Cupps will look to be the depth piece Indiana needs in the backcourt.
Last season wasn’t necessarily fair for rising sophomore point guard Gabe Cupps.
Mike Woodson has said numerous times that he didn’t want to throw a freshman into the fire of Big Ten play. When Xavier Johnson went down with an injury, he had no choice but to start Cupps in his stead.
Cupps’ stats don’t jump off the page. He averaged 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He just wasn’t much of a threat to do anything on the court on a nightly basis, which isn’t necessarily his fault.
It’s hard to adjust to the Big Ten level and Cupps’ performance didn’t come from a lack of trying. He kept up the energy on the defensive end and did just about everything he could out there.
An ideal freshman year probably sees Cupps taking single-digit minutes off the bench to provide some defense in relief of a starting guard. Maybe what happened his freshman year is helpful long-term, but that remains to be seen.
His sophomore year will give him something closer to the role some envisioned for him as a freshman. With the additions of Myles Rice and Bryson Tucker, the return of Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal, and Jakai Newton being healthier, Cupps has gone down the depth chart.
So, how can he impact winning for Indiana men’s basketball this year?
Practicing against the guys listed above should give him good reps to defend the type of talent Indiana will see in the Battle 4 Atlantis and into Big Ten play. He’ll need to keep that defensive energy up as a sophomore to earn minutes.
Offensively? Cupps needs to improve as a creator. He came in as a point guard, but primary creation duties fell to Galloway when Johnson was injured. If Cupps can manage a few assists in spot minutes, he’ll prove more valuable.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, 3-point shooting. Cupps is a more reliable shooter than the numbers would lead you to believe, having hit 35.9% of his attempts from deep last season.
Based on a few videos out of the offseason, it looks like Cupps has tweaked his shooting form for the better. If he can approach 40% off the bench as a catch-and-shoot option, there’s a definite path to minutes for him.