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IUJoe

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I have read comments from fans on this board and other boards, and even from sportswriters, that people expected more out of Indiana this year.  And my reaction to that continues to be:  Really?  Why?

First, let me give my perspective.  I’m 55 years old.  I lived through and vividly remember Knight’s glory years and 3 national championships.  I was an IU student when the Hoosiers won in 1987.  I know what it feels like, and I know what we’ve been missing.  I desperately want my kids to experience the same IU basketball I did.  I’m sick and tired of almost 30 years (with the exception of maybe 5 or 6 years in there) of mediocre to bad basketball.

But did people really expect us to be great this year?  I mean, we won 12 games last year.  We won 7 Big Ten games last year.  We were one of the worst shooting teams I’ve ever seen, and the only three guys we had on that crappy-shooting team who could even make one three-pointer per game (Durham, Franklin, and Hunter) all transferred.

So I’m not sure where the basis for these expectations Indiana is supposedly failing to meet came from.  Yes, we brought in two guys we hoped could shoot.  To replace three we lost.  As a realist, I thought before the season, we have a better coach, players that stayed might develop now, and Bates might be pretty good.  I thought our realistic expectation was probably 19-13, 9-11 in the Big Ten, and hopefully sneak into the tournament.  I don’t really see how anybody could justify anything much better than that.

Well, we are on track to be a little better than that.  Yes, losing sucks.  Yes, we are all tired of waiting for this program to get back where it should be.  But I don’t think it’s fair to anybody involved with this program now to call this season a failure to meet expectations.

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4 minutes ago, IUJoe said:

I have read comments from fans on this board and other boards, and even from sportswriters, that people expected more out of Indiana this year.  And my reaction to that continues to be:  Really?  Why?

First, let me give my perspective.  I’m 55 years old.  I lived through and vividly remember Knight’s glory years and 3 national championships.  I was an IU student when the Hoosiers won in 1987.  I know what it feels like, and I know what we’ve been missing.  I desperately want my kids to experience the same IU basketball I did.  I’m sick and tired of almost 30 years (with the exception of maybe 5 or 6 years in there) of mediocre to bad basketball.

But did people really expect us to be great this year?  I mean, we won 12 games last year.  We won 7 Big Ten games last year.  We were one of the worst shooting teams I’ve ever seen, and the only three guys we had on that crappy-shooting team who could even make one three-pointer per game (Durham, Franklin, and Hunter) all transferred.

So I’m not sure where the basis for these expectations Indiana is supposedly failing to meet came from.  Yes, we brought in two guys we hoped could shoot.  To replace three we lost.  As a realist, I thought before the season, we have a better coach, players that stayed might develop now, and Bates might be pretty good.  I thought our realistic expectation was probably 19-13, 9-11 in the Big Ten, and hopefully sneak into the tournament.  I don’t really see how anybody could justify anything much better than that.

Well, we are on track to be a little better than that.  Yes, losing sucks.  Yes, we are all tired of waiting for this program to get back where it should be.  But I don’t think it’s fair to anybody involved with this program now to call this season a failure to meet expectations.

Before the season I had us going 23-8 overall and 13-7 in the conference.

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4 minutes ago, IUJoe said:

We lost the only guys we had who could even remotely shoot, and you thought we’d nearly double our wins, in total and in the Big 10?

Sure did and it still can happen. I take the new guys over the 3 we lost.  Like you I have seen the 3 championships and I know we are not where we want to be. I also thought Woodson would be a lot better at player development which he had been.

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3 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

Sure did and it still can happen. I take the new guys over the 3 we lost.  Like you I have seen the 3 championships and I know we are not where we want to be. I also thought Woodson would be a lot better at player development which he had been.

Well yes, it can technically still happen.  My point, though, is if it doesn’t (and it most likely won’t), it isn’t fair or realistic to call this season or these players a disappointment, or say that they failed to meet expectations, like some people are saying.

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1 minute ago, IUJoe said:

Well yes, it can technically still happen.  My point, though, is if it doesn’t (and it most likely won’t), it isn’t fair or realistic to call this season or these players a disappointment, or say that they failed to meet expectations, like some people are saying.

I never said it was a disappointment and think for the most part have played well. I guess that record can't happen since one of my wins was UNC Asheville and that game was cancelled.  I also looked at the schedule and who we played twice and who we played once.  You look at the teams who we only play at home and the road.

