Next Year's Guard Rotation

[Stuhoo]

 

A nagging thought just wandered into the front of my brain:

With CuJo gone and RoJo and Josh as eligibility-exhausted seniors, next year's roster is currently slated to have only three guards: Al D, DeVonte, and Rob P.

Shouldn't we have heard by now about at least one more guard that we have interest in? 

Jerome Hunter may be a contributor as a freshman, but it won't be all that much in the role as a ball-handler. Romeo would be one more, but after that...grad transfer? An off the radar freshman?

 

[indianaranger]

We are in deep trouble at guard position for next year no shooting at all.Do we have anyone in backcourt who will score over 10 points a game.

[Alford Bailey]

Im expecting a fix for next year. Romeo, impact grad transfer or both. Archie knows we have to upgrade guard play big time.

[Hardwood83]

25 minutes ago, Alford Bailey said:

Im expecting a fix for next year. Romeo, impact grad transfer or both. Archie knows we have to upgrade guard play big time.

I'd even settle for consistently decent. The huge swings from "wow, that was really good" to "that was THE stupidest play I've ever witnessed" are just brutal. Everyone has an off game, but Josh and Rojo just seem extraordinarily inconsistent, especially for the experience they have. It's not even a roller-coaster, more like a teeter-totter! either up or down, with no in between.

Unfortunately, Green seems cut from the same mold. Really talented, but scary too. A grad transfer seems like it would be a great fit -along with Romeo, of course. 

[bigrod]

I'm pretty sure CAM has already stated that Anderson and Hunter will be guards. I believe both are listed as G/F currently, but that probably has a lot to do with their HS team needs.

[Stuhoo]

4 minutes ago, bigrod said:

I'm pretty sure CAM has already stated that Anderson and Hunter will be guards. I believe both are listed as G/F currently, but that probably has a lot to do with their HS team needs.

 

Guards? Maybe.

Ballhandlers? Not so much.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Hemenway from Castle?   Thompson from Zionsville? 

Austin Boucher from FW North?   

Archie sees the same thing and I've got to believe he's got a plan A and plan B in place just not readily apparent to us outsiders.  The bigger wrench in his long term plans is if Durham or Green would unexpectedly decide to leave our program - purely speculating on that but it's always a concern in today's world of college basketball.

[bigrod]

7 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

Guards? Maybe.

Ballhandlers? Not so much.

I admit, I haven't seen a lot of their games, but both seem adequate at this early stage. I don't think they will be mistaken for point guards, but from what I have seen, they both have skills that can be grown.

[bigrod]

1 minute ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Archie sees the same thing and I've got to believe he's got a plan A and plan B in place just not readily apparent to us outsiders.  The bigger wrench in his long term plans is if Durham or Green would unexpectedly decide to leave our program - purely speculating on that but it's always a concern in today's world of college basketball.

I think if there's one thing we've learned about CAM, it's that he probably not only has Plan A and B, but C, D, E, & F.

[Scooter D]

Already thinking about next season?  I guess that is an indication of how well the season is going/expected to go.  

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Already thinking about next season?  I guess that is an indication of how well the season is going/expected to go.  

Yep. So true, it's the reality of matters. I find myself projecting to a year or 2 ahead more often than thinking about this season too.


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[HoosierAloha]

We lose one ball handler in Newkirk and gain one in Phinisee. How often does Johnson actually bring up or handle the ball? Not often.

I believe we'll see more of a true point in the future (Phinisee) and then small and big wings.

Durham can bring the ball up next season when Phinisee is not in.


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[GnarlyNormEllenberger]

A few thoughts on this one...

- There are a lot of good guard prospects that are still/become available every Spring via transfer, de-commit or never committed in the first place. It's not like what it used to be ten years ago. There are many solid players that Archie could go after in the Spring if he wants. Anyone remember McKinlay Wright, Archie's prized commit to Dayton who de-committed? He's leading 7-2 Colorado in scoring right now at 15.7 PPG. And there are others out there like him. This isn't a situation where we'll be desperate for bigs and end up with April and Priller. That was a completely different situation.

