Is Brooks Barnhizer a dual threat Sanjay Lumpkin?

[Kat burglar]

Sanjay Lumpkin was an unsung hero of the last tourney team. He was 6'6", 215, played tenacious defense, doubled on bigs, rebounded and set screens but didn't score much.

Brooks Barnhizer is 6'6', 215, plays good defense, doubles on bigs, rebounds, and has come alive lately as an offensive threat from all over. He was hurt most of last year and is coming on strong down the stretch this year. He played guard in high school and was a prolific scorer, 20-30 per game. He can guard 1-4 and score from 3 or at the basket. He adds another option to Boo and Chase and makes this team tough to guard. I like his future with the Cats!

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

Very different players. This board needs to stop comparing players to Lumpkin. Odds are there will not be another Lumpkin.

 

[Sec.112]

Barnhizer adds so much to the rotation.

His decent ballhandling has been helpful also. My only wish is that he'd get his game a bit under control. You can count on the ball being tapped away from him several times during a game if he dribbles too much. But that will probably get straightened out with time.

 

[DaCat]

Sanjay Lumpkin was an unsung hero of the last tourney team. He was 6'6", 215, played tenacious defense, doubled on bigs, rebounded and set screens but didn't score much.

Brooks Barnhizer is 6'6', 215, plays good defense, doubles on bigs, rebounds, and has come alive lately as an offensive threat from all over. He was hurt most of last year and is coming on strong down the stretch this year. He played guard in high school and was a prolific scorer, 20-30 per game. He can guard 1-4 and score from 3 or at the basket. He adds another option to Boo and Chase and makes this team tough to guard. I like his future with the Cats!

Interesting comparison. Just a minor note, Brooks has much more offense, he led the state of Indiana in scoring as a senior averaging 37 points per game, according to the announcers yesterday.

 

[Titanium999]

Barnhizer adds so much to the rotation.

His decent ballhandling has been helpful also. My only wish is that he'd get his game a bit under control. You can count on the ball being tapped away from him several times during a game if he dribbles too much. But that will probably get straightened out with time.

Exactly! Better ball handler and shooter than Sanjay

 

[PURPLECAT88]

Barnhizer adds so much to the rotation.

His decent ballhandling has been helpful also. My only wish is that he'd get his game a bit under control. You can count on the ball being tapped away from him several times during a game if he dribbles too much. But that will probably get straightened out with time.

BB is aggressive on offense. That can lead to a few mistakes, but I'll take that. So many young players come to NU way too tentative on offense. I'd rather a few turnovers from aggressive young players.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

Very different players. This board needs to stop comparing players to Lumpkin. Odds are there will not be another Lumpkin.

Expanding on this:

Lumpkin is a better post defender. A better on ball defender. A better help defender.

Similar players rebounding.

Offensively Brooks is a far better ball handler. He can run your offense in a pinch. Lumpkin made the savvy plays offball with proper spacing, cuts and screens that often go unnoticed. Brooks is a better passer and there’s many plays he makes the right/extra pass. Brooks is a better shooter hard stop. Brooks as shown the last couple games that when the offense is stagnant that he’ll take it to rim and try to make something happen.

What Brooks brings to table is extremely different that Lumpkin. Yes, they both do lots of little things that help the team but it’s different things. Both made hustle plays. Lumpkin was a team leader on defense. Vocal and skilled. Brooks is getting hustle plays on the offensive end and making the right passes at the right times. Not forcing too much offensively and playing within himself.

Imo it’s not just “If lumpkin had scoring”. They bring very different things to the table.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Barnhizer could be very good if he ever learns how to finish in the lane. Seems to get there pretty regularly, but the ball seldom actually goes down.

 

[GatoLouco]

Expanding on this:

Lumpkin is a better post defender. A better on ball defender. A better help defender.

Similar players rebounding.

