#HLMBB Preview: IUPUI

October 30

Joey Yashinsky

IUPUI Jaguars

Last year: 14-18 overall, 7-9 Summit League

Coach: Jason Gardner (4th year)

Team Preview
By Joey Yashinsky, Horizon League Contributor

Everybody say hello to the new kid on the Horizon League block!

Just don’t expect fresh-baked brownies or a jello mold to be delivered to these conference newbies when Horizon League play gets underway in December. The hoops competition in the HL is fierce, as the Jaguars will soon find out.

But don’t think for a moment that Jason Gardner’s team is coming in unprepared.

The IUPUI Jaguars entered the Horizon League this summer and while it can often be intimidating making a major change, Gardner is taking a bit of a different approach.

“Even before we switched leagues, a lot of our focus was on ourselves,” Gardner said. “In the past, we might have been focused on what other people were doing, what that team is running, what their schemes are. This year, we’re just taking the mindset of, ‘Let’s focus on us and what we need to do to get better.’”

It does get a bit tricky for Gardner when his team is jumping leagues minus its top three scorers from the previous season. Darell Combs was a standout guard for IUPUI now playing professionally in Italy. Matt O’Leary, last year’s top rebounder and most prolific 3-point threat, is hooping in Spain. Anytime you lose multiple players of such a high caliber, replacing that production can be difficult.

However, the IUPUI cupboard is far from bare.

Ron Patterson, a 6-foot-2 senior, had a very productive first year in Indianapolis after transferring from Syracuse. On 11 occasions last year, Patterson knocked home at least three baskets from beyond the arc. While he was one of the Summit League’s top bench performers in 2016-17, Patterson will now move into a starting role. Coach Gardner has noticed an increased maturation from his senior.

“Ron has had a great summer,” Gardner said. “His mindset has changed, just from the conditioning and weight room side of things. His leadership. He’s talking a lot more now. You see him pulling younger guys off to the side, which is a great sign for us.”

Coaches around the Horizon League will come to know the name Aaron Brennan quite well, too. Brennan is a 6-foot-6 forward that’s as comfortable around the rim as he is from 22 feet out. After primarily being used as an interior player his first two years (just four 3-pointers total), Brennan put the full repertoire on display as a junior, scorching the nets at a 47% clip from downtown (27 for 57). Gardner described his senior as “our heart and soul. The captain of our team.”

And keep an eye out for the cat-quick guard wearing jersey #0 for the Jaguars this year. That would be Jaylen Minnett, a freshman out of Terre Haute (IN), an explosive scorer that set all sorts of prep records in the Hoosier state. As a first-year collegiate player, he might get banged around a bit at just 180 pounds. But the word is that Minnett can put the ball in the bucket from just about anywhere on the court, so he could be seeing crunch-time minutes right out of the gate.

The IUPUI Jaguars will enter this year’s Horizon League slate as clear underdogs. They were pegged to finish 10th out of 10 teams in the pre-season poll.

But if you watched Jason Gardner during his storied playing career at Arizona, you know that there are few competitors more ferocious or determined. Now he’s armed with senior leaders like Ron Patterson and Aaron Brennan, and an intriguing young talent in Jaylen Minnett.

The Jaguars might be the new face in this Horizon League jungle, but they aren’t likely to roll over and play dead anytime soon.

Motor City Madness

Support the Jaguars at the 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Basketball Championships March 2-6 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Tickets can be purchased at campus box offices now and online starting December 15. For more information, click here.

#HLWBB Preview Schedule (10 am ET)

10/30/2017	UIC
10/31/2017	Northern Kentucky
11/1/2017	Youngstown State
11/2/2017	IUPUI
11/3/2017	Cleveland State
11/6/2017	Detroit Mercy
11/7/2017	Milwaukee
11/8/2017	Oakland
11/9/2017	Wright State
11/10/2017	Green Bay
11/13/2017	#HLWBB Preview

#HLMBB Preview Schedule (2 pm ET)

10/30/2017	IUPUI
10/31/2017	Cleveland State
11/1/2017	Milwaukee
11/2/2017	Youngstown State
11/3/2017	Green Bay
11/6/2017	Wright State
11/7/2017	Detroit Mercy
11/8/2017	UIC
11/9/2017	Northern Kentucky
11/10/2017	Oakland
11/13/2017	#HLMBB Preview