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So... we are non conventional. I left football a little early this morning, changed in the coaches office, and headed to city hall. Today at 11am we were officially hitched. My mom was there. It was very special for us.

And....he's smart enough not to ask you for marriage advice!😁

LOL. Just now seeing this and have to tell the story. I sent @btownqba direct message this morning asking his advice on seating at Memorial Stadium. His response was "Give me a couple of hours and I'll give you a good answer". I'm thinking work, maybe headed out to the gym or the grocery, or wanted time to research my request a bit, etc. Never dreamed the guy was at, or headed to, City Hall to get married. And, like a true IU fan, he came through, providing all the information I needed to get my son and i a couple of tickets for the Cincinnati game on September 18th. Thanks man. Given the circumstances, you could have waited until tomorrow and I would not have minded.

Wasn't sure where to put this. It's not really anything groundbreaking, etc., but I took the family to Boston this week for a quick visit. Our kids had never been there as we moved before our oldest was born. Anyways, we stopped by my old Celtics office to show the kids and say hi to some old coworkers. I was chatting with my old boss (he's the senior most team PR person in the NBA, been with the Celtics since 1984) and we began discussing Brad Stevens. He was surprised as well that Stevens isn't coaching anymore, and also thought he'd assume the head of BBall ops role but continue coaching. I mentioned the hubbub over Stevens potentially taking the IU job, but that I thought Stevens was an NBA guy now. Long story short, he specifically mentioned how much Stevens hates recruiting and that Stevens is always sharing terrible recruiting stories with them and how much he hates it. Again nothing new or groundbreaking, but definite confirmation of that narrative that Stevens wants no part of recruiting.

I hope all 4 freshmen from last year make great strides. I picked Geronimo based on a few things...the determination and moxie he showed guarding the B1G and National POY and holding his own, the nose he has for the ball, and good form and a confidence in his outside shot. One thing I did notice in some of the videos I've seen this preseason...Lander looks MUCH bigger in the upper body. That bodes well, as I think he was overmatched strength wise on the defensive end a few times last year. The added strength should help going to the basket as well.

I had to pick one of them... And it's too bad it was a DUI...If he'd gotten pinched for weed instead, we could have dubbed him "Doobie Gillis."

Not to mention Leonard Hamilton is 10X the coach (and man) Underwear will ever be...

So, what you’re saying is that BS still has interest in the IU job if it becomes available again? 👀

I would like to see his lateral movement defensively, but he’s 6’5 with good jumping ability. He was also obviously feeling it that day and didn’t get much defensive pressure on him. But assuming all those things check out anyway, he looks like a Big Ten Talent. Ask yourself what kind of publicity he would have if he played at Bloomington South, or North Central, or Lawrence North? I think he’s getting dinged for where he plays. Unlike Luke Brown and others, he’s a solid 6’5. Is he a Barnhizer or Goode? I’d say probably better but it is worth more examination.

When I take a dollar out if my wallet, George Washington blinks from the sunlight...

He’s been in Champagne-Urbana for 2 years and not developed enough to satisfy the talent evaluators, and didn’t get the feedback he wanted to stay in the draft. For a guy from Jamaica, I can’t imagine how a Midwest winter would come anywhere close to a season in Tallahassee. Only thing that makes sense to me is that he’s comfortable with the system at Illinois to the point that change isn’t worth it to him

He’s always delusional. The reality is we have a potential starting lineup that may include the B1G POTY, the B1G Freshman of the Year, a fourth year starting PG from a Power 5, another guard who has a lot of starting experience and averaged nearly 20 ppg, and arguably the best player/scorer on a B1G team last year. That’s not the profile of a 10 seed.

I find it fascinating how winning impacts our views on people's personality. If we are all honest, we have to admit that HCTA is "different" in regards to his personality. You know who else is "different"? Tom Crean. I love HTCA, he should be untouchable at this point, and the guy is a winning coach and human being. But he is every bit as quirky and odd as Tom Crean. One is Creepy, clappy. One is infectious and engaged. The end of the day, we can all say what we want, but really we just want our team to win, and win often. If they win, Knight and Popovich are loveable curmudgeons. If they never won, they would be more like Mike Singletary. You are a bit weird/quirky and lose.....you are creepy and embarrassing. You are a bit weird/quirky and win....you are endearing, unique and your own man. I know my argument here is surface level. It is just a rambling thought. For me, I appreciate HCTA because he wins. And that dude 100% loves our University. He lives IU. And has made Bloomington better for all of us. Quirkiness and all.

Some kids are contrarians....some want to blaze their own trail. Some want the adventure of going out of state and getting away from home. Definitely no reason to not recruit him unless he has already told us no.