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There are times it seems like this team started where last year left off. As bad as it sounds, that’s impressive for a new coach. Some issues won’t just go away. 
Th team is basically on track for what I hoped for: NCAA Tournament, top half of B10, etc. 

We were under the impression that it would take a decade to build a top 10 defense nationally, but it’s here. 
 

I’d say this team meets my expectations. 

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27 minutes ago, Indykev said:

I thought 20 wins. 11-9 Big Ten. 10 wins in the Big Ten gets us to the tournament, I would hope. We can't lose to team below us or we are sitting home once again.

10 wins and a first round loss in the BTT we are probably in but sweating.

That said, we have 5 games we should win left and of the three tough games, we already beat two of them (one we dominated). I still think five wins the rest of the way is about the floor. 

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12 hours ago, IUJoe said:

I have read comments from fans on this board and other boards, and even from sportswriters, that people expected more out of Indiana this year.  And my reaction to that continues to be:  Really?  Why?

First, let me give my perspective.  I’m 55 years old.  I lived through and vividly remember Knight’s glory years and 3 national championships.  I was an IU student when the Hoosiers won in 1987.  I know what it feels like, and I know what we’ve been missing.  I desperately want my kids to experience the same IU basketball I did.  I’m sick and tired of almost 30 years (with the exception of maybe 5 or 6 years in there) of mediocre to bad basketball.

But did people really expect us to be great this year?  I mean, we won 12 games last year.  We won 7 Big Ten games last year.  We were one of the worst shooting teams I’ve ever seen, and the only three guys we had on that crappy-shooting team who could even make one three-pointer per game (Durham, Franklin, and Hunter) all transferred.

So I’m not sure where the basis for these expectations Indiana is supposedly failing to meet came from.  Yes, we brought in two guys we hoped could shoot.  To replace three we lost.  As a realist, I thought before the season, we have a better coach, players that stayed might develop now, and Bates might be pretty good.  I thought our realistic expectation was probably 19-13, 9-11 in the Big Ten, and hopefully sneak into the tournament.  I don’t really see how anybody could justify anything much better than that.

Well, we are on track to be a little better than that.  Yes, losing sucks.  Yes, we are all tired of waiting for this program to get back where it should be.  But I don’t think it’s fair to anybody involved with this program now to call this season a failure to meet expectations.

I think most people had IU about where they are in conference predictions...I saw 6th or 7th from most prognosticators...

But as the season has progressed, the expectations grew...Beating Ohio State and Purdue put us in a position to exceed the initial expectations.

Yesterday, we had an opportunity to pull within 1 game of the conference lead with 8 games to play. I don't think being disappointed for losing that game equates to the whole season being a disappointment...And I'm not sure that I've seen anyone pronounce the season as a "failure."

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2 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

I think most people had IU about where they are in conference predictions...I saw 6th or 7th from most prognosticators...

But as the season has progressed, the expectations grew...Beating Ohio State and Purdue put us in a position to exceed the initial expectations.

Yesterday, we had an opportunity to pull within 1 game of the conference lead with 8 games to play. I don't think being disappointed for losing that game equates to the whole season being a disappointment...And I'm not sure that I've seen anyone pronounce the season as a "failure."

Yep. I was disappointed in the second half half yesterday and felt IU didn't look sharp yesterday (offensively just looked a little off/poor shooting). Illinois certainly had something to do with that and the foul trouble on TJD and Durr didn't help. That being said, I didn't have Illinois in one of my wins in the other poll thread. I predicted 5-4 before yesterday's game, and I stick with that. It will be tough to beat MSU, PU, and O$U, but I think/hope we win the rest.

I haven't seen anyone say this season is a failure either, and I think just about everyone on here will be happy if IU finished 5-3, especially if they take a game or two in the Big Ten tourney. Do that and I would guess IU would be about a 7 seed in tourney, which would mean CMW and company met/exceeded expectations for his first year. Before season started I felt this team had to make the big dance and take a step forward from the Archie years, and it seems they will.

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Let me preface this post by saying my intent is not to disparage CAM rather to compare coaching.

I'm as frustrated as any with the loss to UI yesterday and what it could have done for our chances in the BIG/NCAAT going forward.  However, I am also so glad that we now have CMW and company!

WE ARE ABSOLUTELY BETTER THIS YEAR THAN ANY OF THE SEASONS UNDER CAM!

No brainer that XJ, Kopp, and Stewart >>>>Al, Franklin, and Hunter

No brainer CMW D philosophy of ball pressure and playing passing lanes>>>>>>>>>>>Putrid Pack. Line

We literally are a top 5 team nationally with a reliable 3 point shcoter and a big with a reliable 10ft shot.

