Indiana Basketball: 3 takeaways from win vs Portland State
By Alec Lasley
3. Could this be best bench in recent years?
Everyone always wants to look at the starting lineup and the ‘stars’ on the team, but what will win you games is who comes off of the bench and keeps the same momentum going when the starters come off of the floor.
While Archie Miller is still playing around with lineups and rotations, as he should since it’s only game two, the Hoosiers may have a secret weapon they haven’t had in many years; a bench.
Over the past few seasons, Indiana has lost a lot of momentum when the bench came into the game, but what we’re learning so far this year, is the IU bench may be best in the Big Ten.
Thus far, Jerome Hunter, Rob Phinisee, Race Thompson, Damezi Anderson, and De’Ron Davis have all seen extended minutes this season and have all contributed in their own way. What is telling though, is the 55 total bench points through two games that will be a major plus to Indiana this season.
As expected, Devonte Green will return to the starting lineup once he is healthy and that brings up a great question of, ‘who moves to the bench?’, and ‘what happens with Phinisee?’.
Assuming you move Armaan Franklin to the bench for Green, do you keep Phinisee coming off of the bench to allow the ‘second unit’ to play with a starting level point guard? The other thing is, with Durham showing an increased scoring ability, do you let him keep that role in the starting lineup and bring Green off of the bench so you never lose that scoring ability?
Another point is, with Justin Smith playing so well on the wing, why ruin that and put him back at the ‘four’ and bring Jackson-Davis or Brunk off of the bench?
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Either way, you are going to have Hunter, who continues to get better every time he is out on the floor, Race Thompson, Damezi Anderson, De’Ron Davis, a former starter and senior, and Franklin all projected to see some sort of minutes. So, whether it be Phinisee or Green, or one of the front court players to take on a bench role, you can expect a lot of production from that unit each and every game.