Hoosier987

As the legendary Carlos Zambrano once said…”we stinks.” but for the 21st time out of 22 seasons…there’s always next year!

Wow…Conner Mccaffery being interviewed and just said about Indiana…”We went zone and they had no idea what to do. I don’t know if they had ever seen it before.” YIKES

Geronimo simply doesn’t have it between the ears when it comes to basketball. Outside of maybe Hanner, I’m not sure I’ve seen someone so lost on the floor. Sad thing is…this is year 3. If he doesn’t get it now, he never will. He has absolutely killed us with his lack of understanding of the game.

Up 28-7 and lose in regulation. This program is cursed. Year after year for a decade + these type of inexplicable losses happen.

Reneau is lost

Not ideal…but with X out, we may be forced to go this route. I mentioned this exact scenario in a previous post.

I think Scotty is right. Our best chance to win is to only play our best players. Our depth took a major hit with X out. I hope they’re in shape cause that might mean only going 7 or 8 deep. Fife was on the radio the other day and said teams at their best only play at most 8 deep. A question that I have with this 4 out and 1 big is “where does this leave Reneau?” He’s had it rough lately but I think he’s an integral part of our team if we want to put ourselves in a good position this year.

We can play the 4 perimeter with 1 big during parts of the game. Not the whole game cause of depth issues but certainly portions. TJD/Tamar/Galloway/JHS/Kopp as the most likely

And there lies an additional dilemma of our current situation with X out. If we play Race on on the perimeter..the lane will still be clogged as his defender will sag off Race and double/triple TJD in the lane. Your more optimistic Race can be a better shooter…If he did become a more capable shooter, that would be excellent, it would take us up another level…I just don’t see it happening based on the 5 years of watching him play and his statistics. Every year us fans go through the “what ifs” on Race shooting threes, especially if we think he may be improving his shot making ability and unfortunately, when it’s all said and done he’s still shooting somewhere in the percentages of the twenties by the end of the year. I suspect this year won’t be any different and he’s right on track percentage wise. We’re going to be in a lot of tight games this year and a lot of opposing coaches will be playing the odds on Race…and so far, outside a game here and there, odds are for them and against us if he’s shooting multiple threes. If we decide to play the 4 guard lineup I’m not totally convinced I would object Race simply coming in to spell TJD and spell a few minutes on the perimeter because we lack depth - again, maybe take an occasional 3 to keep the defense honest. CMW might want to consider playing CJ Gunn a little bit more if he’s ready for big time basketball. Though his shooting numbers are bad this year…he does come in with a reputation as a knock down shooter which may cause the defense to play further out on him, allowing for the lane to be more open for TJD and the guards to drive. Again, not exactly preferable and not necessarily advocating it as Race does certain things better than Gunn, but this is the dilemma we’re facing with X out..this is the hand we’re dealt with. Let’s hope Bates continues to show a high percentage of shot making ability…particularly against good teams. If he does, that at least gives us him and Kopp as reputable shooters to the opposing teams.

Correct me if I’m wrong…but I don’t think Race made any threes or was even looking to shoot any when we had him playing in the 1 big 4 guard lineup. Which was the right play. We were successful not because KSU was afraid Race was going to take threes (honestly they probably would’ve welcomed that) but because we got him out of the paint which allowed our quicker guards to get around the corner and drive right to the basket over and over again without having to worry about a help defender coming in…as well as him not shooting multiple threes which likely would’ve ended in empty possessions. Again, as mentioned in my previous post, not against him taking an occasional 3 to keep the defense honest…but we don’t need more sample sizes…he’s right on his career 3 pt shooting numbers this year. 26-27% from deep.

I like the idea of playing 1 big man to open up the floor. We were vastly improved on the offensive end when we finally did that in the KSU game. However, the number of guards we have will be a problem…we lack depth with no X.

We’ve now had a 1/2 decade worth of sample sizes of Race’s 3 point shooting and the numbers aren’t good. He’s made a total of 29 in his career. I’m not against him taking an occasional 3 point shot to keep the defense honest but we don’t need more 3 point shooting samples from Race and we shouldn’t rely on him…to all of a sudden become a better shooter. His shooting is what it is. We’ve seen it for years now and way more often than not, it leads to a empty possession - just like a turnover. In terms of shooting, a more likelier area that Race can improve on would be his 62% career FT shooting numbers. It’s closer to the basket and he goes to the foul line quite a bit because of the position he plays and he’s a good rebounder.

Bates

Race needs to shoot 1000 free throws at the end of this game

Quad 4 losses are a big negative to the committee.

We legit look terrible

We don’t run an offense. Literally we try and score off the transition and if we don’t…it’s 1 on 1 ball.

Not pretty so far

Bates is gaining confidence in his offensive game but he’s still a mess defensively. Hopefully he’s in the film room. If we could just combine Trey’s defense and Tamar’s offensive threat we would have a really nice player.

Hope not. I think they would arrive today before any bad weather hits. Seems like the cold is going to be more of a factor than the snow. Dress warmly…I remember we had a cold spell when I was at IU. The high was only 0 degrees and the low in the -10s. I don’t recall any cancellations from that cold outbreak.

As I said before, I won’t argue with winning but will continue to be disappointed if we continue to show less effort. No more jogging down the floor getting beat time and time again, no more slow defensive rotations. We hardly showed effort against Kansas and got embarrassed and that continued into last game against Elon. Show effort, develop good habits, focus and get out with a injury-free win and that’s a success. Go Hoosiers!

Massive drops…but warranted.

Interesting yet not surprising from what we’ve heard from many. Great teams come in with a business mindset. We appear to lack that and it’s not just this team. Year after year we seem to play uninspired basketball. Unfortunately this is something we just can’t change over night…which is even more of a cause for concern for this year’s team. We need to develop positive habits even if it’s against lousy teams. Glad to hear young guys like JHS/Gunn/Malik were serious. Being young and taking it serious, albeit against a far lesser opponent, is a positive.

Let’s not compare ourselves to “other teams” and Iowa. We’re IU! The home of Robert Montgomery Knight…! The home of 5 NCAA championships…and as you claimed the other day, you and your age group helped bring home 3 of those banners! Hell, they may need create a banner for you. You of all should know that we’re not “other teams.” I’m disappointed. This is IU. We’re home to the #10 spot on the all-time wins list! We shouldn’t feel better about our lousy play because a Mississippi State or a Texas AM or a Iowa lost to a cupcake. This is IU! Banner Up, Scotty!

If we want to make a deep run in the tournament, X needs to be playing.