Folks, none of the things we are missing are huge fixes.

Just need to give CMW some time.  

So far I like what I am seeing and the long  view still looks sweet to me!

 

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Coach Woodson has far exceeded my expectations this year and specifically recruiting. Make the tourney is all I asked for year 1...and we will.

More of an emotional or psychological comment....but watching IU isn't the chore it used to be. Disappointing games like Illinois/Michigan sure....but we've had far more highs this year. Good start in year 1 for Woodson/Staff. Exceeded all my expecations.

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Hand to heart, I didn't have any expectations this year, good or bad. I just didn't give it enough mental energy...

That said, I enjoy watching this team more than previous years, and I do have, at baseline, a general optimism and excitement about the future.

No idea about the final W/L's, but I do expect this team to be better by the end of the year and the next year to be better than this one. 

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17 hours ago, KoB2011 said:

10 wins and a first round loss in the BTT we are probably in but sweating.

That said, we have 5 games we should win left and of the three tough games, we already beat two of them (one we dominated). I still think five wins the rest of the way is about the floor. 

I love your optimism.

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For me the difference is this: 

I feel confident that we will have a chance to win every game. The past few years after a tough loss like saturday, I would be worried about a snowball effect. We may not win at NW (they are much than their record indicates - they have lost almost every close game), but I am not worried about whether we will come to play. 

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I mean, for me, the biggest thing is that I'm excited to watch IU basketball again. I was fired up all week for Saturday's game, and while the result was a pretty big disappointment in the end, I still like what I am seeing on the court for the most part, especially defensively. We're certainly closer to being "back" than I thought we would be at this point, and with a start like this in his first year, I have full confidence in CMW to get us back to contending for B1G titles in the next year or two. I think it's also important to note that the transfer portal situation is like the wild, wild west right now, so it's kind of unknown how that will affect things going forward.

I don't really know how anyone could look at this season to this point as a failure. 

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1 hour ago, AxnJxn said:

I mean, for me, the biggest thing is that I'm excited to watch IU basketball again... We're certainly closer to being "back" than I thought we would be at this point, and with a start like this in his first year, I have full confidence in CMW to get us back to contending for B1G titles in the next year or two...

This 100 times. I think it will take a couple for Coach Woodson to really build the type roster he wants. However, it is nice to not stink during the rebuild. 

This team was put together with band-aids and rubber bands and even if we are not really in contention for the title, we can still have a major say in who wins or loses and maybe win a couple in the tourney. That is not bad. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/6/2022 at 9:27 AM, FWIUFan said:

Let me preface this post by saying my intent is not to disparage CAM rather to compare coaching.

I'm as frustrated as any with the loss to UI yesterday and what it could have done for our chances in the BIG/NCAAT going forward.  However, I am also so glad that we now have CMW and company!

WE ARE ABSOLUTELY BETTER THIS YEAR THAN ANY OF THE SEASONS UNDER CAM!

No brainer that XJ, Kopp, and Stewart >>>>Al, Franklin, and Hunter

No brainer CMW D philosophy of ball pressure and playing passing lanes>>>>>>>>>>>Putrid Pack. Line

We literally are a top 5 team nationally with a reliable 3 point shcoter and a big with a reliable 10ft shot.

Folks, none of the things we are missing are huge fixes.

Just need to give CMW some time.  

So far I like what I am seeing and the long  view still looks sweet to me!

 

I'm not so sure I agree with this. Fast forward to today and take into account this ugly losing streak. XJ is a solid player but he definitely has his weaknesses and Stewart and Kopp haven't given us squat lately. Look at the season Al is having for Providence who is a top 10 team this year I might add. He is a star for them! I'd say the tradeoff is really close actually. I do agree our defense is much much better but we still can't score the dang ball. And I'm not sure if Woodson knows how to make adjustments...or the right ones at least. 

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I think expectations can change as the season plays out. When Eastern Michigan nearly got us at home to start the year, I was just hoping for a tourney bid, no matter how it happened. Then we were 16-5, it looked like we were finally going to finish above .500 in conference, and I actually found myself wondering if we could move all the way up to a 6 seed. 

 

We've had some fun moments this season, but overall, it's been another slog. We've had like 2 seasons in the last 10 years that weren't slogs. I think people are just tired of it. 

Edited by TheWatShot
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