Josh McRoberts, Juwan Morgan discuss Hoosiers' 79-51 win over Youngstown State.
BLOOMINGTON – Maybe next time Zach McRoberts won’t surprise us, but right now, we’re asking the wrong questions of IU’s redshirt junior revelation.
Maybe next year, watching the one-time Indiana All-Star — the state champion from Carmel who started his college basketball career on scholarship at Vermont — force his way into Indiana’s rotation will prompt more questions about where he’s been, rather than why he’s playing.
Or maybe he won’t go anywhere at all, and we’ll be asking the question McRoberts has earned the right to be asked here and now: What’s next?
McRoberts played 27 minutes Friday, in IU’s 79-51 win over Youngstown State. He scored seven points. He pulled in eight rebounds, including five on offense. Both were team highs. So was his eventual plus-31 in the plus-minus.
It was an all-around performance fit to cap a month that’s seen McRoberts crowbar his way into IU’s rotation, earn repeated praise from his head coach and become an impact sub that does so many things the Hoosiers (8-6, 1-1) need.
“He’s an everyday guy. What you see out there every day is what you see in practice,” IU coach Archie Miller said. “He’s giving maximum effort, he’s playing extremely hard, giving you a lot of hustle plays, a lot of winning plays.”
IU coach Archie Miller offers thoughts on the Hoosiers' 79-51 win over Youngstown State on Friday.
McRoberts’ Carmel-to-Vermont-to-IU-walk-on story is well traveled, and his impact isn’t new. He averaged more than 11 minutes per game for the Hoosiers last season. He’s surpassed that already in this one.
He played 16 total minutes in November, a number he’s bettered in each of Indiana’s last four games. His rebound against Notre Dame helped secure Miller’s first signature win at IU. He performed so well in the first half Friday that he started the second, and Miller wouldn’t rule out that kind of role in the future either.
“It’s nothing that he doesn’t do in practice,” junior forward Juwan Morgan said, trying to explain McRoberts’ importance. “Every day, he’s always working hard. We always say Zach is the person you hate to have going against you, but love to have him on your team, and he showed why tonight — all the hustle plays, all the things people don’t like to do, Zach does them.”
Thing is, increasingly, it’s not just the hustle plays.
After 14 games, McRoberts has Indiana’s second-best effective field goal percentage and second-best offensive rebounding percentage. He’s one of just four Hoosiers with offensive and defensive rebounding percentages in double figures. It’s a small sample size, admittedly, but he’s 5-of-12 from behind the 3-point line, and looking more comfortable there all the time.
IU Insider Zach Osterman recaps the Hoosiers' 79-51 win over Youngstown State on Friday night. Zach Osterman / IndyStar
So again, maybe we’re asking the wrong question now. McRoberts appears to have graduated from “How did he earn this much playing time?” to “How many more minutes a night can he get?” He’s pushing the envelope of “How often can you realistically take him out?”
The bar raises now. That’s McRoberts’ next challenge. Big Ten play resumes in earnest after the new year, presenting Indiana with difficult trips to Wisconsin and Minnesota next week.
► MORE: 3 reasons IU beat Youngstown State
“The next step for him is to just continue to try and be the best defender he can possibly be,” Miller said. “Low turnovers, do your job, make the hustle plays, when you’re open, shoot it — be simple. When he’s simple, he gives us great maximum effort.”
McRoberts’ impact has become sustained to the point that the Hoosiers count on it now. He’s a sturdy defender, a reliable rebounder and a smart player. Whether he pays tuition or not, if those skills translate in January and February as they have in December, McRoberts’ impact will only grow.
The two-time state-champion Indiana All-Star surprised us once, when he forced his way into Indiana’s rotation last year. He surprised us again when he did it this year. Now, he doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.
“I guess if it’s not broke,” Morgan said, “don’t fix it.”
Maybe we should stop being surprised.
Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.
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