My Two Cents: Indiana's 7-Man Rotation Simply Doesn't Work

Indiana coach Archie Miller has been reluctant to go deep into his bench during Big Ten games so far, and it's led to fatigue issues late in games. That needs to change.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The one constant throughout this Indiana basketball season thus far is that the Hoosiers have been staggering down the stretch in most every game. It's been a constant, for sure, in all four of their losses, and was even a huge issue again in Wednesday's overtime win against Penn State.

They've simply run out of gas at the end, and the biggest reason why is that coach Archie Miller has stayed true to a short rotation. He's basically just played seven guys, with freshmen Khristian Lander, Anthony Leal and Jordan Geronimo barely seeing any playing time in tight games. With Joey Brunk's back issues, that leaves Miller relying on just a handful of guys.

And it's caused a problem. Fatigue has definitely played a role. Two things can fix that. One, you play those freshmen more at key parts of the game or two, you expect more out of your starters to still be strong at the end.

Dealing with both issues are easier said that done.

Miller has had to talk about the fatigue issue for weeks now and it was no different on Sunday when he met with the media ahead of Monday night's game against Maryland at Assembly Hall. "We're playing too many tired guys, and it's costing us,'' he said.

I asked Miller point-blank if he shouldn't just play those three freshmen more and live with the results – and he scoffed at my question. Playing time has to be earned, he said, and those guys apparently haven't done enough in practice for Miller to pull the trigger in games. 

At least not yet.

"I don’t necessarily know. When you are in January, sometimes you are who you are and you know who you are,'' Miller said. "I don’t think that's the case with us. I think we need to be able to play our guys more and give them more opportunities in games to develop that, because what we see in practice every day isn’t enough.

"We have to give them more pressure opportunities. Jordan Geronimo needs to play more moving forward. He is too active. He is too physical. He gives us another body. Our front-court players need an opportunity to have another forward in the game. I think Anthony and Khristian both have tinkered around that they are right there.''

Miller admits that he's relied on experience in tight situations, and that hasn't always worked out, especially with guards Al Durham and Rob Phinisee, who had struggled through most of December but finally played well on Wednesday in the Penn State win. Maybe playing others would have been better, but that fear of the unknown still has him worried.

"I think the bottom line is when you're a coach, you rely on your gut instinct, you rely at times on experience,'' Miller said. "In our case, sometimes experience hasn’t been playing well. I think what really makes you nervous is when experience isn’t playing well or not as consistent, sometimes throwing the younger guys into the fire is good thing. But sometimes it can really be counter-productive in getting the older guys trying to get them back and get them the opportunity to get their confidence back.

"There is a delicate balance when it comes to that, and I think the other night was a great example. Al and Rob played probably two of their better games combined in that game, and it was a big reason why we had a chance to win the game, because those two guys performed. That gives you a lot more confidence going into the games sometimes when you know what you are going to get.''

Miller said trusting Lander, Leal and Geronimo in big situations is a two-way street. They need to respond to the opportunities when they are in there, but he also knows he has to stick with giving them a shot as well.

"When you play some other guys in the game, you can live with some of those mistakes they are going to make because you know the guys that are going to be in the game that are older stem the tide, so to speak, if something happens wrong,'' Miller said. "My concern – or my hesitance at times – has been trying more about trying to get our core seven guys to play big-game minutes.

"It's a commitment to the rotation. You have to find a way to give guys more confidence. They have to earn it while they are in the game and do well. The coach has to stick to it a little bit and be able to play through it, good or bad. These guys right now have prepared well.''

The most obvious problem comes up front, of course. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson are really Indiana's only post players, and they can't play 40 minutes a game. Jerome Hunter is the first guy off the bench to give them rest, but he struggles to defend big men on the blocks and rebound at a high level when he's giving up several inches. Miller mentioned Geronimo playing more of a forward role, too, but he's only 6-foot-5. Sure, he's got crazy athletic ability, but asking him to guard 6-9 or 6-10 guys is asking a lot.

Indiana misses Joey Brunk, for sure. He started 32 games up front a year ago, but hasn't played all year because of a back injury that finally required surgery last week. He's probably not going to play this year, though Miller hasn't ruled out a comeback quite yet.

What leaves Miller feeling good about this group is that they all haven't really clicked all together yet. Jackson-Davis and Armaan Franklin have been mostly good, Thompson has had stretches of success and Trey Galloway is having a good freshman season and getting more comfortable each week.

The hope is that Durham and Phinisee found something in the Penn State win. They had 18 and 11 points each, and Phinisee hit the game-winner. The Hoosiers need more of that, much more. 

And if the bench can start to do more, this team could look completely different going forward.

"I told them this, that our team hasn’t really clicked in terms of all able bodies at the same times really having it going together at one time and getting a lot of contributions,'' Miller said. "To me, that's exciting. We could get better. We can play a lot better with more guys contributing. 

"I think part of it is the younger group. I think part of it is the older guys too, and getting those guys back into some kind of groove a little bit like we had the other night. Jerome had big plays in that game. Al and Rob had big plays in that game. It made our team a lot different. I think just trying to establish a deeper team at times has been a balance.''

Indiana had four days off to prepare for Maryland, which was a nice stretch to get some good practice work in. Going forward, there's only one more break that's longer during the rest of this brutal 20-game Big Ten schedule.

This league is so tough that it's a war every night. Miller brought up Geronimo, and if he can help with those minutes up front, that would be a huge boost. And getting something out of Leal and Lander will matter too, especially if there are nights when Durham and Phinisee are struggling. 

What we know right now is the current situation doesn't work. Indiana had second-half leads against Florida State, Northwestern and Illinois, and lost them all. They blew a 12-point lead at Penn State last Wednesday and really could have lost that game, too.

Miller is going to have to dig into his bench, and live with the results. That's an unknown, of course, but we already know that this short rotation doesn't work. 

"Games are obviously very intense right now and every possession matters,'' Miller said. "Trust is everything, so you've got to go out and practice like we just did and then when you get in the game, you've got to give the coaches a feeling like you can help. It's needed, it's a must, and it will help us long-term.''

But Miller also says it's critical for his best players to still be able to contribute in the closing minutes. They need to be there, start to finish.

"No offense, but there's a lot of guys around college basketball who don't come out and they play well and play hard,'' Miller said. "There are  lot of guys who are playing 35 minutes and they're getting it done.  We have to have better mindset in terms of finishing and playing hard all the way through.

"There's a lot of guys averaging more minutes than some of the guys on our team, and I don't see them having a problem. We've got to handle our business.''