At Purdue that's considered domestic violence...

not really too exciting, but small tidbit... London used to play for the organization outside Charlotte that my sons play at and i coach for. before he reclassed he was always the same age group as my oldest son. he actually played for the B team for some reason back then and my son's team was much better, but they beat them sometimes strictly because London was the best player out there. that was probably 6 years ago or so. that's all i got. i didn't really know him other than watching him play.

currently my favorite target for the '23 class

Where’s that @BruceDouglasguy the one time that you really want him to chime in?

https://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/kentucky-wont-be-the-pick-for-kofi-cockburn/

😉 no one can question my fandom Thank you for the kind words, man!

Congratulations! Hope you still think of a honeymoon as conventional!

He really took a back seat role on his team last year. They had the Lincoln Hale kid that was a D1 player and a couple other really good kids. They've had pretty darn good teams and he wasn't needed to be assertive. Now he is going to be asked to do a lot more heavy lifting for them and it appears he is ready to take on that role. Comes from a coaches family both father and grandfather successful coaches so he understands the game pretty well and does what is needed to win. I agree his strength and movement on defense will be where his biggest growth will have to come but he has a good foundation to build on. Got decent bounce in his step so sneaky athleticism. I think his shooting translates well. He has a very high release on his shot that allows him to shoot even contested shots and not have it seriously affected. That said there are so much more that will have to come into focus for him to being really successful at a school like IU. I think he is going to be one of those kids that comes on late and catches people by surprise. Will be interesting to see how or if he gets recruited by us.

https://www.wane.com/high-school-sports/interview-sniders-moore-weighs-in-on-verbal-commitment-to-hoosiers/

Here a tip for you fellas..."Don't eat yellow snow."

small chance vs no chance. Even if there were no chance, i would not not recruit guys with the transfer rule. make the final 5. if he decides to transfer, more times than not you'll be one of the first 5 they'll think about.

Here in Kentucky, tipping is a tradition.

It is not the sunlight....it is the moths coming out...

The two toughest calls were Lander/Geronimo and Tyler Wahl and Jonathan Davis of Wisconsin.. I like Joe Toussaint of Iowa too, but as long as Connor McCaffrey is around, he's not gonna get a lot of time...

Maybe we are both cheap bastards?

Gillis breaking out of jail? https://www.wibc.com/news/local-indiana/purdue-basketball-player-arrested-for-drunk-driving/

Without having more information, no.

As the author of this post I am happy to comment that not one member of HSNhas responded as a “nothing at all .” So glad that we are a bunch of animal lovers. They make our lives infinitely better!

He only comes around when news is good. I kid I kid. After the flameout last season and subsequent mass departures of staff/players....even if Kofi returns I wouldn't expect much from any Illini fan. The few I know are all like what is really going on there. Coaches, players leaving....after this many years on the job the coach shouldn't keep having this much roster turnover while not sending one player to the league yet. Not to mention only 1 tourney win with a team ranked in top 5 all year. At least Crean gave us 2 Big 10 Titles and 3 Sweet 16's.

If this is true then it sounds like IU might have dodged a bullet not getting Stevens. If he hates recruiting that much i definitely wouldn't want him as a college coach. I actually think he might be burnt out on coaching altogether and it might be a few years until he gets back into it.

Great info, BGleas. And I’m glad you’re getting a chance to get the kids up to Boston. Lifetime memory of summer for the kids, I’m sure.

Congratulations! Wishing you and your bride a long lifetime of happiness together.

Congrats! Non Conventional is being conventional.....days of those large weddings have been exit stage right for 10+ years anyway. Congratulations again!

Can’t copy the article but The Athletic has an article today stating it’s between Illinois and Florida State

Congratulations, @btownqb! Wishing you and your wife all the happiness!

This popped up on my YouTube feed today and I thought it was pretty cool.

Wishful thinking as far as I know. However, I suspect if IU sustains what we are developing, the bitching from Ann Arbor, East Lansing, and State College/Happy Valley will be palpable. And I don't mean by fans, I mean by people with a vote in the matter. Just a prediction.

No pics but my wife brought in our first green pepper and first 4 cucumbers. I think we are up to near 10 zucchini. Strawberries didn't do well. Baby rabbit snuck thru our fence and ravaged her peas. Looks like tomatoes are coming soon.

Mom & Dad, we're going to need a bigger aquarium! https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/14/us/football-sized-goldfish-minnesota-lake-scn-trnd/index.html

Nice! We went to Jamaica June 26th! Loved it, Maan! 😆😆😆

Already been.

Both of these are good points on basketball and football. If the B1G wants to get serious about leveling the playing field with the SEC, we need to play by the same rules. We put ourselves at a distinct disadvantage by playing more conference games. They use their 4th non-com game in football almost as another bye week.

Isn't that the normal process steps? Find data from both sides of an option, study, dissect, analyze and form the next acceptable conclusion..... Until another acceptable conclusion is arrived at, right? Lather rinse repeat.