Amidst the upcoming return of College Basketball, I am going to discuss what team I believe to be a dark horse in the Big Ten Conference. The Big Ten is loaded with talent and exciting rosters such as Luka Garza and Iowa, Ayo Dosunmu and Illinois, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. The action-filled conference will have a very exciting year as there are plenty of good teams, but not a clear superior team.
However, I believe that the Indiana Hoosiers can be a dark horse team and succeed to surprise many basketball fans this season.
For starters, they lost senior point guard, Devonte Graham, to graduation and Justin Smith to transfer, but star forward, Trayce Jackson-Davis, is returning to the program. Jackson-Davis was a walking double-double for the Hoosiers last year and a great scorer off the pick and roll. Jackson-Davis will be able to dominate the paint for the Hoosiers and grab ten boards a game. He will be joined in the backcourt by Joey Brunk, Race Thompson, and Jerome Hunter who will all be fighting for a starting spot to share with Jackson-Davis.
Indiana’s guards consist of Al Durham, Armaan Franklin, and Rob Phinisee.Durham is a great shot creator from midrange and a solid defender. Franklin and Phinisee are both great catch and shoot players who can defend as well, but if Indiana wants to pose as a threat to other teams, then they need to improve their playmaking and outside shooting; this was their main struggle last season, as it was the cause of many losses. Indiana is hoping to fix that problem by bringing in five-star point guard recruit, Khristian Lander, who is a proficient playmaker and shooter. They have also landed Trey Galloway who is an athletic inside scorer, and Anthony Leal who is a sharpshooter.
Although Indiana has collection of problems to solve, I believe they can overcome these setbacks and become a contender for the Big Ten Championship.
Image: AP Photo
