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De'Ron Davis Trending Up

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rico

rico

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8 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

Great article but you missed Nick Ward. Another big post bruiser.

BTW, did anyone else see De'Ron talking to the Louisville kid that knocked Romeo to the floor on a hard foul? That was great...

Yeah Ward is a beast.

And I know the play you talking about...I was concerned that "sparks" were gonna fly.

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BGleas

BGleas

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I think I've done it in some post-game threads, but I'll chime in here and say I wrong about De'Ron. To clear it up though, I never said he didn't have talent, just said the style of play wasn't right for him and that the game has moved away from plodding centers. But, I'll drink my medicine because I was wrong and De'Ron to this point is adding way more than I thought he could. 

I think some of it is that he's got better defenders that are more comfortable in the system around him, so while he still struggles at times with help/recover, he's being exposed much less this season which is key to him being on the court. He's also done a great job on the block offensively, adding a dimension that has helped this team when the offense stalls. 

Again, I was wrong. Also, I couldn't be happier for Davis. It was never personal, just a style of play thing. But, I watched him in several of the offseason videos from IU and he always came across as a tremendous kid who loves IU. Really happy for him! 

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5 championships

5 championships

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4 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I think I've done it in some post-game threads, but I'll chime in here and say I wrong about De'Ron. To clear it up though, I never said he didn't have talent, just said the style of play wasn't right for him and that the game has moved away from plodding centers. But, I'll drink my medicine because I was wrong and De'Ron to this point is adding way more than I thought he could. 

I think some of it is that he's got better defenders that are more comfortable in the system around him, so while he still struggles at times with help/recover, he's being exposed much less this season which is key to him being on the court. He's also done a great job on the block offensively, adding a dimension that has helped this team when the offense stalls. 

Again, I was wrong. Also, I couldn't be happier for Davis. It was never personal, just a style of play thing. But, I watched him in several of the offseason videos from IU and he always came across as a tremendous kid who loves IU. Really happy for him! 

I’m right there with ya. I thought he was a pretty bad liability on defense last year before the injury and figured the Achilles situation would only make things worse. Seems so far this year he has fit in pretty well! 

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The Daily Hoosier

The Daily Hoosier

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8 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I think I've done it in some post-game threads, but I'll chime in here and say I wrong about De'Ron. To clear it up though, I never said he didn't have talent, just said the style of play wasn't right for him and that the game has moved away from plodding centers. But, I'll drink my medicine because I was wrong and De'Ron to this point is adding way more than I thought he could. 

I think some of it is that he's got better defenders that are more comfortable in the system around him, so while he still struggles at times with help/recover, he's being exposed much less this season which is key to him being on the court. He's also done a great job on the block offensively, adding a dimension that has helped this team when the offense stalls. 

Again, I was wrong. Also, I couldn't be happier for Davis. It was never personal, just a style of play thing. But, I watched him in several of the offseason videos from IU and he always came across as a tremendous kid who loves IU. Really happy for him! 

I said similar things as well which is what in part drove me to write about him again.

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The Daily Hoosier

The Daily Hoosier

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31 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

Great article but you missed Nick Ward. Another big post bruiser.

BTW, did anyone else see De'Ron talking to the Louisville kid that knocked Romeo to the floor on a hard foul? That was great...

I definitely thought of Ward.  In my mind that isn't an ideal matchup for Davis.  I see Morgan or Smith getting that duty because Ward has really good lateral quickness that I think De'Ron would struggle with.  I see Davis being asked to handle Goins in those games, but I could be wrong.

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Billingsley99

Billingsley99

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3 minutes ago, rico said:

Injury aside.  Yes, the game has changed.  De'Ron does not fit the current "style".  But that being said, I think he his a game changer.  His size, his touch, and the way he plays the game.  Opponents are gonna have to adapt to him in game.  

Every single post of yours that I read I have to hear it in Dan's voice, still cracks me up.

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milehiiu

milehiiu

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You've all heard the phrase..... "a first impression, is a lasting impression."  And therein, lies, what I believe to have been the issue De'Ron had with some of our IU fans. What I mean by that is Crean totally misused De'Ron, during De'Ron's first year.  Expecting De'Ron to shoot from beyond the arc, rather than under the bucket where he belongs. Heck, I was there, when Crean told De'Ron he wanted De'Ron to work on his outside game. Posted on HSN. And even posted a You Tube video, where De'Ron talked about Crean wanting him to work on his spot up trey, his Senior year in high school.

Now.... we have a coach who understands where and how to utilize De'Ron's talents best.  And De'Ron's shooting average has gone from 48%, his freshman year, to nearly 70% so far this season.

His spin move to the bucket is good, and will only get better.

But,watch the next few games, and I think you will find that De'Ron is especially effective on the pick and roll.  He has an uncanny ability at drawing the defense to him, which allows the lane to clear (as seen in the video, TDH shared for us), and hitting the runner to the bucket.  Or, other times rolling to the basket, while the defense is covered by another IU player.  

