Hoosierhoopster Posted January 15, 2018 Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 1 minute ago, BGleas said: I don't mean this to knock those guys and I'm not expecting this team to go on a Big Ten Title run whatsoever, but it's crazy to me how similar the Davis injury feels to the JBJ injury a few years ago. Again, not knocking those guys, I always hate when someone gets injured. But remember that team struggled with identity and early in the season there was a sort of sharing of guard duties with Yogi, JBJ and RoJo. Once JBJ went down it officially became "Yogi's team" and he ran with it. There's also no denying that it helped the defense. No knock on JBJ but It just changed things for the team. This year Davis and Morgan were kind of sharing the post touches, with Morgan clearly seeming to grasp things quicker and be more ready. Since Davis went down, the paint is now owned by Morgan and he has the freedom/room to operate as he needs to. As you mentioned, the resulting insertion of Smith in the lineup has allowed the team to play in more space, play faster on offense, etc., and defensively we're much quicker with rotations, etc. Similar to JBJ a couple years ago, it just has changed the way the team plays. I also agree that just because things look good now, that MSU road game is a tough challenge, and could be a bad (in terms of margin) loss. That won't mean the progress isn't real and can't be regained, MSU despite their struggles is a really, really talented team. Agree on all points Gleas. Davis, like JBJ, is a very good player. Sometimes it's just about 'fit' and who is playing with who. Right now, this team seems to have found itself (or at least be well on the way to finding itself) and playing through Morgan while having more quickness and space on the floor is helping. I'm not down on Davis at all, do think he will be a good front court player for us next year, assuming health and once he gets his fitness up, but this is really Morgan's team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoB2011 Posted January 15, 2018 Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 57 minutes ago, BGleas said: We'll also need some wins in that MSU, OSU, Purdue group. We would have to go 2-3 against that group to get to 13-5, so I agree. That would also mean we beat everyone we should and every toss-up game the rest of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parakeet Jones Posted January 15, 2018 Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 1 hour ago, BGleas said: We'll also need some wins in that MSU, OSU, Purdue group. We can’t get to 12 without at least one. That is what give me a glimmer of hope at 12. Plus even in a down year for the B1G I can’t see the committee leaving a 12 win team out. If ever there was a year though this could be it. Like I said, it’s a tall order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milehiiu Posted January 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 2 hours ago, BGleas said: We'll also need some wins in that MSU, OSU, Purdue group. Reflecting on how we responded to Duke.... I would have to say, that is entirely possible. Especially with the onset of a new found defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted January 15, 2018 Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 32 minutes ago, milehiiu said: Reflecting on how we responded to Duke.... I would have to say, that is entirely possible. Especially with the onset of a new found defense. Perhaps, but let us see how we perform against Sparty first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdhoosier Posted January 15, 2018 Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 I honestly think it's just as possible that we win at MSU only to drop one against Maryland at home......just because that's how this season seems to have been going. Hopefully we've moved past that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCPA Posted January 15, 2018 Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 2 hours ago, BGleas said: What I've noticed and is encouraging over the last three games is that for whatever reason the team seems to finally be playing basketball instead of thinking it. Everything seems more natural. The defensive rotations, the ball movement, the understanding of where they're supposed to be and what they're supposed to do. It was mentioned during the broadcast, and it does in fact seem like the players and coaches are finally comfortable with one another. Everyone seems way more relaxed and free, especially on offense. It finally feels like a team with purpose, as opposed to a bunch of guys playing basketball together. How far that takes things the rest of the year, who knows. But for now it's fun to watch. I think it really helps that CAM has been through this before at Dayton when he didn't have anyone bigger than 6'7" and they still reached the elite eight. I wonder if he feels more comfortable with a smaller lineup, as it appears to fit his style better. Whatever it is, I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milehiiu Posted January 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2018 49 minutes ago, rico said: Perhaps, but let us see how we perform against Sparty first. Yep. This season has been a crap shoot. Not just for IU. Anything can happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FWIUFan Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 2 hours ago, milehiiu said: Yep. This season has been a crap shoot. Not just for IU. Anything can happen. I'm finally back to believing we continue to improve after falling off that wagon after the Wiscy game. CAM and the boys seem to finally be comfortable on what they want to accomplish on the court. The are finally playing and not thinking. I do think it's possible to beat MSU if we stay the current course and I will be happy with an L as long as we play well. With this roller coaster ride of a season, I can't get past the old Coach cliche--One game at a time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud2BAHoosier Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 I'm anxious to see if the team acts like they want to play and prepared. The Wiscy game still sticks in my craw.