Jump to content

Justin Smith transferring


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 523
  • Created
  • Last Reply
32 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

Sounds like he got told he needed to improve on the perimeter, because he does and Archie told him we needed him to play the 4

This is what I thought reading the quote from CAM as well. If true, then good for Archie for sticking to his guns in regard with which position Smith needs to play to help the team. Sounds like this is best for both parties. Good luck to Smith next season.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, FKIM01 said:

I think Smith helped more than he hurt and I think he was way more valuable to IU than Eastern was to Purdue.  I'd add a lot more mature and intelligent as well.  Nojel leaving helps Purdue's offense more than it hurts your defense.  I don't agree that the same can be said for Justin Smith leaving IU.

I disagree to an extent. I think they were both valuable in different ways. Obviously Smith was much better offensively than Eastern but Eastern was probably the best on-ball defender in the league. That’s going to be a big loss for a year. Our offense will be better but we’ll hurt on defense. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

This is a significant blow defensively.  Huge gap between what Justin brought defensively and what Jerome has shown.

They're not the same player/position, the loss of Smith is a loss defensively, but as Gleas already pointed out not as significant here, for the reasons he noted. The comparison really is to Race and to an extent Brunk. Race's role was growing, it's now going to grow more. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

This is a significant blow defensively.  Huge gap between what Justin brought defensively and what Jerome has shown.

I'm going to push back on this a little. I'm not sure how much this hurts defensively. We definitely lose a trusted guy to defend the other team's best player, which absolutely hurts, but Smith was not good off the ball or in transition defense. He was often times a negative in those cases. 

It hurts even less if a guy like Geronimo is ready to play defense at this level. Not that I want to count on a freshmen, but we've seen it before on that end. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I'm disappointed -- I like Smith as a player/forward and expected him to have a strong senior season.

On the timing, this is pure speculation, but I think it probably reflects the talk with CAM that followed after Lander's reclassification, and that may well have been that he could be coming off the bench - a starting role was not guaranteed. 

With Lander, Hunter's growth, and Race's growth, while I saw a starting lineup of something like Rob, Al (or Lander), Hunter, Smith and TJD, it could well have been TJD and Brunk starting up front, or TJD and Race, and otherwise the 3-big lineup I think was gone anyway, as it should be. I guess / speculate that Smith decided he would get more of a focused/starting role elsewhere. That's too bad, he's a strong player who brought a lot to the team, but if that is what he felt was in his best interest, then I wish him well and good luck, and thank him for his years at IU.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

They're not the same player/position, the loss of Smith is a loss defensively, but as Gleas already pointed out not as significant here, for the reasons he noted. The comparison really is to Race and to an extent Brunk. Race's role was growing, it's now going to grow more. 

I trust Race and Hunter to be able to fill Smiths role.  But don’t think we have anybody to fill their role

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I'm personally saddened by this. Best defender and third leading scorer leaving will hurt. I respect Justin a lot for staying at IU and giving Coach Miller and company a chance even though he could have easily decommitted and gone elsewhere. 

My favorite memories of Justin will always be how he somehow turned into a superhero whenever we would play Michigan State.

If I had to make a "hot take" for this season I would have said that Justin's minutes would drastically reduce anyway. Unless the staff was actually trying to move Trayce to the 5 and Justin to the 4, I could have easily seen Hunter and even Geronimo getting significant PT with their perimeter scoring and athleticism at the 3. 

Best of luck to the kid and will be interesting to see where he lands. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really hate to say this, but I'm actually kind of excited about this news. It sounds awful, and again I really don't want to come off as bashing Smith, but I'm excited by the prospects of more time for guys like Race Thompson, Jerome Hunter and Geronimo. I realize they don't all play the same position, but there will be a trickle down effect of minutes and times where IU plays a little smaller with Hunter, etc. 

Again, you hate to lose an experienced senior, but I'm excited by the prospects of some of these guys playing more. I think there's more grit, more focus and more upside with these other guys. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I'm going to push back on this a little. I'm not sure how much this hurts defensively. We definitely lose a trusted guy to defend the other team's best player, which absolutely hurts, but Smith was not good off the ball or in transition defense. He was often times a negative in those cases. 

It hurts even less if a guy like Geronimo is ready to play defense at this level. Not that I want to count on a freshmen, but we've seen it before on that end. 

I'm a huge Race fan and am very intrigued with Geronimo.  I still have concerns whether Hunter will ever be the player he had the potential to be before his condition.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So... what Justin Smith is giving up

-chance to be all defense big ten

-chance at a conference championship 

-play on a team that will be in the NCAAT and have a chance at a Sw16 run

-be the SR leader and captain 

-score 1000 points at IU

 

...none of that was A big deal to Justin, why should I feel like it's a big deal that he transferred? I don't. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.




×
×
  • Create New...