Countdown to Indiana Basketball Tip Off: Luke Fischer

Freshman Luke Fischer gets the spotlight as we're only 10 days away from the official opening of the season. Fischer, a big man out of Wisconsin is looking to provide some post depth to a roster that has been struggling to find guys that can play an effective backup role to the post for years. Luckily, Fischer is more than capable of bringing that role to this 2013 squad.

Class: Freshman

Hometown: Germantown, Wis.

High School: Germantown

Height / Weight: 6-11 / 230

Position: Center

Twitter: @BigFishy44

Luke Fischer is the prototype big man that Wisconsin has been beating us with for the last several years. His recruitment was relatively quiet as Tom Crean and the Hoosiers were pushing for a commit before anyone else was really on Fischer's recruitment heavily. Ultimately the Hoosiers won the game if you can't beat them, join them by getting Luke to commit after his visit on a game against Ohio State. Allegedly a couple months after Fischer's commitment, Bo Ryan contacted him to get some highlight videos. Fischer apparently told him thanks but no thanks.

I tell this story, because it is a very good example of keeping quiet until you know what you've got. With the recent Max Hoetzel commitment a lot of fans are griping that he's not a 5 star other worldly talent. A lot of the same gripes were occurring when Fischer committed early as well. Since then, Luke got a ton more exposure on the AAU circuit and he leapt well into the top 100 of recruiting lists and Dave Telep's ESPN list had him all the way up at 34 in their final list. Obviously, Luke is a player. The question is how much can he offer as a freshman.

Typically freshmen big men struggle making the transition to college. Usually because the average guy they face on a nightly basis can actually compete physically compared to what they faced in high school. I expect Fischer to be no different. A talented big guy that is much better in the face up than with his back to the basket, he's going to play more in the mold of Cody Zeller than he is Greg Oden. With the ability to run the floor as well as any big man, Indiana's transition game is going to help him get a lot of easy baskets.

Luke is currently battling a shoulder injury after he tore his labrum while battling for a loose ball rebound in practice. It has been a few weeks since the injury and he did see about 10 minutes on the court in the USI scrimmage as well as some time in the Haunted Hall team scrimmage, so I'd say he's good to play. He'll likely nurse his way through the injury while wearing a shoulder brace, but he'll still get time.

As for expectations, I'm struggling to settle in on what exactly to expect from Fischer. I don't think he's a starter, but I do believe he'll factor heavily into the rotation if he remains healthy. He's a guy that can shoot and help stretch the floor a little bit outside of the paint to allow the wings to penetrate. I'd say a bad year for Fischer is 10 minutes, 4 points and 2 rebounds. A good year would be half of Cody Zeller's freshman year production in 20 minutes, 8 points and 4 rebounds. A ZOMG TOM CREAN IS THE BEST TALENT EVALUATOR EVER year is Luke Fischer starting while grabbing 6 boards and 10 points a game. What do you all think?