He’s from the Chicago area. UGa, DePaul & Illinois are the top 3 ( or at least that’s what I read).
bad trey shooter, below average FT shooter.
now he can be a miscast 3 or a solid college 4 somewhere else.
Expect IU to play smaller with Durham at the 3 with two talented PG's:
Phinisee & 5 star frosh Lander.
I'm sure if Miller had to choose between Smith and Lander, he would pick Lander.
Thompson and Hunter should be solid reserve big men.
He's a four in Indiana's offensive system and that's how he was told he'd be used again next season (assuming there actually is one). The vast majority of his shot attempts and points came in and around the paint area. He really only attempted ~80 three-pointers in ~100 games. And they certainly didn't want him dribbling and handling the ball out on the wing. Quite the opposite. The problem for Indiana is due to lack of true guard depth and talent, they essentially played with two 4-men along with a 5. All that did was clog the lane and everything around the goal.
However, his NBA evaluation came back stressing that if he had any chance of getting into the league he needed to show he was a true wing player who could shoot it well and create off the dribble from the perimeter. That's simply not him to-date. At all. The kid wasn't going to be happy as a 4-man so it's best he move on and at least try to prove everyone wrong.
He's obviously a super intelligent kid who originally was accepted into Stanford, Rice and Northwestern who just graduated from the Kelley School in three-years with a nearly perfect GPA. That's exceptional and his hardwork in the classroom should be commended. He's earned the right to try to live out his dream of making the NBA, I hope he makes it. Worst case, he'll earn himself a MBA while trying.
And he just did not have the game.
I could see him ending up at DePaul with Reed leaving or at Illinois if Cockburn leaves.
ND had a comparable situation in 04-5 when Brey tried to play Cornette as a 3 along side Lattimore and Francis. Cornette took 103 treys and made 26. He was open a lot. Brey eventually moved Cornette to the bench and started Falls.
It appears next season IU will have some more wing options.
Impressive academic credentials for Smith.