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverrat Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Here is a question for everyone on here. Is it that this team has improved as most seem to hope or is it that we have happened to play a row of teams that through injuries and other issues just aren't very Good? It is easy to look like a good defensive team against bad teams but will it translate to iu showing up against better teams? Also if you look into archies past his best teams have been under sized. This may be another reason for what appears to be improvement on both offense and defense since Davis has gone out. Do we believe that if his style system works better as an undersized roster, can this type of team have sustained success on the high major level and in the tournament year in and year out? Trying to think back in the past 10 uears or so and cannot think of a team that comes to memory that was undersized that won at a high level and sustained it. Not saying this team won't continue getting better if they truly have and that Archie won't build something special but winning at Dayton vs winning in the BIG are two very different things. Also for those who like stats to go with posts, kenpom has iu defense ranked 114 overall. Not sure where a lot of tom crean defenses ended up ranked but I do not remember many being lower than this. Do we crave improvement to the level that our eyes are seeing things that statistics do not back up? It will be interesting to see where this team stands after the next 8 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGleas Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 ^^^^ I think the schedule definitely plays into the 3 game winning streak and the team playing better, but that doesn’t mean it can’t carry over. Plus, add to it that we’ve played well for the most part against Duke, ND and Louisville. I’m not saying we win Friday, but the team is definitely playing better. On the size thing. Yes, Archie had a season where for reasons outside of his control (I think it was injuries and a suspension) his team lacked size, and yes that team went to the Elite 8, but he didn’t purposefully build a team without size. It wasn’t a preference. He clearly wants to build teams with size (Forester, Thompson, Moore, and recruiting TJD and Hurt hard, etc.) and length (Forrester, Moore, Hunter, Smith, Anderson, etc.). But I also think Davis is not his type of big. To be honest I think players like Davis are going by the wayside a bit. He’s clearly talented, but the game is moving away from big, plodding bigs, and towards long, athletic, skilled bigs that can defend on the perimeter as well as the inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5fouls Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 4 minutes ago, BGleas said: But I also think Davis is not his type of big. To be honest I think players like Davis are going by the wayside a bit. He’s clearly talented, but the game is moving away from big, plodding bigs, and towards long, athletic, skilled bigs that can defend on the perimeter as well as the inside. Somewhere, Uwe Blab just shed a tear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoB2011 Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 7 minutes ago, BGleas said: ^^^^ I think the schedule definitely plays into the 3 game winning streak and the team playing better, but that doesn’t mean it can’t carry over. Plus, add to it that we’ve played well for the most part against Duke, ND and Louisville. I’m not saying we win Friday, but the team is definitely playing better. On the size thing. Yes, Archie had a season where for reasons outside of his control (I think it was injuries and a suspension) his team lacked size, and yes that team went to the Elite 8, but he didn’t purposefully build a team without size. It wasn’t a preference. He clearly wants to build teams with size (Forester, Thompson, Moore, and recruiting TJD and Hurt hard, etc.) and length (Forrester, Moore, Hunter, Smith, Anderson, etc.). But I also think Davis is not his type of big. To be honest I think players like Davis are going by the wayside a bit. He’s clearly talented, but the game is moving away from big, plodding bigs, and towards long, athletic, skilled bigs that can defend on the perimeter as well as the inside. Well put. It's not a size thing, it's a mobility thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierhoopster Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 3 minutes ago, 5fouls said: Somewhere, Uwe Blab just shed a tear. No one noticed though, as it took a long time to hit the ground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierFaithful Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Ball movement, especially against NW, was simply excellent for large portions of the time during this run. Davis not clogging the lane helped that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierhoopster Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 1 minute ago, HoosierFaithful said: Ball movement, especially against NW, was simply excellent for large portions of the time during this run. Davis not clogging the lane helped that. IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CauseThatsMyDJ Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 There are better bracketologists than Lunardi, but if we can go at least 2-3 against the B1G 3, and take care of business elsewhere, we have a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking6 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 Lunardi has been impossibly wrong on IU for years and the Big 10 for that matter. With that said we need I think at least 2 maybe 3 wins vs Sparty, Ohio St, and Purdue to counter our two bad home losses. We need Notre Dame to do really well too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 3 minutes ago, Seeking6 said: Lunardi has been impossibly wrong on IU for years and the Big 10 for that matter. With that said we need I think at least 2 maybe 3 wins vs Sparty, Ohio St, and Purdue to counter our two bad home losses. We need Notre Dame to do really well too. Me thinks Notre Dame's season is shot. Hope I am wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5fouls Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 45 minutes ago, rico said: Me thinks Notre Dame's season is shot. Hope I am wrong. I agree. The Notre Dame win is not going to hold up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCHoosier32 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 i still can't see finishing in the top 5 of B1G, but if we do, surely we'd get in? i just think we are waaaaaaay ahead of ourselves talking about this team being a tourney team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CauseThatsMyDJ Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 1 hour ago, NCHoosier32 said: i still can't see finishing in the top 5 of B1G, but if we do, surely we'd get in? i just think we are waaaaaaay ahead of ourselves talking about this team being a tourney team. We will not get in if that top 5 finish doesn’t include wins over the top 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCHoosier32 Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 3 hours ago, CauseThatsMyDJ said: We will not get in if that top 5 finish doesn’t include wins over the top 3. fair enough. conference is definitely down from where it has been. i still think a goal of the big dance for this team is awful lofty, but here's to hoping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CauseThatsMyDJ Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 26 minutes ago, NCHoosier32 said: fair enough. conference is definitely down from where it has been. i still think a goal of the big dance for this team is awful lofty, but here's to hoping! I, for one, agree with you. We will know the true potential of this season in a couple of weeks, after this gauntlet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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