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Indiana Basketball: The Potential of Indiana’s Backcourt Next Season

By Trevor Gersmehl

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 02: Devonte Green #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers drives past Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 02: Devonte Green #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers drives past Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 02: Devonte Green #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers drives past Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 02: Devonte Green #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers drives past Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Indiana basketball will likely lose Romeo Langford to the NBA Draft, but with what it returns, will their backcourt be better next year?

Romeo Langford has made the past year really fun.

I, for one, spent my time looking for information and articles on his recruitment last Spring, just praying that he chooses the Hoosiers. And then, on April 30th, Romeo made his decision in front of hundreds of family, friends, and hopeful fans.

His hand hovered over that Vanderbilt hat which lay on the podium just long enough for my heart to skip a beat, but then he changed direction and grabbed that beautiful cream and crimson cap and placed it on his head. It was over. We got him.

The messiah of Indiana basketball; the 18-year-old phenom that every Hoosier fan could trust to carry the Indiana banner to the top of the mountain and plant it, staking the claim of IU’s return to an elite college basketball program.

Only that’s not at all how it turned out.

Langford averaged a solid 16.5 points per game (scoring has never been his problem), but the “it” factor was missing all season. It felt as though Langford never really hit his stride in Archie Miller’s offense. Whether that is Miller’s fault or Romeo’s fault, I’ll leave up to you.

The offense in the NIT seemingly hasn’t missed a beat despite Langford, the leading scorer, being out with a back injury. That is in large part to the tandem of Rob Phinisee and Devonte Green.

Phinisee and Green have proven to work well together in the starting lineup during NIT play, which is good considering they will most likely be Indiana’s starting backcourt all next season should Langford turn pro. It may sound appalling, but Phinisee and Green have the potential to be a better duo than Phinisee and Langford. Here’s a few reasons why.

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