Offensively Brooks is a far better ball handler. He can run your offense in a pinch. Lumpkin made the savvy plays offball with proper spacing, cuts and screens that often go unnoticed. Brooks is a better passer and there’s many plays he makes the right/extra pass. Brooks is a better shooter hard stop. Brooks as shown the last couple games that when the offense is stagnant that he’ll take it to rim and try to make something happen.

What Brooks brings to table is extremely different that Lumpkin. Yes, they both do lots of little things that help the team but it’s different things. Both made hustle plays. Lumpkin was a team leader on defense. Vocal and skilled. Brooks is getting hustle plays on the offensive end and making the right passes at the right times. Not forcing too much offensively and playing within himself.

Imo it’s not just “If lumpkin had scoring”. They bring very different things to the table.

I agree with this 100%. But want to defend my man BB on defense saying that I believe he is more flexible than Lumpkin in being able to guard 1-4.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

I agree with this 100%. But want to defend my man BB on defense saying that I believe he is more flexible than Lumpkin in being able to guard 1-4.

It wasn’t so much a knock on BB on defense as he is a gritty defender and was excellent in help D against Edey. More just how good Lumpkin was at D.

 

[clarificationcat]

Sanjay Lumpkin was an unsung hero of the last tourney team. He was 6'6", 215, played tenacious defense, doubled on bigs, rebounded and set screens but didn't score much.

Brooks Barnhizer is 6'6', 215, plays good defense, doubles on bigs, rebounds, and has come alive lately as an offensive threat from all over. He was hurt most of last year and is coming on strong down the stretch this year. He played guard in high school and was a prolific scorer, 20-30 per game. He can guard 1-4 and score from 3 or at the basket. He adds another option to Boo and Chase and makes this team tough to guard. I like his future with the Cats!

I think Beran is much closer to Sanjay. We (I) just expected more of Beran offensively for his first 3 years. Now that offensive expectations have lessened, you can view Beran as a role player like Sanjay but better overall. He can guard on switches, can guard in the post, protects the rim better than Sanjay and is a pretty good rebounder (Sanjay was little better). And he's still more of a threat offensively.

 

[hdhntr1]

Very different players. This board needs to stop comparing players to Lumpkin. Odds are there will not be another Lumpkin.

Could be in his importance to the team. But as you say, not the second coming of Sanjay Lumpkin but rather the first coming of Brooks Barnhizer

 

[hdhntr1]

Barnhizer adds so much to the rotation.

His decent ballhandling has been helpful also. My only wish is that he'd get his game a bit under control. You can count on the ball being tapped away from him several times during a game if he dribbles too much. But that will probably get straightened out with time.

This is really his first year of playing anything significant. So far he is a role player but what is nice is that his role keeps expanding

 

[hdhntr1]

It wasn’t so much a knock on BB on defense as he is a gritty defender and was excellent in help D against Edey. More just how good Lumpkin was at D.

The difference is that you are comparing a finished product in Lumpkin vs a first year (first real minutes) guy that keeps expanding his role in BB

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

The difference is that you are comparing a finished product in Lumpkin vs a first year (first real minutes) guy that keeps expanding his role in BB

BB has the potential to make these comparisons look extremely silly. He’s going to be a very good player for the Cats.

 

[wildcatpn]

Barnhizer could be very good if he ever learns how to finish in the lane. Seems to get there pretty regularly, but the ball seldom actually goes down.

Seldom goes down? He’s shooting 50% from 2 point range. Much of that is when he gets into the lane. You need to watch more.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

I don't really see this comparison at all.

 

[hdhntr1]

Seldom goes down? He’s shooting 50% from 2 point range. Much of that is when he gets into the lane. You need to watch more.

As a team, we seem to have a lot of trouble with layups. BB has not been immune to that. Mid range we are descent but it can be frustrating to see our trouble with layups

 

[hdhntr1]

I don't really see this comparison at all.

