Today's 2 p.m. ET exhibition against the University of Indianapolis doesn't officially count toward IU's record, but it will move the Hoosiers one step closer to a sense of normalcy both on and away from the court as the start of the regular season nears.
"Our first one against Marian, we didn't spend a whole lot of time talking about prep," Indiana head coach Archie Miller said. "Today was actually the first time they a chance to see what we do two days before a game. Tomorrow will be an opportunity for scouting segments in practice, which will be new. Our gameday routine, which they went through the first against Marian, will be the same with a little bit more of a preparation type of feel."
Establishing that routine starts with getting closer to full strength.
From a personnel standpoint, graduate forward Collin Hartman is probable to play after sitting out the Hoosier Hysteria scrimmage and Marian exhibition for precautionary reasons. Hartman, who had been dealing with a sprained ankle, had been participating in the Hoosiers' last three workouts and was full-go for "a good portion of the practice" on Friday according to Miller.
Additionally, freshman guard Al Durham Jr., who tweaked the same hamstring during the week of practice leading up to Hoosier Hysteria, is "tentatively" expected to be available.
"(Hartman) gives us another weapon offensively that can probably keep us spaced out and put the defense on their heels a little bit in terms of who they defend him with," Miller said. "He’s playing hard. If he does what he does in practice every day, he’s going to give us a big boost."
With both players healthy and expected to be available, Sunday's exhibition game will also give Miller the chance to better understand how his frontcourt will shape out and provide him with another guard at his disposal for smaller lineups.
In the first exhibition game, junior forward Juwan Morgan started at the power forward spot while De'Ron Davis started at center, with freshman forward Justin Smith backing up Morgan and Freddie McSwain backing up Davis. In an ideal frontcourt scenario, Miller envisions Morgan playing alongside Hartman.
"Are those guys going to be able to play together in a game? They haven’t really had a chance to, since Collin has been out anyway," Miller said of Morgan and Hartman. "But it’s a thought that you play five good players offensively and that may be your best weapon, instead of the depth being just about the position, maybe the lineup creativity, the creativity with the lineup. It’s something we are going to have to think about moving forward after this weekend."
The Hoosiers' season-opener is five days away, and Miller is confident his players will have a strong idea of what to expect.
"As we get ready to go into the opener, those guys have an understanding of what the week will look like and what we do leading into a game."
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