MrsStoller

14 minutes ago, iuthruandthru said:

Also I want to say @MrsStolleri have appreciated your posts lately.  Love when ladies talk sports and know what they’re talking about.

That comment gets a trophy, for sure 🤣  Thank you!

32 minutes ago, MoyeCowbell said:

A lot of people knock Sparks for his limitations as a basketball player at the P5 level, but he always appeared to give effort and I didn't notice any negative attitude.

I completely applaud him for putting himself out there and attempting the jump up from BSU. Should he return there, or somewhere similar, I hope he does so with his head held high. He can thrive in the right environment and I'll be rooting for him. 

Well said. Same!

5 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

Gang....this is only coming from me. If this thread is for portal....can we keep it on portal. Not some backhanded, backdoor approach to slam our staff....there's a thread for that, right?

Edited my comment to better represent thread title. Thank you  (Wasn’t my intent to slam staff, but merely state my opinion for reason behind portal decision, but I agree there’s another thread for that.)

27 minutes ago, 13th&Jackson said:

In a second. 

“He walked in and we had a good conversation and he had a strong desire to play basketball at the highest level, and how am I going to sit there and talk him out of it,” Lewis told Kris Norton of WITZ radio in Jasper.  “I had that opportunity, I had the same dream that he had, I was very fortunate to be able to live that dream, and now he’s got that opportunity.

“I said, ‘if you want to play the highest level, you have an interest in Indiana, and if they have an interest in you, it doesn’t get any bigger than that dude.  You’ve gotta go do this.  Don’t overthink it.'”

I feel bad for Sparks as well, and would love to see him back at Ball State. We went to a game a couple years ago and watched him play. I wish it would have worked for him at IU. He’s a good kid. And I like Mike Lewis.

Edited my comment to better reflect thread title. Also I don’t know the reason he’s leaving.

2 hours ago, Zlinedavid said:

Had no idea IU hockey even existed.  Those are some sweet looking jerseys. 

Right? Who knew IU had club hockey? I found out a few years ago and they're fun to follow and support.  

And they are cool jerseys! They do have hockey jerseys for sale! You can buy merchandise directly from the team - helps w/ their expenses as they're a club sport and the members are responsible for all of the expenses.  They do have some sponsors. Here's a link to their website - go to the "Store" tab to see all that they have available.

Indiana University Ice Hockey (hockeyiu.com)

31 minutes ago, Feathery said:

I don’t think the expectations are the issue. I think the administration has targeted the wrong coaches to fulfill those expectations. Be it not wanting to pay what it takes to get an elite coach or internal politics keeping AD’s from hiring who they want (Sampson over Beilein), ect. The issue has been and continues to be the administration and donors flexing for the wrong guys. 

 

The SEC churns and burns through coaches in football, and nobody blinks an eye about unrealistic expectations……it’s the SEC dag gummit. If expectations are not met, then the coach wasn’t up to that standard. It’s that simple. They have mouth pieces on ESPN that promote and defend their moves. IU doesn’t utilize that type of strategy well.  So the fans and expectations get dumped on.
l

Add to that to say we’ve seen the inability to pivot to a different coach when the hired coach turns out to not be the right fit. If you can be ok w/ your ego not being hurt admitting your choice didn’t turn out to work, whether you’re an institution (group of people) or one person, then it’s easier to pivot imo.

If you can pivot when needed, hire and fire away until you get your Nick Saban.

On 3/9/2024 at 1:42 PM, Sea Turtle said:

It shouldn't be this hard at Indiana.

This was such a good post. Bumping it up.

Just finished listening to Brian Evans on JMV. Bravo, Brian! That needs to be sent to the Board of Trustees and played at their next meeting. Aside from the players’ speeches on senior day-I have my own slightly different thoughts, regarding literally everything else, I could not agree more. Thank you, Brian, for giving us “true fans” a voice and speaking it loudly! This bball program & university are being made a mockery by CMW & the boosters ponying up the $$ to buy us a team for next year. This is not the way it should be done, this is not the way to build a strong program, and I am still stunned and clueless as to how grown adult men and women are going along with this. 
 

As Brian articulated his thoughts, the low points of the season as the season went along, I could feel myself getting more livid. The true fans comment, the hubris (“I’m the coach..”), the leaving the game up in Minneapolis, those last 3 low points are squarely on one person: Mike Woodson.

Done.
 

24 minutes ago, jojo123 said:

Mi St getting in was horse shite. They beat one good team. The Izzo effect for sure. 

I would have liked to see ISU in before MSU. Hope Indiana State wins the NIT!

Watching the Selection show and just insert upside-down smiley face emoji here.

27 minutes ago, OGIUAndy said:

So we probably need to come to grips with this. He's either turning it around or getting canned next year. 

