Indiana Basketball: A look at the backcourt in 2019-20

What will be the most crucial part of the Indiana basketball roster next season, we take a look at the backcourt in 2019-20.

After Indiana’s miss on new Memphis Tiger Lester Quinones, it appears as though the backcourt is set for next season. Rob Phinisee, Al Durham, and Devonte Green will presumably all be back, and four-star freshman shooting guard Armaan Franklin will be a nice addition to the Indiana basketball roster.

The lack of depth in the backcourt may prove to be an issue, however, especially if injuries hit hard like they did last season.

The backcourt depth will be an even bigger problem should Archie Miller choose to start all three of Phinisee, Green, and Durham like he did some last year. The door for a graduate transfer is still open, but there has been no news showing Indiana’s pursuit of any such player.

This leaves us with the dilemma of the various lineups that could be used by the coaching staff next season.

Incoming freshman Armaan Franklin will provide much needed ‘depth’ off the bench and may be asked to play more minutes than expected. His versatility on both ends of the floor will allow Coach Miller to throw him in multiple different lineups throughout the season though.

Assuming Franklin isn’t considered for the starting lineup (a safe assumption), these are the three most likely options for the Indiana backcourt this upcoming year:

Phinisee and Green: The Yin and Yang

Rob Phinisee and Devonte Green are nearly polar opposite players.

Phinisee came in as a freshman starter and showed poise mirroring a player far beyond his years. He plays with a calm, slow style. His number one strength is controlling the pace by setting up the offense and making plays for others.

Devonte Green is a matriculating senior who plays with reckless abandon-sometimes to his benefit, other times to his detriment.

Green is constantly plagued by turnover woes due to this rash style of play. His fancy handles and step back threes can sometimes result in bad passes and airballs, but sometimes- like in the NIT- it can work in his favor. He’s got a certain swagger and confidence to his game, which Indiana desperately needed at times last season.

These two styles can complement each other very well; one player’s strengths make up for the other player’s weaknesses (hence the yin and yang). This was on display in the NIT, where Indiana looked good despite lacking star player Romeo Langford, whom Green replaced.

Considering the reasonable postseason success, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the starting backcourt to begin next year.

In order to make this backcourt work, a few things must happen.

First, Devonte Green must learn to not turn the ball over so much. He averaged 2.3 turnovers per game last season in 25 minutes per game, and he could expect to play as much as 35 minutes per game next season. The turnovers simply must be cut down.

Secondly, Rob Phinisee needs to play with a more attacking mindset. The loss of Romeo Langford means someone needs to step up in the scoring column, and Phinisee showed in the second game versus Illinois that when he is aggressive he is very capable of scoring at a decently high level.

This is my personal favorite backcourt option, and it pairs especially well with Al Durham at the 3 position. However, as I mentioned before, this provides a lot of depth problems.

Durham and Green: Experience

Even though Rob Phinisee showed he was capable of being a solid Big Ten point guard as a freshman, it is possible that the tandem of Al Durham and Devonte Green has enough experience to put Phinisee in the sixth man spot. Durham is a solid defender, has good size at 6-foot-5, and is a fairly consistent three-point shooter at 35 percent. He also brings the experience of a junior to the backcourt to pair with Devonte Green’s seniordom.

While I think it is unlikely Phinisee sits on the bench, there is one situation that I think presents it as a possibility.

If Jerome Hunter is healthy, Archie Miller would be faced with a choice: start Phinisee at the 1 and Durham at the 3, leaving one of Justin Smith, Trayce Jackson-Davis, or Hunter on the bench. However, if Miller values Durham over Phinisee, he could play a lineup of Green, Durham, Hunter, Smith/Jackson-Davis, and De’Ron Davis.

While it is a possibility this happens, I don’t think it would be in Miller’s best interests to bring Phinisee on the bench. He is simply too good in his role as a starter to warrant being a sixth man.

Phinisee and Durham: The Spark Plug 

This is a lineup that has some appeal. Devonte Green’s style is conducive to that of a Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams sixth man spark plug. Crawford and Williams’ job all their NBA careers has been to go in off the bench and simply get buckets. They thrive with the ball, and coming off the bench gives them the ability to play their style to its fullest.

Devonte Green has a similar playstyle to this, and with Romeo Langford gone, Green could come in and be the volume shooter that he is so determined to be without throwing the offense of out its rhythm.

Meanwhile, Phinisee and Durham can provide more stability in the starting lineup.

While Green has shown to be more effective playing alongside a true point guard like Phinisee, he can sill come off the bench and play starter minutes while his sole focus is that of scoring.

This is an intriguing idea with some potential upside, and it is a lineup I can foresee Archie Miller experimenting with at least once or twice next season.

With all these lineups considered, I think Indiana would be best suited slotting either Durham or Green next to Phinisee, regardless of how the frontcourt looks.

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