Indiana

Oscar Tshiebwe showed additional skill during summer league, but has same limitations for Indiana Pacers

Published

1 year ago

July 26, 2024

Oscar Tshiebwe showed additional skill during summer league, but has same limitations for Indiana Pacers

LAS VEGAS — Oscar Tshiebwe went into summer league hoping to show more of anything on the hardwood. The big man has displayed time and time again that he’s an excellent rebounder, but he hoped to exhibit additional abilities during the summer sessions.

The Kentucky product was named to the All-G League First Team last year because of his productivity. He dominated the glass and could finish around the rim, which was a large source of success for the Indiana Mad Ants.

This summer was about additional skills. “Actually, his passing. The game has slowed down for him a lot,” Pacers head coach Jannero Pargo said of what looks better for Tshiebwe in his second season. “He’s able to catch the ball and be comfortable and not be rattled and rushed. And he’s making plays from the high post position.”

Tshiebwe showed those skills quickly. His high-low passing game with Jarace Walker was a quality connection in the first game as the second-year big man dished out four assists. He made plays in the high post, as expected by his coach.

Throughout the summer tune ups, that general range was shown. Tshiebwe hit a jumper in more than one outing and drove in for a finish from the perimeter in the final game. He did show more skills in general than during his rookie season.

“We’ve been working on those a lot.” Tshiebwe said of his high-low passing. “If you want to be great, you’ve got to learn how to make good passes. If you see someone helping, you’ve got to make good passes.”

The young big man has been working with assistant coach Jim Boylen on his passing and reads, and Tshiebwe shared that Boylen notices his improvement from year to year just by looking at the tape. During his rookie season summer league, Tshiebwe had four assists in total. He averaged 1.8 per game this season.

He also shot 61% from the field, a fine-enough number. His putbacks were effective — as they usually are — which is a consequence of his dominant rebounding skill. And that remained, which is vital to Tshiebwe’s success.

He had 19 rebounds in his opening performance against Brooklyn, and he was actually unhappy with his outing on the glass that day. He thought that he could have done better. As usual, when the matchup was right, the Kentucky product dominated the boards.

But the matchups didn’t always dictate that Tshiebwe could be on the floor or dominate the glass. He had 24 rebounds total after the first game — just six per outing. His subpar defense means that there are fewer rebounding opportunities when he’s out there, and the young center has fewer ball skills than Enrique Freeman. That meant Tshiebwe didn’t close games much, which limited his total numbers. He’s limited by his poor defense as well as his lack of handle and jump shot.

Still, in situations where the Congolese big man could live on the floor, he showed off new stuff. He hit the glass, made passes, and finished plays. In those ways, it was a successful summer league for the 24-year old.

But the same defensive and play-style limitations that hindered Tshiebwe last season remained, which put a damp on his effectiveness. It was important that he showed growth, and he did, but he still has more to develop to become an everyday big man in the NBA.

“I think he recognized what we’re trying to do defensively more so now than he did in the past,” Pargo said. He added that Tshiebwe is playing bigger and using his voice more effectively.

That added voice is a Boylen special, too. The assistant coach is helping Tshiebwe be louder and strong with the ball — he only had six turnovers in total in Las Vegas.

Add that to the list of things that Tshiebwe did that he is actively working on. Making plays from the elbows, expanding his range, and being more vocal have been focuses for Tshiebwe of late, and he turned his practice to action.

Yet his same limitations remained, and that is what makes his next steps so interesting. He is a restricted free agent and still in the mix for a two-way contract. Can Tshiebwe keep getting better and make it so there are fewer situations in which he is difficult to have on the hardwood? Or will he always be a speciality big man who dominates the glass?

That is the question the Pacers will have to answer. Tshiebwe switched his representation this summer to Octagon and is still not under contract. Perhaps he could be back with the Pacers, and he did have a good summer league in many ways. He got better at a few things he needed to improve. But he also has some key limitations and gaps in his effectiveness that make him a rocky fit, especially on a team that is deep in the frontcourt (Indiana already has Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Isaiah Jackson, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, James Wiseman, and James Johnson under contract for next season).

Oscar Tshiebwe is a better player than he was 12 months ago. He’s better than he was three months ago, for that matter, and those facts make him worth investing in. But he still has flaws that persisted in summer league and make his future unclear.

