Maedhros

Seems relevant to this conversation:

Funny how this thread overlaps with several others. Now you've got me thinking about the specialty beers being made for this event. Lots of brewers across the path of totality are cashing in, and Sun King here in Indy is making one. Maybe they'll have it at the track.

Ha, that's the IMS way. Last time I went to the 500, we sat in the car for over two hours without having moved even a mile.

I'm fortunate enough to experience it from home, as well. Lots of events going on all around Indy, but the horrific traffic estimates make me think it won't be worth it. I have my glasses ready, and I'll probably stay put.

One of the complaints of the NET, especially this season, is that it's too reliant on efficiency metrics. Rankings and ratings found at KenPom and Torvik are predictive, giving you expected outcomes for the future. Your resume should be based on what you've accomplished. To that end, other metrics like Wins Above Bubble or Strength of Record. Indiana actually comes out better here, not a Tournament team, but not a disaster like the early Crean teams. By WAB we're 64, and by SOR we're 54. Our performances against lowly teams in the non-con, FGCU and Army especially, are dragging down our metrics but perhaps aren't the best indicator of this team today. Filter Torvik for just conference play and we jump from 85 to 62. Agreed, not great, but that's in line with where we ranked for conference play the last two years of Archie.

A nice ho hum road win. Was right on the cusp of another Q1 win, but the result knocked them six spots back in the NET, and us six spots up. Everyone expected we'd be playing our best ball in March, we just started too low and took too long getting there. But on Torvik, we've been the 26th ranked team in the country over this three game streak. 4th in the Big Ten. Is it sustainable? Will it last? This is college so the safe answer is always no, but I'm going to enjoy each win I get.

Ware's going pro, but retain Malik, Mgbako and Galloway. Recruit the portal to fill around them, and McNeeley, with skills that balance the roster. Go all in on the '25 class over the summer and give us some promise for the future. Realize after a rough season that your coaching will need to adapt to play a winning style of basketball. There's a path there. I make no assurances it will happen, or even that it's likely, but this what I hope to see. A year from now we'll have our answer, one way or another. I don't see the worth in getting upset about bad things that haven't happened yet. I love Indiana Basketball, but it's just a game. When my team loses it just means I didn't get to enjoy a win, doesn't affect my life any more than that. So I'm going to hope Woodson makes the most of this opportunity right up until I'm proven wrong.

This is where I'm at. Woodson wasn't going to be fired for one bad season. There are real concerns and red flags, but there's also a real chance we get back on track next season and the arrow is firmly pointed up in twelve months. I'm going to root for that outcome, at least. Go Hoosiers.

It is at once both frustrating that we're not included, and yet also odd that no one else is either.

It's amazing that just one book has been adapted over 5+ hours of film, and I still feel a lot of helpful scenes were left on the editing floor. Like Paul's turn. It all stays largely true to the book, with Chani's character changing a bit, especially at the end. I think she's the audience surrogate, to tell us bluntly what to think of Paul when there somehow wasn't time for a more nuanced approach. I truly hope we get an extended edition, like with Lord of the Rings. Also like that series, I think it would be neat to attend screenings where you watch both parts consecutively. Although filmed separately, it's clear this project was always meant to be viewed together. It's a pantheon achievement in sci fi filmmaking, for sure.

Now, Part Two to the above, this post indirectly gets to why I don't think Woodson turns it around, and that year four will likely be his last. My big concern is it's just too late. Woodson came from the NBA, and from the moment he arrived on campus his priority was recruiting the best of the best, guys who looked like players he saw in the NBA. Now, outside of your Dukes and Kentuckys, his hit rate on those players has been impressive! The problem is there haven't been nearly enough three- and four-year guys brought in to build around them. Kaleb Banks isn't playing. Walsh had to convince Woodson to bring in Cupps. That's it. Woodson has essentially tried to shortcut the process, just as Penny Hardaway did at Memphis and Juwan Howard at Michigan. That can lead to good results when you have the right talent on had. When those guys leave early, or you miss on a cycle, you have no baseline established to maintain continuity. The premise of the quoted post is straightforward. If those guys go, of course Woodson has to go too. There'd be nothing left. You can fill in on the fly with the portal, but any new coach can do that too. If you're going to be starting from scratch in year 4, might as well be with a new coach, too. Every complaint I have about Woodson can be tied to his lifetime of experience at the NBA level, and his need to adapt to what's required at the college level. Some of those lessons can still be learned. But even if everything else gets fixed, I susect his failure early on to engage in roster building with a view to the long term means he won't have the runway to get this program to consistently perform at a level fans demand.

