With Indiana's recent addition to the 2020 class, the reclassification of Khristian Lander, the point guard position goes from a major concern to one of the strongest positions on the team. With two true ball handlers on the roster and Archie Miller's system that leans heavily on guards, Indiana looks to benefit with the duo of Rob Phinisee and Lander.
Indiana now has something it hasn't had since the 2012-13 season; point guard depth. Khristian Lander and Rob Phinisee now provide Indiana the luxury of absorbing an injury without missing a beat.
It has been well documented the injuries Phinisee has had to play through or more importantly miss time from over his first two seasons in Bloomington. Because of that, Indiana's offense suffered and slipped drastically when he was off of the floor.
The Al Durham experiment of last year proved not to work for extended minutes which put that much more of an emphasis on Phinisee to be on the floor and have the ball in his hands. Indiana had the second-highest turnover rate in the Big Ten at 15.8 percent and the worst assist-to-turnover ratio (1.03) last season, but the addition of Khristian Lander will give Archie Miller more leeway when it comes to his lineups.
A two-year starter in Rob Phinisee is not going to head to the bench but it's more so how both he and Lander can benefit from playing alongside each other.
While both are smaller guards, both under 6-foot-2, that won't be too much of a problem on the defensive end due to Phinisee's already proven defensive ability and Lander's length. Yes, there will be times when this could cause a change in the lineup, but it will have to be a significant disadvantage to take away what the duo can provide on the offensive end.