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Indiana

Why Indiana football regretted one Fernando Mendoza play

Published

4 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Why Indiana football regretted one Fernando Mendoza play

ATLANTA — Indiana football quarterback Fernando Mendoza has burned teams throughout the College Football Playoff with his scrambling ability.

Mendoza was lights out through the air in a 56-22 win over Oregon in the Peach Bowl on Friday night, but he made a handful of plays with his legs again starting with a 21-yard gain early in the second quarter that helped the No. 1 Hoosiers (15-0) flip the field.

Mendoza’s sneaky athleticism has put pressure on defenses already struggling to contain IU’s impressive arsenal of skill players, but there came a time in the CFP semifinals where the coaching staff asked him to put that scrambling ability in his back pocket and keep it there.

“Coach (Chandler) Whitmer was in his ear about getting down as quickly as possible,” Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan told The Herald-Times.

Re-live IU’s 2025 season

The Heisman winner had the large contingent of IU fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium holding their breath while he was weaving through defenders and taking hits with his team up by four possessions coming out of halftime.

Mendoza lost the ball in the third quarter while getting tripped up from behind on a run up the middle after busting out a spin move on the play to gain extra yards.

While the coaching staff appreciates Mendoza’s competitiveness, they didn’t want him putting himself at risk with the team less than two quarters away from playing in the national title game.

“We were very conscious (of the situation),” Shanahan said after the game.

Mendoza had one more carry after that off an RPO near the goal line right after IU blocked a punt. It was a play call that Shanahan immediately regretted with Oregon loading up the box.

“That wasn’t the best position to put him in,” he said.

Mendoza closed out the game for the Hoosiers under center by simply handing the ball off while the Hoosiers put the finishing touches on another lopsided win. He threw for 177 yards (17 of 20) and finished the game with more passing touchdowns (five) than incompletions (three) for the sixth time this season.

Oregon’s Dan Lanning had high praise for Mendoza’s overall performance after the game, but he became the latest in a long line of opposing coaches to mention his scrambling ability in the same breath as his arm talent.

“The guy makes the right decisions,” Lanning said. “You consistently see if he sees the right coverage, you know, he takes the ball where it’s supposed to go, dictated by coverage. I think he did a great job again on the scrambles early. I thought we had him boxed up in the third down early in the game, which was critical and was able to scramble for a first down.”

Shanahan underlined Mendoza’s decision-making as well in talking about the growth he’s seen from the quarterback this season and his improvisational skills (and when to use them) are a big part of that.

“He makes my life and my job so much easier,” Shanahan said. “I think he’s playing his best ball right now. I don’t know if that was the confidence he got from winning Heisman or beating Ohio State, I feel like we are on the right path. We got one more to go.”

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

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Indiana

Live updates: Indiana vs. Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal

Published

16 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Live updates: Indiana vs. Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal

Atlanta will host a top-five Big Ten rematch in the Peach Bowl on Friday. No. 1 Indiana will take on No. 5 Oregon in a semifinal of the College Football Playoff for a chance to compete for a national championship. The Hoosiers won the regular-season matchup 30-20. This is the fifth all-time meeting between the teams, with the series tied 2-2.

Both defenses have proved stout, making the offenses the biggest determining factor in this game. Indiana is second in scoring defense, while Oregon is close behind at sixth. The Hoosiers have the advantage on the line, giving up the third-fewest rushing yards in the nation. Oregon, however, has the edge in the air, allowing the ninth-fewest passing yards. The Ducks also pitched a shutout in the Orange Bowl against Texas Tech.

The Hoosiers didn’t skip a beat on offense, handing Alabama its first 30-point loss this side of the new millennium. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was highly efficient, going 14-of-16 with three touchdowns and no interceptions. That efficiency has helped Indiana earn the top seed; the Hoosiers have committed the fewest penalties of any CFP team and have the fourth-fewest penalty yards in the nation.

Oregon, meanwhile, struggled to score for most of its quarterfinal matchup against Texas Tech. The Ducks didn’t reach the end zone until 11:20 remained in the third quarter and rushed for just 64 yards. Dante Moore threw for 234 yards but had no touchdowns, an interception and minus-12 rushing yards due to constant pressure.

Indiana is the favorite, but Oregon has been one of the strongest units in the country, with its lone loss coming against the Hoosiers. Will the Ducks learn from their earlier mistakes, or will Indiana continue one of the most dominant runs of the CFP era?

