Jump to content

AxnJxn

Members
  • Posts

    957
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by AxnJxn

  1. I would agree that we haven't seen the progression expected as a team, but it has been there lately, and we've certainly seen it on an individual player basis. Ware is a first round pick now and is one of the better bigs in the game, Mgbako has showed significant improvement, and Trey (I also have no idea what's going on with his shot, and XJ isn't the only one with terrible shooting mechanics) has turned into a serious playmaker. CMW has also started using Trey in that playmaker role, and taking XJ off the ball, which seems to be working pretty well, and I thought that was a nice adjustment. I'm certainly not saying we'd be hanging with Purdue if XJ was healthy. All we have are opinions on what could have been with him, because no one really knows. As others have noted, all teams deal with injuries, and we were clearly not prepared for it. That is absolutely on CMW.
  2. Yep, I agree that he has absolutely failed in that he didn't have a backup plan for a PG that has had a history of injuries and ... well, let's call them emotional transgressions, both on and off the court. I can also agree that he has been slow to adjust to things - full line change substitutions, auto benching players in foul trouble, and so forth, although I think we've seen him make those changes recently. Liam decommitting is also pretty ugly. I'm not saying that criticism of CMW's job performance this year isn't valid or uncalled for. There's nothing in my post that says it isn't. There have, however, been a number of comments, both here and elsewhere, that I think are simply uncalled for. That's all I'm addressing with respect to CMW. I mean, to be fair, this thread was started all the way back in January, almost two months ago - I think we were 4-4 in conference at the time. IMO, that's kind of ridiculous.
  3. Dunno if I'm a Woodson "backer," but I have avoided this board and this thread for the most part because I think firing an IU legend after 3 years, especially considering how well things were progressing through last year, is over the top. So be it. As to your question, I don't think there's any doubt a healthy XJ would have helped - we haven't lost since he's returned, for whatever that is worth. Some of our main issues have been (1) perimeter defense, (2) an inability to hit 3s, and (3) lacking someone who can break down the defense off the dribble. XJ likely would have helped in all of those areas. With him out, it changed a number of roles - Cupps was forced into the starting PG spot that he wasn't ready for, Trey forced to carry more of the load, increased PT for bench players, etc. However, I have to qualify that with "good" XJ, the guy from his first year here, not the inconsistent player we have seen since who struggles to control his emotions and production on the court. Not sure if that inconsistency is due to him not being able to be on the court on a regular basis, or something else. I think everyone loves Trey, and understandably so, but his shooting from 3 has been pretty rough this year. Would XJ have had the same dip in shooting? Is Trey's dip due to XJ not being there? Is it coaching/offense? No idea. But, yeah, I think that backcourt production would have been much improved with a healthy XJ. I think on paper, before the year began, if we knew Ware would produce the way he has, we would be expecting to be competing for a B1G title. Two senior guards, both shot 35%+ from 3 the previous years, solid defenders, and a front court with multiple 5 stars? Yeah, that should've been a much better team that we've seen. So, I get the frustration with CMW. I just think a number of the comments here and in other places that I've seen are pretty disrespectful and out of line.
  4. A'ight, y'all talk about how we need athletic wings and we have 4 spots - who are you hoping we can get?
  5. Well, you can thank Ted Valentine for not getting a chance to hang #6 in '92. And yeah, I'm still bitter.
  6. I mean (and I don't think I'm alone in this), I'd be surprised if he didn't transfer. As you noted, he couldn't get on the court, even with all of the injuries, and we're likely going to bring in competition for his minutes from the portal as well.
  7. I think there's reason to be concerned for next year, but there's also reason to be positive. Yes, there are holes, but there are also ways to fill those holes with the portal, and I believe Malik was a late recruit(?), so there might be that option as well - I'm not that familiar with how that whole process went. If XJ returns, we're in good shape at PG, and we have some decent pieces in Trey and Malik who are two somewhat malleable guys that make it easier to build a roster, and we saw some potential out of some of the others that got on the court. Also, remember that most P5 programs are going to have similar issues - in some cases, the majority of the roster could hit the portal. There's an opportunity to get talent in here and build a roster that can compete, maybe not for a B1G title, but a double bye in the BTT isn't unreasonable, IMO.
  8. I don't think we've seen someone shoot nearly 40 times a game on average, either.
  9. Yeah, understood - didn't realize that Geronimo wasn't on there, either. 'Course, most times I was surprised to see JG on the court at all, so there's that. I do think it's a bit odd to assume certain guys are leaving, but also get that this is a message board and speculation is a part of many discussions.
  10. Ah, completely missed that (obvs). Not sure why that is, though?
  11. If XJ can return, the backcourt is in decent shape, especially if Tamar can get his game to where it should be by now. Outside of Reneau, I haven't really seen enough of the remaining guys on the court to know what we have there, but could clearly use an experienced big and wing to start filling some holes. Is Duncomb definitely not a part of this group?
  12. Very well said, and thanks for expressing so well what I think almost all of us feel about TJD. It's one thing to have a guy who is a terrific basketball player. It's entirely another when that person conducts himself with class and is clearly a good person both on and off the court, who is an ambassador for the program, and who truly understands what Indiana basketball is and accepts the responsibility of getting the program back to where it should be. TJD took on a lot of adversity in his time here, from the failures of the Archie regime, to the fallout from the coaching change, even all the way down to this year when we had that 3 game skid and it looked like things were going off the rails. He handled all of that with grace and remained respectful to those around him, which can be difficult for someone at that age. In short, thank you for choosing IU, and allowing us to appreciate not just the player you were, but also the person.
