IUBB - 2020 Off-Season News

[Brass Cannon]

Hmm doubt we can get a grad transfer.  Honestly would love to try and get a 21 recruit to come early maybe even redshirt.  Would love to Duncomb in and sit for a year.  

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

The leaving of Smith I think just helps the offense. Obviously hurts the defense but we should be able to play pretty fast still and be able to play more 3-guard lineups with Thompson and Hunter at the 4. Or still play big with Hunter/Thompson/TJD. Which should be the goal. We have lineups that can give us good offense and defense with length and athleticism. Plus Race and Hunter finally have a good year under their belts. I’m excited to see Hunter. Archie can get pretty creative now with lineups and should. Especially in all the cupcake games. Hope Smith the best, but IU still comes out looking good. Just have to keep Lander and TJD healthy.


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[GloryDays]

1 hour ago, MoyeNeeded said:

I would think with his athleticism, Geronimo has a chance to earn serious minutes.

 If Geronimo can catch a pass, make a decent one, dribble some, shoot a little and finish at the rim he's already ahead of Smith.Other than a highlight dunk every now and then Justin gave nothing offensively and drove me crazy watching him.

 Defensively he was pretty damm good and we'll miss that.

[Bowhunter]

I don’t like watching a team that’s offensively challenged. When Justin played the wing it messed up our offensive flow. He was good at defense but sometimes it seemed like he checked out and brought others down with him.


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[Stuhoo]

17 minutes ago, Woodson1980 said:

 If Geronimo can catch a pass, make a decent one, dribble some, shoot a little and finish at the rim he's already ahead of Smith.Other than a highlight dunk every now and then Justin gave nothing offensively and drove me crazy watching him.

 Defensively he was pretty damm good and we'll miss that.

Disagree.

There will not be a freshmen that has system recognition at the level of a very intelligent senior.

He may shoot it as well or better, but he won’t have near the understanding of spacing and cuts.

 

[Brass Cannon]

7 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Disagree.

There will not be a freshmen that has system recognition at the level of a very intelligent senior.

He may shoot it as well or better, but he won’t have near the understanding of spacing and cuts.

 

This is my main concern all of a sudden we are trying to rationalize how a non 5 star freshmen is going to help us fill the gap. That’s not what successful programs do. 
 

We have like no margin for injuries now.  

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

1 hour ago, Brass Cannon said:

Hmm doubt we can get a grad transfer.  

Agree, that market has been picked pretty clean by now.  

[Brass Cannon]

Just now, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Agree, that market has been picked pretty clean by now.  

We would have to coax somebody to enter the portal because they see a chance at minutes.  
 

Has it dawned on Brooks that he’s not in Cals plans yet?

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Just now, Brass Cannon said:

We would have to coax somebody to enter the portal because they see a chance at minutes.  
 

Has it dawned on Brooks that he’s not in Cals plans yet?

But Brooks would have to sit a year since the one-time waiver rule will not take effect for at least another year.    As to your other point, it's certainly possible that word could find it's way to another player with immediate eligibility pointing out the opportunity that exists in Bloomington.  Not that I'm condoning tampering of course.

[Brass Cannon]

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

But Brooks would have to sit a year since the one-time waiver rule will not take effect for at least another year.    As to your other point, it's certainly possible that word could find it's way to another player with immediate eligibility pointing out the opportunity that exists in Bloomington.  Not that I'm condoning tampering of course.

True. But you forget Brooks needs to be closer to home due to A family emergency.  Waivers have been granted for less.  

[HoosierAloha]

For a guy that was a straight A student and graduate in 3 years to not know how to spell Kelley School of Business and to call our warm ups pinstripes is a bit odd


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Do we really believe he thinks they’re called pinstripes? Me thinks it was just a little dig on the way out..


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[GloryDays]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

Disagree.

There will not be a freshmen that has system recognition at the level of a very intelligent senior.

He may shoot it as well or better, but he won’t have near the understanding of spacing and cuts.

 

I wasn't saying that.I realize he's not going to come in and replace Smith.But with more minutes available and If the kid can shoot ,rebound some and occasionally take his man off the dribble he may carve out a role.I was being sarcastic to a point but there is some truth in saying Justin had terrible hands was a terrible passer and couldn't shoot a lick.

[NashvilleHoosier]

9 minutes ago, HoosierAloha said:

Do we really believe he thinks they’re called pinstripes? Me thinks it was just a little dig on the way out..


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I thought the same thing. Saying pinstripes, misspelling Kelley, and then thanking the university and the basketball program but not specifically the coaches. All of those made me think they were subtle digs. I still wish him the best, but if this was indeed dripping with sarcasm, both sides are better off. 

[Crimson and Cream]

Not upset about this. Best of luck to him wherever he lands though.

[jk34]

1 hour ago, Crimson and Cream said:

Not upset about this. Best of luck to him wherever he lands though.

