Maedhros

39 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

I'm glad we have Coach Woodson. I love his passion for the program. But after the uneveness of last year, I think we need to see results now. We have the most experience coming back, a potential All American as our star, and a great recruiting class coming in. I don't know where the bar is this year, but in my book, it's pretty high. 

I agree and I don't. It's hard for me to look at the roster - largely identical to the one that finished 9th in the conference and needed a deep BTT run just to earn a play-in bid to the Tournament - and think we're somehow now Big Ten favorites. We have a lot of great pieces, but we also know they don't fit together all that well. For whatever his other faults, Parker Stewart was also our best three point shooter, in both rate and volume. We have a veteran PG, but our experience is otherwise concentrated in the frontcourt. To dramatically improve this team needs someone unproven to step up, freshman or otherwise, and it's an open question as to who that will be. So my expectations for this team are somewhat less than those thinking Big Ten Championship. I'd be thrilled with a top three conference finish and a Sweet Sixteen berth. That would still be arguably be one of the five best seasons of the past 25 years.

I do agree last season was uneven, far more middling than the memory created by those last few games (St Marys aside). It's fair to allow a transition season, but last year's results need to be the absolute floor for the Woodson administration going forward, and would be wholly disappointing if repeated. We need to show clear improvement and progress in year two.

I think where I disagree is with the idea that we need to set the bar high. I was as vocal a critic of Archie as anyone, pretty much from the jump. But some of the rhetoric used in his defense was not without merit. Woodson in year two is still working around guys he inherited. Talented as those pieces may be, some skills are clearly lacking, or overlap. His own recruits are only just now entering the program; his second class is not yet complete, let alone stacked on the first. Woodson is also working to change a culture, which even fans watching from their living rooms could tell had stagnated over the four years of the previous administration.

The problem with the Archie era wasn't that these defenses were false, it's that we never saw any progress toward overcoming these challenges after four years of waiting. Yet some were still willing to give a fifth year, I guess to see what might happen. It feels weird, then, to see calls for results now from Woodson. In no way would a repeat of last season be acceptable. But I don't need a '11-'12 type breakout season either. We have the ceiling for it, sure. It'll be enough for me, though, if I see us improve on the issues and outcomes from last season, establish some consistency, and keep a strong recruiting pipeline flowing into the program. That will be enough to keep my optimism alive, even if we fall short of a Sweet Sixteen.

Just now, 5fouls said:

Why both LA schools? We get the tv market with just one of them.  Should have been UCLA and Washington State.  Add the Pullman, Washington tv market as well.  

Sources are saying this move was USC's idea. I think Stanford is far and away the next logical target. Gets into that bay area market, and the Cardinal has more overall NCAA championships than any other university; only USC and UCLA are even close.

UCLA and USC looking to join the Big Ten as recently as 2024. Comes from Jon Wilner on Twitter, and the media folks are saying he's as plugged in as it gets.

11 minutes ago, Lurker said:

Emoni Bates to Eastern Michigan?  I take it he's from around there.

Yes, originally from Lincoln High in Ypsilanti, until his dad founded Ypsi Prep for Emoni's senior season. 

On 4/22/2022 at 10:57 AM, DC2345 said:

Not exactly that. They helped get the kid to the United States so it's one of those types of situations that happen at times with kids coming to the States as HS kids from overseas. IE is clearly not just funneling kids to Bradley. 

I thought the name sounded familiar. Drew Adams is the son of Mark Adams, the guy behind A-Hope and the reason Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin were suspended to start their Indiana careers. Drew was also director of operations briefly at the start of the Crean era, before being hired for the same position at Alford's New Mexico. FWIW.

Very sad news. I know that's a young man who had to overcome a lot of obstacles in his life, and still managed to put some good out into the world and make an impact. Far, far too young.

Rivals is updating their top 150 for 2023 this week. The top ten was revealed today. Xavier Booker is all the way up to 2nd overall, behind only GG Jackson. KJ Evans drops out, had been ranked 5th.

10 hours ago, NCHoosier32 said:

i know almost no one will agree with this, BUT... i have always thought it was ridiculous to have a flopping rule.  seems awful hard to trust an official's judgment on whether a guy exaggerates a fall, etc. on the other hand, if a player does it well enough to fool an official, isn't that on the official and just a smart play by the player?  like i say, i know i am by myself on this one, but just how i feel about it.  

I mean, that's the problem with the charge rule in the first place: too reliant on the fallible judgment of an official. Flopping gets rewarded more often than not, and there's no real penalty for the attempt so of course it's become more and more a thing.

