I’m a life long diehard IU bball fan. And a BSU grad. If TJD leaves (the more days that pass, the less chance of that I think) - Sparks can’t be our center because he doesn’t provide enough rim protection. I doubt Woody is looking at him as a center. He does have some jump shot range that will continue to develop and shot over 70% FTs. And he is only a freshman. He is a bull now and will only get stronger. He will score and rebound wherever he goes. As JG continues to develop, JG can play more mins at 3. So there would be lots of potential minutes at PF assuming Race leaves. So I doubt he is being looked at as a center. I agree that we need to be selective in the portal and take some time. But Sparks could be a big time PF somewhere.
I think we're all stuck in the mud, so to speak, with how TJD has been used thus far at IU. Two different coaches, very different in their styles and philosophies, have both used TJD in essentially the exact same way.
Its actually warming me up to TJD even more than I already was. Its completely obvious, has been since after his freshman season, that anchoring him on the block, dumping it down to him, and watching him back people down and make spin moves...that approach allowed TJD to get stats, make a name for himself, and it made us competitive despite not being able to shoot the ball or make plays from the perimeter...but it did not maximize our potential as a team. And it certainly hasn't helped his value to NBA GMs. And I have to assume TJD knows this as much as anyone. Yet he's still here. He's still playing his ass off for IU. And he hasn't complained about it at all.
I don't think TJD coming back is a thing. It doesn't make sense. But IF he does, I really, really, hope his role is changed completely on our team. There's A LOT of gravity pulling him down into the post. I get it. He can be dominant down there.
But for our program to grow, for him to grow, if he's back, he needs to be a high ball screen and dive guy. We saw how effective that can be between he and Xavier. I imagine he and JHS would be effective with that as well. He needs to expand his game and play more of a "point forward" type of roll. He can be a pinch post guy. And obviously every now and then, we run something that ends up with him getting the ball on the block.
And if we end up getting a guy like Sparks...or maybe a Reneau type PF. Then figure out how to utilize their abilities without anchoring THEM in the post either. We don't HAVE to have a traditional back to the basket big man. We can play a "5 out", ball and player movement style offense, with TJD and a Sparks type kid. It won't be any worse than what we played this past year, ESPECIALLY if we replace all of Kopp's and Stewarts minutes with guys that are more capable of making plays and shots.