- Watching a little bit of Damezi Anderson and Jerome Hunter, I'd say there's a very good chance you'll see both of them play on the wing next year. Especially Anderson. If you get a chance, watch him move without the ball on offense. He moves like a guard, always moving, cuts hard off of screens, etc. Is he quick enough defensively? Not sure yet. But it's rare you see a player move around the court that much if he doesn't plan on having the ball in his hands a lot. So if he and Hunter are playing the wing with any regularity, that means we just need guys at the PG and another off-guard/wing.

- I believe a lot of this Romeo Langford speculation is just that. Speculation. There has not been any indication that a decision is anywhere imminent. How some people can be so sure that one team is leading another seems extremely premature at this point. His recruitment has been full of "School A is trending... no, wait! School B is hot now. Nah, he's got buddies at School C. He'll definitely go there." and plenty of that has been from some national guys. IMO, pay attention near the April signing period. That's when any of this will have some substance. I believe IU has as much shot as any school. 

And side note... are some people really THAT confident he's going to Vanderbilt? Really? I mean, I guess it could happen. But wow. Potentially the all-time leading scorer in Indiana High School history will go to... Vanderbilt. I'd be completely shocked. Not saying it can't/won't happen. I've been shocked before. But from a logical basketball perspective, that would just about take the cake. Not Indiana. Not Kansas. Not Duke. Not UK. But Vandy. Sheesh.

- Let's not pigeon-hole Green and Durham with their potential improvement for next year. Sometimes I think we as fans want to take their present production and just assume that's all they will ever be. But don't under-estimate those guys. Look at Juwan Morgan. 2.4 PPG as a freshman. 14.1 PPG as a Junior. Guys can improve.

[Trish]

Landing Langford is key, but it doesn't look so great right now. Our depth for next year at the guard position is concerning for sure. Like noted, grad transfers, decommits, could all occur. 

If we land Langford, a..

 

RP / Green

Langford / Anderson 

 

doesn't look so bad. 

[goonaha]

1 hour ago, indianaranger said:

We are in deep trouble at guard position for next year no shooting at all.Do we have anyone in backcourt who will score over 10 points a game.

Al Durham averages 7 ppg with 25 mpg and Devonte Green averages 8 ppg with 23 mpg. You think those two are incapable of averaging 2-3 more points next year (it'll be more, by the way) when they're going to be playing 30+ minutes a game?

[Hoosierfan2017]

I think Al is someone who will take a big leap next season. I could really see him spending all summer in Bloomington. Green is by far our best playmaker and I expect him to keep improving with Archie's coaching. We'll have the opportunity to put some big and long lineups on the floor next year if Hunter/Anderson can play the 2. 

[Hurryin' Hoosiers]

I guess i dont understand the issue.

PG Durham, Green, Phinisee
SG Hunter, Anderson

You dont need more than 3 people that can handle the ball and 5 players between 2 spots is fine. If we get Langford, then it is more than fine.

[DChoosier]

They can both pick up a few points a game next year. What we need, however, is one or two true three point threats that can help spread the floor. Outside of Hartman I do not feel very confident when any of the guys put up a three.
Victor went from not being a threat to becoming one. Maybe Al and Green can also develop.


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[WayneFleekHoosier]

I heard VO is coming back because it is too easy in the NBA and he wants challenged. Problem solved. [emoji12]


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[AKHoosier]

3 hours ago, iuswingman said:

I guess i dont understand the issue.

PG Durham, Green, Phinisee
SG Hunter, Anderson

You dont need more than 3 people that can handle the ball and 5 players between 2 spots is fine. If we get Langford, then it is more than fine.

The issue is neither Hunter or Anderson have the handle to be a guard, so calling them shooting guards is a stretch.  That backcourt just doesn't scream 'top 5 of the B1G' to me.

If we get Langford then that will change a lot of things, but we can't count on that right now.