IU Talking Points: CJ Gunn, Kaleb Banks counted on for sophomore surge; a new RB emerges

BLOOMINGTON – Basketball’s preseason reaches another meaningful mile marker Sunday in Bloomington, when UIndy comes to Assembly Hall for the first of the Hoosiers’ two exhibition games.

This marks the second year running Indiana will host both the Greyhounds and Marian to fill the balance of its preseason. It represents the public’s first extensive look at Mike Woodson’s dramatically remade roster.

While a lot of eyes will be focused on newcomers, like Mackenzie Mgbako and Kel’el Ware, or returners with big expectations, like Malik Reneau, a pair of Hoosiers have rarely failed to escape Woodson’s own thinking across the course of this preseason.

“CJ (Gunn) and Kaleb Banks, I'm expecting more out of them,” Woodson said. “They're not freshmen anymore. I need more. We need it as a ballclub.”

That was at team media day, Woodson pointing out both players stayed in Bloomington through the entire summer to work on their bodies and their game.

Woodson said something similar at Big Ten media days earlier this month. And he doubled (tripled?) down on that during a conversation with television analyst Stephen Bardo earlier this week.

“These two guys are gonna have to play some minutes and be productive, for us to be successful, I think,” Woodson told Bardo. “They’re capable of doing that. They both have shown signs this summer and throughout our work leading up to this point, that they both have a future in basketball.”

It’s worth noting Woodson is not suggesting Banks or Gunn will need to play 35 minutes a night or score 15 points per game.

When Woodson talks about players like this — especially younger ones — it’s usually a nod to what they can add to his team. They can deepen benches and lengthen rotations. They can, in Gunn’s case, be part of the solution to 3-point shooting concerns while adding meaningful tools on defense. Or, in Banks’ case, giving Woodson the sort of long, athletic player that can fit multiple positions, tackle different kinds of matchups and rotate through the team such that standards and energy never drop.

All eyes will be on some of Indiana’s new faces Sunday. Woodson might reserve some attention for a pair of sophomores whose coach expects a big step from them this winter.

Honoring Bill Garrett

IU will honor Bill Garrett, the first Black player to start for a Big Ten team, during its full season opener Nov. 7 against Florida Gulf Coast.

Dec. 4 will mark 75 yards since Garrett broke the league’s color barrier, starting in a 61-48 win over DePauw. Garrett went on to earn three varsity letters for the Hoosiers. When he graduated, he left college with what was then a program-record 792 points, and he was recognized as a consensus All-American following his senior season (1950-51).

NCAA coaches also elected Garrett as a write-in for a college all-star team after his name was initially left off the ballot. Boston selected the Shelbyville native in the second round of the 1951 NBA draft, though service in the Korean War impacted his professional career.

Garrett’s is a legacy too often lost to both Indiana and Big Ten history. In recent years, the university has moved to more deeply weave that legacy into its own fabric, renaming the old fieldhouse (known colloquially for years as The HPER) attached to IU’s School of Public Health in honor of the man who once starred there.

Next month’s tribute marks another step in ensuring Garrett’s singular place in the illustrious history of his program remains entrenched.

Trent Howland handing himself more carries

As Indiana searches for more consistency offensively this weekend at Penn State, the Hoosiers look likely to continue attempting to expand their running game. One player that began the season on the outside of the effort is beginning to find his way in.

“Trent (Howland), to me, is a guy that’s just really challenged about using his size and running with that kind of authority,” IU coach Tom Allen said Monday. “Even though he’s a big guy, he’s always viewed himself a little bit more of a finesse type runner. That’s not who you need to be.”

One of Indiana’s bigger backs, Howland is listed at 6-3, 240 pounds. The Joliet, Ill., native was a prolific basketball player in high school, in addition to his football success.

Howland’s IU career was slow off the ground, chiefly because he arrived to campus still recovering from a long-term knee injury suffered in high school. As recently as last season, Indiana’s coaches flipped him to linebacker, a temporary solution to injury-related depth concerns.

Always likely to revert to offense, Howland is in the backfield again. And lately, he’s making the most of it, posting 14 carries for 89 yards across the past two weeks. That’s roughly 6.4 yards per carry, and it’s nearly doubled his career carries total in just two games.

“Trent, certainly, starting the week before at Michigan, showed us enough to get more reps, and then showed us enough here to get even more reps going forward,” offensive coordinator Rod Carey said. “When you get your opportunities in games and you execute the way he has been, that deserves more.”

For Howland, a redshirt sophomore, that balance of power and precision has always been a devilish balance to strike.

Howland understands his strength is part of his game. He only doesn’t want to be defined by it.

This week's matchup: IU vs. Penn State: TV, radio, odds, storylines, weather

“I know I can run through people,” he said. “But I always try to take different aspects of my game, especially getting into the open field, and when I do have breakaway runs, when it comes to the on-on-one, I do want to feel like I can use a lot of finesse moves instead of just running through people all the time.

“But either works.”

Both seem to be lately for Howland. Josh Henderson’s injury forced spell on the sideline could soon be at an end. But given his productivity across the last two weeks — in an offense desperate for more of it — Howland seems likely to see more of the ball, and soon.

Trivia

Kyle Schwarber joined an elite club last weekend, becoming just the fifth player to hit 20 postseason home runs in his career. Schwarber did it faster than anyone else, needing just 63 at-bats, and he’s now tied in the category all-time with Derek Jeter. Who are the three players still ahead of him?

Odds & Ends

∎ IU’s home game against Wisconsin will kick off at noon, Nov. 4.

∎ Reports five-star forward Derik Queen planned to announce his commitment Friday proved wide of the mark. Queen told On3Sports’ Joe Tipton he hasn’t set a date for that decision yet. The Montverde Academy star is down to IU, Maryland and Houston, though Talking Points understands it’s likely a race between the Hoosiers and Terrapins at this point.

∎ Woodson made the trip to Montverde Academy this week to check in with Queen. Both Maryland and Houston were expected to do the same, per 247Sports’ Travis Branham. Even if he hasn’t set a date yet, it very much feels like Queen’s recruitment is winding down.

∎ While he didn’t offer a diagnosis, Allen admitted Monday super senior husky Noah Pierre’s injury, sustained in Saturday’s loss to Rutgers, will sideline him for “an extended period of time.” Pierre had to be carted off after going down awkwardly in the Rutgers defeat.

∎ Allen did add Philip Blidi, who also had to be helped from the field with an unspecified injury Saturday, could be back soon.

∎ Louis Moore’s targeting suspension is over, since it occurred in the first half Saturday and he therefore technically served both halves of said suspension. He will be available for the trip to Penn State.

Answer

Manny Ramirez (29), Jose Altuve (27) and Bernie Williams (22) are the only players in baseball history with more playoff home runs than Schwarber. Schwarber’s 12 home runs in the league championship series round are also second only to Ramirez’s 13, per MLB.com. Schwarber has reached that number in fewer than half the plate appearances Ramirez needed (98 to 215) to get his baker’s dozen.

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana basketball: CJ Gunn, Kaleb Banks will have bigger role