Obviously we’re all hoping Hunter is available and Phin’s shot and development trends like Yogi, but I think Damezi could be a wild card. He was an excellent shooter in high school. The staff gave him plenty of opportunity this year. He struggled this year, but freshman can take time to adjust. If he gets up to the player he can be, I think he could be a real wild card for IU next year. Just my $0.02 on this rainy day.
Wildcard Next Season
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Nope the wildcard is Hunter followed by Green playing consistent.
Well it’s him even playing will be the wildcard and I don’t see him being a star right away
I don’t expect Hunter to be “awesome”. I do expect Hunter to be a pretty good all-around player, but he will still be a freshman for all intents and purposes. He only practiced up until the season started and that was it. No games. No practices. No workouts. Nothing until the season was damn near over, and even then was only extremely limited workouts.
I actually agree on Damezi, he could finally click on defense and get confident on offense, I believe he was South Bend's All-Time leading scorer in HS.
Anderson is certainly ready for minutes physically, as he was about as strong a freshman as there has been at IU in a long time.
He may take a while to get up to speed, but if his skills and understanding catch up to physical, he could be solid as a player one day. But who knows if that will happen next season. I guess that is why he may be a wild card.
He may take a while to get up to speed, but if his skills and understanding catch up to physical, he could be solid as a player one day. But who knows if that will happen next season. I guess that is why he may be a wild card.
Outside of Phinisee...Id say the whole roster is wild-cards...So there's only room for one wildcard?
Nah. I'd actually argue the other way. You know what you've got with the majority of the guys coming back. I think Hunter and Thompson are the 2 wildcards, because you didnt get to see any of JH and hardly any RT. The big wildcard coming in is Franklin, IMO.
Green is going to keep doing Green things, maybe less often.
With offers to Galloway, Leal, and IU being in hot pursuit of Morton, something tells me Archie must be pretty confident in both Hunter and Thompson being healthy going forward. Outside Loveday, IU isn’t really pursuing any big wings or frontcourt players, he seems to be targeting guards/shooters pretty heavily.
I think we will be a really good defensive team (better than this past season team) if Hunter is healthy and contributes. We should be a better rebounding team, as well. The issue will be on the offensive end. We are going to struggle to score.
If Hunter is healthy (granted that’s an IF) he should help considerably from the perimeter.
Green is not a wildcard because hes already been at IU 3 seasons.So there's only room for one wildcard?
Green is a Senior you know what you are going to get from Green. Just dont make Green be a PG, Catch and Shoot Green.
Anderson is the wild card. If Anderson regains his confident shooting stroke that he had in HS he could emerge as a perimeter scoring threat on the wing, with the size and strength to take otbto the rim. Basically he could be what Smith wants to be but he cannot , a perimeter shooter and power slasher.
back to the OP--I worry that Anderson won't make it long term. His shot seems to be a set shot with a low launch position, something that obviously worked in HS but won't work against B1G level pressure on the perimeter. That, and the way he looked on defense- deer in headlights most of the time- has me doubting his future at IU. I honestly thought he might be another one to transfer after this year. Hope I'm wrong because we were and still are in dire need of outside shooters.
I dont wish bad things on a player, or to make fun,
But he plays to me like a grown adult in a mens league that used to be a good player - doesnt bend or jump much even when has an open look. Seemed very set and stiff...
If you think it’s a mechanical thing, I’m guessing the staff is working on that all offseason - and maybe dating back to when he got on campus. Maybe he was tinkering with things last season. Who knows.
All coaches say shooting is developed/improved in the offseason, so I’m anxious to see what it looks like this fall.
Also, defensively, is also probably an adjustment for him - as a lot of guys in Archie’s D. Hopefully a full offseason will get him right. Fingers crossed!
He saw a lot from the bench and had time to learn without playing. He was doing very well early despite being a freshman and learning how to play at the college level. We know he won the gold shirt for practice and reports said he was challenging Romeo early. It fueled speculation that Hunter could play a 2 position with a little improvement in ball handling.
If he is 100% and back at the first practice, I would expect he will be one of the first off the bench if we start 3 guards and could start as a 3 or a third guard. He doesn't need to be awesome, but he could be a valuable part of a rotation. With his size, a very good year would get the NBA's attention.
yeah I'm sure he was overwhelmed on defense. High level D1 and learning pack line principles after playing HS and AAU ball. Not even the same universe. His foot speed is a major concern.
It's the shooting that has me worried, if for no other reason, because that was supposed to be his greatest redeeming feature. A complete overhaul of one's shooting mechanics, at this point in his career, cannot be easy.
