Al Durham Fills the Stat Sheet vs. Butler (video)
Durham put up 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists against a depleted Butler group at the Crossroads Classic in December.
We saw a touch of everything from Al Durham when Indiana took on a shorthanded Butler team at the Crossroads Classic last December.
The Hoosiers’ season went sideways last year, but after this win over Butler their record stood at 5-2, with their two losses coming against nationally ranked Texas and Florida.
Indiana certainly caught Butler at a good time. The Bulldogs were playing in just their third game of the season due to cancellations from COVID-19, and they were down a critical leader in Aaron Thompson, as well as Scooby Johnson and Christian David.
Butler led at halftime, but shot just 26% in the second (to go along with eight turnovers), as Indiana pulled away over the final 15 minutes.
This was Durham’s second double figure scoring game of the season (his first coming when he put up 19 points against Providence on 11/30), as he scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting from the field (1-5 from 3). He struggled at the free throw line, missing all three of his freebies, but added eight rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a big time block in transition.
Durham kicked off Indiana’s scoring with a corner three on their first possession, and flashed his athleticism minutes later by tracking down a Butler guard in transition, blocking his shot, collecting the rebound, and turning his great defensive play into a transition opportunity. After the block, Indiana got the raw end of what looked to be an and-1 after Durham found Trayce Jackson-Davis for a layup that was waived off due to a charge call.
Indiana quite often ran Durham off of curls to get him looks for midrange shots and floaters last season. He finished a right handed floater off of this action in the first half, and then drew the defenders for an open look for a teammate off of a curl moments later.
Durham also showed a little one-on-one ability, beating his man off the dribble from the top of the key and knocking down a midrange jumper as the shot clock expired. With David Duke moving on, Providence would benefit from having another bail out option late in the shot clock.
Durham played point guard for a good portion of the second half, and demonstrated solid passing ability. He finished again with his right hand on a layup.
It’s also worth noting, Durham is a willing and capable defender. He moves quite well laterally and it pretty active.
This is the first of six games in which I will feature highlights and impressions of the graduate transfer from his 2020-21 season at Indiana.