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Indiana Basketball: Four potential lineups after Justin Smith’s transfer

By Trevor Gersmehl

BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 23: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers brings the ball up court during the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Assembly Hall on February 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 23: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers brings the ball up court during the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Assembly Hall on February 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Indiana Basketball has some lineup choices to make.

With the departure of forward Justin Smith due to transfer, a massive hole is left in the frontcourt for Indiana Basketball. Smith was set to be one of the team’s senior leaders and was a guy who had been in Archie Miller’s system from the very beginning. He has a faint shot at an NBA career, and a team never wants to lose talent of that caliber.

However, as I outlined a few days ago, Smith’s absence opens up some exciting new opportunities. Jerome Hunter and Race Thompson will have to shoulder the responsibility and with undoubtedly get more minutes and more time to prove themselves in big moments. It’s an exciting storyline to watch as we look forward to next season.

That being said, Archie Miller has to figure out the ways in which he has planning to fill the gap on the wing left by Smith’s transfer. In this article, we look at four different options for new lineups ranging from highly likely to very unlikely (but extremely fun).

Most Likely

Rob Phinisee

Al Durham

Jerome Hunter

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Joey Brunk

Not too much of a shakeup with this lineup choice: simply replace Justin Smith with the next man up. Jerome Hunter may be a little ways away from being truly ready to thrive as a starter, but he is capable.

Hunter was a top-50 recruit before missing all of his freshman year with a leg injury. His redshirt freshman season was themed by shaking off the rust and getting used to playing basketball again. Hunter performed well for having not played competitive basketball for months and really improved his court feel over the course of the season. His minutes slowly went up more and more as the year went along.

Although there is still an experience gap that needs to be filled for Hunter, he can be an effective starter next season. Hunter came into Bloomington with an extremely polished game and room for much more growth. Had he not sustained his leg injury, he would have likely played 20+ minutes per game and be much farther along than he is now. I still think he can become a very good college basketball player and maybe even an NBA player.

It may be a little rough at first, but Hunter has the potential to thrive in this role. He wouldn’t be forced to do too much, but he’d have to learn on the fly. I think it’d be good for him, which is why this is the most likely lineup for next season.

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