FW_Hoosier

If this was the #1 or #2 choice, then Dolson isn’t very smart. “Good coaches can coach” just really isn’t true when it comes to NBA guys going to college. I don’t expect him to light the world on fire next year even if TJD does come back, but he can surely do better than Archie. And that’s basically where IU is at. It’s not about getting the program back to blue blood status, it’s about getting the program back to not being a joke.

No way. I’m not super stoked on Woodson either, but bringing in an NBA guy with Matta playing some kind of prominent role in the program is infinitely better than running it back with Archie for one more horrible year and firing him in 2022. It’s apparent now that Indiana isn’t interested in or able to bring in the type of coach we’ve all been hoping for since Crean was fired (Donovan, Stevens, Beard, Oats, Musselman, etc.), so this is at least a new start. My expectations aren’t very high, but I’m at least intrigued to see how it will go. And it’s finally put up or shut up time for the “hire an IU guy” crowd.

Well, we’ll get a preview very shortly on how recruits will view the new hire. Is Woodson/Matta enough to keep everyone in Bloomington? Durham and Geronimo are likely gone. Personally, I don’t really care whether Thompson and Stewart leave — they should be easily replaceable in the transfer portal. But they’ve gotta convince Lander and Franklin to stay... And maybe Woodson can convince TJD he can get him into the first round of the draft if he comes back for one last go round.

I agree. Woodson on his own is a “meh” hire, but bringing in Matta makes it more interesting. As with most NBA guys, it comes down to the assistants, and having Matta, regardless of the weird title, is a pretty good to place to start... Have to think that won’t be a bad tag team in recruiting. Wonder if they’ll bring in Fife or Lewis as well.

Hmmmm... this is interesting.

Smh Edit: At least it’s not Moser. Mods feel free to merge with the other Woodson threads.

This was the saddest part of the Archie era to me. I was on campus from 2010—2017. While there were too many ups and downs, it was generally pretty damn fun to be an IU basketball fan in Bloomington over that period of time — I saw three Sweet 16s, two conference championships, and another tournament appearance. The team was explosive offensively, and say what you will about how weird he was, but Crean was a showman who created a lot of energy around the program. But there wasn’t enough consistency, so we fired him with the hope that we could do better. Then Archie showed up and completely sucked the life out of the program in every facet. I cut class to go to his introductory press conference in Assembly Hall, and there was zero excitement. He treated every single interview like a trip to the dentist, turned Hoosier Hysteria into a snooze fest, wrecked his players’ confidence, and instituted a style of play that was just horrible to watch on both ends of the floor. He completely killed all the momentum Crean had created around the program, and now we have to try and pick up the pieces. Winning is the most important thing, obviously, but we also need a coach that’s equipped to sell the program. Archie was a total disaster in both respects.

Agree with @IUwins0708 that Iowa is in a better position than OSU now — I hadn’t looked at OSU’s resume since before last week. @JugRox I would say that Illinois is in a better position than Alabama and much better position than WVU right now, but conference tournaments could change that.

Gonzaga, Michigan, and Baylor look like locks for #1 seeds. Who’s the fourth #1 seed if not Illinois or OSU?

Starts at the top — Archie looks and acts the exact same way.

If we beat MSU this week, going to West Lafayette with a tournament bid on the line is going to be quite the emotional affair... And the game’s at 2 p.m. on a Saturday? Mods have to be losing sleep thinking about that, lol.

Acceptance is the first step.

Spartans that good huh? Always like to hear that as a Homestead grad. We were never any good when I was there in the late 2000s, but Johnson appears to really have them rolling since Biggie got there. I think he’s started recruiting. Before Biggie, the only other Homestead grad of any note in basketball was Grant Leiendecker.

Fortunately for you, I’m sure IU’s administration will make sure you get your wish. Enjoy the losing!

Tell that to 8 out of the last 12 national champions (at least).

