Final Grades: A Look Back on Devonte Green's Season For Indiana

Devonte Green has some of his best moments in Indiana's biggest games this season, but there were a few clunkers as well in his senior season.

First in a series

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — With a premature ending to the college basketball season last month, there was a lot of unfulfilled goals up and down Indiana's roster. 

No one wanted the season to end that way, of course, with the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the rest of the season in the middle of the Big Ten tournament and just a week before the NCAA tournament. 

Indiana finished the season 20-12 and likely was in line to earn its first NCAA tournament berth in the three-year Archie Miller. So now that it's over, let's break down the 11 scholarship players on the Indiana roster and give them a final grade for their play this season.

We'll start with the seniors and work our way through the roster, starting with senior guard and co-captain Devonte Green.

Overview

Devonte Green, the 6-foot-3 guard from North Babylon, N.Y., has had the ultimate love/hate relationship Indiana fans though the years because he's had moments of unmatched greatness followed by stretches of maddening inconsistency.

Green's senior year was more of the same. It got off to a slow start because of a lingering preseason hamstring injury, but then it was filled with some eye-popping games. He was the team's most prolific three-point shooter (59 makes; Al Durham was second with 36) and scored in bunches — at times.

And then there times where he would take bad shots or force things and Miller was forced to sit him down. That inconsistency drove everyone nuts. He was the team's second-leading scorer (Trayce Jackson-Davis was first) but there were too many times where he wasn't much of a factor, scoring six points or less 10 times.

But what Green did best was play well in Indiana's biggest wins. He had 30 against Florida State, 27 against Iowa and 19 against Ohio State, all wins against ranked teams at home. 

By the numbers

• Games played: 29
• Games started: 7
• Minutes per game: 22.2
• Points per game: 10.8
• Assists per game: 2.1
• Rebounds per game: 2.6
• Field goal percentage: 36.5
• 3-point percentage: 35.8
• Free throw percentage: 70.6

Best game

Indiana 80. Florida State 64 in Dec. 2, 2019: Green's incredible performance against the Seminoles in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge came at the perfect time. After missing three games to start the season, Green had played well through Indiana's easy November schedule, but the FSU matchup was Indiana's first real test of the year.

Green took them down with a career-high 30 points, making 5-of-7 three-pointers and shooting 10-for-15 overall in helping Indiana roll to a 16-point win over the No. 17-ranked Seminoles. It helped the Big Ten win the annual challenge.

"It's something you just feel, I can't explain it," Green said. "Shots were dropping tonight, so I guess I had the hot hand."

VIDEO: Devonte Green talks Florida State win

Things I liked

The most impressive thing about Green was that his shooter's mentality never wavered, even after a few bad games. He was always going to shoot, make or miss. "Every shot is a good shot,'' Green said. 

As a senior, it was obvious to me that Green took his leadership role seriously and that he was going to everything he could to get victories for the Hoosiers. He went three years without making the NCAA tournament, and he wanted to reach that goal in the worst way. 

The night he scored 27 against Iowa was the perfect example of that. It was late in the season, Feb. 13, and the Hoosiers had lost four games in a row. They needed a win in the worst way, and Green delivered, making seven three-pointers. Stopping the skid was huge, as was winning five of their last nine games. Green had a lot to do with the Hoosiers playing better down the stretch.

Things I didn't like

There were too many games where Green just couldn't get going, and it cost the Hoosiers in a big way. The two losses to Purdue were perfect examples. He was just 1-for-7 shooting in the 74-62 defeat in Bloomington and just 3-for-15 in the 57-49 loss in West Lafayette where the offense struggled all night.

He also have five other games where he made one or fewer shots with at least five attempts. That all gets back to that inconsistency that just wasn't there all the time.

The worst stat of all for Green? He finished 0-7 in his career against Purdue.

Best video

This is a no-brainer, because Green provided the best answer to a question all season. It was the day before the season finale and Green and fellow senior DeRon Davis were answering questions.

Green got one from me about what he would say to all the detractors on his way out of town, He answer was priceless. Here's the full video:

Final Grade: B-plus

I said it in December, and said it again in February. I'll take the good with the bad with Devonte Green all day long. His best moments this year came when Indiana needed him the most. 

When Indiana beat ranked teams Florida State, Ohio State and Iowa, he was the best player on the floor. He could score in bunches, which Indiana's limited offense really needed this season. 

There were too many struggles along the way to get any better than a B, but there's certainly no shame in that grade either. I really struggled with that though, and decided that all that good kind of won out in my book, so I bumped it up a touch to a B-plus.

Your thoughts? Please join the conversation in our Community thread.

Related content on Devonte Green

• EMOTIONAL GOODBYE FOR GREEN: With Indiana's season cut short, Green goes online to say thank you to the Indiana fan base. CLICK HERE
• START ON FINAL RUN FOR GREEN: Devonte Green goes off for 27 points against Iowa to help end losing streak. CLICK HERE
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana needs to do a better job of creating good looks for Devonte Green. CLICK HERE

Complete list of 'Final Grades' stories

• PART 1, DEVONTE GREEN: Breaking down the season for Indiana senior guard and co-captain Devonte Green. CLICK HERE
• PART 2, DE'RON DAVIS: Indiana's senior big man battled injuries throughout his career, but stayed healthy in 2020 and played a small role. CLICK HERE
• PART 3, AL DURHAM: The junior guard leads Indiana in three-point shooting percentage and carries a big load. CLICK HERE
• PART 4, JUSTIN SMITH: The junior forward was second in scoring and rebounding for the Hoosiers, but there seemed to be something missing. CLICK HERE
• PART 5, JOEY BRUNK: The transfer from Butler added a lot to the Indiana roster, both on and off the court. CLICK HERE
• PART 6, ROB PHINISEE: The sophomore point guard never was the same after a lengthy abdominal injury. CLICK HERE
• PART 7, JEROME HUNTER: It was great to see Jerome Hunter back out on the floor after missing entire freshman season. CLICK HERE
• PART 8, RACE THOMPSON: The redshirt sophomore was productive off the bench, and had a happy homecoming in Minnesota. CLICK HERE
• PART 9, DAMEZI ANDERSON: We take a deep dive into what happened to Damezi Anderson, whose offensive game completely disappeared. CLICK HERE
• PART 10: TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: The standout freshman was Indiana's best player all season, and it wasn't even close. CLICK HERE
• PART 11: ARMAAN FRANKLIN: Some magical moments back home in Indianapolis this season for Indiana's freshman guard. CLICK HERE