This is a long process for me and I’ll need this thread to be kept open for optimal processing 😂

12 minutes ago, IUJoe said:

No G League team draws many fans.  It’s not a great product.  That being said, it was very well supported by some pretty influential people up here.  The local community put a lot more effort into it than the Pacers did.  And you don’t build goodwill by taking a community asset away from the second biggest city in the state just because you want to cry about the government not building you a downtown arena that you wouldn’t have to share with the hockey team.

Good points. Did Noblesville assist in building the new venue the Mad Ants are playing in? I keep up somewhat with Hamilton County news but don’t remember about this. 
 

edit to add: found this good article

from Indiana Business Insider - https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/noblesville-to-build-36m-arena-to-woo-pacers-mad-ants-from-fort-wayne

29 minutes ago, IUJoe said:

They also diminished some of their goodwill in the NE part of the state when they pulled the Mad Ants out of Fort Wayne.  Given that this area already had its fair share of fans that go to Pacer games and root for the opposing team (Celtics, Lakers, etc.) as well as the growing numbers of Purdue, Michigan, and Michigan State basketball fans up here, the Simons might want to do a better job reading the room in this part of the state if they expect any return on their investment to realized from here.

I’m from Indy but moved to the NE Indiana/Fort Wayne area several years ago. I saw nothing but a 75-80% empty arena when the Mad Ants would play, and that’s being generous. No offense, but I didn’t get the sense they were valued very much up here. Now if we talk hockey, if the Komets ever left, that would be a major kick in the shin to FW.

1 hour ago, Officer Obie said:

 IU is becoming a portal program and I don't like it. Woodson didn't create the mess IU is in, but he's not the answer.

Agree on the portal. But disagree on Woodson not creating it. He didn’t set himself up for success on the recruiting trail, thus IUBB finds itself in the portal trail to the extreme, imo.

20 minutes ago, Officer Obie said:

I remember those dark days. Drafting Cheryl Miller's brother instead of Steve Alford was a Godsend. I loved those Pacer teams.

I will never forget the night they swept the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs and shrugged off the yoke of never winning a playoff series. People running out from MSA, in pure joy, screaming and yelling on the streets. It was great!

2 minutes ago, NWOHoosier said:

I’m in the camp that Woodson should be gone, not because of this years record, but because of the terrible trajectory of the program. 
 

The question I have for those of you who are in contact with lots of IU fans on a daily basis (I am not): How does the non-message board crowd generally feel about the situation?  My feeling is a change is a no brainer but am I just in a message board echo chamber?
 

 

I’m one of 2 board watchers/posters in my extended family group of IU grads and non-IU grads/but IU fans, and we count about 20 people ish. I know of only 1 person who thinks CMW deserves another year. 

53 minutes ago, IUCrazy2 said:

Basically the Pacers in the NBA.  Just staying in that 6th to 11th place in conference so you are always competing to be in the playoffs but rarely being good enough to really compete for a title and rarely bad enough to go out and get a few years of high draft picks to build to one.  It is a good place to play for if you are a journeyman looking to cash some checks though.

The fact the Simons are involved in both the Pacers and in keeping Woodson should terrify everyone.

To be fair, the Simons have been involved with the Indiana Pacers since the early 80’s. I’m 56, and remember the day the Pacers had to have a fundraiser on TV in Indy to keep the team alive. Bobby & Nancy Leonard were asking people to donate $ to keep the team here post ABA days. Without Herb & Mel Simon’s purchase of the team, and commitment to keeping the team in Indy, the Pacers would be a distant memory. The drafting of Reggie Miller turned out to be the best decision post-purchase, and they nearly won the damn thing. I think they can do it again someday. It’s a different era.

All that having been said, it’s just a reminder that NBA experience doesn’t equate to college experience. The Simons have earned a lot of goodwill thru the Pacers and other projects, and it’s my sincere hope that whomever of the Simons is involved in keeping CMW in place no matter the results reconsiders that decision (if, in fact, they are part of this whole thing). Because currently that goodwill is being diminished by the refusal to look objectively at ROI on this head coaching position (again, assuming their involvement).

I don't even know where to start w/ that quote I just posted. 

Overall, I feel bad for the players.  I like these guys; they deserved better leadership than what IU gave them.  The wins don't change that; sure was nice to see them smile, though.  I was glad for that for them.

16 minutes ago, Coach Robby said:

He just got tossed. He’s done. Will retire tomorrow 

Of all the times and games and refereeing, I can't believe THIS is the game he gets tossed in.  Like seriously.

(Just learned it's the first time in 55 years that IU Hockey has won the national championship! Just so excited for them!)

I can't believe this is the game he gets T'd up and out.