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‘BTPowerhouse 25’ - #10 Scottie Lindsey

BTPowerhouse's staff counts down the best players in the Big Ten heading into the 2017-’18 season.

By Greg_Licht
NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-First Round-Northwestern vs Vanderbilt Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

In the months leading up to the 2017-’18 college basketball season, BTPowerhouse will be releasing a new series called the 'BTPowerhouse 25,' which features the Top 25 players in the Big Ten as voted by members of the staff. All players set to be on Big Ten rosters for next season were eligible during the staff vote with their top selection receiving 25 points and their 25th and final selection receiving 1 point.

The senior guard from Northwestern cracks the Top 10 in our rankings. Lindsey had a breakout junior year and looks to help lead the Wildcats to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

‘BTPowerhouse 25’ - #10 Scottie Lindsey:

  • Eligibility: Senior
  • Career Totals: 94 games, 2,027 minutes, 785 points, 133 assists, 264 rebounds, 55 steals
  • 2016-’17 Averages: 32 games, 14.1 points, 2.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals
  • Positional Role: Guard

After primarily coming off the bench in his first two seasons in Evanston, Lindsey found himself in the starting five for his junior year campaign. He started every game he was healthy for (a nasty battle with mononucleosis sidelined him for four consecutive games) and was a reliable, go to player for head coach, Chris Collins.

Let’s dig in to see what makes Lindsey tick and how he can improve on his great 2016-’17 season.

Player Strengths

Lindsey is a jack-of-all-trades type of player and he has very few holes in his game. Need a bucket? He finished 13th in the Big Ten in scoring. Need to slow down an opposing team’s guard? Lindsey posted a respectable 100.7 defensive rating. Need a reliable free throw shooter to close out a game? The senior converted on 84 percent of his charity stripe tries which was fourth in the Big Ten.

The senior’s 24.8 usage percentage coupled with his 109.7 offensive rating allowed him to become a go to offensive weapon for the Wildcats. The first 20 games of the season saw a double figure point total next to Lindsey’s name in the box score. Not a bad way to kick off his first season as a solidified member of the starting five.

Lindsey even cut down on his turnover percentage per 100 plays by nearly three and a half percentage points (13 to 9.6 percent). The Chicago area native improved in just about every facet of the game. He went from a reliable bench player to a reliable starter and will continue to be a vertebrate in what is a well-aligned backbone of Northwestern’s senior class.

Areas for Improvement

Lindsey’s sophomore season saw him shoot 40.9 percent from three-point range. His marksmanship from beyond the arc helped him earn the coaching staff’s trust and he averaged just under 19 minutes a game.

Turn the page over to his junior season and you get a different story. Lindsey averaged two and a half more three-point attempts per game from his sophomore year, but his three-point percentage plummeted to 32.2 percent. His percentage decreased even more during Big Ten play where he converted only 28 percent of his three-point tries.

Rediscovering his touch from deep will help the Northwestern become more potent than it is already shaping up to be. Lindsey logged the second highest usage rate among the starting five and knocking down threes and forcing defenders to come out on him will open up passing lanes. Passing lanes that will be filled with dimes to Bryant McIntosh and Vic Law.

A lot of Lindsey’s stats took a dip once Big Ten play started. He feasted on weaker non-conference opponents, although he made his presence known against the Texas Longhorns and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Once the calendar flipped to January, he was not as effective as he was in the first half. To be a senior leader, Lindsey will have to show up night in and night out during the helter skelter Big Ten season.

Player Projection

Lindsey’s senior year should see him continue to improve on his statistical line. He should crack the top 10 in Big Ten scoring after finishing 13th last season. Among the coaches, he was a third-team All-Big Ten selection while receiving an honorable mention nod from the media.

If Lindsey progresses as projected, then he should have no problem earning All-Big Ten honors for the second consecutive year. If he is able to become an offensive threat, inside and out, then he could legitimately challenge for a first-team selection, but will most likely end up on that second-team.

Lindsey and his teammates will have the Wildcat faithful buzzing throughout the winter and the ‘Cats should once again find themselves in the field of 64. No matter how the year shapes out for Lindsey as an individual, his contributions have already earmarked his senior class’ page in Northwestern basketball history.

‘BT Powerhouse 25’ Rankings:

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