Robert Johnson or Emmitt Holt?

[Flash3 77]

I'll say this - anyone who thinks CTC is going to start Holt over Johnson hasn't paid a whole lot of attention to how CTC plays. He plays guards. Johnson will start.

it isn't about what Crean would do. It's what you would do as coach.

[HereWeGoAgain 27]

it isn't about what Crean would do. It's what you would do as coach.

Fair enough...I'd still go with Johnson simply for defensive matchup reasons. 

[Flash3 77]

I'd start Holt. But that was after looking at some statistics. I was thinking Hartman originally. But here are RJ's per 100 possessions stats: 19.7 pts, 6.5 rebs, 5.1 ast, 1.9 stls, 4.6 tov, 102.2 ORtg, 104.4 DRtg. Holt: 18.9 pts, 15.5 rebs, 0.9 ast, 1.3 stls, 3.8 blks, 2 tov, 130 ORtg, 104.4 DRtg(the lower the better) the Per 40 is in the same concept. PPG are close, RJ averages more assists and turnovers and Holt has the rebounds and blocks.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 83,813]

I think Bryant will have some growing pains. Better have Holt ready to come off the bench.

Absolutely.  TB is a freshman who still has a lot of weight and muscle to add to his frame not to mention learning how to play D-1 basketball.  He'll be a tremendous help but he won't make it through the B1G grind if we overwork him.

[KingPG21 6,582]

I'd start Holt. But that was after looking at some statistics. I was thinking Hartman originally. But here are RJ's per 100 possessions stats: 19.7 pts, 6.5 rebs, 5.1 ast, 1.9 stls, 4.6 tov, 102.2 ORtg, 104.4 DRtg. Holt: 18.9 pts, 15.5 rebs, 0.9 ast, 1.3 stls, 3.8 blks, 2 tov, 130 ORtg, 104.4 DRtg(the lower the better) the Per 40 is in the same concept. PPG are close, RJ averages more assists and turnovers and Holt has the rebounds and blocks.

Eh, PER 100 possessions/40 minutes/36 minutes stat is such a crap stat. There are a lot more things to take into consideration, like the fact that with that type of time on the court the efficiency of said player is almost always going to diminish. And then the thing about assists/turnover and rebounds/blocks almost entirely should just be attributed to just the position those two play. I'd also throw in that defensive ratings almost always are something that are more strongly geared towards being inflated for big men, since a lot of teams funnel towards them, one way or another and to varying degrees. That Rojo has the same defensive rating while defending on the wing, and playing more minutes is a pretty significant number. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 83,813]

 I expect to see Yogi, JBJ and RoJo all starting along with Troy and TB.  BUT, if JBJ doesn't want to play defense then I sit him on the bench despite his shooting ability and start Hartman in his place.  I think RoJo is a good enough shooter and last year did a great job of getting rebounds from the guard position and was a better defender than JBJ (yes I know that's not saying a whole lot).  I also have a gut feeling that RoJo is going to be a very pleasant surprise for us this season.

[Flash3 77]

Eh, PER 100 possessions/40 minutes/36 minutes stat is such a crap stat. There are a lot more things to take into consideration, like the fact that with that type of time on the court the efficiency of said player is almost always going to diminish. And then the thing about assists/turnover and rebounds/blocks almost entirely should just be attributed to just the position those two play. I'd also throw in that defensive ratings almost always are something that are more strongly geared towards being inflated for big men, since a lot of teams funnel towards them, one way or another and to varying degrees. That Rojo has the same defensive rating while defending on the wing, and playing more minutes is a pretty significant number.

I like per 100 and per 40. It can help. I personally just think Emmitt is better. I know a lot of people love RJ but I was not that impressed by him as a freshman. Neither him or JBJ could defend a chair but JBJ is just a flat out scorer and surprisingly good rebounder for his position. RJ also turned it over A LOT. It's great that he had 70+ assists but not great that he had 70+ turnovers. I'd also like to see some more explosiveness from RJ and a quicker release on his shot. RJ is still a good distance off from being an irreplaceable player. Obviously so is Emmitt. But for how he played last year without being able to have a summer in Bloomington was impressive.

[Brass Cannon 24,222]

Stats are kind of meaningless here. Both players should come back better. Who starts really could come down to who has improved more

[NRT137 316]

I want this to be the starting lineup next year...
Yogi
Jbj
Troy
Collin
Bryant

I agree with whoever said Bryant will have growing pains. I could easily see holt starting over Bryant. I love holts hustle and heart. Rojo's 3 can be a weapon at times, but we have plenty of guys for that. Collins 3 was more consistent I thought, so that's why he is ahead of both for me. And honestly, NZ could start ahead of all these guys! He would come off the bench and shoot lights out some games. It's 4 guys for me fighting over that 5th spot. Gonna be great having fresh legs and depth for us this year.

