AxnJxn

Best full game we played all year (obviously). Have to say, i liked Brunk when he was here, but the ball off the beaner was pretty good comedy. As others have noted, we’re going to have to figure out how to take this on the road, but this should build some confidence, which was high on the list of things that this team has struggled with. Also really enjoyed TJD going around and high fiving anyone within reach - players, coaches, managers, fans, etc. Impossible not to love this kid, and his comment after the game about getting IU back to where it needs to be was good stuff.

It does. I mean, there's plenty of valid discussion about how we don't really have anyone that can create their own shot, or how we lack athleticism on the wings. I also really like how we look on defense this year - it's a notable departure from what we were seeing with our attempts to run the pack line the past few years, and it's actually enjoyable watching this team play defense (well, at least until PSU gets 3-4 shots in a possession due to offensive rebounds).

I think this is what is kind of head scratching to me, that we can be a very, very good defensive team, and almost the exact opposite on offense. It just doesn't wash that we have the athletes to play solid defense, rebound, block shots, and all of that, and then we're slow on the other end. That's what really doesn't make much sense to me, unless the guys are just losing their legs from the work on the defensive end, and it's affecting them on offense. It's also kind of maddening that we can fix one problem, as in the turnovers were much better yesterday, and then we get outhustled on the boards and whatnot. It's like fixing a leaking dam, where you plug one hole and another one opens up.

FFS dude, you really need to accept that not everyone is going to think exactly like you do, and that there are going to be extreme outliers of opinions in pretty much any situation. As another poster noted, you just keep complaining about the same things over and over and over again. You found a couple of people caught up in the frustrations of the game, possibly fueled by alcohol, and you've turned that into "it's the fan's fault that the program is where it is," which is frankly kind of ridiculous. "A couple of guys" in a game thread does not equal the entire fanbase. I guess because of people like you I have to amend my statement. The VAST MAJORITY of IU fans who aren't in the heat of the moment, who aren't trolling, and who are at least somewhat sober aren't calling for CMW's job.

I don't really see anyone pushing the panic button here. No one's calling for CMW's job, or wanted scholarships pulled, or anything like that. Some of us are just frustrated, and a part of that is we're seeing almost the exact same problems we saw with the previous coach, and the coach before that - in short, a perception of underachieving based on the talent that is on the floor. I expected a coach who played for RMK and has a long career in the NBA to put a team on the court that is mentally sound, and that doesn't seem to be happening, at least not yet. I expected some cohesive issues or struggles with a new system, etc. (the turnover issues weren't a big surprise, for example), but the lack of toughness has been unexpected, particularly with two seniors running the PG position. In short, this conference is going to chew this team up and spit it out if they don't get some mental fortitude, stat.

Exactly. There are a number of different ways to look at this loss, and none of them are really wrong. Yes, it's just one game, but it's certainly a significant step back from what we saw at Wisconsin, where we played one of the better halfs we've seen in a long, long time. In addition, we're clearly showing an issue down the stretch in games, whether it's guys getting tight, trying to do too much, or going soft. As others have noted, there are some serious holes in this team - Parker can shoot the lights out, but can't get open to do that, and he's pretty much useless outside of his ability to shoot, TJD still can't seem to finish around the rim, our basketball IQ is moronic at times (for example, Geronimo and Race both taking 3s in key situations early in the shot clock), FTs continue to be an issue, and on and on and on. There's still time to turn things around this season, and I don't think anyone wants to fire CMW or anything crazy like that, but there are legitimate reasons to be concerned, too. It's a long season, but it's going to get really long if some of these things don't get fixed.

Yep, completely understand. It’s just difficult to watch how soft these guys are down the stretch, how they can’t knock down key FTs or finish in the lane, how they can’t get a stop when needed. I feel like we haven’t seen that culture since Sampson, which is just ridiculous. Instead of a coach, maybe this team just needs a therapist.

So tired of losing games like this. So, so tired of it.

There was an interesting comparison to Cassius Winston on another thread (or maybe this one?), so I guess his size isn't that much of an issue if he can figure out how to play defense.

Well said, and pretty much agreed on all points. With respect to KL, I don't think I wanted him to play in front of Rob, but I wanted to see him get a few minutes, and I'm definitely understanding now why he hasn't. Both he and Jordan clearly have skills, but they're just very, very raw, and in KL's case, he really needs to put on some weight or something to be able to compete in a P5 conference. It's a roller coaster of emotions watching those two on the court. Really good to see Rob getting some confidence and taking it strong to the bucket, but agreed that he needs to do that in the bigger games. We'll see if this continues on in conference play, because we need it.

*Shrug*. It's really not that important, it's just a pet peeve of mine. Happy holidays back at ya, mate!

I didn't say anything about racism. WTH? And, yes, I'm familiar with how the term "haters" is used, I just think it's generally used by thin skinned people that can't take any sort of criticism, whether it's valid or not.