This mentality is exactly why IU is where it is right now, and things aren’t going to change until it’s been abandoned by the university and the fanbase. I’m a firm believer in the proposition that cheating in college basketball recruiting is the exact equivalent of speeding on the highway. There are no penalties and everyone does it. College basketball is entertainment, pure and simple — as long as no one’s getting hurt, I could care less about “integrity.” I might feel differently if paying recruits wasn’t a foundational aspect of the entire sport from pretty much its inception, or if there were actual consequences for “breaking the rules.”

You said here that Illinois is only good either because Underwood didn’t develop Dosunmu and Cockburn, or because he got just got lucky they stayed because of COVID. So which is it in your mind? And you’ve been on the crusade that Underwood sucks and is going to be hurt in recruiting because he couldn’t develop Dosunmu into a pro for more than a year now, lol. Underwood’s done a better job at Illinois than Archie has at IU because he’s recruited better than Archie and won more than Archie. As desperate as IU fans are right now to act like winning actually doesn’t matter at all in college basketball, you really don’t have to look at anything beyond the fact that Illinois is on pace for two top five finishes in the conference in the past two seasons and IU hasn’t been anywhere close to that. Then you have the fact that Underwood had that success after he changed his system when he realized it wasn’t going to cut it in the Big Ten (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/court-report-illinois-is-ncaa-tournament-bound-because-brad-underwood-admitted-defeat-and-changed-his-style/amp/). It’s looking more likely that pigs will fly than Archie will consider doing something like that. And yes, I am clearly on the record that I do not care at all about “cheating” in college basketball recruiting. I’d be thrilled to have a coach who was allowed to do whatever it takes to put a winning team on the floor, so the Stephen F. Austin/Oklahoma State stuff is irrelevant to me.

Not quite sure what you’re getting at here. A big part of this “Underwood sucks” argument is that Cockburn and Dosunmu came back for a second and third year because Underwood didn’t develop them into pros despite the fact that they were highly ranked recruits. I don’t really agree with that argument, but that’s the logic being used... And if it it applies to Underwood, it should apply to Archie as well, no?

Lol... “Underwood isn’t building a good program because Illinois wouldn’t be good if they didn’t have their two best players” is a pretty hilarious take. In this hypothetical world where teams don’t have their best players, you take TJD off of IU and IU is still in a way worse position than Illinois. Will you be saying the same thing about IU next year if TJD comes back for a third year because Archie “failed to develop him?” (Remember, TJD was a higher ranked recruit than both Cockburn and Dosunmu.)

First time watching Michigan this year. This Dickinson kid is a freshman? He looks like he’s 40.

I can guarantee that’s not what he was saying... and I’d be disappointed if he did. Obviously looking at it objectively, Garza clearly had a better season than TJD all around, but TJD was probably better defensively. And when they went head to head, Garza got his, but TJD dropped 17-10 and walked away with the dub. No way would TJD ever say Garza is better than him, nor should he. Garza is not that much more superior to him.

Regardless of the reality, no elite college basketball player would ever respond to a statement questioning his ability to go pro by saying “I’m not good enough.” Especially one with pro aspirations like TJD. You really think TJD doesn’t believe he’s good enough to go pro?

If he wants wants to go pro after next season no matter what, more power to him. But unless his game takes a huge jump next year, I’d be pretty surprised if he’s a first round pick in 2021. I think Baumgart is mostly right... The athleticism and jump shot the NBA is looking for just aren’t really there.

Tbh, I bet if you polled the student body, less than 10% would be able to associate the name Geronimo with Native Americans.

Interesting that the composite has the top 5 recruits in the state listed as Jaden Ivey (75), D’Andre Davis (95), Nijel Pack (98), Leal (129), and Galloway (130)... I’m assuming Pack recently made a huge jump? These rankings obviously aren’t the be all end all, and are probably even less accurate than usual given the circumstances. Just weird to see Mr. Basketball not even ranked as a top 3 recruit in the state. Wonder how many times that has happened?