What depth chart would you like to see now?

[FindEndNow 198]

Watford was a stretch 4. Holt is a banger. No way two bigs start. Crean has never done that.

Hartman would start. Not Holt.

[FindEndNow 198]

Watford was a stretch 4. Holt is a banger. No way two bigs start. Crean has never done that.

Colin would be staying at the 4. Not Holt.

[Old Friend 8,389]

We had a great offense with Watford at the 4. He's not a player like Williams. Obviously no problems there. We have a player similar to Watford. His name is Colin Hartman. So I see no problem for Crean by putting Williams in at the 3 spot.

We also had some guy named Cody Zeller.  We do not have that now.   Crean's offense - to be its best - needs a big who can run the floor, fill lanes, and pass out of the low of high post.  Bryant is a lot of things, but he's not that.   Williams is.   You have to look at the makeup of the team on the floor, not simply compare one player with another, whether they're similar or not.

[bnkepner 1,509]

I just can't Colin starting. I think he works perfectly as energy off the bench. He brings good basketball IQ but doesn't seem to have the it factor to be a starter and getting big time minutes. Too inconsistent for that. I got nothing against Colin. I like what he brings to the table as a role player bringing energy off the bench.

[Old Friend 8,389]

Colin would be staying at the 4. Not Holt.

Hartman is not a strong defender and he's not as fast as Indiana needs to be at its best.  He's fine in a sub role, he is not as good as Williams in a starting role.   Hartman and Bryant together would make Indiana a slow team, and there's no way in the world Crean's going to take this team with his offense and slow it down with two guys.   Indiana needs to be an up tempo team, and Hartman, with Bryant doesn't allow that.   We can't have big guys trailing in his system.   They need to be out in front of plays, and Williams DOES allow that.   Hartman has a place....no doubt.  But for the majority of minutes, when Bryant is in the game, we need speed with him.  

[bnkepner 1,509]

Bryant is definitely no Zeller as far as running up and down the floor but Bryant is not slow by any means. Granted I've only seen him a handful of times but he had good enough speed to run with IU. He also is a heck of a passer and has a shooting advantage over Zeller

[mdn82 25,510]

Hartman is not a strong defender and he's not as fast as Indiana needs to be at its best. He's fine in a sub role, he is not as good as Williams in a starting role. Hartman and Bryant together would make Indiana a slow team, and there's no way in the world Crean's going to take this team with his offense and slow it down with two guys. Indiana needs to be an up tempo team, and Hartman, with Bryant doesn't allow that. We can't have big guys trailing in his system. They need to be out in front of plays, and Williams DOES allow that. Hartman has a place....no doubt. But for the majority of minutes, when Bryant is in the game, we need speed with him.

This all day long.

[Lt. John McClaine 541]

G: Yogi
G: RJ
G: JBJ
F: Troy
F: Bryant

G: RJ
G: Z, OG
F: Colin, Morgan
F: Holt
F: Max, Priller

That's what I got too, and it makes me think with us starting 3 guards, and with really only Nick Z on the bench, I think that we'll bring in another guard, from somewhere, with our last Scholarship.    

[FindEndNow 198]

Hartman is not a strong defender and he's not as fast as Indiana needs to be at its best. He's fine in a sub role, he is not as good as Williams in a starting role. Hartman and Bryant together would make Indiana a slow team, and there's no way in the world Crean's going to take this team with his offense and slow it down with two guys. Indiana needs to be an up tempo team, and Hartman, with Bryant doesn't allow that. We can't have big guys trailing in his system. They need to be out in front of plays, and Williams DOES allow that. Hartman has a place....no doubt. But for the majority of minutes, when Bryant is in the game, we need speed with him.

why does Indiana NEED to be uptempo? And Colin won't bring the pace down. Just like Watford didnt. And Colin can handle a 4 way better than Troy can. Troy is just too small. Bryant will be just fine. He's going to make it up and down the court. If Troy was 30-40 pounds heavier then he'd be fine at the 4. But he's about 200 pounds. Probably could have worked in the 80's at that weight. Or the 50's. But not now. Or if he had the strength and shoulders of a Branden Dawson. But he doesn't and Troy can't handle that spot defensively by any means. Colin can hold himself defensively at the 4 at the collegiate level. The biggest game will be against Purdue(cause its Purdue). I'll feel terrible for Troy having to guard Swanigan.

[Walking Boot of Doom 18,170]

why does Indiana NEED to be uptempo? And Colin won't bring the pace down. Just like Watford didnt. And Colin can handle a 4 way better than Troy can. Troy is just too small. Bryant will be just fine. He's going to make it up and down the court. If Troy was 30-40 pounds heavier then he'd be fine at the 4. But he's about 200 pounds. Probably could have worked in the 80's at that weight. Or the 50's. But not now. Or if he had the strength and shoulders of a Branden Dawson. But he doesn't and Troy can't handle that spot defensively by any means. Colin can hold himself defensively at the 4 at the collegiate level. The biggest game will be against Purdue(cause its Purdue). I'll feel terrible for Troy having to guard Swanigan.

One of our best strengths is our transition offense. Why would we give that up? We have a roster than can be used to fit our strength, and our players operate well in our offense.

[FindEndNow 198]

One of our best strengths is our transition offense. Why would we give that up? We have a roster than can be used to fit our strength, and our players operate well in our offense.

how would we be giving it up? We'd still have Yogi, JBJ and Troy leading the break with a shooter trailing in Hartman and Bryant sprinting to the block. Something that happens in a normal fast break.

