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16 days to tip-off and we turn our attention to incoming freshman Collin Hartman. It is quite eerie how much Collin Hartman and Austin Etherington remind me of each other. And no I'm not just saying that because they're 6-6, 200 lbs, shooting, white guys that will play on the perimeter for Indiana University. Although that alone are some pretty big physical similarities. However, it isn't just their physical characteristics that bring this comparison, it is their roles on the team and their journey to Indiana.
Class: Freshman
Hometown: Indianapolis, Ind.
High School: Cathedral
Height / Weight: 6-6 / 210
Position: Forward
Twitter: @CollinHartman30
Hartman, like Etherington, committed early in his recruiting process. He attended Hoosier Hysteria in 2010 and then with a large group of recruits including Devin Davis attended a game against the University of Evansville. As the story has been told, Hartman and his mother were on their way back home when he told her to turn the car around he was committing to Indiana. At the time this was a major coup as Hartman was considered to be a Purdue lean and a the top player in the state for his 2013 class. Unfortunately for Hartman, injuries would hamper his development.
The similarities to Etherington continue here as both he and Hartman suffered a bevy of injuries all throughout high school. The limit in their volume of play and ability when not at 100% saw them both fall quite considerably in the rankings. Both went from top 50 prospects to outside of the top 150. Hartman fell to #228 in the 247 Composite rankings amid concussions, back and ankle injuries.
He's a guy that I've started calling a concession stands player (it's going to catch on). He does a little bit of everything. He can shoot, he can rebound, he has the size to defend the post if necessary, he's vocal, a good passer and there's a chance you'll see him popping popcorn in the concession stands at half. A guy that can do it all he's good at many things but great at none.
Now he comes in as unheralded recruit after receiving Robbie Hummel comparisons in his early high school days. Hartman is the one recruit since Cody Zeller that I have seen the most of and I can tell you that he's going to be a contributor to this Indiana program. Just likely not this year. I'd think that Collin will get some play late in games during the cupcake schedule but I wouldn't expect to see his role expand much beyond that. He needs some time with some college coaches fixing small hiccups in his shot and improving on other aspects as well.
Much like Etherington, he probably won't start to see large chunks of time until sophomore year at the earliest and could possibly take into his junior year to be a mainstay in the rotation. If he can stay healthy and continue to show growth he's a guy that you want around for four years. Smart kid, vocal leader, he made his Cathedral team better by just being on the court. He can do that too with Indiana, but again, it's going to take some time. Expectations for the year should be as follows. A bad year is an injury cutting short any opportunity at getting time in blowouts. A good year is playing in half the games and averaging 1 or 2 points in his 5 minutes of play while continuing to show growth in practice. A ZOMG TOM CREAN IS THE BEST TALENT EVALUATOR EVER year would be 10 minutes a game with 4 pts, 2 rebounds and an assist.