[Alford Bailey 12,349]

I'll say this - anyone who thinks CTC is going to start Holt over Johnson hasn't paid a whole lot of attention to how CTC plays. He plays guards. Johnson will start.

I expect plenty of 3 guards.

[Str8Hoosiers 2,965]

I'll say this - anyone who thinks CTC is going to start Holt over Johnson hasn't paid a whole lot of attention to how CTC plays. He plays guards. Johnson will start.

Maybe I'm reading this wrong but it sounds like you are taking a dig at Crean with this comment... Then say next that if you were the coach you would do the same thing?... Maybe I'm taking it wrong because that wouldn't make a lot of sense to bash him for making the same decision you would make, presumably the decision thought to be best for the team for whatever reason.

[moyemayhem 1,283]

If I've learned anything watching Crean's offense the last 7 years, it's that spacing is paramount for it to run effectively.  Because of that, playing three non-shooters like Bryant, Holt, and Williams in the same lineup would likely end in disaster.

 

I'd actually go with Hartman over Johnson, because we get more size, while maintaining that spacing.  It also allows Johnson to back up both Yogi and JBJ, which will give him plenty of minutes and ensure we have a capable ball handler coming off the bench.  Meanwhile, Holt gives us a capable big off the bench so that we can more easily rotate out Bryant and Williams without seeing massive dropoffs in talent.

[BGleas 7,880]

I'm not saying I wouldn't start RoJo, while I wish we'd play bigger, I kind of side with Old Friend given who our coach is.

But, I'm curious as to why you said you'd start RoJo for defensive matchup purposes? If anything, having a Yogi-JBJ-RoJo backcourt/wing hurts us defensively. We have no way to defend a team that has a 3 such as Troy. How do we matchup with Maryland defensively when they have a Laymen at the 3? How do we defend Purdue with Davis at the 3 and two huge front court players?

Fair enough...I'd still go with Johnson simply for defensive matchup reasons.

[Iufan2324 158]

If we're a better team with RJ coming off the bench then so be it. If he wants to transfer because we've become a better team then why should we want him around? Winning cures a lot. Will Sheehey came off the bench for 3 years and never complained and we were winning in 2 of those years. If we're winning then nothing matters. Winning is the only thing that matters. If players want to put themselves above us winning then they don't need to be around.

Winning in my book isn't settling for a sweet 16. Although we won a big ten title.

[Iufan2324 158]

I don't get how we would lose Johnson if he was our Sixth man. Hes basically guaranteed a starting position after this season.

Nothing's guaranteed for him to play well. Stan was our 6th man and his play dipped dramatically. I get what you are saying though.

[HereWeGoAgain 27]

I'm not saying I wouldn't start RoJo, while I wish we'd play bigger, I kind of side with Old Friend given who our coach is.But, I'm curious as to why you said you'd start RoJo for defensive matchup purposes? If anything, having a Yogi-JBJ-RoJo backcourt/wing hurts us defensively. We have no way to defend a team that has a 3 such as Troy. How do we matchup with Maryland defensively when they have a Laymen at the 3? How do we defend Purdue with Davis at the 3 and two huge front court players?

Is Purdue planning on playing both bigs together regularly? they never did last year. with Layman, 40% of his shots are 3s

[BGleas 7,880]

I don't think Purdue is going to play Hammons, Swanigan and Haas one at a time. They'll never be able to keep them all happy. Part of the chatter about Swanigan picking Purdue was his desire to play the 4. Layman might take a lot of 3's, but he'll have no problem shooting over Robert Johnson. Also, post him at the elbow, like we used to do with Watford, and he'll shoot the mid-range right over him as well.

Like I said, I sway Old Friend's way, but the big issue with Crean, and it will be with our small lineup, is that it's all or nothing. With a 6'3" combo guard essentially playing the 3 and a 6'7" wing playing the 4, we'll have to own tempo. The second a game gets to a slower pace, we'll have a hard time defensively.

Is Purdue planning on playing both bigs together regularly? they never did last year. with Layman, 40% of his shots are 3s

[Flash3 77]

Is Purdue planning on playing both bigs together regularly? they never did last year. with Layman, 40% of his shots are 3s

they absolutely will. They'll start Hammons and Swanigan. They'll play Haas and Swanigan. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see Hammons and Haas. Good chance Purdue has the best defense in the B1G and one of the best in the nation.

[Yogi'sBicep 1,048]

JBJ disappears with the best of them... How about emmit for him early on, save his legs. Guy will be sort of fresh out of surgery