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Indiana Basketball: Justin Smith’s departure carries some upside

By Trevor Gersmehl

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - MARCH 04: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers steals the ball in the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first half at Assembly Hall on March 04, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - MARCH 04: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers steals the ball in the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first half at Assembly Hall on March 04, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Indiana Basketball lost Justin Smith to the transfer market… but is it all bad?

Justin Smith was set to be one of three seniors in the rotation and was Indiana ’s best athlete and perimeter defender by far. He is a talented player, and you never want to see your team lose its talent. He was also a rising senior and provided experience and leadership for the Hoosiers.

Smith is going off to chase his dream of going to the NBA, and who can fault him? It will be interesting to see where he ends up and if a change of scenery can propel him to the goal he is hoping to reach.

As I outlined in an ironically recent article, Smith has legit NBA potential because of his God-given athleticism but lacks many of the skills necessary to make the league. Still, teams are on the hunt for athletic threes who can defend multiple positions, and shooting is one of the easier things to learn for a basketball player.

However, Smith’s departure could actually benefit Indiana in some ways. They are left with less depth in the frontcourt, but there are many glistening bright spots that come from this roster change. Here are a few that come to mind:

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