IU basketball vs. FGCU player ratings: Some debuts much better than others in opener

All those new faces for IU basketball means it's going to take some time to jell.

In Tuesday's season opener against Florida Gulf Coast, the Hoosiers stumbled their way through the first half, with multiple lengthy field-goal droughts and shot 28% from behind the arc (yes, that again) and made just 10-of-18 free throws.

The Eagles actually led in the second half before a 19-2 IU run put the Hoosiers up for good and eased the nerves inside Assembly Hall for a 69-63 season-opening win.

FGCU, led by former Penn State coach Pat Chambers, was without starting point guard and leading scorer Isaiah Thompson, a transfer from Purdue and Zionsville graduate.

Here are player ratings for a harder-than-expected night's work for the Hoosiers.

Player ratings on a scale of 1 to 10.

STARTERS

∎ Xavier Johnson — The Hoosiers' sixth-year guard struggled to get IU's offense going in the halfcourt in the first half. His off-balance shot snapped a near-8-minute field-goal drought, but he had two turnovers, zero assists and missed both his free throw attempts in the opening 20 minutes. The second half was better. He scored on a nice drive and then took a charge on the other end on back-to-back possessions and nailed a big 3 during IU's big second-half push. Despite an uncharacteristically shaky night at the free-throw line, he hit 3-of-4 in the final minute to secure the win. Rating: 6.0

∎ Kel'el Ware — IU's really only bright spot in the first half, Ware used his length to great effect, swatting three FGCU shots into the crowd and was really active on the glass (eight rebounds). That activity helped rack up FGCU fouls (the Eagles committed 15 in the first half), and Ware hit 5-of-8 from the line, while also showing off his range with a nice 3 to give IU a 25-21 lead. In the second half, he started to facilitate IU's halfcourt offense, much like Trayce Jackson-Davis did at times and found Malik Reneau for a nice basket and hit a cutting Trey Galloway for a score. A really strong debut for the versatile 7-footer as he finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and those three blocks. Rating: 8.0

∎ Mackenzie Mgbako — He hit a nice fadeaway jumper to give the Hoosiers an 11-8 lead, but it was a pretty rough first half showing for the star freshman. He missed his four other shots and was late on a number of closeouts, giving up multiple open 3 looks, which the Eagles didn't always knock down. He drilled a deep 2 in the second half, but finished with just four points in 19 minutes as Gabe Cupps got most of the crunch-time minutes. Rating: 3.5

∎ Trey Galloway — He scored the first Indiana bucket of the season with a nice cut on an inbounds play and then drilled a deep 3 to give IU a 9-8 lead, but he was quiet after that the rest of the first half. He tried to get IU's offense in gear and get out in transition, but FGCU did a good job slowing IU down and making them work in the halfcourt. He had a strong second half, hitting a few of his trademark floaters in the lane, and his sprint-outs created some easy transition baskets. He finished with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Rating: 6.0

∎ Malik Reneau — The sophomore big man had some nice early moves, scoring two of IU's first three baskets, but he was pretty anonymous the rest of the first half and didn't grab a rebound until a minute remained in the game. He woke up in the second half, getting three more early buckets and was really the only halfcourt threat IU could muster. He had some issues switching on defense (but he was far from alone there), and it's a tad concerning he had just one rebound in 30 minutes. That said, he was a team-high +14. Rating: 6.5

BENCH

∎ Anthony Walker — The first player off the bench, checking in for Ware, he was active on the glass in the first half, but took some ill-advised shots in second half and was beat on the defensive end a few times. He didn't play a lot in the second half and was -10. Rating: 4.0

∎ Gabe Cupps — He played with Johnson a little more than expected as Woodson was looking for something to jumpstart a struggling Hoosiers offense. His stat line (5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist) doesn't jump off the page, but he was on the floor for the majority of IU's 19-2 run that put the game in IU's control. He pushed IU's lead to 61-50 and he had some nice defensive moments with two steals. Rating: 7.0

∎ CJ Gunn — The sophomore guard played just nine minutes and was a team-worst -11. He was 0-for-2 from the field and was chasing a lot on defense. Rating: 3.5

∎ Kaleb Banks — Banks showed glimpses late last season, but played only two minutes (all in the first half). Rating: N/A

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball vs. FGCU player ratings: Kel'el ware, Gabe Cupps