BGleas

The teams I listed have had legit, talented guys stay 2-4 years. Guys that are currently in the NBA. They key is you need to consistently land them and land more than 1 at a time (something that has plagued IU. IU tends to just get one of these guys at a time), because yes some will leave earlier than expected, but if you land enough you have continuity.

Exactly, and before a couple people freak out, “blue chippers” doesn’t have to mean one and done UK/Duke classes. UVA, Villanova and UNC have all won titles recently with classes that had 2-3 blue chip, top 40-50 players in them that stuck around 2-3 years.

Virginia was able to do it. Villanova has done it. Kansas does it. Michigan State does it. Tom Crean did it a couple times, albeit not consistently enough, at IU. Out of the 4 players I listed Mohammad is potentially the only one and done.

The real key to the momentum is getting 3-4 of those guys on the team at the same time. You need a team where you have something like Lander, TJD, Mohammad and Kauffman all together, or at least 3of them. That’s when you’re talking a couple Big Ten Titles and legit National Title contention.

Thanks so much for the kind words, Mile! I just love talking basketball and this has been such a great community to be a part of over the years! Thanks so much for all you do to make this group what it is!

Zeller is a really, really solid NBA center. He does almost everything you'd want from a center in 2020. He runs the floor extremely well, he's athletic, he can defend the perimeter well on switches, he's got good hands/finishing on the pick and roll, etc., etc. The only thing really holding him back from being an even better player, and it's been his bugaboo since even at IU, is his inability to develop a reliable mid-range to 3-pt jumper. If he could reliable knock down mid-range jumpers and then eventually extend his range, he'd be a legit 15/16ppg and 8rpg center. In this day and age that's almost a borderline allstar at the center position. Even going back to college, and not to rehash this, but how different is that Sweet Sixteen Syracuse game if Zeller was a threat to shoot the foul line jumper? Remember how many times he got the ball wide open at the foul line but instead of shooting he barreled into the defense and either got a charge or got his shot blocked.

Agree. I thought Durham was playing really well off the ball the last couple weeks of the season. They moved to some sets where Al would run baseline and then curl around a screen to the elbow and he was really effective in that set. I think Durham is a really good piece that you can definitely win with. I also think his biggest issue to this point has mainly been the roster around him. Again, Durham is a really solid player, but also the type of player on a really good team that should be a backup guard to this point, not a 3-year starter. That's not a slight on Durham and it's not me saying he shouldn't get minutes, but at this level he's a really, really good backup, but he's an average starter.

I coach my son's 11U AAU team, so definitely not your major high school AAU team going to Peach Jam or anything. Our stuff is all fairly local, and like I said we're at the early/younger stages of AAU. But with that said, I've had my practices cancelled through the end of the month, but have not heard anything on our tournaments (mid-late April through May) being cancelled yet. I'm sure they will be, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Yeah, my philosophy is get IU to be a consistent Big Ten title contender. Like, regularly in the top 3-4 of the conference, while winning the conference every few years. The NCAA Tournament is about getting high seed at bats. There will be years you falter, years you play pretty much to seed, but if IU is consistently competing for Big Ten Titles that means consistently getting seeded in the 1-4 range in the tournament. Eventually you're going to break through. You bring up two good examples. Jay Wright wasn't that great of a tournament performer (got past the Sweet Sixteen 2 times in 12 tournament appearances), until eventually he was. Tony Bennett is another good one. Yes, he had some tournament troubles with UVA, but from 2013-14 through this season he finished 1st or 2nd in the ACC every year but once. That means UVA had numerous "at bats" in the NCAA Tournament as a really high seed. Yeah, he had some tough losses, but eventually by setting yourself up so well with great regular season performances you're going to break through in the tournament. That was Crean's problem, lack of consistency. IU was either a top 1-4 seed or we were missing the tournament all together. He could keep the "down" years still really competitive. What I want from Archie is IU competing consistently for regular season conference championships. At a place that can pull talent like IU can when things are right, if he accomplishes Big Ten success, the rest will take care of itself.

Agree. For all the talk going into the 2012-13 season about how deep that team was (the old Scout site actually had people saying our second 5 would finish second in the Big Ten, which was ridiculous), it was really lack of depth that was it's undoing. I just looked at the stats, and that team had 5 guys that averaged 28+ mpg. Only 7 guys averaged 10+ minutes per game. I still think that the team that was playing the best basketball come tournament time, even despite VJ3's injury, was the 2011-12 team.

I actually think of Crean's teams, the 2011-12 team had the best chance to reach a Final Four, had they not been matched up in UK's bracket. Of all of Crean's teams, that team was playing the best basketball at that point in the season, with the 2016 team a close second. While 2012-13 team was the most talented top-to-bottom, that team was on fumes by the time the tournament rolled around.

I don't know. I doubt there are too many programs that have two guards returning that are both two-year starters. That sounds like it's probably fairly rare in college basketball these days. Despite what you think about Phinisee and Durham, if I'm a 1-year grad transfer and I see Lander coming in and two guys that have been starting for two years and average over 25mpg each, then I'd rather go to a school that has a clear opening at my position due to a departing player.

Yeah, I don't feel bad for Trendon Watford at all. He put himself in whatever position he ends up in if anything happens to LSU, and he did it fully knowing about Will Wade. It's not like this stuff broke after Watford's commitment. Don't get me wrong, I love Christian Watford, he's one of my favorite players over the last 10+ years for IU, but until proven otherwise I pretty much assume his brother was bought and paid for by Will Wade.

Certainly due to location it's odd, but in terms of roster they lost Anthony Cowan, so there is a hole there for immediate time as a lead guard. I think IU will struggle again this Spring to add any type of impact guard beyond Lander. If you're a grad transfer or incoming freshmen, IU has two guards (Phinisee and Durham) who have started the last two seasons, Franklin had moments where you think he'll have an increased role, we potentially have a 5* guard in Lander reclassifying and then you also have three wings/guards already in the freshmen class. Similar to last year, none of our guards are world beaters, but at the same time it's a crowded, experienced backcourt. I wouldn't want to compete with two returning 2-year starters.

Thank you! Don’t get wrong, I’m extremely underwhelmed just as you are, but ultimately we don’t know how Dolson will do, and IU basketball succeeding right now isn’t about Scott Dolson or Chris Reynolds, it’s about Archie Miller. Archie hasn’t turned the corner yet by any means, but he certainly has things heading in a positive direction. It’s on Archie right now.