Before the Arizona game, Tamar Bates offered this to the media when asked about his increased production.
โPutting the work in, putting the time in,โ Bates said. โ(Thereโs) not really a secret recipe or a formula to it. Itโs just taking your craft seriously and putting the work in and doing it with a purpose.โ
Bates sure looked serious in his craft on Saturday evening in Las Vegas. It was arguably the most mature performance of the sophomoreโs Indiana career. While Bates posted a career-high 22 points against Jackson State last month and had 19 last week against Nebraska, those points came at home against lesser competition. The 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting versus Arizona came against the best team Indianaโs played this season in a high-level environment.
And it wasnโt just that Bates had a hot hand. He showed growth in high-ball-screen play, making the right reads with confidence.
Weโll take a look at Batesโ work in the latest edition of Film Session:
With Indiana starting to show signs of life in the first half, Race Thompson sets a high ball screen for Bates near the left slot. Kerr Kriisa fights over the top of the screen while Azuolas Tubelis plays drop coverage. This means Bates has space in the mid-range to operate. As Bates gets to the left elbow, he rises and hits the jumper to pull the Hoosiers within 14 points.
Nice job by Bates here to take what the defense gave him and connect.
Now in the second half, Thompson and Bates hook up again on a ball screen near the left slot, but this time Bates drives right as Kriisa again goes over the screen. As Kriisa recovers, Bates does a good job of using his body to keep Kriisa behind him as he probes Tubelisโ drop coverage. As Thompson rolls through the left elbow, Bates drives through the same area as he gets the floater up and over Tubelis for the bucket.
High-level pick-and-roll play from the sophomore here.
On our next play, itโs Xavier Johnson and Malik Reneau teaming up for the left slot ball screen. Bates is on the weak-side wing. As Kriisa slides over from Bates to the nail area to stop Johsonโs drive, Johnson dishes it to him.
Bates rises and hits the 3-pointer on a recovering Kriisa.
This shows that Bates doesnโt need to be the ballhandler in ball-screen action. His improved 3-point shooting makes him a threat if the defense helps off…