Indiana Basketball: Grading Cody Zeller and Each Member of the Hoosiers Roster

The Indiana Hoosiers basketball team has really improved this season over the years past. They’re certainly well on their way to their first NCAA tournament berth in the Tom Crean era, and are two bad losses away from being a big threat in the Big Ten Conference. I don’t blame the most recent Wisconsin loss on them as they literally played their hearts out, but the refs didn’t help them any.

With all that aside, I have graded each member of this Hoosiers team that can get playing time on any given night. I obviously with held the walk-ons that don’t really get much playing time as it would be unfair to grade them.

These are the grades each player received.

Cody Zeller

Grade: A-

The only reason why Zeller didn’t get an A or A+ is due to his inconsistency in Big Ten play. It’s no secret he’s the true reason for this Hoosiers turn around, but he’s not quite on the A to A+ level yet.

I think Zeller needs to improve on his strength in the offseason and learn to jump into people to get fouls. He gets blocked way too much as he doesn’t do enough to get the contact fouls. That’s all about strength and will.

As far as everything else, he’s emerging as a real first-team threat. He leads the team in scoring (14.7 points per game) and rebounds (6.2 rebounds per game).

What’s even better is his ability to find the open man. Zeller is one of the best passers of any big man that I’ve seen. Due to his ability to score and eat opponents alive, teams must double-team him and pressure him. That allows someone else to free up, and Zeller is good enough and unselfish enough to find them.

I think Indiana will go as deep as Zeller can lead them.

Christian Watford

Grade: B+

At one point of this season Watford would have been a solid A. He hit the game-winner against Kentucky, and really has shown he wants to be a ball player.

Part of the reason for the decline in play over this rough stretch is Watford hasn’t been as effective as he was earlier in the season. It’s not so much what defenses are doing to him, it’s mostly due to him being in a shooting slump.

Watford now is starting to get out of the slump, and the Hoosiers are back to competing again.

Watford is averaging 12.6 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. Both stats are second on the team behind Cody Zeller.

Where Watford excels is he’s such a matchup problem for defenders. Not many defenders have Watford’s size. If they do, they’re more a problem down low and don’t have the ability to defend outside of the lane. That’s feeds right into Watford’s game.

I think if he can gain his shot and dominance back, Indiana will be playing in the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.

Will Sheehey

Grade: B+

Will Sheehey rivals classmate Victor Oladipo as the most improved player on this team. Sheehey played a solid role off the bench last season as he averaged 4.8 points per game and shot 48 percent from the field.

This year, Sheehey is the sixth man, and really a big reason for the Hoosiers success. When Indiana was without Sheehey at the end of the non-conference schedule and the beginning of league play, the Hoosiers team struggled.

When Sheehey came back, the Hoosiers added that scoring option off the bench, and it made Indiana better.

Sheehey averages 9.5 points per game and 3.0 rebounds per game this season. He's a very good set shooter, and is very tenacious at getting to the rim. He can score in bunches and is very good in transition.

I think Sheehey will be a very solid sixth man for years to come for Indiana.

Matt Roth

Grade: B+

Matt Roth has been a pleasant surprise this year. He stepped up huge in the absence of Will Sheehey, and led the Hoosiers bench in all the games.

Roth was a huge part in the Hoosiers win over Penn State this year, and is one of the best shooters in the country.

Roth will make nearly 100 percent of his shots if you leave him wide open, and will be a big reason why Indiana has success through the rest of the year.

That's a big improvement from what I thought he would be this year. I thought Roth would struggle to find time to get on the court, but he's shocked us all with averaging 5.2 points per game so far this season.

With him surprising us this year, I gave him the second-highest grade of the team.

Victor Oladipo

Grade: B

Victor Oladipo is perhaps one of the most improved players on this team.

Last year, Oladipo averaged 7.4 points per game as a freshman. He was very good at getting to the rim as he does this year, but what he struggled in was finishing. He also struggled at the line with shooting only 61 percent from the charity stripe.

This year, Oladipo averages 10.1 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. Oladipo has improved his game tremendously and not only is better at getting to the rim, he's actually finishing.

Oladipo has also improved his free-throw touch this season, and is really emerging into a big star in his new starting role this year.

If Oladipo can improve his defense a little more, and become a bigger part of the offense, he can really improve his stock in this team.

Jordan Hulls

Grade: B

Jordan Hulls may go down as one of the best shooters to ever play at Indiana. Hulls is shooting 43 percent for his career from the field, 36 percent from behind the arc and 92 percent from the line.

