PG – Hulls
SG – VJ3
SF – Watford
PF – Zeller
C – Pritchard

Bench: (in the rotation)
1 – Sheehey
2 – Oladipo
3 – Elston
4 – Remy

Limited Rotation Minutes:
1 – Etherington
2 – Roth
3 – Moore

* If Creek is healthy, I believe he takes most of Remy’s minutes, and a combination of Will and Victor’s too.  I think Creek’s health could have a huge bearing on how the team does this year.  If he is healthy and can play 18+ minutes a game, it really improves our depth.  If he redshirts (as some suggest), I think we will see more minutes from guys like AE, Roth and Moore than we might hope to otherwise.

I think Remy will get some time at backup PG, which will give him more minutes than some might expect.  Listening to how excited CTC was when Remy signed, I have to believe that some minutes are available for him if he plays and practices well.

I think Will and Victor could both earn more minutes than VJ3 if they play strong D.  Victor’s athleticism may be difficult to bench in certain games, and Will’s ability to play 2, 3 and even 4 in a pinch will be helpful in the event that someone gets into foul trouble.

If Elston plays well, I actually like our bench pretty well.  I feel like we are a big man short, so Elston could be the most important player to watch this season.  If he can be counted on for quality minutes, we could have a strong season.

I see two trends emerging this year:
1. We can go deeper with really talented athletes. I think we have more than 8 guys capable of helping us in this year’s Big Ten. This year I think we START to be known for running teams ragged with our depth.
2. I think over the next few years we’re gonna see upperclassmen asked to contribute less or at least in different ways than they did when they arrived. VJ3/Roth are gonna pioneer this for us this year, but I would think this could also happen to Elston and Hulls when the 2012 class arrives, and possibly the same with Victor and Will in their junior/senior years depending on who stays from 2012 and who else we land for 2013. These guys were all willing to come here when it wasn’t popular, to lay the foundation, and we’ll always love ‘em for it. They all seem like team-first guys and I hope they’ll continue to be willing to compete hard for PT and then do whatever’s asked of them by the coaches.

Starters: JH, MC, CW, CZ, TP
Next off bench: VJ3, VO, DE, WS, RA, MR

This what I think your all idiot’s with way to much time & need other venture in life! I am IU fan grew watching them with my dad, live 20 miles south of Btown! Now stop your reminding me of UK fans! Or did they invade our website those weasel’s!

This what I think your all idiot’s with way to much time & need other venture in life! I am IU fan grew watching them with my dad, live 20 miles south of Btown! Now stop your reminding me of UK fans! Or did they invade our website those weasel’s!

I agree. I think Vic will be one of our top 3 scorers and our best defender and will probably end up playing 30-35 minutes a game. From the videos i saw, he has improved his ball handling, and finishing, a lot.

I agree. I think Vic will be one of our top 3 scorers and our best defender and will probably end up playing 30-35 minutes a game. From the videos i saw, he has improved his ball handling, and finishing, a lot.

I agree. I think Vic will be one of our top 3 scorers and our best defender and will probably end up playing 30-35 minutes a game. From the videos i saw, he has improved his ball handling, and finishing, a lot.

hahaha, you can not be an IU fan, you spell like a Purdue graduate, compose sentences like a Kentucky graduate, and select profile pictures like a Penn St fan (too busy watching cartoons to know there’s a basketball game on)

Its not my suite by any means. Are you from Eville?

I wouldn’t play Creek if he isn’t 90% and improving by the first game. That means his legs and his game. He only has 2 seasons to prove himself to the pros if that is even a a possibility now but if he has those aspirations we owe him 2 good years. I say red shirt him if he is not ready. This could mess with the scholarship numbers for 13 but that is already up in the air.

Hulls
Creek
CWat
CZ
Pritch

I remember seeing the video of Creek, before his injuries, and VO dunking at a frat house on the IU campus. What a shame MC got hurt.

I think Jay McCants will be on the team as well as a walk-on. He has a scholarship from the football team. He might give us some more depth at the 3/4.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/104320

Please stop dissing VJ3.  He is the most productive player from the class that initiated the rebuilding process at IU.  VJ3, Tom Pritchard and Matt Roth should go down as three of the most beloved players in IU history for their role in rebuilding IU basketball, for believing in the program when no one in their right mind had a reason to.  They will all be Tom Crean’s first set of 4-year players.

And for the record, even though VJ3 was recruited out of high school as a point guard, he would have played purely SG at most schools.  He took the role on out of necessity for the team and did the best he could.  Taking away any credit from him seriously makes me sick.

You nailed it. My thoughts exactly, just explained a lot better. I like either Oladipo or Sheehey starting every game because of their high energy play. We CAN NOT get off to slow starts and dig out of holes. I think they help prevent this.

