13th&Jackson

1 hour ago, FKIM01 said:

I wouldn't go that far either.  This fan base isn't objective enough to make that call and Woodson's record doesn't indicate a bad coach.  The players don't give that feedback either.  Trayce Jackson Davis and Kel'el Ware would likely have a very different take.

Woodson’s strength is individual development of post players. His weakness is roster construction and a style of play that is attractive to backcourt players 

Illinois’ transition defense has been remarkable 

NC STs magical March continues. Went into the ACC tournament losing 4 straight and 7 of 9. Keats was probably going to be fired. They’ve now won eight straight elimination games and Keats was given a two year extension 

1 minute ago, IUFLA said:

Disagree... both time hitting just one of two made it a 2 possession game... Especially citing the fact they get 2 FTs and not one and one... 

Right but the way IU was hitting threes it gave them a chance. SC goes up 4, a three makes it one. Foul again they make one or two and a three means a win or OT. No foul and Cardozo scores with 7 seconds left to go up 5 and it’s over. No perfect strategy, but Moren played it right 

5 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

You'll never convince me that giving them 2 chances to make it a 2 possession game when you don't have to is a good idea.

And if you get the stop, you can call timeout and get the ball at half court at your end, right? 

It was the right strategy. SC went 1-2 twice, keeping IU in it. IU just didn’t hit shots at the end. 

Great effort by the Hoosiers 

3 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

 

But you're only down 3... Play D and get a steal...

Just putting even a marginal FT shooter at the line in that situation makes no sense to me

Nope. Only 5 second difference on clocks. If they run it down and score it’s game over. Have to extend the game

So moving screens only get called one way?

3 hours ago, OGIUAndy said:

 

For sure. But he's a really good coach to get a team with that level of talent a 2 seed. 

He is a really good coach. He’s like pre-NBA Kelvin Sampson. Excellent defense but very challenged on offense

I think it’s really an advantage for Gonzaga to have already played Purdue. They shot very poorly in that game. I don’t expect that to happen again 

8 minutes ago, Drroogh said:

If there’s anyone on staff I’m disappointed in, it’s Jordan! Not sure what the story is but one of IU’s better shooters should be able to help!

Hulls is Recruiting Coordinator. Calbert is Director of Player Development in a "non-coaching role". I don't know if Hulls works with the players or not. Don't think it's really in his job description. 

5 minutes ago, Purdue7 said:

Braden?

Heard earlier it was Gonzaga…they were in contact when he committed 

Is that the reason the family didn’t want the school mentioned?

 

Ryan Nembhard will likely be back next year. He's at best a late second round pick. Can't see Gonzaga offering Braden Smith $1M when they'll have Nembhard. 

18 minutes ago, kyhoosier29 said:

You’re using an extreme case of a guy with the yips who needs direction from a coach who knows how to shoot. Normal guys, absolutely reps fix confidence issues at the line. 

Just saying, no one significantly improved their shooting under Miller or Woodson. When Crean was coach and Tim "the shot doctor" Buckley was assistant, numerous guys improved their shooting. It isn't just repetition. Repeating bad form won't help anything. 

Last season, Zeisloft had the second highest offensive rating of any player in the country, according to KenPom.com. He shot 45 percent on 3-pointers, including 51.4 percent in Big Ten play.

He’s not the only guy who has experienced major improvements in shooting in the Indiana program under Crean and associate head coach Tim Buckley, who several players call the team’s “shot doctor.”

Watford went from a 31.4 percent 3-point shooter as a freshman to 48.4 percent by his senior season. 

The shooting jump Oladipo made in his junior season, one in which he hit 44 percent of his 3s, is a major reason his NBA stock skyrocketed. 

“When you first get here, coach Crean focuses on turning your hips and having your left foot one, two,” Ferrell told Inside the Hall. “So that’s what I would focus on after practice and just shooting by myself was the mechanics of it. And we’ve got a great, great shooting coach with coach (Tim) Buckley. He tells us to be up with the ball, elbow under the ball, so with every shot, I focus on those things. With that going into my senior year, I feel like I’m even a better shooter now than I’ve ever been.”

Fans arriving early to Assembly Hall may notice Buckley and Collin Hartman going through a shooting routine, one that helped Hartman develop into a 47.5 percent 3-point shooter last season.

Zeisloft says he does something similar with Buckley’s instruction.

“They see the details. Coach Buckley and I do mine before the shoot around in the afternoon,” Zeisloft says. “So we’re both basically doing the same thing. Coach Buck sees my elbow when it’s popping out a little bit, he sees my chest when it’s fading back a little bit, he sees my chin up and tells me to keep my chin down. It’s the little things.”

https://www.insidethehall.com/2015/10/08/getting-better-all-the-time-tom-creans-culture-of-player-development/

2 minutes ago, kyhoosier29 said:

Bigger stage, more pressure, higher expectations …. 🤷🏻‍♂️. I don’t know. Don’t think any of it should be attributed to Clif. We need to recruit better and make sure those guys are dogs, work at it. Regardless of what Clif does, if these guys shoot a couple hundred FTs a day (or maybe more), they’ll get better. Obviously don’t shoot enough. 

IDK. How does Gallo go from 70% to 65% to 64% to 53%? That should never happen. Shooting 200 FTs a day won't fix that.

4 hours ago, OGIUAndy said:

When the time comes, IU better have TJ Otzelberger near the top of their list. He'd probably take this years IU team to the Final Four. 

1 hour ago, BruceDouglas said:

Better have him hire an offensive coordinator. Woof.

And this year was the much improved version.

"The Iowa State basketball coaching staff knew things needed to get better offensively. They had no illusions about the reality that their success in T.J. Otzelberger’s first two seasons came in spite of the offense."