There are plenty of similarities but there are also differences. Both are sort of Swiss Army Knives, all around players. They can both guard 1-4, both handle the ball, both help defenders, etc. Sanjay may have been a bit better at it. Differences include that Sanjay on O was more likely to defer to others while BB is not opposed to pushing it. BB is early in his career and people comparing him are comparing a relative newby (first real year with minutes and that from the bench) to a finished product in his last year with Sanjay. THe good news is that BB is early in his career and we have a couple more years to watch him. He seems to have a pretty good upward trajectory

 

[BleedingPurple15]

I agree with those who see similarities between Barnhizer and Lumpkin, in terms of them being of similar size, playing similar roles (sometimes, small ball 4s). I actually see Barnhizer as a cross between Lumpkin and BMac. While Lumpkin was an undersized forward, Barnhizer is kind of an oversized guard. He's less defensively minded than Lumpkin in that he's not really used as an on-ball defender (Sanjay was often asked to defend the opposing team's best wing, in the way that Audige is), but he's similarly tenacious and a solid rebounder. He's also got more of an ability to score the ball in different ways.

 

[NUCat320]

Tighten the handle, and he’s Evan Turner as a senior. There, I said it. Dude’s gonna be real good.

Complete player. Plays like a coach’s son. Can drive effectively. Makes the right pass. Boards bigger than his size. Gets in dude’s junk on defense.

 

[clarificationcat]

There are plenty of similarities but there are also differences. Both are sort of Swiss Army Knives, all around players. They can both guard 1-4, both handle the ball, both help defenders, etc. Sanjay may have been a bit better at it. Differences include that Sanjay on O was more likely to defer to others while BB is not opposed to pushing it. BB is early in his career and people comparing him are comparing a relative newby (first real year with minutes and that from the bench) to a finished product in his last year with Sanjay. THe good news is that BB is early in his career and we have a couple more years to watch him. He seems to have a pretty good upward trajectory.

I said it before and I will say it again. Sanjay is becoming a legend on these boards. More is written about him than any other member of that team other than BMac. It's fascinating to me. He contributed the least of the starters (I know he did the little things) but he is remembered the most fondly. I made the comparison earlier but will Robbie Beran be remembered this way years from now? Robbie is an equally good defender, better rim protector and more of a threat from 3. Sanjay was a better passer, better (not great) at finishing at the rim, and a slightly better rebounder. And was a tough dude.

 

[hdhntr1]

I said it before and I will say it again. Sanjay is becoming a legend on these boards. More is written about him than any other member of that team other than BMac. It's fascinating to me. He contributed the least of the starters (I know he did the little things) but he is remembered the most fondly. I made the comparison earlier but will Robbie Beran be remembered this way years from now? Robbie is an equally good defender, better rim protector and more of a threat from 3. Sanjay was a better passer, better (not great) at finishing at the rim, and a slightly better rebounder. And was a tough dude.

I am not sure as BB is on this same team so any acknowledgement of this nature likely goes to BB rather than RB. That and BB and SL were both more unheralded recruits than RB. THis type of adulation seems more reserved for those that came out of the unwashed masses rather than the heralded recruit

 

[clarificationcat]

I agree with those who see similarities between Barnhizer and Lumpkin, in terms of them being of similar size, playing similar roles (sometimes, small ball 4s). I actually see Barnhizer as a cross between Lumpkin and BMac. While Lumpkin was an undersized forward, Barnhizer is kind of an oversized guard. He's less defensively minded than Lumpkin in that he's not really used as an on-ball defender (Sanjay was often asked to defend the opposing team's best wing, in the way that Audige is), but he's similarly tenacious and a solid rebounder. He's also got more of an ability to score the ball in different ways.

Vic generally guarded the other team’s best wing unless they were big dudes. Vic was the only guy on that team to make the conference All-Defensive team the tournament year. Sanjay got stuck guarding a lot of guys who had 3 or 4 inches on him. He did a great job.

 

[gocatsgo2003]

Seldom goes down? He’s shooting 50% from 2 point range. Much of that is when he gets into the lane. You need to watch more.

I’ve watched the entirety of the last five games, plus more all season. Brooks is not good finishing around the basket.