Starting line-up for conference games:

PG Abell
SG Hulls
SF Watford
PF Zeller
C Pritchard

Key reserves who minutes will be earned/distributed based on effort extended and the opponents’ skill sets: Oladipo, Sheehy, VJ and DE.  Nine person rotation after non-conference games…

I’m suprised by how many people have Pritchard as a starter. I think we’ve all seen the effects of starting a guy who isn’t a threat at all to score and I hope those days are over. TP hopefully will be used for 15-20 min of rebounding and defense off the bench and that’s it.

For convention, I’ll put two types of lineups I think Coach will use. They will either be big or small with the backups in parentheses.

Big:

PG: Hulls (Abell, VJIII, Moore)
SG: VJIII (Oladipo, Creek, Abell, Roth)
SF: Watford (Oladipo, Sheehey, Creek, Etherington)
PF: Zeller (Watford, Sheehey, Elston)
C: Pritchard (Elston, Zeller, Howard)

Small:
PG: Hulls (Abell, VJIII, Moore)
SG: Oladipo (Creek, Abell, Roth, VJIII)
SG: Creek–if healthy–(Sheehey, Etherington, Roth, Abell)
F: Watford (Elston, Zeller, Sheehey)
F: Zeller (Elston, Pritchard, Howard)

While the first may get the starting nod, the smaller lineup will probably get a lot of PT. Granted there is a lot of overlap in positions, but with the way Crean runs his offense, you don’t really need anything other than guys who drive and guys who set screens. With the big lineup, there is limited versatility in terms of attacking the basket, but they will probably rebound and get the game started on a good note. The smaller group will likely be a second wind group that comes in and energizes Assembly Hall. They will be able to run and break down the opposition before the starters come back in to seal the deal.

I’d like to see Coach run an NBA type of substitution pattern with two rotations. The starters will still play more, but the 2nd group can come in, get easy transition buckets, and defend. This lets some of the starters (Watford in particular) get a much needed rest before coming back in and maintaining a high level of energy.

Here’s hoping Elston’s fouls were a result of his health and now that his hernia has been fixed his speed/flexibility will be improved.

So as stated numerous times above, Creek is an enigma this year. We all hope that he is 100% healthy but I think that is 100% overly optimistic. So here is my question. Even if Creek is 100% healthy, will that be enough. In terms of game time, the kid is still a freshman. What can we expect from him? Elephrhino?

This year is either going to be really really REALLY great! Or it is really really REALLY gonna blow. However, we love our Hoosiers. I would really like them to beat UK this year. I would be ok with anything as long as they beat UK (my co-worker is a UK fan, and he has been unbearable that last 2 years).

GO HOOSIERS!!!

Predicting he doesn’t impress at the beginning, but tough/physical big ten play opens a door and he blossoms as the tough nose kid we have been looking for.

I know its not likely, but its a prediction.  Who knows. Can’t wait!

I like the starting 5.  This is out most talented team in the last few yrs and leaps ahead of last yr.  You have decent 3 pt shooting (Jordy, Creek, Watford and even Zeller) great inside play (Oladipo, Zeller with CWat and Creek also able), and fewer TO with Hulls and yes CZ dishing out assists.  I just hope my fav player – Creek is healthy – he deserves a good yr and I am confident he can/will do well.  CWat stands to gain the most from this line up since there is no one who can drift from another one of these players since they can all score.  I do like Will and he and Oladipo will share minutes.  Then to have Pritch, VJ, Elston and Sheehey off the bench is pretty good (since with improvement this yr they should be better than last yrs team!  Back up for Hulls unfortunately is still in HS and VJ/Creek/Abell will have to do their best.  Think this should get us to the 5-6 spot in the Big ten.  Pomeroy had us rated 75 at the end of last yr, so if  the improvement cont and we end up at 50 a NCAA berth may be possible!  Next yr (especially if Harrris sees the light) we should be top 3 in the big ten and should/could be in the final 8 of the big dance or higher….

Can Derek run better than Watford? I don’t think so. Otherwise I like the idea.

Our best players in order: 1) Zeller, 2) Watford, 3) Hulls. If he ever gets back to his pre-injury freshman season shape, Mo Creek is our best player (if you remember he was better than either Bledsoe or Walls in our game against KY).

The great thing about Oladipo, Sheehey, Watford and Abell is that each of them can drive to the rim, so Jordy can float to the 3-pt line and Cody can work the weak-side.

I like the fact that no one is saying anything about Mo. No talk, no pressure, get the guy totally healthy. If it takes a full red-shirt year to rehab this talented player-that is OK! We have 10 good ones to put on the floor and a 3-pt gunner to add when we need it.