  13. It's a good shot, it's just kind of an awkward look for Kopp, since almost all of his outside shots are spot up attempts and this one was off the dribble and he was kind of falling forward on it. Certainly worth the risk, and I have no issue with him taking it, but missing the shot also played right into Miami's strategy to speed the game up. Certainly one of the pivotal points in the game overall.
  14. Yeah, I remember that play, which is kind of a microcosm of Tamar's issues on the offensive end - too much of a shoot first mentality which leads to forcing up bad shots and missing guys who might be in better position. I don't really know what to think about him missing wide open shots, though, which also happened a couple of times in the tournament and the regular season. We've seen that the guy can shoot, which leads to the conclusion that this is in his head. I guess we'll see if he puts in the work to improve his game and become a leader on this team, because the opportunity is right there for him.
  15. I don't know where to find hard numbers on this, but it seems the B1G does what it is seeded to do for the most part. This year is a good example - Purdue underperformed, MSU overperformed, and the rest pretty much did what they were seeded to do - a 4 losing to a 5 or an 8 losing to a 9 isn't exactly a major upset.
  16. Agreed on all points. Tamar is going to be an interesting situation going forward. He didn't hit a shot in either game, including 0-6 from 3, and had a number of open looks that he couldn't knock down. Save for a couple of games this year, that was kind of his deal all season - either missing open looks or taking bad shots - and he's way too talented to be playing this poorly, particularly in his second season. His D did seem to improve a bit, but he's got to be a lot better on the offensive end. Feels like it's TBD if that's going to be in an IU uniform, though.
  17. If and buts and all that, but would have been interesting to see this group with Armaan Franklin still in the mix. To be fair, if XJ doesn't get hurt, JHS is playing more of that wing role that can create and put pressure on the D that we were sorely missing this year.
  18. Obviously a disappointing end, especially when it feels like you got outhustled, particularly on the defensive end with respect to rebounding. It also seemed like we weren’t staying grounded on defense, where shot fakes had us out of position most of the night. Weird. Wonder if that was something they saw on the scouting report? As for Kopp’s shot, i didn’t mind the shot itself, but it didn’t look fundamentally sound - he kind of jumped forward into it, which isn’t really his normal shooting motion. That shot doesn’t make the top 5 of worst shots of the night, though. Have to be excited with where the program is now, after two seasons of checking off milestones. We’re losing a lot, but with the transfer portal, that can be fixed rapidly instead of waiting for recruits to mature. Bummer of a loss, but feel pretty positive for the future.
  19. Not just the loss, but the way they lost, with guys like Mason Gillis clearly being afraid to shoot … couldn’t have written a better script.
  20. I'm happy with where this program is right now, and I think this year was a success overall to this point, especially considering the injuries. That being said, we're seeded to go to the S16, and if we lose before that with the talent and experience we have going in, that's simply going to be a pretty big disappointment that will tarnish the season a bit IMO.
  21. Don’t care. Meaningless conference tournament game. There are no surprises left, and this team is what it is at this point in the season. Anything from a first round exit to a title is realistic. Let’s get it started.
  22. That's probably my biggest concern with next year. I'm not sure we have much of a choice but to hit the portal a bit with everything we're losing, since we're not bringing in enough bodies to replace them, but I think there's still value in building rosters with guys who will be in your system for multiple years if possible. It'll certainly be interesting to see how the ease of transferring will change the game in the next few years.
  23. I mean, you're likely not getting the ball back if you pass it to him, so I can understand the reluctance. Definitely agree that there seems to be some chemistry issues with that team. Mayer's air ball on the 3 yesterday near the end of the game was the definition of someone playing hero ball.
  24. I don't think this is too complicated, as we've seen it all year - their backcourt is going to kill them in the tournament. Houston would eat their guards alive, as would a number of other teams with experience and toughness in the backcourt. They'll likely get to the S16 with that high seed, but I don't see them going much further. Illinois is a very interesting team to watch. Hawkins is kind of a jigsaw puzzle that fits in a number of places (he was bringing the ball up to start the offense yesterday while guarding Edey on the defensive end), Shannon is a terrific talent, and Mayer is ... well, I think he's kind of a chucker, but he can catch fire pretty quickly. Not sure I see them going all that far in the tournament, but that's an interesting roster build.
  25. Yeah, I mean, I've had my own moments of "WTF is going on with this team?" One was yesterday when I thought I was going to sit back and watch a nice easy W, and next thing I know we're down double digits. But, hey, that's a far cry from the double digit minutes of time when we wouldn't score a FG with the former coach, or getting run out of the gym by a team whose school name has more letters than Coach K has in his name. Let's remember that this team was once 1-4 and could have easily packed it in, that this is Woody's second year, and another year of checking off some important benchmarks - not sweating out a tourney bid is a nice change, ending more losing streaks, sweeping Purdue, and winning tough, close games are all important hurdles to getting the program back to where we want it.
×
×
  • Create New...