Hulls is shooting even better this year, and helping lead the Hoosiers in his new role as the point guard this season. Naturally, Hulls is a shooting guard, but with Jeremiah Rivers departing from the Hoosiers team last year, Hulls was moved to the point position.

Hulls is averaging 12.2 points per game this season and 3.3 assists.

The reason why I didn't give Hulls a higher score is because at some stretches in games, he becomes nonexistent. He also is almost too unselfish and turns away shots sometimes when he should be shooting.

When he does decide to shoot, Hulls is a very deadly weapon. He's hard to stop, and really his kryptonite is when teams defend him with a bigger man. Other than that, Hulls has been a very good player this season.

Remy Abell

Grade: B-

Remy Abell has been another pleasant surprise to this Hoosiers team this year. I honestly didn't expect much from Abell for his Hoosiers career as I didn't think he'd get on the court much with Indiana having so many good guards.

Abell has shocked me in showing that he does deserve playing time, and when he does play he can score. He kind of reminds me of a young Steve Hart in that he's explosive at getting to the rim, and can shoot really well if left open.

Abell averages three points per game, and if he improves as he should, the freshman can be a very dangerous player off the bench.

Verdell Jones III

Grade: C+

Verdell Jones III makes some great plays, but then he regresses and makes a bone-head play. I give him a C+ because he’s truly just average this year.

I think Jones III is struggling to adapt to his new role as someone to defend strong and not looked upon to score much anymore. Some games he gets it, and some games he doesn’t.

For his first three years, Jones III was a scorer. He’s a member of the 1,000-point club and I do think at times he thinks he’s better than what he is. The reality is the kid is just not a high-level Big Ten player. He’s a solid role player, but we don’t need him shooting a ton anymore.

Jones III is averaging 7.9 points per game, 3.0 rebound per game and 3.4 assists per game. The assists leads the team actually.

If Jones III wants to join the above-average grade, then he needs to realize he’s not the main guy anymore and never will be. He needs to take and hit high-percentage shots, and do a solid job defensively. If he fully realizes that then Indiana will be in good shape.

Derek Elston

Grade: C+

I gave Elston a C+ because he does some great things at times, but he finds ways to bring himself back a few levels as well.

I think Elston played his best game of his career this year against Ohio State on New Year's Eve. Elston was a big reason to why Jared Sullinger struggled, and he rebounded and defended great against the Buckeyes that day.

Elston has improved his shot this season tremendously, but he's still not where I'd like to see him. I don't know if wearing that mask affected his shot a bit, or he's just regressing a tad.

Elston is averaging 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game this season.

I feel Elston has yet to show us what he has and can be capable of. I think he should have matured to an even better player, and be a dominate force off the bench by now. If he does figure it out by the end of the season, Indiana will be scary good.

Austin Ethrington

Grade: D

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This one is true for Austin Ethrington. The freshman has struggled to find his way off the bench after everyone having such high hopes for him.

Ethrington can be a real good player for the Hoosiers as he has such a great shot, and a good way of creating his shot.

The reasoning why he can't get on the court though is his defense.

Ethrington struggled to defend, and doesn't do a very good job at rebounding the ball. If he can figure out how to become a Big Ten defender, he can help this team tremendously. If not, he will never get off the bench, as Indiana has four guys coming in the next two seasons that play his position.

Ethrington is averaging a disappointing 1.8 points per game and 1.1 rebounds per game this season.

Tom Pritchard

Grade: D

Tom Pritchard may be one of the worst players to put on a Big Ten uniform. That may sound harsh, but let's face it, he's not very good. He's a low-level Division II player at best, but with Indiana needing players when Tom Crean came to Indiana, Pritchard became a valuable member of the team.

Pritchard looked decent in his early years, as almost all the players on the team were Division II-caliber players. Once more talent has came in, his lack of skills have been exposed.

Pritchard knows he's not a valued contributor and at times hurts Indiana with him knowing that. Instead of playing offense, the team is at a disadvantage of playing four on five because he gets rid of the ball so quick. He doesn't allow the offense to move and is pretty slow.

One thing Pritchard does well is he tries hard. I like his energy, and he's a great team guy. He knows his role and that's a good thing.

Pritchard averages 1.4 points per game and rebounds per game this year. He had a very solid game yesterday against Iowa, and if he can keep that up he will be a welcome sight off the bench instead of cringing.