OK, it's mid-February, I'll go ahead and humor you. Let's talk a little bit about next year.
With the 2008-2009 season beginning to wind down to a close, plenty of you are thinking (and I don't blame you) about next year, when one of the nation's best recruiting classes will bolster Tom Crean's thin roster. Not only will said players hit Bloomington with more talent as a class than any other since Mike Davis' now-infamous 2005 class that (should have) included James Hardy and Josh Smith, and did include A.J. Ratliff, Robert Vaden and D.J. White. Oh, and Lucas Steijn.
Before we begin, I'm going to lay down one rule -- I'm not going to guess which scholarship player(s) will be leaving to make room for a class currently oversigned by one and possibly oversigned by two if Chicago point guard Darius Smith accepts the offer the Hoosiers have reportedly extended his way.
A friend in the business once told me the only people who truly know what's going on inside a basketball program are on the inside every single day, and I am not, thus I will not speculate, prognosticate or in any other way make a guess on that.
That said, I'll happily get into what next year's team might look like. Hit the jump if you'd like to join the discussion.
My rough guess on the starting lineup next year is this:
G - Jeremiah Rivers/Verdell Jones G - Nick Williams F - Christian Watford F - Tom Pritchard F - Derek Elston
I know Jones isn't all that popular, and Rivers will eventually win this job full-time in my opinion. But I think Jones deserves the chance to defend his job early after a trial-by-fire freshman year.
Think about it: The worst that happens is that Jones doesn't work, Jordan Hulls gets moved in front of him. The best that happens, Crean ends up with two point guards and Hulls can take a year to learn the offense.
No, Jones probably won't be in the point rotation next year, but he deserves a shot. Besides, I don't think he necessarily needs to be a point man -- Jones can create and score equally, he doesn't necessarily need to be at the one or even the two, if he can add muscle.
I know a lot of people write onto here expecting Maurice Creek at the two, but realistically, how much better will a freshman Maurice Creek be than a sophomore Nick Williams, especially when you factor in Williams' leadership ability and willingness to get physical. Creek will make his presence felt eventually, because I think he's the more complete two-guard, but Williams will start, at least until Creek really proves himself.
Watford is an easy choice at the three, with Williams and Creek providing support. Pritchard has solidified himself in the post, but with Elston, Bobby Capobianco and maybe even Bawa Muniru eventually, he'll have some reprieve.
Elston at the five, another easy decision.
First players off the bench ought to be (in no particular order) Jones, Creek, Hulls, Malik Story and Matt Roth, with Capobianco backing up down low. It's too early to say what Bawa might bring, since he's supposedly pretty raw and no one's really seen him play since he went to prep school in Carolina.
Obviously, this means less playing time for the likes of Daniel Moore and other walk-ons, and like I said, one of the current scholarship players will have to go, two if Darius Smith says "yes."
Further, while there will be plenty of depth next year, there will probably still be some freshman problems, meaning the likelihood of more turnovers and the occasional eye-rolling play.
But yes, there will be bundles of talent not present this year. Christian Watford is going to be a star, if you believe us media types, and this class brings a kind of depth inside and out I don't think IU has had at least in the last five years.
Anyway, if you made it this far into my rambling post, I thank you, and I ask you to sound off below. Who's your starting five next year? Am I off the rails with this?
