Inequality

Is Woodson a great recruiter or not? It has been thrown around that he has proven his critics wrong by his recruiting prowess yet now the new supporting stance is lack of talent and options? It cant be both.

Not that I completely disagree with the options narrative. Not long ago, I said specifically that freshman Jalen was easily leaps and bounds ahead of any IU guard on the roster and the X defenders wasn't having it.

At the same time, I don't buy the narrative of lack of talent or options as an excuse from a fella that is making 4.2 million dollars and is supposed to be some kind of basketball wizard yet he cant assemble and/or develop a competitive team with all of the available IU resources until mega donors who wont admit their beloved Mr Nice Guy of their glory days is not the coaching expert they had put their mouth and money on step up and increase the ante to purchase the talent needed that he couldn't on his own create or provide through traditional means.

IIRC correctly, color commentators (maybe even Hummel) had commented on the odd mass substitutions.

It has been a thing and works fine in the NBA with massive amounts of talent throughout the bench.

The new roster is promising but unproven as a collective unit. Kentucky has been a cesspool of super talent for at least the last 14-15 years since Calipari arrived but that only bought them one national title. Again if I remember correctly.

I do believe talent can trump coaching but there is no consistency, guaranteed chemistry or long term culture. 

Moving on…

44 minutes ago, Zlinedavid said:

Dusty had one out of the blue run to a FF. Great, so did Mike Davis and Tom Crean. 
 

Woodson at least had a track record of getting multiple NBA franchises to the playoffs, and given that those franchises were the Hawks and Knicks…getting to the playoffs was a decent accomplishment. 

Crean had Wade and at Marquette. Davis was off of RMKs build and at IU. Not close to what Dusty did on his own at FAU. Miller did it at Dayton but failed at IU but that does not automatically mean that Dusty will do the same at Michigan. Who knows?

The bags thrown at Woodson this season in an effort to aid his success right now could have made a huge difference when Miller was here. Never know? There sure is an extra emphasis this off season to try and erase the turd of last season. Winning the transfer portal doesn't exactly mean he is now all of the sudden successful. 

Back to May. He is one of our own so I wont hope for his failure. Similar for Woodson. I don't hope for his failure, but I also don't think he's a great coach for IU. Maybe just as his original hire has proven, he needs a lot of help around him to be successful. It appears he is getting tons of help now so hopefully it pans out.

Like everyone here I just want to win. If that means refinancing the entire city of Bloomington to do it, Im all for it. Kidding there. Actually I think the NIL is killing what was enjoyable amateur college sports. Notice the word college as if there was once some educational benefit to attending college as an athlete. I also know it’s always been there behind the scenes before becoming legal but now it’s just out of control.

On 4/16/2024 at 4:05 PM, Zlinedavid said:

I hate to root against anyone, but I hope May crashes and burns at Michigan just to spite every IU fan that is consumed with him.  If he didn't serve as a manager under Knight, you'd see 2/3rds fewer posts about him here. 

To be fair, same thing can be said about Woodson. If he didn't play at IU and so forth. He was on zero coaching search list this off season and has yet to win a game with his portal all star team.

Im curious to see if Dusty can lift that program and how quickly. He put FAU on the map for a brief moment but the B1G wont be so nice to him as he is likely aware.

I hope he is largely successful and that he only “crashes and burns” when playing IU.

On 4/14/2024 at 10:19 AM, iuswingman said:

Who knew his name image and likeness was worth that much

If we get him, thank the donor rather than Woodson 

6+ million dollar team on the way

As much as I would like for a B1G team to bring some clout to the conference and as good as Purdue is this season, UConn is the better team and wins this one.

I don't think there is much more that can be said on this topic that hasn't been on repeat since January.

While I would be willing to bet 100 to anyones dollar that this current staff absolutely will not be bringing us a natty, it seems the path is set and is what it is so we all might as well find our seat on the bus.

That said I have all intent of retiring myself from participating in this thread for the remainder of the post season. 

I would like to remind us all to do our best to keep the other threads on topic and direct all disgruntled discussion of the staff and thoughts on the negative trajectory of the basketball program to this thread so folks can enjoy other topics.