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Indiana

Rematch history in CFP and BCS favors Oregon vs. Indiana in Peach Bowl

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Rematch history in CFP and BCS favors Oregon vs. Indiana in Peach Bowl

The College Football Playoff national semifinal at the Peach Bowl marks a rematch of No. 1 seed Indiana’s 30-20 win against No. 5 Oregon in October, the first of several results this year that have left the Hoosiers knocking on the door of a historic and unbeaten season.

With two more wins, Indiana would become the first 16-0 national champion since Yale in 1894. But in order to make history, the Hoosiers will need to reverse some recent history.

Since the 1996 season, there have been seven regular-season rematches in the College Football Playoff and in national championship games played under the two previous postseason formats, the Bowl Championship Series and the Bowl Alliance. Four of these pairings have occurred since the playoff expanded last season.

Surprisingly, all but one of these games have seen the loser from the regular season rebound to win the rematch. This could be a coincidence. At a minimum, though, this trend shows the difficulties in defeating an elite opponent twice in under a four-month span.

The Hoosiers look to buck that recent history. Here’s a look back at these rematches and what they might suggest about the Peach Bowl:

Ole Miss vs. Georgia, 2025

Results: Georgia 43-35, Ole Miss 39-34.

Ole Miss led Georgia in the second half when the two met in October but coughed up a lead for its one and only loss on the year. The two SEC rivals met again in the Sugar Bowl earlier this month, with the Rebels pulling out the win on a late field goal. Unlike during the regular season, Ole Miss landed a big game from Trinidad Chambliss and did much better running the ball, indicating how teams can strategize by looking back and evaluating the previous matchup.

Ole Miss vs. Tulane, 2025

Results: Ole Miss 45-10, Ole Miss 41-10.

Here’s the one outlier. The Rebels stampeded over Tulane at home in September and then did the same in the opening round. The one difference: Lane Kiffin was the head coach for the first game and Pete Golding for the second. In this case, a significant edge in talent was the biggest factor in helping Ole Miss defy recent history.

Oklahoma vs. Alabama, 2025

Results: Oklahoma 23-21, Alabama 34-24.

Again, an SEC rematch that reversed the regular-season result. Oklahoma’s win in November sparked its run to the playoff. That seemed to carry over to the opening round, when the Sooners stormed out to a 17-0 lead. But the Tide crawled back to tie for the biggest comeback in playoff history.

Oregon vs. Ohio State, 2024

Results: Oregon 32-31, Ohio State 41-21.

Oregon narrowly pulled out the win in Autzen Stadium and then went on to post a perfect regular season, earning the top seed in the debut of the expanded playoff. But in the Rose Bowl the Ducks ran into a buzzsaw in the Buckeyes, who stormed out to a 34-0 late in the second quarter and won going away. A year later, Oregon hopes to follow Ohio State’s blueprint and score the upset against the unbeaten Big Ten champs.

Alabama vs. Georgia, 2021

Results: Alabama 42-24, Georgia 33-18.

The Tide knocked off then-unbeaten Georgia in the SEC championship game behind 421 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Bryce Young. That landed Alabama in the four-team playoff as the No. 1 seed, while Georgia slotted in at No. 3. The pair met in the championship game after beating Cincinnati and Michigan, respectively, and the Bulldogs would hold Young to 6.5 yards per throw and make two picks to take the first of back-to-back titles.

LSU vs. Alabama, 2011

Results: LSU 9-6, Alabama 21-0

The Tigers’ overtime win during the regular season was about as ugly as the score suggests with five field goals being the only scores. The rematch in the title game about two months later wasn’t any better. Alabama’s defense barely allowed LSU to cross midfield in this second meeting to win the second of Nick Saban’s six titles in Tuscaloosa.

Results: Florida State 24-21, Florida 52-20.

No other rematch has come within such a short time frame. FSU topped Florida on Nov. 30 to end the regular season and drew the immediate rematch in the Sugar Bowl, which was designated as the championship game in the Bowl Alliance format, because then-No. 2 Arizona State was obligated to face No. 4 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. This time, Steve Spurrier’s Gators bombarded the Seminoles to capture the first national title in program history with the Sun Devils falling to the Buckeyes.

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