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(Photo Credit: IndianaHQ)

On Saturday morning, students waited outside — some for hours — to have the opportunity to be on national television. ESPN selected East Lansing to be the site for their College Gameday feature, where they host a live broadcast with a participating fan base.

A few hours after the broadcast, Indiana versus Michigan State would tip-off in the Breslin Center where a formidable number of of passionate students and fans were already waiting in the Izzone. Their Spartans would host a free falling Hoosiers team that had lost seven straight coming into the day’s main event.

If you are reading this, you already know the result.

While from all accounts, the ESPN and Gameday crews did a great job covering the game on national television, there were a handful of noteworthy and interesting moments that may not have quite reflected through the broadcast.

5. Once IU target and Indianapolis native Aaron Henry has pure athleticism.

Aaron Henry

Aaron Henry, the 2018 recruit out of Indianapolis (Ben Davis), was once an Indiana target, but then elected to go to Michigan State after the Hoosiers had seemingly filled up his roster slot with the commitment of Damezi Anderson.

Don’t let his stat line of just six points and four rebounds fool you. There is a reason why Tom Izzo trusted Aaron Henry to play 31 minutes last night as a freshman.

Incredible athleticism defines him as a player. The 6’6″ freshman who is best classified as a wing towered over Indiana players when he got boards. He did not collect many boards, but when he did, it was emphatic. Sparty nation should look forward to what Aaron Henry can develop into as he matures. Considering his vertical right now as a freshman, he will end up being one of the Big Ten’s best in a couple of years.

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4. Devonte Green can make plays unlike anyone else in the conference

Devonte Green

Devonte Green returned Saturday for the first time in three games after serving a three-game suspension for still undisclosed reasons. The staff may have suspended him, but there was no one happier for his return than the coaches.

Devonte’s three of four shooting from behind the arc might be the most prominent impact for those watching through the tubes. But on the floor, his ball handling and pass abilities shined above the rest. Simply put Devonte Green has ball abilities that are truly one of a kind and Hoosier fans should appreciate what ceiling Devonte has as a player. Two plays stood out. The first play unfolded with Devonte bringing up the ball but unable to connect to an open Evan Fitzner. Devonte realized he did not take advantage of the open man, and decided he wanted to do something about it. Now, on many occasions, this story ends in one of two ways: Devonte either makes an incredible home run play or he mishandles the ball and turns over the rock.

Thankfully the former was true. Devonte drew his defenders left with one step and slipped the ball with a no look pass back to Fitzner. Evan swung the ball instantly to an open Al Durham on the right hand baseline. Dunk.

The second play involves Devonte’s post feeds to De’Ron Davis. In the second half, Green was frequently able to find De’Ron on the left side post with an outward bounce pass. On this particular possession, Michigan State hedged against the post feed by over extending on the elbow to disrupt the feed.

However, the plan was laid out and it had been working the whole game. Why change it now? Devonte had his mind set on passing the ball into the paint. In what can only be described as an NBA-style move, Devonte carried the ball forward within the limitations of the rules and replicated one of his post feeds identically.

Now only he knows if he had already made up his mind about feeding or faking, but to his better judgement he was able to pull the ball back towards him mid-air and continue his dribble in the other direction. Even photographer row bit and fell for the fake feed.

Minor in the grand scheme, these two moments were noteworthy from a courtside view.

3. Archie Miller has two categories of players: ones he trusts and ones who still have to earn his trust

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Archie Miller has always been known to use a short bench. At his time in Dayton he typically had a core of six to eight players that received the overwhelming majority of minutes.

With an Indiana team that seems to have player availability on an hour by hour determination, Coach Miller has had his hand forced to play line ups that do not necessarily make a lot of sense. On top of that, those sets likely have had little to no practice time together again because of the ever changing availability.