2015 IU season in review: James Blackmon Jr.

Indiana's season is now completed. It's time to take stock of the winter that was, what we learned about these Hoosiers, and what's to come.

In that spirit, we'll go player by player down the roster, highlighting best moments, analyzing future development and figuring out where everyone fits.

Today, we begin with James Blackmon Jr.

THE RUNDOWN

Blackmon had what in some seasons qualifies as a conference freshman of the year-quality campaign. D'Angelo Russell's brilliance doomed that, but Blackmon was a headliner in an outstanding Big Ten freshman class that also included Maryland's Melo Trimble.

The Marion grad spent most of his first college season leading his team in scoring. He reached 20 or more points 10 times, and he was second among Hoosiers, with 5.3 rebounds per game -- important for a team that badly needed some guard rebounding.

He also went cold from the floor at the end of the season, shooting 35.5 percent in IU's last six games, five of them losses. That number shrank to 31.1 percent in the aforementioned five defeats.

And Blackmon struggled at times defensively, though he certainly was not alone among his teammates in that regard.

THE GOOD

In a basic way, Blackmon was exactly what Indiana needed him to be – a offensive force and an aggressive foil to Yogi Ferrell in the backcourt.

No one used more possessions than the 6-4 guard, yet he finished with the second-highest offensive rating, per Ken Pomeroy, of any of Indiana's top seven players in terms of possessions used.

Combine that with the rebounding numbers, which can't be overstated, and the fact that Blackmon wasn't all that turnover prone, and you got a player who stepped into a big role at the beginning of his career without flinching.

THE BAD

Blackmon talked all season about needing to improve his defense, an acknowledgement of a weakness in his game.

And there's the shooting tail-off at the end of the season. Perhaps it's understandable from a freshman with such a high usage rate. A first full offseason of strength and conditioning ought to fix some of those problems.

Overall, though, there aren't many large holes worth poking in Blackmon's game, just areas in need or improvement or shoring up.

Blackmon is just the third Indiana player in the last 10 years to score 500-plus points in his first college season (Cody Zeller and Eric Gordon are the other two).

FINAL WORD

There have been questions about the NBA Draft, and whether Blackmon will have reason to consider his stock this spring.

Right now, it's hard to tell whether that's a reasonable option. He's currently ranked 24th among freshman by DraftExpress, and ESPN's Chad Ford has him at No. 76 overall.

It appears more likely that Blackmon is back in Bloomington for his sophomore season, stronger because of a summer spent in the weight room and on the practice court, and ready to surpass an impressive freshman season.

Is he a four-year player at IU? Maybe not -- time will tell. But James Blackmon Jr. has the potential to dent Indiana's record books before he's done with college basketball. That's the pace he set for himself this season.

Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.