Fitzner started for two years at St Mary's and he'll probably be our starting 5 early in the season. Still a role player, but most likely in a starting role.
I see a lot of post on starting
- Thread starter 37Hoosier
- Start date
What is McRob?
McRob is not starting in front of Smith at the 3 and Morgan at the 4.
Green, Romeo, McRob, Smith, Morgan. That is very likely our starting 5 at the beginning .
Being 3rd in any offensive category for IU last year isn’t saying much. And McRob hit 13 3 pointers last year while attempting 33....Morgan shot it better from 3.
Whoever is guarding Zach can help on others.
Now, is it as bad as Newkirk? No. But it’s a obvious weakness that can be easily taken advantage of.
McRob will be in the rotation, but if he plays 22 mins a game like he did last year, some of IUs talent will be considered a bust.
Morgan and Smith are not going to guard the other teams center.
McSwain did that last year at 6’5”.....
Smith and Morgan are your forwards.
I think you're wrong but we'll see. Smith is much more of a 4 right now than a 3. If Fitz starts Justin is likely not.
Not sure how long you can keep Jerome Hunter out of the starting lineup. He will get some playing time and the Hoosiers can go very big if they wanted to depending on Fitzner and Davis being able to help. Small wont be as small if Hunter plays the 3 and can handle the ball like he did in HS. I could see a quick long lineup of Morgan, Hunter, Smith, Langford and Green. If you need a banger then Fitzner or Thompson can come in as well. Indiana should have some flexibility next year 
Not sure how long you can keep Jerome Hunter out of the starting lineup. He will get some playing time and the Hoosiers can go very big if they wanted to depending on Fitzner and Davis being able to help. Small wont be as small if Hunter plays the 3 and can handle the ball like he did in HS. I could see a quick long lineup of Morgan, Hunter, Smith, Langford and Green. If you need a banger then Fitzner or Thompson can come in as well. Indiana should have some flexibility next year
Would not surprise me to see Jerome start at some point. I'm told that he's already miles ahead of where Smith was a year ago.
I can't imagine Fitzner being recruited if he can't guard the 5. Morgan will have more freedom with fouls but if Davis isn't ready (which seems likely), Fitzner, Morgan, and either Smith or McRoberts seems likely. Romeo and Durham or Green at guard.
He can and will guard the 5 just not start. Remember that he wasn't good enough to start on an NIT team last season but some are expecting him to start here.
.... .
Yea, he only had a consensus 2nd team All american playing in front of him.
???
Yea, he only had a consensus 2nd team All american playing in front of him.
???
Assuming Davis is healthy, do you see Fitzner playing ahead of Davis to start the year?
If you are right I think it will be a long season. I like his attitude and his defensive hustle. But let’s not forget that he was afraid to shoot the ball. Even when the defense challenged him to take an open shot he would usually pass it up. No need to play four on five this year. Just my opinion.
If he can show the same improvement this year over the previous year then maybe it’s a different story.
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My gut is they are going to be extremely cautious with Davis. Even if he's healthy, I doubt his conditioning will be the in great shape to start the season. I think it will be around conference play when Davis sees a large role.
I've never seen a single IU player take so much grief from what I previously thought was a pretty intelligent fanbase. I don't see how anyone could watch last year's team and his play and not see the value he brings... despite being cautious to shoot (not sure why he was on that team... he was one of our better shooters!). Still if a kid is making good decisions, rebounding, playing good D and putting his teammates in better position to score the ball, it's hardly playing 4 on 5 (ever hear of Brian Sloan?). He was one of our better players last year; often our 2nd or 3rd best player... and oh, by the way, he's not on scholarship. Yes, this is a more talented team, but: 1) he's more experienced and guess what? may very well be less hesitant to shoot this year, 2) he'll be important to stabilize the team, teach and lead the younger guys, and 3) we added better offensive players, so he'll be even less pressured and more likely to score when he does shoot. He's still going to have a valuable role this year.
Did you see St. Mary's last year? They ONLY finished 30-6 and were left out of the NCAA due to not being as big of a draw as power 5 teams. I think you don't have any business in this conversation if you are judging the kid for being the 6th man on a better team than you think....
Coming in to the year, do you think he was expecting to need to shoot the ball or do you think he thought he would just be a role player? Was Dakich a negative to OSU? McRoberts will start (at least to start the year) because of his intangibles. He can hit the open shot when he doesn't hesitate and has confidence (and improved as the year went along). Either way, I'm glad starting lineups are determined by more than just official stats and fan opinion. You can't win without players willing to do the little things (look at most of Warriors team). If it's the star players, great, but look at who has consistently shown the ability to do them...
I always think of another player who was regularly "hesitant to shoot": Dennis Rodman. Amazing that his teams were so successful playing 4 on 5 too!
Does anyone know how similar Mark Few's style of play is to Archie's? Fitzner may have some growing pains learning a brand new system, I just hope he is ready and understanding of it by BIG season.
oops...not my brightest moment. Still begs the question what type of play he is use the past several years.
I don’t remember Dakich saying anything but I heard that clown on the other site was really pushing it. But when is he ever right?
I could see where Davis might not start if he returns late in the season. He will come back slow and his minutes may be more useful as a reserve. Archie will make that call once he sees how Davis and Fitzner are playing.
Start the players that gets us out front early. I don't care who that is. Finish the game with your best players.
I don’t disagree with your post. He showed great improvement last year. He did not turn the ball over but he only scored 2.4 points a game while playing 22 minutes. And this was a team desperate for scorers. It is just that there likely will be a lot more talent competing for playing time this year. I also implied that he will likely to show continued improvement. He was a hell of a lot better player last year.
I am also not forgetting that last year’s team did not have enough talent to make the NIT. Not a slam - just a reality check.
I think CAM even said he is going to have to develop a shooters mentality.
Justin wouldn’t be coming off the bench, he would be starting with Morgan and Fitz. Having a big, mobile, outside shooting forward will do wonders for this team on offense. In the video I watched of him, he appeared to be very agile, great feet, and of course, can shoot it. If he’s a decent defender, and I expect he’ll be even more than that, he’s going to start and play a lot. McRob would be an ideal backup for him, especially if he develops the confidence to shoot it when open. No more days of playing 4 or 3 against 5 on offense.
Oh boy.....
Nobody is knocking the kid. Just saying that a walk on for a 16-15 team last year won’t start this year.
Of course he will be in rotation, but some of you are kinda making him sound like a border line all Conference player.
McRob won’t play 20 mins a game like he did last year. There are simply too many kids that bring more to the table then he can. Again, not criticizing the kid, just saying a walk on might not be as high up the depth chart.
This will be interesting. Someone mentioned Brian Sloan as an example and I could see Zach getting more time as the team needs fewer scorers, his skills become more valuable.
That sounds like a fantastic system, and gives me hope the transition to Archie's system will be fluid.
It should be, both offenses are based on movement, spacing and passing. The biggest difference is that SM didn't run much while we'll push the pace when it's there.
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