Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball 2018-19 season preview

Overview: Archie Miller’s first year at Indiana saw the Hoosiers dramatically improve defensively, as Miller sought to prioritize defense over scoring. However, the team struggled to win games, going 16-15 and losing in just the second round of the Big Ten tournament. Indiana failed to qualify for the NCAA or NIT tournaments.  

The team will lose Robert Johnson, who led the team last year in minutes while scoring 14 points per game. However, senior Juwan Morgan, who led the Hoosiers with 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, will return. The team will also welcome star recruit Romeo Langford, who was ranked No. 5 overall by ESPN and was the highest-ranked shooting guard from the Class of 2018. Joining him are freshmen Jerome Hunter—No. 67 on ESPN—Jake Forrester, Rob Phinisee, Damezi Anderson and Race Thompson. 

To improve on its disappointing performance last year, Indiana’s offense will need to make major strides during Miller’s second year. The team retained many of its key contributors, and the Hoosiers’ recruiting class should add an infusion of talent. Indiana will need to hope that the freshmen are enough to propel the team to greater success. 

One thing that needs to go right: After Johnson’s departure, the team lacks critical experience and leadership on defense, but the Hoosiers maintain or even improve on their defensive performance from last year while Langford helps the offense take care of itself.