Maedhros

Chucky Hepburn joining AJ Storr in leaving Wisconsin for the portal. Badgers getting thin.

Having two excellent post players wasn't our problem last year, and won't be this year. The issue was we offered next to nothing in the backcourt to balance them out. Adding Rice and Carlyle, with Mgbako, Galloway and Tucker on the wing, has real potential to change that dynamic.

Appears to be Elijah Malone doing the dunking. Currently on campus for a visit.

I once tried to get into Axis underage, no fake ID or anything. Not to drink, I just really wanted to see Victor Wooten. Obviously the bouncer up front wasn't having it, but I got real close to talking my way in through a side door. Two folks were out there smoking, might have been with the band. The woman was all for letting us in, said her kids sneak into shows all the time, but the guy waited for her to go back in, then apologized and said he couldn't do it and shut the door on us.

It's like the conversation around McKinley Wright. He was a three star recruit, ranked in the 200s on the 247 Composite. Had he come to IU he would have been the lowest rated recruit of the entire Archie era. But he blows up at Colorado, so we get people who still to this day are convinced Wright would have changed the entire arc of Archie's tenure, and it's the IU administration that tied his hands.

The fan reaction to Connor Essegian intrigues me. As a freshman he was a 36% shooter from three, on over 5 shots per game. The label of knockdown shooter was born. But last year he was only 30%. His minutes fell way off, but his 3P attempt rate actually went up, as though he knew he was in there to do one thing. So if he commits here, will we think we're getting the starter with good shooting percentage? Or are we getting the bench player who couldn't find that rhythm? Always fascinates me who gets called a Shooter and who doesn't.

The guard we picked up shoots 81.1% from the free throw line. The center we picked up shoots over 65% from the field. Even with his strugles at the line, Ballo's True Shooting percentage (includes 2s, 3s, and FTs) of 62.5% would have been tops on our team last year.

Came across these numbers while researching a different post. I'm excited for what Mackenzie Mgbako can do as a shooter with a full season under his belt. Turns out he and Carlyle share a crazy similar profile. Across three point percentage, attempts per game, attempts per 40 minutes, and percentage of field goal attempts that are taken from three, the two players are damn near identical. I haven't seen Carlyle play, but adding another Mgbako, plus that scouting report above, plus whatever he becomes as a sophomore, has me excited for what Carlyle can do for our spacing.

That's the thing. We actually shot it pretty well in TJD's last year, over 36% as a team, 48th in the country. In conference play we were even better: 38% and 3rd in the Big Ten. The problem is we were dead last in the conference in attempts, and 352nd overall in 3PA per game. Volume is going to be as important as percentage.

Yesterday we had one big on the roster. Today we improved that position by adding the best center available. I don't understand the complaint. Ballo only plays ~25 minutes. Reneau can pile on fouls in a hurry. We're going to need both these guys, even if we fill out the rest of the roster with four Steph Currys. Indiana got better today, even if the job's not done.

Exactly. Offensive efficiency is about more than just 3P%. It's about being able to attack a defense in multiple ways. Kanaan Carlyle is a three level scorer. Myles Rice is a scorer and distributor. Keisei Tominaga, everyone's favorite shooter, right? Shot just 33% from 3 his first year at Nebraska, on 3.6 attempts per game. Ryan Conwell, the shooter everyone wants from the portal, shot just 30% as a freshman at South Florida in the AAC. Even Connor Hickman, over 40% as a junior, had a sophomore year at Bradley wherein he shot 33.6%. We have to stop looking at 3P% as the sole indicator of a player's worth.

lol, alright Eeyore, based on what? All those crystal balls to UNC? Insider buzz you've been reading? Cause I haven't seen it.

Awesome videos from inside the Fieldhouse for the draft party tonight. Wish I'd gone! Can't wait to see what Clark and her celebrity do for the city. Feels massive.

Guards still entering the portal every day. Tyrese Hunter from Texas and Jaden Schutt from Duke, just since I got off work.

Under 35% from 3 in his college career. He was only 32.7% in his time at Florida, it's a wonder Gonzaga even took a chance on him. /s

All the media folks are retweeting their primers, too. Feels like we might see movement on this real soon.

Probably not IU relevant anymore but newsworthy at least, and his own thread is locked:

Awesome trip! Too bad the beer wasn't better, but there's always fun and worth in trying new things. Every brewpub has it's own charm.

The potential significance here, though, is those games all came at the end of the year. It's not unusual for freshmen to hit a wall. Certainly that's part of what cooked Purdue against FDU. Braden Smith shot only 25% the last seven games of his freshman year. He was over 40% before that stretch, and for his entire sophomore year after. And Braden wasn't playing his freshman year having just finished chemo.

Great news! It's been too long since we've had real dudes in the back court. This sure looks like the first step toward changing that

I would guess it would mean someone else will soon be joining the '24-'25 roster.

Twas what Mgbako posted, just before he announced he was returning...

Philosophy was one of my majors at IU. Logic was a breeze. 😁

Being on an IU message board reminds you of growing up with IU fans? Where do you think you are?

Kentucky just lost their top recruit, Jayden Quaintance, following Karter Knox. Feels like a matter of time before Boogie Fland and Somto Cyril do the same. I think Arkansas's roster is literally empty, though, so might be a good chance most of them follow Calipari.