Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers get clarity with passing of NBA Draft early entry deadline

With the passing of the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline, Indiana basketball got good news regarding their three early entrants.

The NBA Draft withdrawal has come and gone and the Indiana basketball program received good news when it came to their early entrants.

Al Durham, Justin Smith and Devonte Green have all taken their names out of the draft pool and will return to school next season.

For Al Durham and Justin Smith it was always expected that they would come back after receiving feedback on what they needed to work on. With Devonte Green though, it was always thought that there was a possibility of him remaining in the draft, or possibly exploring his options overseas.

Now, the Hoosiers have full clarity when it comes to their roster for 2019-20.

After losing both Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford, Green will be relied on heavily on the offense end as he comes back to Bloomington as the leading returning scorer (9.4 PPG) for Indiana.

With Al Durham and Justin Smith, it is consistency that the Hoosiers will need from the junior duo.

Both players flashed their potential a season ago, but were not able to show up, game in and game out, ultimately hurting Indiana.

For Durham, it’ll be all about his aggressiveness on the offensive end. With no more Romeo Langford, Durham can play more on the ball and create for himself instead of playing more of a spot up shooter role. At 6-foot-4, he also has great length for a wing and should be getting double-digit shot attempts this season.

His 22-point performance in the NIT first round game showed his potential, now it’s time for him to be a double-digit point per game scorer this season.

As for Justin Smith, he needs to recognize what has worked for him through his two seasons in the Big Ten, and stick to that.

With his athleticism and versatility, he can be a lethal offensive rebounder and someone who can scrap in the inside for his points, instead of taking fade-away jumpers.

His breakthrough performances towards the end of the season, with a three game stretch of averaging 17 points per game on 53.8 percent shooting, showed what he is capable of. Not saying he needs or will put those numbers up this season, but again, he needs to be a constant member in double-figures.

Expected 2019-20 starting lineup:

G- Rob Phinisee (So.)

G- Devonte Green (Sr.)

G- Al Durham (Jr.)

F- Justin Smith (Jr.)

C- De’Ron Davis (Sr.)