than he did by the same point of the season a year ago.
“He's growing and onward,” Indiana head coach Tom Crean said. “I said that to him when he came out of the game the last week. This is a big week to take the next step.”
Indiana will face just two opponents in the next two weeks between Dec. 5 and Dec. 18, giving players some time to recuperate but also hone their skills.
Final exams will be taking place during that time as well, making it a busy week for them academically. For Johnson, it will be a chance to take care of both. “We want to make sure that they have a good amount of time to get their projects done and all the stuff that they have this week,” Crean said. “But at the same time, when we're here we've got to be really locked into the improvement. And he's making improvements, without a doubt, in all those areas.”
