Healthier Rob Phinisee Can Make the Difference for Indiana

Indiana's standout point guard feels like he's almost back to his old self, which is exactly what the Hoosiers need right now.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Being a leader and a great teammate are traits that are ingrained in Indiana's Rob Phinisee. Maybe it's that point guard mentality, that this is HIS team. That's just how he's wired, that he's always wanting to do more to help the Hoosiers win.

And now, when Indiana is fighting its way through its first struggles of the season, Phinisee wants that even more. What Indiana's been lacking in recent losses, according to coach Archie Miller, is good guard play. They dribble too much, he says, and they don't pass well at the right times.

What Indiana needs is a point guard, a guy who can penetrate and create good looks. A guy who won't turn the ball over and will play tough on-ball defense.

They had that in Rob Phinisee last year. And they need that Rob Phinisee — or the even better year-older version — to win games right now.

The good news? After months of dealing with a variety of injuries from head to toe and a few places in between, Phinisee feels like he's almost all back to normal. He's almost "Big Shot Rob'' again. And because of that, he's on the verge to helping in an area it needs the most.

"It's been pretty frustrating, but I'm working my way back in,'' Phinisee said Tuesday night after practice in a one-on-one interview. "I missed so many practices that my conditioning level wasn't up. I'm fine now, injury-wise, but it's just the conditioning part.

"It was really hard, especially mentally, trying to come back from an injury, a couple of injuries, really, because I missed so much time. Just not being able to play like yourself because you're not in shape, that's hard. And you just don't have a rhythm with your team, because you've been out for so long.''

And now? He's just about there, he said

"I'm not really caught up 100 percent, but it's close. I've been working hard every day, getting up extra shots, working on conditioning. I'm over the injuries, it's just that conditioning level. I can only do so much, because you really have to watch what you're doing at no overdo it. I don't want to get hurt again, because I really want to be out there helping my team.''

We know what we have in Phinisee, because we saw it a year ago as a freshman. He quickly became a proven point guard in the league, and had an excellent first season, averaging 6.8 points and 2.9 assists, with eight double-digit scoring games.

He was expected to be the leader of this year's team, too, somewhat out of necessity because he is the team's only true point guard. But a lower abdominal injury knocked him out of almost all of preseason workouts. And when Devonte Green (hamstring) and Al Durham (ankle) also dealt with preseason injuries, there was very little to be gained from practice for this group. 

When Indiana played its first game in early November, there hadn't been a single practice where all four guards were healthy and participating. Being off the floor then was hard on Phinisee.

"The first couple of weeks, it's hard to think about being a leader because you're not out there with them. I feel a little disconnected from your own team when you're not out there practicing every day with them,'' the sophomore from Lafayette, Ind., said.

"But I've been more vocal the last week or two now that I'm back out there every day, and I'm trying to do everything I can to help them.''

This is when they need him the most. Back-to-back losses to Arkansas and Maryland have the Hoosiers on the ropes right now. Phinisee, who's missed five of the 14 games this season, has played a little over 20 minutes in both of those games, but he hasn't had much impact. He hasn't taken over yet, not like he wants to.

He knows it's time for him to do that.

"We're coming off those two losses, but we're not focusing on the losses themselves. We're working on things we didn't do well, and working on getting better,''  he said. "There's nothing we can do about those losses now, and it's my job as a leader to keep everyone up and heading in the right direction.''

No repeat of last year's losing streak 

Phinisee said this year's team is different from a year ago, and he's adamant about it. He doesn't see these few losses mounting into anything bad.

"Our everyday mindset is different this year. Practice is huge at this level, and when you come in from high school, you really don't understand that. We didn't last year. Now, we are all still together and we are all working hard every day,'' he said. "This year's team is different that way. We're still locked in, and now we just need a little extra.

"Maryland, it was like a three-point game (36-33 with 12 minutes to go). A few turnovers there, and that caused a problem. We let our offense affect our defense too much in those games, but that's all stuff we can clean up. The same thing happened against Arkansas too.

"Both games we played really hard in long stretches of those games, but it's a game of runs. We got caught up in a couple of those runs. We need to work on the small things. It's not bigger than that. Certain things, like transition defense and executing the offense, we can fix those. ''

Indiana (11-3, and 1-2 in the Big Ten) simply needs Phinisee playing at his best to fix some of these woes. Devonte Green is not a point guard, and the ball gets stuck in his hands too often. Al Durham, the primary ball handler in Phinisee's absence, just hasn't been good about breaking down defenses.

They need Phinisee. His game is perfectly suited to fix the problems.

"We just have to move the ball and get into the paint a little more. It just opens up things for everybody,'' he said. "We get good paint touches that way, and get good open looks. And then we just need to knock down those shots.''

Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Mason Jones (15) shoots the ball while Indiana Hoosiers guard Rob Phinisee (10) defends in the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Always tougher in the Big Ten

When the conference season start, things get even tougher. That's why it's even more important for Phinisee to be closer to his old self. He knows it, and he's doing all he can to help Indiana's two freshmen, forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and Armaan Franklin, to be better acclimated .

"Once the Big Ten starts, teams play you diffierently. They scout more, they make it a lot harder, so it really starts in practice, just listening to what coach says and working ont he game plan. Trayce has been putting up huge numbers for us, and Armaan, he's like a sponge, always asking questions and wanting to learn. They both work really hard.

"That Notre Dame (game-winning) shot, that was huge for Armaan, He's a better shooter than what his stats say. We're really good friends, and we hang out together a lot off the court.''

Phinisee said the lesson he learned best about his frehsman season and that long losing streak when Indiana lost 12 of 13 was to block out all the criticism from the outside. He's doing the same thing now, with the fragile fan base turning on this team after two losses.

"I learned a lot from last year when it comes to all that outside noise. There's a lot of it, but you've just got to block it out,'' Phinisee said. "You just can't pay attention to it. They're going to love you when you're good and hate you when you're bad. 

"For us, it's just about working hard and getting better, and trying to win those games. You win, and they'll love you. What I learned most from last year was mental toughness. You've got to rally your guys and fight through that adversity. We weren't very good at that last year, but we're better about that this year. We know there's a long way to go.''

Phinisee was full-go in practice Tuesday and said he felt great afterward. This is a big week for the Hoosiers, with home games against Northwestern on Wednesday night (7 p.m. ET) and Ohio State on Saturday (Noon ET). 

It's time to get back to their winning ways.

"I know I need to do more, and I'm ready for that,'' said Phinisee, who still hasn't started any of the nine games he's played in. "We've been working very hard on fixing some things and executing better. I think we'll see that translate more into the games. 

"Our confidence is still high. We know what we are capable of, we all just need to go at it hard and just answer runs with runs of our own. We've haven't done the past couple of games, but we all know we're capable of it."