13th&Jackson

I remember I hated the guy and the rest of that AZ team. Thought they were thugs and punks. As long as it isn’t stupid cheap shots like XJ, this team could use some intimidation factor

In four years, Leal has made 25 threes. Essegian as a freshman, before his back injury (which is supposedly healthy), made 69. Leal is a 65% FT shooter, Essegian is 89%. He also has two years eligibility. He's shown he can come into games and knock down 3 threes in about 6 minutes. If healthy, he's a better option off the bench than Leal. He has a high Bball IQ. He'd pick things up quickly. Neither are good defenders.

Purdue would have been awful without Edey and Smith

In Malinese, Oumar Ballo translates to Moses Abraham

I believe Ware was rated the #2 transfer last year. IU is definitely big man U. Definitely should help with rebounding and interior defense.

Jake Diebler has a 73% winning %

“But too many of them that people that follow Indiana think are players, okay, came out like the old Indiana. And that’s what we need to eliminate, that kind of habit, choice, decision, mindset.”

Think of how many future students IU will draw from Mali.

FEIW this is a good read https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/11/03/brad-stevens-basketball-journey-was-shaped-by-bob-knight-he-was-bigger-than-life/amp/

Agreed. Great pickup, but taking seven games out is some magical thinking. It’s like saying if you take out 13 games when Gallo went 0-40, he’s a 47% shooter. Rice has a great skill set and is a really good addition. No need for anyone to spin his game into something it isn’t at the moment.

Wait until they lose to AR at Rupp. Just like IU can never lose to MI at AH now

The top teams in the B1G will all be taking a step back. If IU puts that team together, it will be the most talented team in the B1G. Expectations would be high, as they should be.

That team should win the B1G and be an Elite 8 team

We'll fix that. They'll be at Ballo numbers in no time.

That's Oklahoma St. They were a top program during the Henry Iba era.

I think the long term successful formula is 8 returning players, 2-3 HS recruits and 2-3 portal players every year.

Just enjoy the fact that WI and IL are in the top 25 and the cow college up north isn't.

Never said that. They would be an upgrade. Only said they won't lead to more 3 pt attempts because they attempted more in a different system. Those are two different things.

JHS was 33%, Kopp 44% and Gallo 46% last year. TJD was excellent at passing out to wings for open shots. Yet, they attempted the same number of 3 point shots as this season. I don't see how adding two players who shoot threes at a lower percentage will lead to more attempts. Yes, Rice attempted more threes last year at WSU, but he missed 22 straight to end the season.

Correct. IU averaged 15.5 3 point attempts in 23-24. How many did they average the prior season with JHS and Miller Kopp and an excellent post passer in TJD? 15.5. They aren't going to attempt 21+ per game.

Heavyweight matchup of Pat Kelsey vs Mark Pope. Just what the fan bases envisioned.

Jeff Borzello: Kentucky clearly took big swings in the hours and days after John Calipari left for Arkansas. Jay Wright distanced himself from the job quickly, as did Hurley and Donovan. Kentucky reached out to Nate Oats, who released a statement saying he was staying at Alabama. Shaka Smart was on the list; he also wasn't leaving. Drew mulled the decision for a day but declined. Kentucky made one more run at Hurley, offering him a huge salary -- but he once again decided to stay. And that left Pope as the next name on the list, a former Kentucky player who won a national championship in Lexington. The potential targets on the next tier were all flawed in one way or another, and Pope's connections to the school and understanding of the expectations gave him an edge. Pope doesn't have the résumé some of the other potential candidates possessed, never winning an NCAA tournament game or a regular-season title and spending only one year coaching in a high-major conference. But he's got some name recognition, especially in Lexington, and he'll understand what being the head coach of Kentucky entails. The expectations are going to be enormous from day one, however, something he hasn't dealt with during his time at Utah Valley and BYU.

Oh, I assume so and hope so as well