BASKETBALL

Kanaan Carlyle just ‘wants to win games’ for Indiana basketball. His most recent performance could be a stepping stone in doing so

Kanaan Carlyle had his best game of his young Indiana basketball career this week — now IU needs him to continue with that consistently.

Published

1 day ago

December 13, 2024

Alec Lasley

Kanaan Carlyle had his best game of his young Indiana basketball career this week -- now IU needs him to continue with that consistently. (Robert Goddin-Imagn Images)

After a three-game absence from the lineup for Indiana basketball, sophomore guard Kanaan Carlyle returned to the floor earlier this week for IU’s Big Ten opener — and it was a welcomed return not only for the backcourt rotation, but also the entire team.

It’s no secret the struggles that Carlyle has had this season. The former top-50 recruit had a successful freshman season at Stanford but has had difficulty finding his footing — and more specifically finding his role — for the Hoosiers this season.

Monday’s return, however, could signal the first step in his turnaround.

“I’m feeling good,” Carlyle said after Monday’s 82-67 win over Minnesota. “It was just rehab treatment, a lot of form shots, a lot of shooting just to get me confidence back, my jump shot back. It felt good to perform the way I did today and all the hard work paying off.”

It was Carlyle’s best performance in an Indiana basketball jersey. He had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including three made 3s. He also added three rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes off of the bench. It was just his second game in double-figures this season and was a nice bounce back after scoring just nine points in the three previous games he appeared in.

Much has been made about Indiana’s struggles on the the offensive end this year, and with Carlyle. A dynamic guard with the ball in his hands, Carlyle averaged 11.5 points per game as a freshman and had performances like 28 points against Arizona and 31 points against Washington State. Monday was the first time Carlyle came off the bench this year and was also the first time he played as the main ball handler with the second unit.

The result was evident. Not only was it Carlyle’s best game, it was also the most confident, aggressive and quickest he had looked. Whether it was making plays for teammates — one assist away from a career-high — or his ability to knock down shots or attack the basket, his dynamic playmaking was critical in what was Indiana’s best offensive performance from start to finish this season.

“I don’t think it has to do with the pressure, it’s just reps and just getting back in the rhythm of playing, especially a new team and new environment, just getting comfortable again,” Carlyle said of his early struggles. “I’m perfectly fine with coming off the bench. I want to win games, whether it’s being the sixth man, eighth man, tenth man starting two guard, I don’t care. As long as we win, I’m here to do my job, to play defense and provide what I can on offense. That’s it.”

On the season, Carlyle is now averaging 5.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He’s shooting just 33.3 percent from the floor and 30 percent from three. But, his defense continues to be a tone-setter for this team and continues to be something he hands his hat on while his offensive game comes together.

“Just energy, playing well and just picking up 94 feet. I feel like that gets my whole game going, just my defense, my energy, so I feel like that’s what I need to bring every single night because that’s also what gets my offense going,” Carlyle said. “Then on offense, just taking my time, letting the game come to me and just playing off my teammates, taking open shots, taking the first shot they give me and shooting the ball with confidence, so, yeah.”

Now the question is; who starts moving forward. Indiana basketball is continuing to look for consistent guard play — something it has yet to see this season. Only one game have all three guards — Myles Rice, Trey Galloway and Carlyle — been effective. The other nights have been very hit or miss in terms of who is effective and efficient on the floor.

It’s just one performance, but Monday could be a glimpse into what Indiana does moving forward — bring the energy off of the bench with Carlyle.

“I knew when I came here my job us going to be to be that two-way player, so I take pride in that individually and my teammates all encourage me and they be up there with me,” he said. “So it’s easy for me to bring that energy when you got teammates behind you who bring the same energy.”

“I went with Gallo because we’d been starting him and K-9 just came back (from injury) and he didn’t take it personal,” IU head coach Mike Woodson said. “He just came in and did his job and somebody’s got to come off the bench. I can’t start everybody and I don’t know if that line-up will stay the same, but the bottom line is he did his job coming in to help us win our first Big Ten game, so we’re going to need everybody, regardless of who starts to play at a high level when they play.”

So as Indiana continues to move into a full slate of Big Ten games in the next few weeks, Carlyle is excited to see how comfort level continue to grow. He’s also keeping it very simple for his role, something that he has made quite evident numerous times in the early part of the season.

“Do whatever I can to win.”