Indiana Basketball: Collin Hartman out indefinitely following knee surgery

Crucial role player, Collin Hartman, is now out indefinitely for Indiana basketball.

Senior forward Collin Hartman is not nearly as valuable to Indiana as Thomas Bryant, OG Anunoby and James Blackmon Jr.

But the Hoosiers would benefit from avoiding injuries to key role players.

The regular season has yet to tip-off and the Hoosiers are already dealing with a potential serious matter. Hartman underwent surgery on a knee injury that he suffered in practice last week and is out indefinitely.

“Any time you see one of your players go down to injury,” Indiana head coach Tom Crean said in a press release, “it tears you up as a person and as a program — even more so when it’s someone like Collin Hartman, who has been a huge part of our success and is in his senior year. We all look forward to helping him recover and rehabilitate.”

Those comments don’t make it sound like Hartman is returning anytime soon. It would be unlikely that Crean would be talking about “tears” if Hartman was only expected to miss a short period of time.

The 6’7″ forward averaged 5.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game last season. However, he is expected to have a larger role in 2016-17 due to his ability to score both inside and out.

While this doesn’t change Indiana’s overall standing in the Big Ten (they are still a top-four team and the timetable for Hartman’s return is uncertain), it does limit their depth and versatility up front.

Beyond Thomas Bryant, the front court is filled with unproven players who haven’t played enough consistent minutes at the Division I level. Four-star power forward De’Ron Davis is the tallest big on the roster (besides Bryant), but the Hoosiers won’t want to count on a first year player handling the bulk of minutes next to Bryant. Juwan Morgan has potential at 6’8″, but played just 9.1 minutes per outing last year.

Even though Indiana could always use Anunoby or Freddie McSwain Jr. as small ball fours, that would leave the Hoosiers with very little depth on the wings.

Hartman stretched the floor, was active on the glass and on defense and scored at a decent clip. He was an extra weapon that pulled bigs away from the basket.

Hartman’s true impact is beyond just his ability to create mismatches though. He is a high IQ player who is a terrific leader and a player who has played three years of college basketball. That veteran leadership is tough to find nowadays.

It’s too early to speculate how long or what type of injury Hartman is suffering through, but Indiana fans better hope that he can recover quickly in time to have a true impact in 2016-17.