 

[Hans]

The difference is that you are comparing a finished product in Lumpkin vs a first year (first real minutes) guy that keeps expanding his role in BB

This, yes Sanjay was good on D but I’ve don’t see him as the world beater thatkid does. What we’re remembering is the tourney year which was senior year, BB has a way higher ceiling. It’s not even close, Thu guy is going to be a hell of a 2 way player for us, scrappy and tough on D and has the potential to go off. Hands down better as a RS frosh than Lumpkin and it’s not even close.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

This, yes Sanjay was good on D but I’ve don’t see him as the world beater thatkid does. What we’re remembering is the tourney year which was senior year, BB has a way higher ceiling. It’s not even close, Thu guy is going to be a hell of a 2 way player for us, scrappy and tough on D and has the potential to go off. Hands down better as a RS frosh than Lumpkin and it’s not even close.

He wasn’t a world beater lol. Law was the best on ball defender on that team. I’m just saying there’s a bunch of little things and IQ plays Lumpkin made on defense that people don’t notice. BB isn’t there yet. Offensively much more capable. I think the comparison is silly and disrespectful to both players. BB has more potential than being an extremely solid role player. Lumpkin was a solid role player. Lumpkin was a better defender than BB at the 3-5.

I’m just used to having to defend Lumpkin as a player pre graduation. He has recently had an elevated legacy. Before he graduated he was constantly ragged on for his lack of offensive production.

 

[hdhntr1]

He wasn’t a world beater lol. Law was the best on ball defender on that team. I’m just saying there’s a bunch of little things and IQ plays Lumpkin made on defense that people don’t notice. BB isn’t there yet. Offensively much more capable. I think the comparison is silly and disrespectful to both players. BB has more potential than being an extremely solid role player. Lumpkin was a solid role player. Lumpkin was a better defender than BB at the 3-5.

I’m just used to having to defend Lumpkin as a player pre graduation. He has recently had an elevated legacy. Before he graduated he was constantly ragged on for his lack of offensive production.

And you are seeing signs that BB is making some of those high BB IQ plays. Sanjay was sort of an unsung hero on that team whose reputation has gotten to mythical status. He was very important glue guy . THat said BB is showing some of the same tendencies as a first year player and a lot of upside in all kinds of areas,

 

[hdhntr1]

I’ve watched the entirety of the last five games, plus more all season. Brooks is not good finishing around the basket.

Yet. He looks to get a lot better

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

And you are seeing signs that BB is making some of those high BB IQ plays. Sanjay was sort of an unsung hero on that team whose reputation has gotten to mythical status. He was very important glue guy . THat said BB is showing some of the same tendencies as a first year player and a lot of upside in all kinds of areas,

Offensively he’s shown a lot of the “little things”. Makes the right passes. Moves around well. He’s improving as the year goes on with this as well. He’s an extremely pesky defender. He’s just a different defender. He’s smart with his positioning. This whole team is minus some brain farts. Lumpkin had an impressive feel for when to do things defensively and when to let up a little. It’s just different. They’re not comparable players. It’s obvious BB has played and been around basketball a lot. He has a much higher ceiling than Lumpkin.

I also don’t think Beran is an accurate comparison. I don’t think any current player is. I don’t think there are many players like Lumpkin that can offer so little scoring and still make a solid impact as a role player. Lumpkin chose his shots well but he wasn’t a threat to score. Everyone 1-4 on this team is a threat to score if left open. Lumpkin did well on screens and spacing to make up for it a little but you’re not going to find many starters on good teams in college basketball that fit that style.

I’m not saying Lumpkin is some world beater defender or top tier player. He was a very solid role player on a good NU team. You just aren’t going to find many players like that. He was a different player. All the players he’s being compared to play defense differently and/or are completely different on offense. Style wise and/or production wise on offense as well.

 

[clarificationcat]

He wasn’t a world beater lol. Law was the best on ball defender on that team. I’m just saying there’s a bunch of little things and IQ plays Lumpkin made on defense that people don’t notice. BB isn’t there yet. Offensively much more capable. I think the comparison is silly and disrespectful to both players. BB has more potential than being an extremely solid role player. Lumpkin was a solid role player. Lumpkin was a better defender than BB at the 3-5.

