Sticking around town gives some Hoosiers head-start with Archie Miller

BLOOMINGTON – Despite being allowed to go home for most of May, five of Indiana basketball coach Archie Miller’s new players have instead kept him and his new staff busy inside Cook Hall.

Players are allowed to spend the first four weeks of the offseason away from Bloomington if they choose, with IU’s roster set to report for the official start of summer workouts later this month.

Nevertheless, seniors Collin Hartman and Robert Johnson, junior Juwan Morgan and sophomores De’Ron Davis and Curtis Jones all elected to spend the first four weeks of the summer in Bloomington, working out on campus and with IU's new strength coach Clif Marshall.

“We’ve got a lot of room to grow with a lot of guys individually,” Miller said Wednesday at Huber's Orchard and Winery. “These first four weeks of the summer, we’ve had guys on campus, and we’ve been able to work with those guys. I think guys are getting better, so I’m anxious to get the rest of the guys back and get them started.”

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Each of the five had his own reasons for staying in town.

Hartman is still recovering from a knee injury that cost him all of last season. Miller said he and his staff are being cautious with the redshirt senior, who is starting to regain his old form.

“Where he started at seven weeks ago, if it was level one, I thought when we finished the spring, I thought he was probably level three or four,” Miller said. “As we started our summer, to see where he started at to where he’s at right now, he’s started to move in that direction where I can see the player that he once was.”

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Johnson, the other senior on campus, spent most of the spring in the throes of the NBA draft process, having declared without signing an agent.

He elected to return for his senior season a few days before the official withdrawal deadline, handing Miller a significant boost ahead of his first season in charge.

Now, Miller is challenging the Virginia native, who likely will break 1,000 career points this season, to be more vocal.

“Rob did a great job in the spring,” Miller said. “He wanted the (NBA) feedback, wanted information from people to see what he needed to do to improve. I think that was his whole plan. That’s what’s great about the rule. Certain guys really take advantage of it. He did.

“And through about four weeks, he’s probably about as focused of a basketball player as I’ve been around.”

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Jones, Indiana’s other Richmond-area product, endured a hot-and-cold freshman season, the highlight of which was almost certainly his 15-point bench performance in the win over Kansas in Hawaii.

Though he had originally planned to spend the first four weeks of summer at home, Jones changed his mind. His primary ambition over the last month has been adding weight to his frame.

“Just getting the chance to get to know him a little bit better, and being with him every day, great kid, tremendous energy level, is working extremely hard,” Miller said. “We have to change Curtis’ body for his game to change. When he goes out there (next season), people should say, ‘Wow, he looks a lot different,’ and that will make him a better player.”

If Jones is trying to add weight, his classmate is trying to lose it.

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Davis, Miller said, weighed in at 271 pounds when he first met with Miller earlier this spring. By the end of this week, Miller is hopeful the 6-10 forward — upon whom significant expectation rests ahead of next season — will be down to 255.

“We always said, if De’Ron could stay the whole summer, the first four weeks would set him off. He’s done a great job,” Miller said. “When he’s in the locker room, when he’s on the floor and he’s around our staff, he’s got a much more positive bounce.”

Morgan, hampered by injuries through parts of last season, is back to full health.

“Juwan, who’s had shoulder surgery in the past, is operating full go,” Miller said.

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Indiana will begin full offseason workouts later this month, with freshmen expected to report and the rest of the roster due back.

The last two months have given Miller and his staff time to settle into their new program, and begin to map out a path to next season. These four weeks have made that process easier.

“I think you start to get your hands around things more and more every day,” Miller said. “As the academic year finishes and you start to move into your summer, you really start to plan a little bit more. It feels a little bit more normal in terms of getting your offseason program up and running.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.