Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: 10 teams who should target Indiana transfer Justin Smith

By Tristan Freeman

BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 23: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers brings the ball up court during the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Assembly Hall on February 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 23: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers brings the ball up court during the game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Assembly Hall on February 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next
NCAA Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – DECEMBER 29: Justin Smith #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Indiana starting forward Justin Smith has entered the NCAA Basketball transfer portal. Which programs should be in play to land the former Hoosier?

It started out as a pretty good week for the Indiana Basketball Hoosiers. They got a huge boost with the announcement that five-star NCAA Basketball caliber point guard Khristian Lander would reclassify to the 2020 recruiting class and join them for the upcoming season. With him and returning leading scorer Trayce Jackson-Davis coming back, the Hoosiers are looking good for the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

But Indiana took a hit on Friday with the announcement that forward Justin Smith would be the latest entrant to the transfer portal. The former four-star prospect has been a starter for the Hoosiers for the past two years, recently averaging 10.4 ppg and 5.2 rpg in 30 mpg.

The 6’7 forward played primarily at the wing spot for Indiana, playing part of big lineups throughout the season. He’s a solid defender who can score, scoring 15+ 10 times in the first 18 games of the season. The scoring dipped in the ladder half of Big Ten play, going for double figures in eight of the final 11 games.

The Hoosiers are likely to have a better perimeter threat to replace Smith, who has made just 20 three-pointers in three years total. That puts him in an intriguing spot at his next stop, as he may be better positioned to play more at the power forward position. With Jackson-Davis and Joey Brunk each coming back, that just wasn’t going to happen at Indiana.

It could happen somewhere else now that Smith is available as a graduate transfer. There are a number of programs still looking for frontcourt help for the upcoming season and this could be the best prospect left in the portal going forward. Here are 10 programs I have in mind that could use Smith.

Home/NCAA Basketball News