Wonder what Painter would have to say about this! 

[Hoosierfan2017]

The many Justin Smith stories over the past few years have rubbed me the wrong way. Can't say I'm sad to see that circus leave town. 

[8bucks]

Curious if TJD would want/need to show the NBA he can do more away from the basket. While we want him to play a lot at center he may have other amibitions


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[woodenshoemanHoosierfan]

Agree, that market has been picked pretty clean by now.  

While I agree, some of those who declared for the NBA may come back to College and enter the transfer portal. If that happens, I would look into them.

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[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

Curious if TJD would want/need to show the NBA he can do more away from the basket. While we want him to play a lot at center he may have other amibitions


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He can do that at the 5. His future is Tristan Thompson.


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[GnarlyNormEllenberger]

RE: Justin Smith's Transfer... If there's one word I would use to describe my feelings towards this... it's disappointment.

Smith wanted to be a "3". That's what he thought he was. He made that clear to the media several times (see: Wichita State NIT postgame from 2019.) The inference was that his first couple of years he played out of position which hampered his ability to truly succeed as an individual and help the team. I'm also sure he felt that's what his NBA position would be. So, with the addition of Brunk and TJD, Archie gave Smith a chance to play the "3" quite a bit during the 2019-2020 season. What were the results?

From a defensive standpoint, he showed he had the ability to hamper his opponent... particularly on the ball. When he was dialed-in, his play made him a candidate for the Big Ten All-Defensive Team. There were a number of occasions where he used his size and athleticism to shut down his man. However, there were multiple occasions during the year where his motor was questioned which limited his effectiveness as a defensive-stopper. That being said, he still proved that he could be an effective Big Ten "3" on defense.

From an offensive standpoint, we saw problems. His most effective areas were definitely in transition and near the basket where, once again, he could use his athleticism to his advantage. I would go as far to say he was well above-average in this regard considering what seemed to be the majority of his points came in these situations and he ended up averaging double-figures. Outside of that, he struggled. At no point during the season was he able to find any consistency on his jump shot. And he had opportunities. He shot 26.3% from 3FG (10/38) which allowed defenses to sag off of him and pack the paint... which made life all the more difficult for TJD. (InsideTheHall had a feature on how OSU defended him in 2019 which proves this point.) His ball-handling and passing were suspect as evidenced by his 0.6 A/T ratio. His FT% was an unspectacular 67.3%. For a team that already lacked consistent offensive firepower from the "1" and "2" positions, you really need to have more efficient offensive production from the "3"to be anything above mediocre.

I think it's clear that by bringing in four new players this offseason who were slated to play the 1-3 positions, Smith was going to be pushed back to the "4". To most observers, this would be the best move in order to maximize the strengths and potential of the team as a whole... and even put Smith in better positions where he isn't asked to do things he has shown he is unable to do. However, I think Smith was very much against that. In my opinion, he wanted to be an NBA player and in order to do that he was going to need to showcase certain skills. I figure that Archie was relatively unwilling to allow that because slotting Smith at the "3" for next season would limit the overall effectiveness of the team considering Smith's proven limitations on offense. So, Smith leaves because he wants to be an NBA player but thinks he won't get the opportunities at IU next year to prove it.

I don't blame Smith for wanting to play in the NBA. Most Big Ten players do. But the fact is this... few actually ever will. I believe what Matt Painter recently said on the Dan Dakich Show holds true in this situation. Smith showed he could be a good college player. Not great, just good. He was never All-Conference. And he hasn't shown he has an NBA game. And he's had plenty of opportunity to do so. Is that Archie's fault? Is it the system's fault? At some point, I would think a player and his family would understand that the NBA is probably not in the cards. Instead, relish in the opportunity to be a senior leader on what could be a pretty good IU team in 2020-2021.

However, Smith has the right to make the decision that is best for him. I wish the best for him and his future endeavors and hope that he finds what he's looking for in basketball and in life. To be honest, I'm surprised he didn't transfer last year considering all of the unflattering things his father said about Archie on Twitter in 2019. But in the end, I'm a Hoosier fan. And he's no longer on the team, so I look for the next man up. We have two guys in Race Thompson and Jerome Hunter who are oozing potential to be really good college players. Thompson's per-minute stats show he can be a very active and effective player at this level, while Hunter's raw abilities show that he can become a high-level player if/when healthy. This is not to mention any of the Leal/Galloway/Geronimo combo. My point? While there is a void left with Smith's absence, we have several guys who are capable of filling it either on their own or by committee. My opinion of this team being Top 25 caliber for most of the season remains unchanged with Smith's departure.

As always, this is nothing but conjecture and one fan's opinion that doesn't mean anything. Who knows... this could all be about simply wanting to play close to home... showing that I have no idea what I'm talking about. :)