[JSHoosier 19,845]

and see all 12 in the first 5 minutes of the game?

This would've happened anyway, small lineup or not.

[HoosierAloha 30,024]

I would like to see a starting lineup of

PG - Yogi

SG - JBJ

SF - Troy

PF - Holt

C - Bryant

 

6th man - RoJo PG/SG

Others in the rotation

Hartman SF/PF

Ziesloft SG

Bielfeldt C

 

Wait and See

Morgan PF/C

OG SG/SF

 

This would allow us to run on the break with Yogi and Williams leading the break.  JBJ can play the trailer for a secondary break open three.  Holt might not be the fastest player but on several occasions last year he was rim running for the easy layup.  In a set offense this would give us 3 1/2 shooters (depending on Williams ability to consistently knocking down threes while having more attempts).  Bryant has shown a good stroke from deep but needs to continue to work.  Holt needs to work on a 12' jumper.  Yogi, JBJ, and Williams should all be able to breakdown a defense for a layup or kickout.  JBJ and Troy are plus rebounders, Holt and Bryant should at least be able to hold their own. 

On defense, Holt needs to work on his foot speed to stay with smaller, stretch 4s.  I would develop him more of a Green, Kawhi Leonard type of player than packing weight on him and expecting him to be an undersized 5.  (Note, I'm not saying Holt is anywhere close to being those players)  Yogi and JBJ can concentrate on defending guys their own size and not a foot taller.  Williams needs to pair his God given physical attributes and play smarter.  He could be B1G defensive first team.

 

What we will see too much of...

PG - Yogi

SG - JBJ

SF - RoJo

PF - Troy

C - Bryant

 

We will be able to score but won't defend enough to finish in the top 3 of the B1G.  Our guards will wear down after player 28+ mpg in blowout wins in the OOC season.  We will be shocked when they don't defend and we struggle down the stretch.  I'll go absolutely nuts and break my TV.

[bnkepner 1,509]

I honestly don't think we will see much of a change from last year's lineup. I think its going to be the same lineup except Bryant will be in Hanner's place. Holt and/or Hartman would get by on the defensive side but Im afraid would not give us much of anything on offense. 

[FKfootball 1,046]

Just to add to the conversation. There is no way that Burton and Hartman are 6"7. Burton is at least 6"9 and Hartman is about 6"5-6"6. Burton is bigger than he looks on TV.

[HoosierAloha 30,024]

I honestly don't think we will see much of a change from last year's lineup. I think its going to be the same lineup except Bryant will be in Hanner's place. Holt and/or Hartman would get by on the defensive side but Im afraid would not give us much of anything on offense.

Last year we had three shooters in our starting lineup, a slasher in Troy, and a "post" player in Hanner. If Williams gets a solid jumper and Bryant can hit from outside I would like to see Holt or another post player in the starting lineup. I understand that we need to space the floor but that can be done with Holt and Bryant too.

[Old Friend 8,389]

Bryant is definitely no Zeller as far as running up and down the floor but Bryant is not slow by any means. Granted I've only seen him a handful of times but he had good enough speed to run with IU. He also is a heck of a passer and has a shooting advantage over Zeller

He'll be the slowest player on the floor though.  Zeller was the fastest.  It doesn't necessarily matter if he has a little speed.  If he can't rebound and then get out ahead of the play like Zeller could, we need speed with him.   That wasn't a shot I took at Bryant...he is what he is.   But he and Hartman together don't allow Indiana to do what it needs to do in order to be at their best.

[bnkepner 1,509]

Last year we had three shooters in our starting lineup, a slasher in Troy, and a "post" player in Hanner. If Williams gets a solid jumper and Bryant can hit from outside I would like to see Holt or another post player in the starting lineup. I understand that we need to space the floor but that can be done with Holt and Bryant too.

I haven't seen enough from Holt offensively to justify him getting major minutes. His only offense is put backs. Those are definitely needed and useful but I like what we have with the three shooters, Troy, and our big man down low. If we can defend well, that is a solid lineup for me. I'm guessing that this year we will see tons of different lineups throughout the season as Crean always does

[bnkepner 1,509]

He'll be the slowest player on the floor though.  Zeller was the fastest.  It doesn't necessarily matter if he has a little speed.  If he can't rebound and then get out ahead of the play like Zeller could, we need speed with him.   That wasn't a shot I took at Bryant...he is what he is.   But he and Hartman together don't allow Indiana to do what it needs to do in order to be at their best.

Have you seen Bryant play? Im honestly asking. Not a knock but an honest question. If Holt could rebound and get out ahead of the play last year, then there is no doubt that Bryant can do the same. Bryant is athletic. He isn't going to be as fast as Zeller, but like I said earlier, he will be able to get down the court for some easy buckets. 

[HoosierAloha 30,024]

I haven't seen enough from Holt offensively to justify him getting major minutes. His only offense is put backs. Those are definitely needed and useful but I like what we have with the three shooters, Troy, and our big man down low. If we can defend well, that is a solid lineup for me. I'm guessing that this year we will see tons of different lineups throughout the season as Crean always does

I can see us going with a three guard lineup but I still don't like it. I think with two guards, Williams on the wing, and Bryant having a face up game Holt would complement them well being a garbage man. On defense our rebounding and protecting the paint would improve drastically if our perimeter defenders put in a little work. Holt or Bryant should also work on their outlet passes for the other three to do their thing on the break.