I’m just used to having to defend Lumpkin as a player pre graduation. He has recently had an elevated legacy. Before he graduated he was constantly ragged on for his lack of offensive production.

Offensively he’s shown a lot of the “little things”. Makes the right passes. Moves around well. He’s improving as the year goes on with this as well. He’s an extremely pesky defender. He’s just a different defender. He’s smart with his positioning. This whole team is minus some brain farts. Lumpkin had an impressive feel for when to do things defensively and when to let up a little. It’s just different. They’re not comparable players. It’s obvious BB has played and been around basketball a lot. He has a much higher ceiling than Lumpkin.

I also don’t think Beran is an accurate comparison. I don’t think any current player is. I don’t think there are many players like Lumpkin that can offer so little scoring and still make a solid impact as a role player. Lumpkin chose his shots well but he wasn’t a threat to score. Everyone 1-4 on this team is a threat to score if left open. Lumpkin did well on screens and spacing to make up for it a little but you’re not going to find many starters on good teams in college basketball that fit that style.

I’m not saying Lumpkin is some world beater defender or top tier player. He was a very solid role player on a good NU team. You just aren’t going to find many players like that. He was a different player. All the players he’s being compared to play defense differently and/or are completely different on offense. Style wise and/or production wise on offense as well.

I think Beran is a very similar defensive player. I think his ability to switch on smaller players and bang with bigger players is an important part of our defense. I think he's is very underrated defensively because of the initial expectations and his offensive struggles.

Agree they are very different offensively.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Offensively he’s shown a lot of the “little things”. Makes the right passes. Moves around well. He’s improving as the year goes on with this as well. He’s an extremely pesky defender. He’s just a different defender. He’s smart with his positioning. This whole team is minus some brain farts. Lumpkin had an impressive feel for when to do things defensively and when to let up a little. It’s just different. They’re not comparable players. It’s obvious BB has played and been around basketball a lot. He has a much higher ceiling than Lumpkin.

I also don’t think Beran is an accurate comparison. I don’t think any current player is. I don’t think there are many players like Lumpkin that can offer so little scoring and still make a solid impact as a role player. Lumpkin chose his shots well but he wasn’t a threat to score. Everyone 1-4 on this team is a threat to score if left open. Lumpkin did well on screens and spacing to make up for it a little but you’re not going to find many starters on good teams in college basketball that fit that style.

I’m not saying Lumpkin is some world beater defender or top tier player. He was a very solid role player on a good NU team. You just aren’t going to find many players like that. He was a different player. All the players he’s being compared to play defense differently and/or are completely different on offense. Style wise and/or production wise on offense as well.

This. Lumpkin was an offensively challenged glue guy who played tough and smart hustle defense as an upperclassman. He spent all his remaining time doing little veteran things, rebounding, etc, as everybody else has mentioned EVERYBODY on this year’s team plays tough hustle defense, so that part of Lunpkin’s game is simply an attribute everybody has. BB has already surpassed Lumpkin as a scorer - and he only continues to trend upward in shot volume and scoring over the course of this year - as a Sophomore and despite playing fewer minutes than Sanjay.

I don’t see their offensive games as overly comparable either, as far as what Sanjay would do. Other than being somewhat similar sizes and playing the same position I simply don’t see it as an interesting comparison.

 

[wildcatpn]

I’ve watched the entirety of the last five games, plus more all season. Brooks is not good finishing around the basket.

If you’ve watched the last 5 games and not just last night you’d know that you’re flat out wrong. Barnhizer had his best game against OSU where he had 19 points and didn’t miss once when finishing in the lane. In fact, outside of last night where he was only 2-6 in the lane he was 8-11 the previous 4 games. And that doesn’t count the times he was fouled and converted free throws.

