Indiana seniors De'Ron Davis and Devonte Green get one last shot at glory
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Preseason media days are often associated with the beginning of something special, but when you're a senior and your days as a college basketball player are numbered, the event often can signal something worse.
The end.
That's the way it is for Indiana seniors De'Ron Davis and Devonte Green. As the two elder statesmen on a very young IU team, Tuesday was their final preseason media day in Bloomington as all 11 scholarship players met with reporters in the bowels of Assembly Hall. Their careers have zipped by here, through coaching changes, roster shuffling and — dare we say — 47 losses in the past three years.
Davis and Green, who both came in as highly-touted recruits back in 2015 when Tom Crean was still coaching the Hoosiers, also have a dubious distinction staring them in the face. They have never played in an NCAA Tournament game during their three years in Bloomington, and now they have one last chance to do that.
If you think it's rare for a class to matriculate through Indiana in four years without playing in the Big Dance, you're exactly right. The last class to spent four years at IU without playing in the tournament was the Class of 1972, led by Joby Wright.
That was 48 years ago!
Let that soak in for a moment. Forty-eight years.
- Let's not forget that Joby Wright and Rick Ford, the two members of that senior class, played basketball at IU before there was an Assembly Hall.
- Let's not forget that the 1971-72 season was Bob Knight's first year in Bloomington.
- Let's not forget that current IU coach Archie Miller wasn't even born yet (1978).
- And let's not forget that even in the post-Kelvin Sampson carnage when Tom Crean was trying to put out that raging dumpster fire, senior Verdell Jones III did survive those first three years of chaos long enough to play in the 2012 NCAAs.
That's what faces Davis and Green this year as they try to avoid that fate. With practice starting in earnest on Monday in preparation for the Nov. 5 season opener against Western Illinois, they are both convinced that this Indiana team will be better than the 19-16 unit from a year ago that missed out on the NCAAs and lost in the quarterfinals of the NIT Tournament.
"It's been up and down, a roller-coaster, and I've had my up-and-down moments,'' Davis said Tuesday of his time in Bloomington so far. "I'm just looking forward to enjoying my time with my team this year, and enjoying my last year.
"As long as we stay focused on the goal, and stay focused on each other, we'll be alright. We're just taking it day by day and focusing on what we can do to make each other better.''
Davis, a 6-foot-10 forward from Park Hill, Colo., came to IU as a top-35 player nationally and big things were expected of him. That hasn't really materialized, though. He had only six double-digit scoring games as a freshman, and when things were starting to come around his sophomore year, he tore his Achilles' tendon on Jan. 2 against Wisconsin and was lost for the year.
He played a full season a year ago, but mostly off the bench, averaging 5.4 points per game.
It's not how he envisioned his career playing out at Indiana, but it's also not over yet. He's healthy heading into this season, and he still wants to be a factor in Indiana's crowded frontcourt that includes freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis and Butler transfer Joey Brunk.
"I feel pretty good right now,'' Davis said. "I've been taking better care of my body and I've had a better diet. If I can play a full season, I know I can help out this team in the long run.''
Big things are expected from Green, who had a hot hand at the end of his junior year and will be looked upon to score a lot for the Hoosiers this season. The 6-foot-3 guard from Babylon, N.Y., went for double-digits in IU's last seven games a year ago, including 26 in the loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament.
He needs to be many things this season, a leader, a scorer and that guy who hits the big shot down the stretch. He likes what he's seen from this group so far, and he likes what lies ahead.
"It's very early, but we've built a really good chemistry at an early stage,'' Green said. "I think it will be a sight to see when it all comes together. I think we'll see a lot more ball movement this year and involve everyone on the team. We'll make defenses move more.''
"The new guys, they've come on pretty quick, the freshmen and Joey. We'll all bonded together well.''
The two old guys, they'll be the ones who will help this team take that next step back to meaningful games in March.
The beginning? The end?
Here we go.
