Justin Smith
- Thread starter edub72
- Start date
I don't think he would, not sure his style of play or lack of a shot ever was a good fit.
He would contribute and play a lot of minutes for sure. I think the chemistry is better without him though.
Don't miss him at all. Checked their stats and lo and behold AR is 7-0 and on top of the SEC standings on ESPN's website but a bit deeper dive and they could not have played a worse schedule. He's avg 13-7 shooting 45%, 15% on 3s and 57% on FTs against the likes of N TX, UT Arlington, Tulsa, Oral Roberts, Lipscomb, Central Ar and MS Valley St. No doubt about his athletic talent, but nothing to suggest he's a more complete player or ever will be. Wish him well; no impact or bearing on our future, and I think the team chemistry is better without him. Win win.
we saw enough of him.. Didn't we?
I like Justin, he was in a no win situation with the roster makeup last season. This season he would have been able to play a support role on the front line...a ten minute reliever with the occasional big game. With Brunk out he would be playing more.
I always liked Justin...great kid...smart HE wasn't the chemistry issue.
I always liked Justin...great kid...smart HE wasn't the chemistry issue.
Did the deep dive as well; you're spot on with this.
One thing you didn't (edit: DID MENTION) mention - 3 pt shooting. Justin is 2-13 from behind the arc. Somethings never change . . .
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I think you're mistaken on him NOT being a chemistry issue. He loathed CAM and would openly cuss him and ignore him in practice and even in games. I've heard it (basically directly) from one of the players that was shocked the first time he saw the way Smith treated coach.
Did the deep dive as well; you're spot on with this.
One thing you didn't mention - 3 pt shooting. Justin is 2-13 from behind the arc. Somethings never change . . .
I thought maybe he was 1 of 5, but since he's taken 13... almost 2 per game I thought it was worth quoting. You're right: some things never change. I'd guess they're happy with him, and I have no doubt he would've made some plays for us, I just doubt that he'd have made us any better, and quite possibly worse. Just the way he carried himself made it seem like he didn't care.
He would’ve been a 20-25 minute a game baseline guy for us, albeit playing out of his preferred position. With Brunk MIA, the minutes would’ve been invaluable, as would his D. But if the chemistry was as bad as some say, it’s a big compromise to go forward with a player like that, especially when there’s no discernible winning culture in place. He probably would’ve made us somewhat better, but at what cost? Evident that he was ready to get out of town, so no reason to try and stop him.
Is that really true? Can anyone confirm?
If so, why did not CAM throw him off the team.
Hmmm, I have not seen any evidence of this. We sit close enough to watch what happens in timeouts and that is not the impression I got. I don't attend practices so I can't comment there.
The concern I had was DG.
Not to confirm my own post, but I also posted back in the spring I was shocked (because of what this player had said) that JS wasn't transferring. Then a week or so later...he gone! This is my speculation and nothing more, but I'm not so sure he didn't wait to announce it just to rub it in and make CAM job tougher.
I don't know for sure, but don't forget there were APR issues when CAM first got here. Makes it hard to kick a kid to the curb and it's not like Smith wasn't a decent player....just not as great as he was in his (or daddy's) own mind.
Justin was a really good student, which likely is why he lasted as long as he did at IU. Imagine if you're Archie: do you kick to the curb a guy that significantly helps your APR and has the ideal makeup to play the wing position in the packline; very similar in build to Deandre Hunter from Virginia?
Had Smith ever developed a shot from the outside (like Hunter had), he'd have been a valuable piece to the puzzle. But he never did, and IMO (from what I had seen on social media and from what I've been told by sources closer to the team than I am) the biggest issue in getting thru to Justin was his dad. At some point you become a detriment to the team despite all of the good you bring to the table. Him moving on was in the best interests of both him and Indiana.
Remember last year when TJD said something to him, and the camera caught his response which appeared to be “FU”? How’s that for chemistry?
I also looked at the stats and will add my $.02 worth.
His FT%, 2 pt% and 3 pt% are all down some from last year, playing the following schedule to date: Miss. Valley St; N. Texas; UT Arlington; Lipscomb; Tulsa; Southern; Central Arkansas & Oral Roberts....ie a CTC schedule.
On average, he's played about the same minutes per game so far, and takes about 4 more shots, so his avg is a little higher even though his shooting %s are a little lower.
He's definitely rebounding better so far, and his steal #s & assists are up a little, and his TOs are down a little. Overall, adding all this together his OE rating so far is almost identical to his last year at IU. Because the schedule is so weak, Arkansas' OE # as a team is quite high; Justin's OE is significantly below that of his team as a whole.
Justin's DE # is much better than it was his last year at IU. Again, however, Arkansas' team DE # is very good, so Justin's # is not that eye catching in context.
He played 39 M against Oral Roberts, who I believe was 3-4 going into that game. Arkansas trailed by 10 at halftime. Overall, Justin was 9/20 shooting, including 0/3 on 3s.
I think that when the dust settles at the end of the year it is likely that Justin's stats won't be significantly better than they were at IU his last year.
He would always put up big #’s against the non conference crap teams at IU too because he was so much stronger and more athletic than those teams. But Then when conference play began he’d disappear. Well except against MSU lol
He led our team in minutes and would have been valuable to this year's team. He committed to Tom Crean and maybe he was out of options when Crean wasn't retained. I liked him, but he was wildly inconsistent.
I never got the sense that he was a cancer in the locker room, but that could certainly be true. Regardless, he graduated and moved on. Good luck to him.
I can't confirm or deny your claims but if a player absolutely loathes a coach and feels like he's being misused...that player doesn't stick around for three years.
I would not be surprised if Smith and Archie got into it. I would not be surprised if Archie annoyed Smith because Justin seemed to have a low motor.
Archie also has said that Justin is such an intelligent kid that he really demands to want to understand. Which reading between the lines I took as Smith was not a kid that would just do what you say, he needed to know why you wanted him to do what you say and would probably challenge back.
So the elements of what you say could be there but was it just how the relationship worked, like Knight and Michael Lewis, or was it detemintal which is a problem that I believe Archie would handle.
Or maybe not, Archie is from the Matta tree and Matta was a big relationship guy with his players.
Why didn't CAM to a lot of things? The same question was asked 1000 times over 3 years. No one that knows will say.
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Let's see how he hits 3's. I would say his shooting was his biggest detriment while at IU. I liked his defense and at times his energy. Of course other times he would disappear.
Under sized under skilled four.
He never had the handle, shot, or playmaking ability to play three.
But he did start at the three spot. Switched to the 4 spot and from all accounts it pissed him and his dad off. Never could play either spot. Yuck.
He gets to shoot 4-5 more times per game and is a bigger fish in a smaller pond. He's probably content.
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
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