2018-19 #HLMBB Preview: IUPUI
IUPUI
Last season: 11-19 overall, 8-10 Horizon League
Head coach: Jason Gardner (5th year)
By Joey Yashinsky, Horizon League Contributor. Follow on Twitter @OneSeatOver
The IUPUI Jaguars were the new kid on the block last season.
In year number one in the Horizon League, Jason Gardner and his staff had to play a little bit of catch-up. While other players and coaches had familiarity with schemes and tendencies, IUPUI came in flying blind.
“The second half of the conference season, I thought we got a lot more comfortable,” said Gardner, now entering his fifth year on the sidelines for the Jaguars. “As a staff and for our players, we started getting a better feel for all the different styles, what teams do offensively and defensively, as the year went on.”
The results would agree. IUPUI bagged four wins in its final six Horizon League games, including consecutive victories over Milwaukee, Oakland and Wright State, all teams that finished in the top half of the standings. And while Gardner’s squad got knocked out by Oakland in its first-ever game at Motor City Madness, it was a very tight affair with the teams separated by just one point with less than a minute to play.
The top returning scorer for the Jags is 6-foot-7, 230-pound, Evan Hall, a rugged but skilled forward who has improved each of his three years at IUPUI. Heading into his senior year, Hall will be asked to look for his own offense more than ever before.
“I am really demanding Evan to shoot the ball more,” Gardner said. “I’m on him to ask for the ball more, demand the ball more, and be more aggressive. What people don’t know about Evan is that he’s a very good passer. But this year, I want him to be passing second. When he sees opportunities to go 1-on-1 on the block, I want him taking advantage of that.”
The Jaguars will feature a trio of excellent guards.
D.J. McCall returns for his senior year with an eye on some possible defensive accolades. The rangy 6-foot-6 wing hounded opponents to the tune of 1.5 steals per game last year, fifth-best mark in the conference.
“I’m looking for D.J. to guard everybody’s best player,” Gardner said. “He can guard one through four. If he was a couple inches taller, he could guard fives, too. I do think he has an opportunity to be Defensive Player of the Year in this league, if not least on the All-Defensive team.”
Jaylen Minnett averaged better than seven points per game as a freshman and knocked down the 3-ball at a 40.5 percent clip, best on the team. A gifted scorer at 6-foot-1, Minnett will likely see that scoring mark raised to double-digits this season.
“I’ve told Jaylen and I’ve told our team that I want Jaylen to be one of our top shot-takers,” Gardner said. “Jaylen in high school averaged 26 as a junior, 27 as a senior, so I don’t think there’s a shot that Jaylen doesn’t believe he can make. So that’s exactly what I want him to do.”
A newcomer to the backcourt will be Camron Justice, a 6-3 sharpshooting guard that comes to IUPUI by way of Vanderbilt. He was named Mr. Basketball in Kentucky in 2015 and finished his high school career with the third-most points in state history. Justice could step right in as one of the more dangerous offensive weapons in the Horizon League.
“I’m expecting him to be a leader and one of our go-to guys,” Gardner said. “I think this is something he’s played his whole life for, to be in this situation.”
Combining with Hall on the inside will be athletic redshirt sophomore Elyjah Gross. The bouncy 6-foot-7 forward played 14 minutes as a game as a rookie and could see a lot more of the floor this winter.
“Elyjah is going to be our energy guy, our shot-blocker, our rebounder,” Gardner said. “He makes winning plays, big plays, gets deflections. I think he knows his role and he’s ready to make this jump. He’s put a lot of time in the weight room and on the court these last couple years.”
IUPUI will look to carry the momentum from the end of last season right into the 2018-19 schedule.
With a head coach like Gardner that knows exactly what it takes to win at college basketball’s highest levels, and the law firm of Hall, McCall, Minnett & Justice, the Jaguars are in prime position to become legitimate Horizon League contenders in the very near future.