One more thing... he's always been a good passer.  And he is only getting better over time with that discipline.

Lastly.... it sure is good to read something positive about De'Ron for a change.  Thanks for the story, TDH.

 

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greg haggard

greg haggard

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1 hour ago, BGleas said:

I think I've done it in some post-game threads, but I'll chime in here and say I wrong about De'Ron. To clear it up though, I never said he didn't have talent, just said the style of play wasn't right for him and that the game has moved away from plodding centers. But, I'll drink my medicine because I was wrong and De'Ron to this point is adding way more than I thought he could. 

I think some of it is that he's got better defenders that are more comfortable in the system around him, so while he still struggles at times with help/recover, he's being exposed much less this season which is key to him being on the court. He's also done a great job on the block offensively, adding a dimension that has helped this team when the offense stalls. 

Again, I was wrong. Also, I couldn't be happier for Davis. It was never personal, just a style of play thing. But, I watched him in several of the offseason videos from IU and he always came across as a tremendous kid who loves IU. Really happy for him! 

I think your initial assessment was correct, but DD has adjusted his game and has done better than most.

You are certainly correct about being exposed in the post, and the quality of defense from team mates being elevated.

Whenever I have seen centers like DD playing at the speed of the game today, they seem to get injured a great deal, and don't have long careers.

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FW_Hoosier

FW_Hoosier

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1 hour ago, BGleas said:

I think I've done it in some post-game threads, but I'll chime in here and say I wrong about De'Ron. To clear it up though, I never said he didn't have talent, just said the style of play wasn't right for him and that the game has moved away from plodding centers. But, I'll drink my medicine because I was wrong and De'Ron to this point is adding way more than I thought he could. 

I think some of it is that he's got better defenders that are more comfortable in the system around him, so while he still struggles at times with help/recover, he's being exposed much less this season which is key to him being on the court. He's also done a great job on the block offensively, adding a dimension that has helped this team when the offense stalls. 

Again, I was wrong. Also, I couldn't be happier for Davis. It was never personal, just a style of play thing. But, I watched him in several of the offseason videos from IU and he always came across as a tremendous kid who loves IU. Really happy for him! 

This.  The DeRon “haters” haven’t been quiet, they’ve pretty much all been complimentary and admitted he’s exceeding expectations.  Add me to that group as well, although he’s doing exactly what I hoped he would as a big coming off the bench for about 15 mpg.    I haven’t noticed him getting lost on defense nearly as much as I did last year, and he’s actually done a great job protecting the rim when he’s been on the floor this year IMO.  And like you said, his scoring on the block has been huge when our offense has struggled.  You can see him improving game by game as he’s gotten his legs back, so it should only get better from here.

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addictedtoIU

addictedtoIU

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I doubted about De'Ron as well. What a great comeback story! I bet he knew about the criticism some fans had on him, and he showed such great resiliency and positive attitude in getting back to where he is now. Importing thing is he already contributes to the team a lot but he hasn't reached his ceiling and keeps getting better. Watching the Louisville game, I was jumping up and down every time De'Ron made a bucket. He's got fantastic back-to-the-basket moves with good footwork. And such soft hands!! Even when he was not in good position to score, he could still score because of his good hands and release. De'Ron will be a tremendous weapon especially in the 2nd half, 5 minutes to go, when we desperately need buckets to keep us in the game or to keep the lead, he can get us 3~5 buckets in a hurry (and some of them will be AND ONEs). He's automatic on the low block. 

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IUaic

IUaic

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I think it is completely fair to say we played better last year after his injury. I think a lot of us thought that would be the case this year as well, but it hasn't been. I know almost all of us are happy to be wrong and are very happy to see him playing above our expectations.

Congrats to Deron for working hard to prove his doubters wrong.

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KoB2011

KoB2011

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2 hours ago, BGleas said:

I think I've done it in some post-game threads, but I'll chime in here and say I wrong about De'Ron. To clear it up though, I never said he didn't have talent, just said the style of play wasn't right for him and that the game has moved away from plodding centers. But, I'll drink my medicine because I was wrong and De'Ron to this point is adding way more than I thought he could. 

I think some of it is that he's got better defenders that are more comfortable in the system around him, so while he still struggles at times with help/recover, he's being exposed much less this season which is key to him being on the court. He's also done a great job on the block offensively, adding a dimension that has helped this team when the offense stalls. 

Again, I was wrong. Also, I couldn't be happier for Davis. It was never personal, just a style of play thing. But, I watched him in several of the offseason videos from IU and he always came across as a tremendous kid who loves IU. Really happy for him! 

+1 

I had very similar thoughts. I still think a decade ago he wouldve been an absolute stud and now he is a really nice role player. But I definitely love what he is bringing. 

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