Indirectly, this actually gets at why I've been okay with Woodson potentially getting a year 4. He's had two seasons of college basketball experience, and in both years it was easy to craft the narrative things were moving in the right direction. We got back to the tournament for the first time in five years. We followed that up by finishing second in the Big Ten and getting a four seed in the Tournament. In the last 30 years, back to when Knight was coaching Cheaney, only the '13 team had been seeded higher. Recruiting seemed promising, we were in on and landing five star talents. It would have been easy for Woodson to believe he was a successful college coach and had things rolling in the right direction. This season all the cracks in the foundation were laid bare. Our struggles have exposed all the ways in which we don't play efficient basketball, and make the game harder for ourselves based on what we do and don't prioritize. There are certain skills missing from this year's roster, and our talent elsewhere wasn't enough to compensate. All these issues can potentially be addressed in one offseaon. The portal allows Woodson to balance out the roster in a way that wasn't done last spring. Another year of experience at this level could make Woodson comfortable with players who won't play in the NBA, but can contribute to winning at the college level. If you want to play inside-out, go get playmakers and shooters to complement your frontcourt. Lots of lessons to be learned from this season, for a coach who's willing to self-reflect. Is Woodson that guy? I think there's still a chance. There's an urgency and a need to do so now that wasn't present after his first two seasons. I'm okay with a year 4 because I want to see how Woodson responds to failure. If he truly can't recognize the ways in which he failed, then we have our answer. Maybe Dolson is already having those conversations, and knows a change of direction is needed. That's fine too. But as a fan on the outside, my response to a season like this isn't that it's a fireable offense; the fireable offense is allowing it to ever happen again.

Damn, that means both Billy Donovan and then Brad Stevens already washed out at Indiana. We really might be cursed.

I had fun! Really hope we get to see a year two from Mgbako at Indiana. Should be exciting stuff.

New pickup for '25

So you agree with me then 😄

If our AD is considering the input of former players in his decision making, that's truly distressing stuff. Regardless what you think of Woodson.

Is there a chance Underwood is perhaps confusing "Defensive" with "Defendant"?

I'm not thinking about Woodson with that post, but rather Hunter, Rosemand and Walsh. Presumably they still have careers in college basketball to think about, maybe even still with Indiana. Hunter and Walsh were here before Woodson, after all. Even if Woodson is stepping aside, I'd think at least one of them would want to continue the relationships with Sisley, Mullins, et al. Maybe you can stay on staff with the next guy by being the bridge between these targets and the next administration. Or maybe you can get hired at Michigan or Ohio State based on the relationships you've built. It's puzzling not to see any of the staff out seeing anyone at all, unless I missed it.

Even if Woodson knows he's done, I would still expect to see assistants out there, continuing to grow and build relationships on the trail. That's how you get hired for your next job.

I've truly enjoyed watching Kel'el Ware play this year. It's been a long time, if ever, that we've seen his combination of size and agility in and Indiana uniform. He's only scratching the surface, too. I'm adding some negativity to this thread, as we only have a few games left to appreciate him, but it's worth remarking what a special talent we have on hand. He's going to be drafted, likely in the first round pick, and should absolutely go pro. Just a shame we won't get to see what he could have become as an upperclassmen, like TJD. Enjoy nights like last night while he's here.

Some of you in this thread desperately need to touch grass. It's just basketball, a child's game, played for your entertainment. If you aren't entertained, so be it, but that's not reason to act with the emotional intelligence of a child. The failures of Indiana Basketball are not malevolent acts directed at you personally, nor should they be met with such vitriol and bile. If you can't handle seasons like this without coming apart at the seams, you're clearly not built for this. Find other interests you can emotionally handle, or grow the **** up.

Wait... there are snacks?

Hot damn. Don't have Peacock so had to watch via Twitter, but even that was exciting. I missed a great one, seemingly, and love the result. This team's still got everything ahead of it. What a performance.