Nine former IU basketball players have or will play the game at the highest level during the 2020-21 NBA season. We will be monitoring their seasons with weekly updates.
Below we summarize their year to date performance with NBA stats and notes through the first ten weeks of the season and provide a brief update on each player.
Victor Oladipo – Houston
Oladipo suffered a foot injury in a February 11 loss to the Miami Heat that forced him to miss four consecutive games.
Since the injury, he has played in two games.
In a 112-96 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, he played 32 minutes and had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Versus the Toronto Raptors on Friday, a 122-111 loss, Oladipo finished with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists in 36 minutes of action.
When he met with the media on Saturday, he tried to look at things optimistically even though he knows the Rockets are going through a tough stretch.
“We just got to come in here and work every day. And got to give everything we have every night. I think if we do that we will be very successful and when we get healthy as well. Right now I know it’s tough like I said before because of the 10 game losing streak or however many games it is. It’s easy to point the finger and do all those things but we just got to figure out a way to win. Point blank. Period,” Oladipo said.
In news that came out last night, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Oladipo recently turned down a 2-year, $45.2 million extension from the Rockets.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 22/22
MPG – 32.2
Points – 19.4
Rebounds – 5.2
Assists – 4.6
Blocks – 0.4
Steals – 1.4
FG% – .403
3FG% – .323
FT% – .747
Eric Gordon – Houston
The Rockets continue to struggle as a team. They are now 11-21 overall after losing all four games last week, extending their losing streak to 11 games in a row.
When meeting with the media on February 26, Gordon was asked about the mentality and approach going into games trying to snap a losing streak.
“Defensively we just have to be elite. We can’t just be a good defensive team, we have to be elite … offensively we have to score. We have to create easier ways to get to the basket because we’re not really been doing well on that side of the end the whole season. We got to try to make things easier by having stops,” Gordon told members of the media.
More specifically, on the offensive side of the ball Gordon would like to see more ball movement as opposed to one-on-one play. He would also like to see them more active on the glass.
“I’m always a fan of less one-on-one and more ball movement. You got to make the defense work. Our problem is the rebounding part. We’re kind of small and the other teams are getting the offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds. When you dictate the rebound game that could change the flow of the game because you get more shot attempts and you could play faster,” Gordon said.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 26/12
MPG – 29.3
Points – 17.8
Rebounds – 2.2
Assists – 2.7
Blocks – 0.5 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 0.5
FG% – .437
3FG% – .328
FT% – .836
OG Anunoby – Toronto
Anunoby suffered a strained left calf in a 129-114 loss to the Pacers on January 25 and missed ten consecutive games.
He returned to the lineup on February 16 for a game against the Milwaukee Bucks and the Raptors are 5-2 since.
Meeting with the media after the February 16 win against the Bucks, Anunoby knew that even though missing ten games was hard it also presented him with an opportunity to continue to learn the game while watching both teams from the bench.
“When you’re watching the game you learn things about the game like both teams you’re watching so just trying to see where I can help the team, things I could do that we weren’t doing, just make an effort to do it while I’m back,” Anunoby told the media.
Anunoby scored in double-figures in each of the Raptors three games last week, and recorded at least one block in each game and twice had two blocks.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 23/23
MPG – 33.4 (Career High)
Points – 13.8 (Career High)
Rebounds – 5.7 (Career High)
Assists – 1.7 (Career High)
Blocks – 0.7 (Ties Career High)
Steals – 1.6 (Career High)
FG% – .479
3FG% – .395 (Career High)
FT% – .755 (Career High)
Thomas Bryant – Washington
Bryant continues to be sidelined, as he suffered a torn ACL to his left knee during the first quarter of a 128-124 loss to the Miami Heat on January 9 that will keep him out for the remainder of this season.
The injury came at a time when Bryant was starting to play consistent basketball and was averaging career highs in both minutes played and points per game.
However, the focus for Bryant now shifts towards coming back even stronger next year.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 10/10
MPG – 27.1 (Career High)
Points – 14.3 (Career High)
Rebounds – 6.1
Assists – 1.5
Blocks – 0.8
Steals – 0.4
FG% – .648 (Career High)
3FG% – .429 (Career High)
FT% – .667
Cody Zeller – Charlotte
In four games last week, the Hornets went 2-2. Cody Zeller played in the first two games at Utah and at Phoenix, but sat out the last two due to a left hip injury.
Against Utah, Zeller played 21 minutes and had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists in a 132-110 loss.
In a 124-121 win at Phoenix two days later, he had 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 18 minutes of action.
The Hornets are currently 16-17 and eighth-place in the Eastern Conference standings as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 18/15
MPG – 23.4
Points – 9.7
Rebounds – 7.6 (Career High)
Assists – 2.4 (Career High)
Blocks – 0.6
Steals – 0.6
FG% – .514
3FG% – .158
FT% – .758
Romeo Langford – Boston
Langford continues to focus on regaining strength and range of motion in his wrist after tearing ligaments during last season’s NBA Playoffs.
Prior to the Celtics game on February 11, head coach Brad Stevens gave an update on Langford.
“He’s doing a lot,” Stevens told the media. “He’s not playing live yet. He’s had a little bit of soreness that was to be expected. But that’s probably going to push him to the break, and he’ll probably be available after the (All-Star) break.”
Juwan Morgan – Utah
The Jazz had four games this past week, finishing with a 3-1 record. Morgan saw action in three of the four contests, having not played in the 124-116 loss on Friday to the Miami Heat.
Morgan’s most impressive game this season is still his January 29 performance against the Dallas Mavericks, which was televised on ESPN. He finished the game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 steals in 21 minutes of action. Also impressive was his efficiency, shooting 5-8 from the field and 2-4 from three point range.
Utah currently has the best record in the NBA at 27-7.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 15/0
MPG – 4.7
Points – 1.1
Rebounds – 0.9
Assists – 0.3 (Ties Career High)
Blocks – 0.0
Steals – 0.2 (Career High)
FG% – .429
3FG% – .300
FT% – .200
Yogi Ferrell – Free Agent
Ferrell remains a free agent after his 10-day contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers ended with him being waived.
However, Ferrell has been in attendance for the NBA G League regular season, running from February 10 to March 6 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Ferrell has played in and started twelve games for the Salt Lake City Stars this season. He is averaging 14.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game in 28.5 minutes per contest. The Stars are 3-9.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 2/0
MPG – 20.0
Points – 9.5
Rebounds – 3.5 (Career High)
Assists – 2.5
Blocks – 0.5 (Career High)
Steals – 1.5 (Career High)
FG% – .381
3FG% – .333
FT% – .000
Noah Vonleh – Free Agent
Noah Vonleh appeared in four games for the Brooklyn Nets this season after being signed on February 8. He averaged 2.8 minutes per game.
However, Vonleh was waived by the Nets on February 23.
In 339 career games played, he has averages of 4.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 assists per game.
2020-21 YTD Stats:
Games/Games Started – 4/0
MPG – 2.8
Points – 0.0
Rebounds – 0.3
Assists – 0.3
Blocks – 0.0
Steals – 0.0
FG% – .000
3FG% – .000
FT% – N/A (Has Not Attempted)
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