My preference would be to just ban the charge because officials can't be trusted. Mark Titus had been on this for years. Stop rewarding players who make no attempt at a defensive play. If that's not going to happen, then penalize flopping. Sure, it's still in the hands of an official to make the call, but at least now they have a tool to punish unsuccessful attempts. There's finally some risk to consider, not just reward. It's not a perfect solution, but I think a flopping rule will have a positive effect .

I went to the Indy 500, and bought some Race Day Lager from Daredevil Brewing Speedway specifically for the occasion. Lagers aren't usually my thing unless they're roasted like a Dunkel or have some bite like a Vienna, but this was a good one for the style. My buddy who was drinking Miller Lite ended up taking one of mine and enjoyed it.

I packed some Rip Cord as well to be safe, and man that's one of my very favorites. An easy drinking DIPA that's full of flavor.

2 hours ago, BGleas said:

Who cares where they play? Just play. Home/home? Fine. Neutral site in Indy? Fine. Destination neutral site? Fine. 

Just play them and beat them! It's a great rivalry, play them anywhere and beat them regularly. 

I agree. Kentucky could duck us because we needed to play them a lot more then they needed to play us. Recognizing that reality, I don't much care where this gets played, just put it back on our schedule. It's what the fans want and elevates our program just by happening, no matter the result.

I have a dream where I'm back living in a dorm, which for me was a double all to myself in Read, in the hub with a personal full bathroom attached. Sweet setup. Only in my dream I know I've graduated. I'm not going to class, even though I've enrolled in classes. And I'm adding debt by way tuition & room and board. Wonder what that dream means...

13 hours ago, Indykev said:

How is this a problem for you? Do you want the best players going to the boosters with the most money to throw around? Because it won't be IU. NIL was meant to help kids have some money in school not team building.

The stipend was meant to help kids have some money in school. NIL wasn't in the NCAA's plans at all.

NIL is the result of state governments telling the NCAA they can no longer prevent athletes from participating in the market. But enforcing that restriction is a large reason why the NCAA exists at all. They needed to respond to affirm their relevance. They did so by relying on the old language of the past. "Booster" isn't a term that has any legal definition outside of what the NCAA conjured up when building its model of amateurism. Why would any legislature consider such a label sufficient to prevent someone contracting with an athlete? 

These players have value, and it exists well before they step on campus. Think of the crowds following the Ball family around at AAU events, or even Gabe Cupps' massive social media following because he's tight with Lebron. Cupps has nearly 400K followers on Instagram, there's a real market benefit to his representation. That doesn't go away just because someone at the other end of the deal bought a couple bumper stickers back before Gabe was even born.

The NCAA needs to wholly reimagine what the college athletics model should be. But it's made them so much money for so long that they'd rather do everything they can to maintain the status quo. NIL has been coming since at least September 2019, when California passed the first state law. Almost three years later, the NCAA is still trying to hold on to all they know.

On 4/3/2022 at 1:07 AM, ButlerHoosier said:

Whenever you read further down in the article it seems like he may blow up and we got in on him before he blows up. 

New article from 247 today, with Travis Branham calling him "arguably the hottest name to start the spring sessions".

His AAU team TSF will be at the EYBL even in Westfield this weekend, for those who want to see him in action.

Arrinten Page in the midst of a breakout spring

On 1/4/2022 at 1:31 PM, tdhoosier said:

I remember the days of peeing in my pants if seeing Three Floyds in a liquor store. Zombie Dust must be the most copied recipe since then. There are now so many Citra Hopped APAs that taste exactly like it. (I.e. Maplewood Charlatan)

Thinking out loud about beers….I’ve always hated Daisy Cutter. I try to come back to it every 2-3 years and still it tastes too earthy and bitter for my liking. This week I grabbed a Galaxy Hopped Double Daisy Cutter and it was absolutely amazing.

On the flip side: I love Two Hearted and can’t stand Double Two Hearted. 

Funny how beer recipes can be like that. 

Daisy Cutter is one of my favorites, though I like a good west coast style hoppy bite. Haven't tried the double yet, mainly because it's described as having a grapefruit flavor and that's just personally not a profile I enjoy.

I'm with you on Double Two Hearted. The original is so well crafted, but the balance is all off in the double.

Here in town there's Daredevil brewing and their flagship Liftoff IPA. It's good, but I like the Rip Cord DIPA even better.

I'm very tired of hearing about the Syracuse game, and there's no reason to use a loss from ten years ago as a guide for building our team going forward. The problem with the Syracuse game is that we've only once had a team that promising since, not that we lost to a top ten KenPom team in the Sweet Sixteen. We should shrug our shoulders and move on. The reason we as a fan base haven't is because there haven't been any other teams on which to pin our hopes for a Final Four.

Nijel Pack would be a tremendous addition. He's exactly the scoring punch we could have used last season, and a freshman JHS isn't going to solve that need on his own.