I know you’re never wrong and you love to call out others when you think they’re wrong but to say Barnhizer seldom finishes when he gets in the lane and then to double down when someone tells you you’re wrong is just hilarious.

You flat out based it on the misses he had in the lane last night and are completely wrong to make a general statement like that based on one game.

It’s ok to be wrong. Really.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

I think Beran is a very similar defensive player. I think his ability to switch on smaller players and bang with bigger players is an important part of our defense. I think he's is very underrated defensively because of the initial expectations and his offensive struggles.

Agree they are very different offensively.

Beran has a lot more length and Lumpkin could hold his position better. Lumpkin a little better at on ball defense. Beran’s length makes him a little better at help defense. Beran is a lot longer than Lumpkin. I’d attack them differently if they were defending me. Beran is a much better shot blocker. I like Beran a lot defensively. Comparing a 6’6” guy to a 6’9”-6’10ish guy. Beran also plays very long even for his height.

 

[Jonny2TheP]

The best NU player I think of to compare to Lumpkin is actually a player that pre-dated him - Jeremy Nash.

Definitely differences, but it’s the closest Lumpkin comparison I can conjure up.

 

[Hans]

He wasn’t a world beater lol. Law was the best on ball defender on that team. I’m just saying there’s a bunch of little things and IQ plays Lumpkin made on defense that people don’t notice. BB isn’t there yet. Offensively much more capable. I think the comparison is silly and disrespectful to both players. BB has more potential than being an extremely solid role player. Lumpkin was a solid role player. Lumpkin was a better defender than BB at the 3-5.

I’m just used to having to defend Lumpkin as a player pre graduation. He has recently had an elevated legacy. Before he graduated he was constantly ragged on for his lack of offensive production.

Don’t disagree with anything you say, ridiculous comparison. I will say this though and I’m probably stating the obvious, simply excelling in one dimension of the game just doesn’t cut it any more. And that goes for every player on the court. Defense first if one had to chose but you need a guy that can hurt you. Sanjay wasn’t even guarded when he was at the 3pt line because everyone knew he wasn’t a threat. Even though shooting isn’t a strong suit of this team 1-4 can and will shoot it from 3 and any one could be on any given night.

 

[No Chores]

If you’ve watched the last 5 games and not just last night you’d know that you’re flat out wrong. Barnhizer had his best game against OSU where he had 19 points and didn’t miss once when finishing in the lane. In fact, outside of last night where he was only 2-6 in the lane he was 8-11 the previous 4 games. And that doesn’t count the times he was fouled and converted free throws.

I know you’re never wrong and you love to call out others when you think they’re wrong but to say Barnhizer seldom finishes when he gets in the lane and then to double down when someone tells you you’re wrong is just hilarious.

You flat out based it on the misses he had in the lane last night and are completely wrong to make a general statement like that based on one game.

It’s ok to be wrong. Really.

Glad you took the time to research and post this.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

In order to be the glue guy, the team has to utterly fall apart the season after you leave.

 

[Hans]

Beran has a lot more length and Lumpkin could hold his position better. Lumpkin a little better at on ball defense. Beran’s length makes him a little better at help defense. Beran is a lot longer than Lumpkin. I’d attack them differently if they were defending me. Beran is a much better shot blocker. I like Beran a lot defensively. Comparing a 6’6” guy to a 6’9”-6’10ish guy. Beran also plays very long even for his height.

I'm probably wrong on this - Beran is my least favorite player on the team. I acknowledge he's a decent shot blocker and good on help defense but dunno still lingering on the softness and that he gets pushed around / can't hold his ground down low. I should probably rewatch some footage and reassess.

 

[BleedingPurple15]

Vic generally guarded the other team’s best wing unless they were big dudes. Vic was the only guy on that team to make the conference All-Defensive team the tournament year. Sanjay got stuck guarding a lot of guys who had 3 or 4 inches on him. He did a great job.

That's true. I stand corrected. What I should've said was that I was absolutely (for the most part) comfortable with Lumpkin guarding positions 1 through 4, even if isolation situations at the top of the key.