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Magic Johnson shot a push shot and he made it into an NBA Hall-Of-Fame career. I saw Damezi bury 3 or 4 3's in a row in HS, then take
to the rim and finish strong through traffic. I also saw Damezi block shots above the rim, and handle the ball at the top of the key like a point forward with good vision and passing skills. Anderson actially has better basketball skills than a few others on the team who are athletes first and basketball players second. Too many people equate leaping ability and speed with talent. That is kind of the football combine mentality. I measure basketball talent by their shooting ability, passing skills, defensive ability, court awareness, rebounding positioning, ballhndling, poise under pressure, FT shooting. Leaping abilty and speed are just the cherry on top, and can take the player to a higher level, but not without the actual basketball skills first.
to the rim and finish strong through traffic. I also saw Damezi block shots above the rim, and handle the ball at the top of the key like a point forward with good vision and passing skills. Anderson actially has better basketball skills than a few others on the team who are athletes first and basketball players second. Too many people equate leaping ability and speed with talent. That is kind of the football combine mentality. I measure basketball talent by their shooting ability, passing skills, defensive ability, court awareness, rebounding positioning, ballhndling, poise under pressure, FT shooting. Leaping abilty and speed are just the cherry on top, and can take the player to a higher level, but not without the actual basketball skills first.
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That’s encouraging. I think the staff thinks highly of him - he had more opportunities than other guys - like Moore for example. IU had no post-depth and Moore played mop-up duty.
The part about him possibly playing the 2 came from Hunter and his HS coach, maybe even Miller. They said he had been working hard to improve his ball handling so that he could play the 2 in college to make him more versatile. The practice reports just reinforced the possibility.
That's correct. He and Demetrius Jackson (McDonald's All-American and played at Notre Dame) are two of the most exciting players to come out of the area since Shawn Kemp back in the 80s.
don't get me wrong...I'm pulling for this kid. The team needs it. Badly.
But in fairness...Magic was also 6 foot 9. He could shoot over people. The perimeter was not defended like it is today. 3 pointers weren't as much a big part of the game like it is today (unfortunately, IMO). And Magic is in the HOF because of what he did running the fast break, and the Lakers. Not for his deadeye outside touch. He was never a great outside shooter. He also had several other HOF'ers, and good shooters, on the team, which didn't hurt either.
Again....there is nothing I want more than to see him play 25 min/game next yr, average 10pts on 50% shooting and hold his own on defense. But he's got one helluva summer ahead of him before that is even a possibility.
Anderson has much more scoring potential than a player who started last season who could jump high, but could not shoot or dribble the ball in traffic without losing it.
not hard to figure out who you are talking about. yes Smith is incredibly frustrating. Not sure what's worse, the inconsistent results or the lackadaisical efforts. Maybe one is the result of the other.
You just used Magic Jonson and Damezi Anderson in the same sentence........that may be illegal.
I hope you're right, but I'm not seeing it. Other than 'project' big men and walk-ons, he's one of the most clueless and least effective players I've seen come into the program in recent memory. Add to that the fact that he did not improve one iota, and actually seemed to regress as the year went along, and I do not see a bright future for him at IU or elsewhere in college basketball.
Imo, he's got way too many things that have to be 'fixed' before he can be a contributor.
He's got a low and slow release to his jump shot. Half the time he doesn't even jump. He has shown no propensity to drive to the basket. He has no interior moves. He's a mediocre ball-handler. He's not a guy who's going to get garbage points, nor is he aggressive by nature. He has horrible skills/technique attempting to guard the ball. And last, but not least, he has little concept/understanding of help defense.
Hope springs eternal this time of year. I hope every IU player blossoms next season.
Hunter is the wildcard. Anderson has a long long ways to go on the defensive end before he plays and valuable minutes. I suspect that will not be until his junior year.
I agree with everything you just said. He has a long ways to go and he cannot play defense. He is a big liability on the court.
I echo your thoughts, but apply them to Smith.
Anderson to me has more potential as a scorer than Smith. IU plays 4 against 5 offensively when Smith is on the court. Opposing teams do not even guard Smith on the perimeter.
If Brunk plays major minutes, which I think he will, and Hunter as well (which we all hope he will) and our 5 star frosh contributes, which he certainly should...then Smith has his work cut out to see the same amount of playing time next season.
Smith won't play as much with more skilled players ahead of him, he has no offensive ability away from the basket
For $3.5 million and a well paid staff you'd think the coach you and others have so much faith in his ‘system’ would have made the obvious choice to play the better player...especially when he specifically recruited the less played player over ‘Crean-trash’...
So are you questioning Archie’s coaching now?
Oh boy...
Izzo played Smith exactly as I would have, daring him to shoot. That one game he made shots. 1 game in 2 years. You play the percentages.
For $3.5 million and a well paid staff you'd think the coach you and others have so much faith in his ‘system’ would have made the obvious choice to play the better player...especially when he specifically recruited the less played player over ‘Crean-trash’...
So are you questioning Archie’s coaching now?
Oh boy...
you skipped that one...
