'He's always hunting': Conor Enright becoming valuable asset as main ball handler for Indiana offense

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana‘s offensive rhythm revolves around pace, ball movement and the ability to get out in transition. It’s had its ups and downs in the first month and a half of the season but one of the key cogs to making the offense run is beginning to emerge in Conor Enright.

Enright isn’t flashy. He isn’t the quickest player on the floor. But, he’s continues to make winning plays for this group. Enright’s averages sit at 3.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game in 27.7 minutes.

He leads Indiana in assists and is top-10 in the Big Ten in both assists and assists per game.

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After a seven-game winning streak to start the year, Indiana — and its offense — hit a lull. Three losses in a four-game span delivered mixed offensive results, stemming from turnovers, lack of movement and missed shots.

Then, a tweak came to Indiana and it was with the emphasis of Conor Enright playing as the primary ball handler and playmaker. He turned in seven assists and just one turnover — at the 58-second mark of the second half.

“I think Conor is terrific,” DeVries said after IU’s 78-58 win over Chicago State. “What he does is, A, he plays with great pace off of misses especially and Conor’s a smart guy. He knows how to get assists so he finds the guys that he knows that can make them. In transition, he’s always looking. He’s always hunting for guys to come free and I think that’s what makes him that ultimate team guy.”

Enright’s seven assist game was the fourth of the season and the fourth in the last seven games. On the season, Enright’s assist-to-turnover ratio is 4.29 and good for 11th nationally.

His knowledge of running a Darian DeVries offense is evident on the floor and his toughness and IQ is noticeable. His ability to find shooters on the floor is second to none with this group and it’s vital for an offense getting 37.6 percent of its points from three and with the 16th highest three-point rate in the country.

“I think it’s from a mindset standpoint,” DeVries said. “It’s something we talked about all summer and fall. I know we’re a three-point shooting team. That’s what we do.”

Indiana is attempting 29.4 3s a game and making 10.6 but the inconsistency as a group has been on display the last few weeks. IU went 8-of-27 from three in a loss to Minnesota, 11-of-34 against Louisville and 4-of-24 against Kentucky. Despite 15 3s against Chicago State, it was a 1-of-20 showing after halftime on 3s alone.

Part of the inconsistent shooting has been with Indiana’s inability to get into the lane to create space for shooters. Part of it is the lack of off ball movement paired with the ball sticking in the hands of a perimeter player too long.

“As physicality ramps up, you have to put more of an emphasis on your screens and more of an emphasis on winning the war, as we like to say, whether you’re the cutter or the ball handler,” DeVries said. “And between the two, now all of a sudden you can create some opportunities because you get two to the ball and now we can find people in space.

“Those are things that we’ve got to get better at. I know from an offensive standpoint at times when we struggled, we haven’t been as good in those areas. We need to do a much better job of that as we get back from Christmas here and get ready for the new year.”

And Enright’s ability to just find shooters is what he does best. So now his role as a primary ball handler continues to grow with each game and will likely play a pivotal role in Indiana’s potential ceiling as Big Ten play arrives.

“He’s always about understanding what it takes to try to get some guys going,” DeVries added. “Get some easy buckets for guys.”

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