Indiana's deep harmony

Every starter matters, so IU's offense keeps hitting all the chords

Updated: December 14, 2012, 4:41 PM ET

By John Gasaway | Basketball Prospectus

The inspiration for this piece comes to you courtesy of a very good ESPNU College Basketball Podcast done this week by my colleagues Andy Katz and Seth Greenberg. Andy put a question to Seth that was so intriguing that I'm going to jump in and take a crack at it myself.

Andy's question (jump to the 15:30 mark) was this: If you had to pick just one player from Indiana to nominate for National Player of the Year, who would it be?

Right now you're thinking, duh, Cody Zeller (and that's pretty much what Seth said), but it's actually a mark of how well the Hoosiers have played as a team that Andy's question really could have multiple answers. Let's consider each member of IU's starting five, and in particular I want to consider what each player has brought to the table to make Indiana arguably the best offense in the nation. To this point in the young season, the Hoosiers have scored 802 points in 642 possessions, and you just don't do that without some POY-level performers (plural).

So, whom would I nominate for national Player of the Year? Glad you asked, Andy!

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