[IUFR] 5 'Little Things' Indiana Can Improve That Will Have a Big Impact Moving Forward

Coach Adragna goes to the film room to identify five "little things" he sees as reasonable potential improvements Indiana can make in-season to play better over the season's back half.

It’s no secret that the 2023-24 version of the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team has been pretty mediocre.

Coming off of a blowout loss to Nebraska, the Hoosiers find themselves:

• 93rd in KenPom

• 102nd in Bart Torvik

• 111th in the NET Rankings

If those numbers stand pat, Indiana will find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to Selection Sunday. (And they’d need binoculars.)

We can talk until we’re blue in the face about the “nail, slot, rim” defense, 3-point attempts, and having a post-centric offense. The reality is that Mike Woodson is not likely to change his scheme or philosophical beliefs in January.

But that doesn’t mean Indiana can’t make smaller changes to improve.

Oftentimes, coaches preach “the little things” and how they can make a big difference.

In today’s film room, we’re going to look at some of these little things and how Indiana can improve in different areas.

1. Rebounding

Defensive Rebounding

According to KenPom, Indiana has the 3rd-tallest average height in the country. So you’d expect Indiana to be fierce on the glass and not allow opponents to get a lot of second chances.

However, the Hoosiers are just 134th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage.

Let’s take a look at the film and see why they are not be better in that regard.

As you can see in the video above, there are a lot of times when an Indiana player just turns and watches as the ball is shot. The better reaction would be to find an opposing player, make contact, and then go get the ball. Instead, Indiana’s players are often more spectators than active, engaged rebounders.

Other times, a Hoosier player is content letting the offensive guy get better positioning. That can’t happen.

Ultimately, when offensive rebounds are being given up, it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of fighting coming from the Hoosiers side. They’re either ball-watching or giving up positioning.

The good news is that this can be cleaned up. However, it has to be a concerted effort from all five guys on the floor.

Offensive Rebounding

In regards to the average height stat given above, one would also assume that Indiana is able to haul in offensive rebounds at a good clip. The reality is that Indiana is an even worse offensive rebounding team than they are on the defensive end.

On the season, Indiana is 217th in the country in offensive rebounding percentage.

Let’s cut to the tape and see why that is.

Are you seeing what I’m seeing? There is virtually no effort coming from Indiana to get a second-chance bucket. The shot goes up, guys stand and watch, and then they get back on defense.

Now, some of this is certainly by design. A lot of coaches will only send three or four guys to the offensive glass to ensure the transition defense is set up.

But in a lot of the clips above, Indiana is crashing with zero. Plus, it’s not like guys are always turning and sprinting back on defense. Often they are just standing and watching.

For a team that will often hold a size and athleticism advantage over their opponent — and that, let’s face it, will miss a lot of shots — not crashing at all is a missed opportunity.

And when Indiana does crash? Good things happen, as evidenced below.

As is showcased above, it’s not some philosophical ideology that Indiana players aren’t allowed to crash. However, they don’t do it often.

Again, it comes down to effort and toughness, and Indiana needs more effort to go into offensive rebounding.

Now let’s dive into the other four “little things” this IU team is perfectly capable of improving as the season moves forward:

• Careless turnovers

• Guarding your yard

• Staying alert off-ball

• Reducing midrange jumpers (especially off the dribble)