4 hours ago, dgambill said:

Agreed. Me thinks that was a desperate move by Miller to quell the alum base with how things were going by getting a top Indiana HS recruit to commit early....also because he had poorly constructed his roster and had Rob as the only point guard on it (who also clearly plays better off the ball then on it). Should have definitely had at least brought in one in the portal. Lander had no business coming in early nor playing last year but to me it was done to try to save face and build will towards Archie getting another year. 

I would guess wanting to play with Trayce was also part of his decision, as well as a desire to be in the same class as his friends Leal and Galloway. But yes, I agree, getting someone as physically unready as Lander to reclass was the short-term act of a coach who felt he needed wins now.

The irony is, we probably have the same season without Lander in '21 ... but the promise of a shiny new five-star PG in the incoming class might have been just enough for Archie to keep his job for another year.

5 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

I am more concerned with which players helps us win games and not a bunch of stats

If he scores more points, shoots better from 2, 3 and on FTs, grabs more rebounds, creates more assists, records more steals, and has better defensive metrics across the board, then he's probably doing more to help us win.

By just about any measure, Khristian has been better than Rob. His turnover percentage is higher, yes, but then his assist percentage and every shooting percentage is also higher. Lander is a better rebounder, has a better steal percentage. Lander's defensive rating, defensive plus/minus, even his defensive win shares, are all higher as well. There's really just nothing to recommend Rob over Lander as the better player right now; Except that Woodson continues to play Rob as the first backup, of course. Perhaps seniority matters some, and physical maturity. But count me among those who want to see Lander's minutes rise as the season goes on. I'm much more interested in seeing what Lander can become than what we already know Rob to be.

1 hour ago, IowaHoosierFan said:

Bob Knight isn't a draw for most of the last couple generations of fan.  You want to know why Kentucky and Duke have sold out events.  They spend money and get what matters to the current students and recent graduates and fans.  And honestly, that isn't 80 something year old Bob Knight.  Its Drake, Travis Scott, or any of the other popular artist.

We need to up our game and get current.  The big boosters are going to give their money on the back end, to fill seats, you need to do what current generations want and need to be engaged.

Just my thoughts.  I am in the generation who watched the 87 championship so i am a Bob Knight fan.

Spot on. I'm 40. I don't remember the '87 team, and because I didn't grow up an Indiana fan I only barely remember the Cheaney teams. I know Bob Knight the bully, not the iconic basketball coach. Mike Davis was the coach when I arrived on campus. All my favorite memories of Indiana basketball, the reasons I'm a fan, are from after the Knight era.

I understand why having Knight in the building is a big deal for the Hysterics guys, and for other fans of a certain age. I doubt his presence moves the needle much at all for fans another generation even younger than myself. Whatever excitement I feel for the Mike Woodson era is based on what he is doing right now, and what he might accomplish in the coming seasons. It has nothing to do with Woodson's time as a player.

Indiana Basketball needs to be about more than just Bob Knight.

"Deep" doesn't get you very far in college basketball. If you have a bunch of players on your bench you can use without much dropoff in production, it means you don't have many studs in the starting lineup. I'd much rather have four or five guys we knew for sure would be starting. Instead, it's Trayce and four question marks.

My hope is that some of these guys are question marks only because they're new to the program. That they'll prove to be studs in their new setting. If it doesn't happen this year, then it needs to happen in the coming years with more guys like Bates, Hood-Schifino and Newton. We need to upgrade the talent in this program. As we transition from the Archie era to the Woodson era, I want to read discussions about our potential multiple All-Americans, not whether we might be ten or twelve deep.

4 hours ago, iuswingman said:

Clowney will get some experience at alabama and then transfer to iu as a junior.... they are a feeder program to us lol

Maybe in the past. I like what Woodson's done so far but Oats was my top choice to replace Archie. I love his style, and with those football resources all they're lacking is the will to win at basketball. Can't blame Clowney at all for his decision. Now I just need to see how Woodson responds, to fill that need on the roster.

14 minutes ago, Proud2BAHoosier said:

From an AL guy.... Congrats to the Braves for winning the WS and defeating the ASSTROS!!!

Just goes to show what can happen when a team gets hot at the right time and make the right trades at the dead-line...

Joc Pederson comes up clutch against the Astros. Eddie Rosario is NLCS MVP. Jorge Soler is World Series MVP. And gave up almost nothing for those guys. What a trade deadline achievement.

18 minutes ago, Maedhros said:

Max Fried was incredible. Tyler Matzek was incredible, as he had been all postseason. And my Braves are World Series Champions for the first time since 1995, when I was just 13. I'm now nearly 40. What a ride.

6 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, all after getting his ankle stepped on in the first. What a performance. He's an ace.