Indiana-Texas Southern Recap: The Birth of Johnsonism

The time has come to embrace Johnsonism, my friends.

Please, grab a goblet of this fine vintage and join me on the dais. Don't worry about the flavor. It's a smooth, viciously efficient blend. And we're dumping it on our faces.

Consider it a communal baptism in the Robert Johnson era of Indiana basketball, which officially began against Mississippi Valley State and leads the pack of encouraging storylines from Indiana's 83-64 win over Texas Southern on Monday night.

It was an evening fraught with weird but fortunate happenings. Hanner Mosquera-Perea took off the training wheels. Mike Davis' sad bloodhound face returned to the edges of Branch McCracken Court. The #PrillPosse exerted its will, and Tom Crean continued to spin the bullet chamber with zone defense. And, of course, there was the birth of a movement.

The Birth of Johnsonism

It's way too early to be this excited about a freshman.

Rather, it's too early to be this excited about anything IU basketball-related, but Robert Johnson hasn't given us a choice.

The 6'4" freshman followed up his ruthlessly efficient 6-of-9 shooting performance against Mississippi Valley State by gliding through Texas Southern.

Johnson went a combined 11-of-17 from the floor against the Tigers, taking more shots against a better team and turning the ball over once compared to Yogi Ferrell's five.

It's hard to say what to love the most about Johnson's game. I get Norris Cole-y vibes from his play. He drives with intent, can finish at the rim with either hand and generally exhibits a buttery smoothness at all times on the floor. He moves the ball and drains shots despite his wonky release. Above all else, he's a freshman making it look easy for a fanbase praying for game-ready youngsters.

Thus we have Johnsonism: a foolhardy and perhaps unavoidable belief that Robert Johnson can make this season more than a grueling segue to next year—that he is the cog that will bring the moving parts into harmony. Johnson can move mountains, and his play will get you moon-eyed and drunk enough to use the phrase "make some noise" in regards to conference play.

To put it into perspective, two weeks ago, I wanted to slide my gun and badge across the table. I thought the failed drug test and teammate-on-teammate crime would be the stories of the season. And I dreaded sitting through it.

But now, I want to anoint Johnson's brow in baobab nectar and hold him up to the pride. Join me in a hymn:

"

Lord we lift RoJo on high.

Lord we love to sing his praises.

How he cuts the paint like knives.

I'm so glad he came to saaave us.

"

We are Johnsonites, and we are legion. Spread the good word.

Mike Davis' Return

Hoosiers fans offered Davis a warm standing ovation before tipoff, marking a moment of reconciliation between the Texas Southern coach and the program he took over in the aftermath of Bob Knight's dismissal.

Davis has spent the better part of the last week chatting with IU basketball writers, complimenting the program and reminiscing about his stint in Bloomington as the golden days of his coaching career.

Some Hoosiers still hold a grudge against Davis, and pockets of bored, miserable people spent the last several days kicking dirt on the dusty rubble of his legacy in Bloomington.

I, for one, wish nothing but the best for Davis, whose perpetually worried face and devotion to chair-camping comprised some of my most earliest IU basketball memories. I literally ripped hair from my head watching this man pray to a seatback in 2002, but that's a story for another post.

In any case, watching Davis watch Mosquera-Perea drain an elbow jumper was one of the most bizarre, completing-the-circle moments of past, present and future I've ever seen at Assembly Hall.

Which brings us to our next point:

Hanner On Fire

He did it, guys. He finally did it.

Two years, one DUI and approximately 1,400 facepalms later, Hanner Mosquera-Perea gave us the game we hoped to see his freshman season.

Air Columbia tallied 12 points, five rebounds and five blocks in 23 minutes—a remarkable jump from his usual line of four fouls, two turnovers and five confused looks in three minutes.

Mosquera-Perea showed touch on the block against Texas Southern, dropping in a nifty underhanded finger roll off the glass. He also made a certain grown man scream by hitting the aforementioned elbow jumper.

The dessert—the sweet, ineffable ambrosia—however, was Hanner going wheels up on a disrespectful, one-handed rim-bender in the second half.

Catch. Step. Step. Boom.

Other Notes

— IU's fast breaks continue to be the sloppiest of the sloppy—just how the kids like it.

@Dr_Carson_

— James Blackmon Jr.'s confidence remains "J.R. Smith at the Greenhouse" high. He looked off a wide-open Johnson in favor of a guarded three-pointer in transition and made it.

— Tim "Thriller" Priller is the new Tijan Jobe, and his growing cult of personality is already mad-dogging officials.

The #PrillPosse rides for their boy.

— Collin Hartman must continue stepping up in the post. He struggled mightily early on against Texas Southern but redeemed himself with three blocks and some decent rim protection against an undersized opponent.

— The zone defense is going to bite Indiana in the biscuits if it doesn't shore it up. Texas Southern looked to the three-point line for help (shooting 16 triples versus IU's 15) but could only get five to drop. Mosquera-Perea also found himself out of position in the zone and chasing layups to the glass on several occasions.

— Every rebound IU goes up for will be a choose-your-own-adventure this season. Let the bodies hit the floor.

— Burn the jump-pass and cover its bones in lye.

— Speaking of Ferrell, his jumper remains as moist as ever. This new bevy of perimeter weapons is opening all sorts of possibilities for Yogi.

Indiana hosts its first big game of the season Thursday against Southern Methodist University. Larry Brown's squad is 1-1 on the year with a blowout win over Lamar and a loss at Gonzaga.

Dan is a Trending Lead Writer for B/R. Once or twice a week during the college basketball season, he turns into an irrational monster that yells at men wearing candy cane pants.

Follow @Dr_Carson_