‘My team is on the floor’

And so it begins.

Friday night, the long-awaited – or perhaps long-dreaded – return of IU men’s basketball hits the big stage at Assembly Hall against another all-but-faceless exhibition opponent.

I don’t have to tell anyone about the uncertainty this season holds, nor the basement-low expectations, nor the massive turnover. Only the recently-closed presidential election got more local ink than the re-genesis at Assembly Hall.

And yet, while it finally starts, for this season that’s supposedly lost already, the begging question isn’t “when” but “who” actually starts.

No, seriously, who’s in Tom Crean’s starting five? Do you know, because he wouldn’t tell me.

Or anyone else, for that matter, among assembled media at his weekly press conference Wednesday afternoon. Crean was cagey about the first five Hoosiers he’ll send to the floor as head coach, and I don’t blame him.

But last time I checked, they pay me – sweet gig, right? – to act like I know what I’m talking about. So I have decided to take it upon myself to educate you, the general public, on just who I think will do the starting Friday night and why.

Hand down in the back, Ms. Palin, we’ll get to NAFTA soon enough.

There are few obvious choices in this lineup, but the guard positions ought be simple picks based on preseason performance.

Junior Devan Dumes and freshman Verdell Jones have proven themselves two of the most capable scorers the Hoosiers have on roster. It’s no coincidence Jones’ 30 points and Dumes’ 19 points led all scorers in the Hoosiers’ two open scrimmages to date, respectively.

Both men have range and the ability to drive to the rim, and they can create for their teammates. Jones is rough around the edges, yes, but right now, he’s the point guard of the future, and he can’t be the future if he’s not the present when the present is all about the future.

In English: Jones starts at the one, Dumes at the two.

Let’s go ahead and put Tom Pritchard in at the five, because he’s the only polished big man this team has that isn’t hurt right now. Tijan Jobe is big, but that’s really the only firm part of his game at present, and considering Anderson’s roster is akin to the skyline of its city, Pritchard can get away with playing center.

So it comes to the three and the four, the two positions the Hoosiers will probably have to rotate most this season based purely on desired match-ups and available personnel.

I like Malik Story, but it sounds like he’s still adapting to his ‘tweener status as a guard/forward. Nick Williams, by contrast, spent time in high school banging inside, and he has the body type – and to hear it from Crean, toughness and leadership – to effectively play the four. He can score, too.

Pencil him in on the block.

Now, let’s round out this lineup at the three, shall we?

Again, it’s still tempting to pick Story, if only because he’s really just the next biggest guy available with Williams already in.

But this team needs to accept its size deficiency. Call Williams a forward if you want, but the truth is that this team is going to be smaller than every team it faces in the regular season, and isn’t prepping for the games that count the point of the ones that don’t?

So stick Matt Roth in at that three-spot, only because it gives him, in my mind, more freedom to operate on the wing, while leaving Dumes at the two and freeing him up to drive when preferable. The Hoosiers are going to need all the points they can get, and Roth on the outside tallies more than Story on the inside, at least right now.
So there it is: Jones, Dumes, Roth, Williams, Pritchard. And so it begins.