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Justin Smith transferring


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Talk about a roller coaster year. Tournament cancelled. Transfers all over the place in general. Lander reclass (was expected but not a given). Smith transferring in the later part of May and not earlier. There's still no guarantee there will be a next season. Crazy.

Good luck to Justin. He took a lot of heat from the fans but I believe it was because he rarely lived up to his perceived talent level. Never developed a shot or his dribble. Still, he could defend when he felt like it. His dad did him no favors with his nonsense and my guess is the coaches are glad they won't have to deal with it any more.

The door is wide open for Hunter but I think the three guard option is now the more likely scenario.

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Just now, Euroclydon said:

Talk about a roller coaster year. Tournament cancelled. Transfers all over the place in general. Lander reclass (was expected but not a given). Smith transferring in the later part of May and not earlier. There's still no guarantee there will be a next season. Crazy.

Good luck to Justin. He took a lot of heat from the fans but I believe it was because he rarely lived up to his perceived talent level. Never developed a shot or his dribble. Still, he could defend when he felt like it. His dad did him no favors with his nonsense and my guess is the coaches are glad they won't have to deal with it any more.

The door is wide open for Hunter but I think the three guard option is now the more likely scenario.

Hunter is essentially just a tall guard. 

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16 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

If CAM was going with Smith, TJD and Brunk Smith would probably still be at IU. Doubt that was the case

Good point, my concern might have been misplaced.  But Smith leaving opens up more minutes for those other guys regardless.

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15 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

At this point, I see Hunter as having the potential to be a three point specialist off the bench, but with defensive limitations.  He simply has not shown the ability to stop a high scoring wing.  TJD and Brunk can't guard the wing.  Lander and Phinisee are too small to guard guys that are 6'4 to 6'7.  Al can guard smaller wings, but not bigger ones.  That opens the door for Franklin and Geronimo too pick up a good portion of Smith's wing minutes, while Race will obviously benefit by taking Smith's 4-spot minutes.

Well we certainly see Hunter's potential differently, lol. 

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I pictured a senior season similar to Nigel Hayes from Wisconsin.  Trying to prove to NBA execs that you can shoot from three and play the wing, instead of manning the post and focusing on the defense and rebounding that would benefit the team the most.  Wish him the best of luck, but glad to give those minutes to others that WANT to play that needed role.

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31 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

Yep. He was either going to the bench or to the 4.  My guess was the 4 

It's been 2 years of this discussion (not saying with you, just using your post as a jumping point) and I still need it explained to me why Justin Smith wouldn't want to play the 4? It's literally the only position he can play on a basketball court. It's his best position BY FAR and it's his best position for showcasing his skills to pro scouts. 

Him playing the wing literally makes no sense for anybody. He can't dribble, pass or shoot, which is why he looks bad on the wing. In 99% of the offences, including IU's, the 4 spends plenty of time on the perimeter. In that role, the time he is on the perimeter would be a little more effective as he'd be defended by bigger guys that are less adept at defending on the perimeter, so at least he might be able to do a little ball handling. 

The college 4 is literally the role he'd be playing as a pro. He'd be a guy relied on to be a swiss army knife defensively and offensively you wouldn't want him handling the ball, but you'd want him slashing and picking and popping to spot up or get to the basket. In no offense, college or pro is he a creator. 

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54 minutes ago, IUwins0708 said:

Race, Jerome, Brunk, and Geronimo will soak up the minutes.  We are not thin on the front court at all.  Thinner yes, but not thin.

Those players need time, and it was going to eat away at Justin's minutes.  That, plus Lander shifts the entire lineup to a three guard lineup, possibly.

Best of luck to Justin, this though can be a positive for both sides.  

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15 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

At this point, I see Hunter as having the potential to be a three point specialist off the bench, but with defensive limitations.  He simply has not shown the ability to stop a high scoring wing.  TJD and Brunk can't guard the wing.  Lander and Phinisee are too small to guard guys that are 6'4 to 6'7.  Al can guard smaller wings, but not bigger ones.  That opens the door for Franklin and Geronimo too pick up a good portion of Smith's wing minutes, while Race will obviously benefit by taking Smith's 4-spot minutes.

I see Durham getting the starting spot at the three with his experience.  He’s no defensive stopper, but I think he’ll do just fine.  And it’ll be nice to have a shooter getting major minutes at that spot again.

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26 minutes ago, Sark said:

He was going to the 4 at least some of the time but he wasn’t going to the bench. His defense and rebounding were too valuable for that. This hurts the team.

Just my opinion, but I think you're overvaluing his defense. He's really good as an on ball defender when challenged to guard the other team's best player, which is absolutely really important and tough to lose, but otherwise he was an average at best, I tend to think below average, off the ball defender and was often slow in transition defense. 

So, it's certainly a loss defensively in terms of stopping the other team's best player (which again is a big loss), but I think IU actually gets better defensively in some other areas. 

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Sorry to see Justin go, but as he has made his decision, time for CAM and the team to move on. Can't look in the rearview mirror and worry what might have been.

For those saying that Justin was a cancer, I don't know what proof you have that this was ever the case. I don't know if anyone posting here is that close to the inner workings and dynamics of the team to be able to claim that as true. On the other hand, Justin's dad was, at the very least, a distraction, and to me the silver lining here is that the program won't have to waste time dealing with him.

Finally, and I am surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet. Really a contrast to see how CAM handled this situation vs how Pork Chop handled the two kids leaving his team. Tells me that our coach has a better finger on the pulse of what's going on within his program. As well, compare the statement posted above against the snarky comment made by Porky on the Dakich show. One coach took the high road, and one chose to roll in the mud. Guess that's what porkies do.

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20 minutes ago, btroesch14 said:

I don’t get why Justin is transferring. He averaged 30 minutes per game last year, which is the most on the team. He would’ve averaged the 2nd or 3rd most minutes on the team IMO. He has bad people in his ear. 

Papa Smith namely.

Go Hoosiers!!!

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2 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

HAs Hunter shown the ability to stop a high scoring wing defensively.  Yes or no.  

Hunter was a freshman last year coming off of a playing career threatening leg injury.  A full offseason will help his lateral quickness and fast twitch muscles.  

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3 minutes ago, btownqb said:

But he doesn't have to be able to do that to help a lot. 

I don't know...what we've seen historically from CAM is if you aren't playing defense, you aren't playing period...

 

23 minutes ago, btroesch14 said:

I don’t get why Justin is transferring. He averaged 30 minutes per game last year, which is the most on the team. He would’ve averaged the 2nd or 3rd most minutes on the team IMO. He has bad people in his ear. 

I think @Brass Cannon had it pegged. He got feedback from NBA folks that said he needed to expand his perimeter skills, and CAM wasn't going to let him... He was going to play the same role he did last year... 

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Just now, IUFLA said:

I don't know...what we've seen historically from CAM is if you aren't playing defense, you aren't playing period...

 

I think @Brass Cannon had it pegged. He got feedback from NBA folks that said he needed to expand his perimeter skills, and CAM wasn't going to let him... He was going to play the same role he did last year... 

Locking down and being solid defensively are different though. 

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