3 minutes ago, Drroogh said:

How much confidence are they going to have that Calipari’s path to the NBA instantly transfers to Arkansas?

I don't think the school matters to these kids nearly what we would like for it to if at all. Its instant legal NIL now which is being heavily exploited. Combine that with the coach who they think can pull the right strings and they have their destination. As long as Cal is a head coach he will be known as a stepping stone to the NBA.

Sadly, I think top ranked hs kids get caught up in instant riches and worry less about a coaches developmental ability. Not that they always haven't I guess but it seems to be more prevalent now that throwing bags is legal.

My guess is Arkansas will soon have the 2nd best recruiting class. I feel like those recruits committed to the John Calipari path to the NBA and not Kentucky Blue.

21 minutes ago, dgambill said:

I’d watch for Billy Donavon to UK. They won’t mess around.

Pearl

Money talks

Sweet 16 baby!!!

22 minutes ago, 13th&Jackson said:

Reminds me of when Steve Alford went to IA and everyone was convinced it was the end of IU basketball. It was, but not for that reason. 

Haha! Your last sentence made me lol.

6 minutes ago, 13th&Jackson said:

I wasn’t convinced yet on May, but this is a nightmare situation for Woodson and Dolson. If next year, IU would manage to lose to MI (in a total rebuild year one) Btown will become as miserable for Woodson as it was in the last years of Davis, Crean and Miller. 
If I’m Dolson, I hope I have written evidence from the BoT stating that they opposed a change. I’d want that to leak to the media and present to my next prospective employers

I have zero doubts about Dustys ability to build a competitive program. Obviously Michigan and Louisville were willing to take that gamble.

Michigan will be a problem for us and I expect Dusty to get kids like Mullins and Sisley.

Smh… and we are stuck with… bah… nvm. Not at all surprised.

May to Louisville gaining steam on social platforms

This is IU basketball! Im proud of these ladies!

Colorado takes down Florida.

For anyone that might have forgotten, IU didn't even make the dance. Nadda. Thats below “mediocre”. In each game there will be a loser and a winner. Making fun of the loser when you’re not even in the same race is silly.

24 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Are you including Northwestern in the 'more with less' comparison?  I'll argue that point.  Northwestern is restricted by academics far more than FAU is short on 'resources'.

100%.  FAU would NOT have been in the tournament this season if not for last year's run.  The committee would have found another Virginia to sneak in.

Didn't Archie have an Elite 8 run at Dayton, which resulted in everyone slobbering all over him?

Porter Moser had a magical run with Loyola.  Parlayed it into the Oklahoma job.  Not in the tournament this year.

If IU would take May over Pearl, that's just stupid.  And Pearl wouldn't turn IU down unless Auburn makes a huge run this season or next.  

Pearl be the obvious choice. I don't see it ever happening. At this point, anyone with an unknown trajectory feels better than the current forecast. 

May is doing more with less compared to the resources and level of talent available to B1G schools all while we sit on the outside looking in.

I am of the belief that since he has escaped being released this year, the only way he isn't the coach is if he retires. And, now that he has lowered the bar of expectations, any form of improvement next season will be considered a positive trajectory in comparison.

What I fear is his inability or unwillingness to bring in high school recruits is going to haunt us.

Also, he says he was brought here to win a championship and it’s clear to anyone with a pulse that absolutely will not happen under his watch.

6 hours ago, Indykev said:

YEAH HE is going no where

Most folks think if you’re lacking throw money at it. Meanwhile coaches at small town universities create a real fundamental foundation and get a leg up by actually developing players and evolving the strengths of their program.

When the money runs out or there is a lapse in talent, your weakness gets exposed and your back to dumpster fire.

Imagine IU spending loads of money buying as much talent as possible to try and win the national championship they gave away when firing a guy over phone calls and weed.

Money pouring in at IU is nothing new. But a coach like Teri Moren needs very little in comparison to sustain a competitive edge. She has a culture and program established.

Maybe they could just pay the fans some name image likeness funds to not boo Woodson out of town.