One. How many people are on this site? Thousands? Let's add in the handful of other people who have made extreme comments about XJ. You're still talking about less than 0.1% of fans. There's always going to be idiots on any fan site, but the overwhelming majority of IU fans don't hate XJ. I also get that this is nitpicky semantics, and apologies for taking it in that direction, but the word "haters" is generally used by people who either can't take constructive criticism, or want to exaggerate a situation for clicks. Edit: Feel free to ignore this and continue discussing the actual content, and again, apologies for the tangent. I just hate the word hate, especially when it's used in this manner.

The using of the word hate is ridiculous, and the usual click bait crap that passes as journalism these days. Most IU fans are good with XJ overall, and the ones that "hate" him just want him to play smarter or a little more under control. Could you say anyone on this board, or IU fans in general, truly hates XJ? Give me a break.

I feel like he's very close to breaking out a bit with his shooting, which could really open things up for him. Those mid range J's looked like they were both going down, but they just rimmed out, and he was able to knock down a 3, too.

Completely agree. Once ND shut down the lob pass on drives, our guards seemed kind of lost on how to get the ball to the bigs. Rob did a nice job of pulling up for a couple of mid range jumpers, he just really needs to knock one or two down to get some confidence.

Definitely agree that he needs to make better decisions and play smarter, but the attitude he is putting out there will help everyone across the board, and it’s one of the glaring things that has been missing from this team for years. I’ll also admit that i didn’t see much of his play at Pitt, so not sure if this is just who he is or if it can be harnessed. In addition, he’s not the only one that needs to clean up some things on the offensive end. Kopp and others (including XJ) took some really bad 3s early in the shot clock, we had the usual handful of sloppy TOs, and we allowed ND to dictate tempo in general. But, yeah, agreed that if we can get more consistent play from XJ, this could be a very dangerous team.

For those banging on XJ, you know that attitude that this team hasn’t had in the last few years, that kind of edgy, bulldog sort of thing? Yeah, XJ has that, and so does Parker. It’s refreshing to see, and I’m ok with Parker getting a tech while sending a bit of a message. Elsewhere, i think we just need to improve our offensive IQ a bit. There were some really dumb shots and decisions made - multiple deep 3s taken early in the shot clock, the sloppy TOs, etc. The plus is that these can be cleaned up/fixed this season, so let’s see what this coaching staff can do. If anything, I’m excited to see how this team develops during the rest of the season. Kind of an ugly W, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good W.

Good. I get that you need to schedule some easy games to get guys confidence and pump up the win numbers for the NCAAT selection, but we're not going to play a single ranked team in non-con this year. And I get that we're tied into challenges and don't control some of that, but still ...

I've been an advocate for KL getting minutes, but I thought Rob was fine yesterday - showed some aggressiveness with drives on the offensive end, had a nice assist to TJD, and played his usual solid defense. But, man, he's getting wide open 3s and just can't knock them down. It's really weird, and I'm hoping that he'll hit one soon and maybe get some confidence, because I'm not sure there's a need to guard someone shooting 17% from 3 if he doesn't start hitting them. As for KL, he was ok. Didn't really do anything special or too terrible, but was good to see him on the court for a bit. I can't speak for others, but I just want to see what he can do, especially when Rob is struggling or the second team offense isn't crisp. I'm sure CMW is already seeing what KL can do in practice, hence the lack of minutes. *Shrug*.

From my post that you quoted: “This has to be something more than just A/T ratio and his lack of D, especially when that negative A/T ratio is from such a small sample.”

Literally no one has said this. But, in a situation where we're playing poor offensively, and we have a guy on the bench who can create some offense, why isn't he not just not getting in the game at all, but not even considered? Yes, which is why I specifically said in the second half. There's a difference between getting "more" minutes, which insinuates that he's getting some, and not getting any at all, and not even being considered for them. This has to be something more than just A/T ratio and his lack of D, especially when that negative A/T ratio is from such a small sample. He's going to get better, too. He's got good court vision and some other positive attributes, as you noted, he's a decent shooter. Fair enough. I think a part of wanting to see KL play is how hard it is to watch Rob on offense, and it's hard to watch because it looks like it is mostly mental. I also forgot that these guys could play an extra year, though, so getting KL minutes may not be as important if both XJ and Rob stay another year.

That's pretty minimal when it comes to KL vs Rob: 10/11 vs 13/10 (not sure if that includes last night), and KL has better offensive numbers pretty much across the board outside of that. Rob's clearly a better defender, but our offense was pretty boggy for the whole second half, and KL brings a little more creativity and energy on that end IMO. Rob seems terrified to shoot or even drive when he's out there, and teams tend to follow their PG's lead. No one's saying KL was the answer, or that CMW is wrong for sitting him, because we don't know the whole story. It's just pretty glaring that in a game when we seemed to need someone, anyone, to create a shot or score, that he wasn't even considered as an option.

TBF, they had the same coach for all of those years. Let's see if CMW can figure out a way to get these guys to play 40 minutes, instead of 20, and to close out games. Maybe they need an "I'm sick and tired of losing to f****** Wisconsin!" rant [insert angry RMK icon]. Let's put it this way - have we had a team in the last 20 years that has gone up there and ran Wisky off the court for a half? Usually, it's the other way around, so that could be seen as progress.