MoyeCowbell

For those of you who've watched Dune: 2, what are your thoughts? I absolutely loved the first one and thought this entry was visually incredible. I think I need a second watch to confirm/change my thoughts on the story.

Shōgun on FX/Hulu is starting out very, very strong.

It's time... Fire this thread into the sun.

I know others have responded with fun names from IU's recent past, but their inclusion brings up an interesting point: who's opinion matters most, and how much of that is dictated by their on-court performance? This program has a LOT of former players, and not everyone knows (let alone like) one another. To cherrypick "some" is quite arbitrary and causes a slippery slope. I can list a myriad of different players who have accomplished wildly different things; what makes their opinions matter more than someone else's? Marco Killingsworth likely carries favor with most IU fans, although his time in Bloomington was short. Does his opinion matter more than Verdell Jones, who played 4 years? We all love Calbert, but he never played for a National Championship like AJ Moye did. Just food for thought.

*Big Ten tournament

We... won.

I haven't posted a lot recently because I'm not sure I have anything new to bring to the conversation that hasn't already been brought up. That said, I do have a couple thoughts on Woodson and how they impact my feelings towards him/the future of the program. He brought a level of confidence/arrogance back to Bloomington when he showed up that we desperately needed. I liked it then and still like that characteristic now. I like bold, confident coaches that don't feel like they should take a back seat to anyone. Regardless of his recruiting record, his feeling that IU should be able to sit at the big boy table with any recruit is spot on... But if you have all that confidence and arrogance, you better back it up with a relentless pursuit of excellence, tireless work ethic, and most importantly: great results. Cignetti knows, just Google him. Woodson also helped bring the UK game back. Now, do I want him coaching in that game? Can't say that I do. Here are the two questions that I ask myself that lead me to that answer. IF Woodson comes back for another year, it is going to be very telling by who stays and who leaves. It could be a "who's gonna blink first"-situation between the players and administration that has a very real possibility of making a tough situation worse. IF Woodson comes back, to counter this dismal season, the pendulum of success has to swing so far in the other direction... is it realistic, or even feasible, that it could occur? Fair or not, season #4 would have to be significantly better than season #2 -- and we finished second in the conference. At this point in time, there is very, very little that I'm seeing that suggests we are Big Ten Championship-level material next season.

Not sure -- even hypothetically -- that he would be productive at this point. Not only has he missed significant amount of time, there is a huge assumption that simply playing him gives him the wherewithal to understand spacing and deal with the overall pace/speed of the game. Not to mention, all the teams in the BIG Tournament are *more* well oiled simply because of the time/games played and practiced up to that point.

The right guy anywhere can recruit Indiana, because Indiana does have strong talent. The right guy at UL, UK, Purdue, UM, OSU, UNC, Michigan State, you get the picture, can and will all recruit in the state. Worrying about that is the wrong approach. It's more about making sure our yard is kept nice. Bringing up Matta is more a reflection of Davis' fumble, imo. Absolutely, Matta was/is a good coach and did very well there. I would say that MD didn't do what he was supposed to. If he did, we're playing Florida for the Natty.

Guys/Gals, The hand-wringing over who we may or may not "miss out on" is wasted energy. Good grief. 1) IU and OSU are totally different situations with different expectations. From our (the fans') point of view, it's all conjecture as to why a specific candidate would pick one school over the other. We can come up with a slew of different reasons, but ultimately they satisfy our needs/expectations, and not necessarily those of the candidate. 2) It's only one opening. Lots of candidates. The knee-jerk reactions are that Holtmann's replacement will be some sort of superstar who will automatically come in and win multiple titles. That's a weird fear. 2A) Yes, we will lose out on someone. So will every other team that doesn't get that person. 3) By the way, we still have a coach. 4) The last thing IU needs to do is make a decision based on the decisions of other programs. It simply needs to do what's best for itself on its own timeline. A program could theoretically keep chasing the "next greatest/hottest candidate" forever, which is a fool's errand.

I try not to bitch on message boards. I leave that for my local knitting group. I once got so heated I put a 'gosh' in front of a 'darn', I kid you not.

Sounds like the perfect set up for another great email!

Partially fair. But for this game he was mostly positive during the PT he was given.

Gunn. He’s the only one who did more good things than he did bad things.

Watch, Edey will draw a foul on the opening tip...

To chirp in regarding Armond Hill. I think a lot of the confusion regarding him is based simply on where he sits on the bench. Multiple people have brought him up on this board and elsewhere, asking what he does and how he contributes. If he were sitting a row back, there would likely be way less scrutiny. All that said, not everyone on the staff needs to/should be overly vocal at all times, nor do they need to assert themselves simply for the optics of contributing. Assistance can come in many different forms, and sometimes silence is a way of directing attention towards those that need it. A lot of people spend so much time talking, they aren't able to listen; so much time spent proving a point, they don't even know if it's correct. Sometimes its good to just observe and offer insights when appropriate and let other people do their jobs as well.

Agree. This is by no means the whole/only answer to the issue of effort and contribution, but possibly worth noting. Leal doesn't have NBA aspirations... I'm sure he would play if he could, but he's seemingly realistic about his future, with no illusions of grandeur. As such, there is an underlying confidence he has from his real estate business that doesn't make him desperate while playing. I think there are other players on the team, despite the low odds, have a deep hope that the NBA can be a destination for them. Because of this -- and it's more my opinion than anything -- they don't appear to lay it all on the line here at this level. It's treated as a step to something else. So for Leal -- and this level of college basketball -- he is exactly what you want/need. This is his NBA. He might not be our athletic savior, but he certainly can be our mental & leadership savior.

Back to .500 in conference. For this team, that has to feel good right now.

Say three Hail Marys for your sins and you shall be absolved.

I feel positive about OUR WIN OVER THE BUCKNUTS!

Any day Ohio State loses is a great day.

Bump. But not frustrating for US!

LEARN EVERYDAY. APPLY LESSONS.

WALK OFF THREE TO WIN IT

Regardless of GT or not, I LOVE that he contends shots. Ware doesn't take those possessions off... we absolutely need that aggressiveness.