"The Cyclones went to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet 16, because the defense was elite. If it had been merely very good, Iowa State probably spends the month of March the last two seasons in the NIT because of an offense that couldn’t even catch a whiff of the top-100 in efficiency."

"So to say Iowa State shooting 23 percent from the floor, 9 percent from 3-point range and scoring 41 points in a first-round upset to Pitt last year was a catalyst for change isn’t exactly accurate."

“Our first two years, we had a lot more sets and slowed it down,” Schmidt (assistant) said. “This year, we’ve really tried to focus on playing together, playing connected, moving on penetration, creating action and just staying connected.” 

4 minutes ago, kyhoosier29 said:

But are we really trying to blame Clif for not being able to shoot FTs? What high volume, dead eye shooters have we successfully recruited in the last 5 years? 

That's why I said I wasn't attributing it to Clif. However, something is amiss when players get worse over their tenure at IU. I used FTs because that doesn't account for competition, style of play, etc.

How does Parker Stewart shoot 77% at TN Martin, 64% at IU and then 75% again at TN Martin?

20 minutes ago, HoosierDom said:

I don't mean to defend his roster decisions too much, but he did bring in Bates, Mgbako and Cupps - all of whom were billed as shooters coming in. Banks and Ware probably fit the bill, also.

4 minutes ago, ledies22 said:

was cupps?

Not at all. From his recruiting scouting report:

"Cupps is also developing as a shooter, which will be welcome news to any Indiana fan hoping for more perimeter scoring. As a true point guard, he’s smart about his 3-point attempts, only taking them when he’s wide open or able to create some space for himself off a dribble. Contested jumpers are not a huge part of his game."

Those who saw him in HS were hoping he could translate into the Aaron Craft mold in college. But Craft was only a 30% 3 pt shooter at OSU.

59 minutes ago, kyhoosier29 said:

What shooters have we gotten while Clif has been here that “he” has ruined? 

Not attributing to Clif, but here are a couple examples based on FT% of what happens at IU:

Parker Stewart:

Year 1 Pitt:   80%

Year 2 TN Martin: 77%

Year 3 IU: 64%

Year 4 TN Martin: 75%

Trey Galloway:

Year 1: 74%

Year 2: 65%

Year 3: 64%

Year 4: 53%

Miller Kopp - had his lowest shooting % at 82% of his career, except for his freshman year at NW. Went from 90% his soph year at NW and 85% his jr year to 86% year 1 at IU and 82% in year 2. More notable, his last year at NW he attempted 66 FTs in 24 games. His last year at IU, he attempted 23 in 35 games.

XJ: Was 78-79% his last year at PItt and first two years at IU. Was 69% this season (could be injury-related).

The only recent player I've found, so far, who improved during his time at IU was Race Thompson, but he was still below 70% his last season.

5 minutes ago, OGIUAndy said:

I agree. You can knock him for having a bad roster. That is a legit beef. But the style of play is based on the guys on the floor.  His best player last year was TJD. His best players this year were Ware and Reneau. Not too many teams could stop either 1 on 1.  It would make no sense for this year's IU team to jack up 30 3's a game. If he has no shooters again this year or has shooters but offense still sucks...

But the main reason was because of the roster more than style of play. For them to play "modern" basketball this year, Ware and Reneau would both only play 5.  MM at 4, TG at 3, AL or CJ at 2 and Cupps at one. The problem is 1, 2 & 3 - can't or don't shoot or score consistently. Had to go to the double post again to get the best players on the floor. Watch the NBA (modern basketball). It's inside out. Teams try to score underneath, if they can't, they kick it out (quickly). The key is who you are kicking it out to has to be able to drain the open three. They definitely need to shoot more threes but in reality they just need to make more. 

I get it, but he inherited a team that struggled with shooting. In three offseasons, he's brought in one transfer who had any reputation as a shooter (Kopp) and none were guards (XJ only guard transfer). We'll see if that changes in year 4.

59 minutes ago, Drroogh said:

What stood out for me was the BPG and RPG numbers. Averaging: 13.8 PPG 8.9 RPG 4.2 BPG 52% FG 35% 3PT
Rebounding especially is more about effort to find position than athleticism. Correct me if I’m wrong but Troy Williams, Justin Smith and Jordan Geronimo could only wish to have had those rebounding, blocks numbers.

It's really difficult to look at stats without knowing level of competition. Just checked and Jake Forrester averaged 12 and 9 his senior year in HS. Until these guys see the court against B1G competition, you don't really know. From Forrester's announcement:

And Forrester, who Berger said is 6-9 and pushing 6-10, is a versatile, rebound-minded forward with a nose for the glass at both ends and the ability to step behind the arc when the situation calls for it.

“He’s got a combination of great feet and great hands that is really rare for a kid who is almost 6-10,” Berger said. “He plays really hard, he runs the floor extremely well, he rebounds really well, he catches lobs really well and he makes 3s really well.”

An analytics dream based on his video. Only attempts dunks and three pointers.

1 hour ago, dwtaylor1055 said:

is this guy the 2nd domino to fall even though he would be near the bottom of our roster?

AZ on the ropes. Can’t throw it in the ocean

3 minutes ago, dgambill said:

Yep…no doubt the playing time and money we could offer played a huge roll in us jumping in on this one. To me this is less about Coach Woodson and it’s purely being IU and the current empty roster that landed this kid. 

I think that’s probably true. He was a strong lean to G League Ignite until they folded, but IU was still able to step in ahead of MSU

1 minute ago, Drroogh said:

Having a tough time watching these games don’t know the Clemson coach but can’t stand any of the other 3! So I’m pulling for Clemson but just can’t bring myself to watch Arizona!

Brad Brownell (Clemson) is from Evansville. Coached at Wright St from 2006-10