What to watch for: Gannon University

  • 10/28/2019 8:56 am in

Indiana plays its lone exhibition on Tuesday night as the Hoosiers host Division II Gannon University from Erie, Pennsylvania at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Tuesday’s exhibition will air live exclusively on BTN+, which is not included with a BTN subscription. As of Sunday, IU said that BTN had no plans to air the exhibition on a delayed basis.

In lieu of our traditional “what to expect” game previews that we’ll have for each contest during the regular season, here’s our look at “what to watch for” on Tuesday:

• Who will be available to play? One of the notable takeaways from Hoosier Hysteria earlier this month was the absence of Devonte Green, Rob Phinisee and De’Ron Davis in the abbreviated scrimmage.

At the time, Indiana released the following information: “Some players may be held out of the scrimmage and skills competitions as a precaution. We have no serious injuries.”

Fifteen days later in a closed scrimmage loss against Marquette, Davis played 10 minutes, but the Hoosiers were again without Green and Phinisee.

Will IU’s backcourt duo be available to play on Tuesday?

With just eight days to go until the start of the regular season, it’s the top storyline currently surrounding this IU team. If one or both players remain out, it will be an opportunity for Armaan Franklin and Damezi Anderson to log extended minutes.

• How will Jerome Hunter look? Indiana’s redshirt freshman forward, Jerome Hunter, should play his first minutes in game action on Branch McCracken Court on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-7 Hunter was a full participant at Hoosier Hysteria and finished with seven points, two rebounds, two steals and four turnovers in 14 minutes in IU’s closed scrimmage loss to Marquette.

The expectation is that Hunter will have plenty of rust early in the season due to the amount of time he missed, but he’s a potential season changing player for the Hoosiers.

“He’s got some things that you can’t teach,” Archie Miller said of Hunter at Big Ten media day. “He can score the ball in a lot of different ways. He’s competitive. He’s got some toughness about him, he’s got an edge about him, and he’s very, very hungry to play after being sat out.”

If Hunter is able to play this season, which is currently the expectation, he should provide size and athleticism on the wing along with the ability to knock down perimeter shots.

• The new guys: Indiana’s recruiting class wasn’t heralded nationally, but each of its three newcomers should make an immediate impact in Bloomington.

Butler grad transfer Joey Brunk went for a stellar 11 points and seven rebounds in the Marquette scrimmage and is an efficient finisher in the paint.

Trayce Jackson-Davis, the headliner of the class and a McDonald’s All-American, won the first gold practice jersey earlier this fall and also finished with 11 points against Marquette. If Jackson-Davis is going to play major minutes the four, he’s going to have to prove he can guard on the perimeter.

And Armaan Franklin, a four-star recruit from Cathedral, will look to build on the strong performance he delivered against Marquette. Without Green and Phinisee available, Franklin came off the bench and played a team-high 29 minutes and finished with a team-high 14 points.

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