BobSaccamanno

We didn’t offer Braden and rolled with XJ.  

It didn’t start with Woody but we’ve lost our way as a program.  

Since Knight left, Indiana guys we blew it with:

Matt Howard

Luke Harangody

Braden Smith

Desmond Bane

Jake LaRavia

Bryant McIntosh 

Dominic James 

Gordon Hayward 

How much you want to bet that Knight would have offered some of those guys?  How much better could our last 20 years have been?   

Point being, we have lost our way.  Big time.  Woody was supposedly a bridge to the past.   It’s time to get Indiana back to what Indiana is supposed to be.  

What’s the technical for?

Such a boring uninspiring game.  

Colvin a legit moron.  Really helped us there. 

Darn. That was the second foul on Purdue. I wanted them to have one foul in a half.  

38 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

Whoever game planned Penn State should probably not game plan any other games this season.  

Wish we knew…along with a lot of the behind the scenes stuff.   I think we will get our answer when changes are made after the season.  

My prediction is they will roll out a new personnel department that will look more defined.  I suspect at least one assistant will switch out.  

https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-want-historic-compensation-no-142856891.html

The other thing we don’t know enough about is the GM/player personnel roles.  Bit tough to gauge from their titles.  Football is bigger but CCC has a developed team in that regard.   With the way the portal is going, you absolutely have to have a sophisticated personnel program.  
 

Woody did a very good job landing a guy like Ware out of the portal.  So he can land recruits.  Player identification and focus was more elusive.  

 Woody doesn’t have the time to have every potential transfer at his fingertips.  He needs an infrastructure to identify potential guys who can fill holes.  We might like this person or that person, but the plan when we brought in Matta as an assistant AD has fallen off the rails.  After the disaster of last offseason—which is really where this season failed—it’s clear that we need an overhaul in this area and that’s not a personal attack on any individual.  There’s no way that Dolson isn’t doing a deep dive into this.  

This gets fixed and next year we can succeed.  If we are still mediocre next year then we will have our answer.  I’d say Woody won’t have any margin at that point and that seems fair; he’d probably agree.  

3 minutes ago, BruceDouglas said:

Williams, another guy I wish Illinois could have hung on to. There was considerable skepticism about him due to his injury but he's clearly a very capable guard. 

You made up for it with Domask.  Love his game.  Wisconsin must be kicking themselves there.  

21 hours ago, IUFLA said:

Interesting article on Ohio State transfers who're doing well elsewhere...

I liked Meechie Johnson from the first time I saw the kid, when he graduated high school early and joined the Buckeyes mid season in 2021... 

great article.  This highlights that we can turn it around immediately this offseason if we crank up the portal with our built in advantages.  Last year was a missed opportunity but we’ve heard that they are better situated this season.  

One thing that’s clear is that fans don’t know who is responsible for what.  For example, I believe the assistants divide up responsibility for advanced scouting.   We can’t see the data on who was responsible for which opponents and then the results.  But you can bet that Dolson’s staff is looking into that.  

It will probably be clear after the season when changes inevitably occur.   

Now that’s an efficient, quick delivery….Bam, that ball is out.  

2 hours ago, KoB2011 said:

Please no

Didn’t he burn bridges?  This seems odd. 

20 hours ago, BGleas said:

 

 

Love this.  There’s the IU fan base right there.  
And I think it’s not just because he’s an IU guy from Indy.   There’s a component to it IMO that he’s been nothing but a great and classy kid.

Polluting a recruiting thread with coaching criticisms is unseemly to say the least. Plenty of threads for that.  Just IMO….

Schertz could be the next Bruce Pearl.  D2 to mid major and on his way up.  System draws recruits and they are dynamic.  

19 minutes ago, kyhoosier29 said:

I didn’t see the game. Did Malik get T’d up? And what for? Did we have a flagrant as well, or same instance?

I’m not claiming he’s perfect but I find Malik to be very easy to root for.  I like him a lot.  

Fischer can be very telling since he is around the guys.  He said Malik is a great kid.  Sometimes with Don, it’s what he doesn’t say.  He just won’t say anything.  So, if he says Malik is a great kid, you can 100% believe him.   
 

edit. Sorry Ky, I attached this to the wrong message. 

23 minutes ago, KoB2011 said:

I agree right up until the very last part of the last tweet. Maybe predicting things would go this badly wasn't possible, but also planning on getting "good" X all season was something that was always a silly idea. 

This is why I want three new guards.  Even if you get a lead guard who can start, what if he gets hurt?  Then you’re looking at this year’s backcourt again.  Point guard, shooting guard and combo guard, please.  

12 hours ago, Maedhros said:

In a world where Ware goes pro, but Mgbako sticks with it another season, I can actually see us turning this around fairly quickly. Reneau, Mgbako, McNeeley is a frontcourt that gives you spacing. The key is going to be landing effective guards in the portal. Galloway if he comes back, and Newton if he's available, are drivers instead of shooters. Cupps might still be a year away. Gotta go all out for shooters and ballhandlers in the portal, but if we can do that I'll be real excited for the upcoming season again.

💯 well said. 

10 minutes ago, dwtaylor1055 said:

does he have a connection with the 5 star QB dating back to when he was a very young kid?

Yes, the new QB coach (Sunseri) does.  Lewis has given him credit for being the first coach to identify his potential.

2 minutes ago, btownqb said:

@BobSaccamanno great thread... and I didn't mean to take away your like of Swope, at all, by pointing out that NO ONE wanted that kid coming out of HS. Went to D2 (at the time) USI. 

Throw the rankings out the door, certainly the HS ones, and find kids who can play modern, faster, and are productive. 

Yeah, thanks, I knew what you meant, so no worries at all.  The size on one hand can be a problem on D on paper.  I haven't seen his defense, so can't comment.  But, a lot of times those small guys are quick and are really, really hard to drive on.  Stop the ball and penetration.

We need shooting but just as much we need perimeter D, IMO.

This year we landed a big catch in Ware and he’s been great.  But he was an obvious talent.   What I’m more curious about are mid-major types who have come up and absolutely thrived.   Yes, we looked at Knecht and reportedly RayJ Dennis.  But look at the great pieces that the competition got such as Marcus Domask, Ace Baldwin, Brice Williams, Rienk Mast, Lance Jones, or Max Klesmit.  It’s been proven that productive players from lower levels can come up here and thrive (hoping we see that with IU Football under CCC).

For those of you who watch other teams play, can you please identify potential transfer possibilities as you watch down the stretch?   

I will throw a few names out:

Ryan Conwell, Indiana State, 15 ppg, 5 reb, 39% from 3 at 6’4, 195 from Pike High

Jalen Blackmon, Stetson, 6’3 180, 20 ppg, 39% from 3, 90% free throws, from Marion

Isiah Swope, Indiana State, tiny at 5’10 but electric at 18 ppg, over 40% from 3; far more dynamic than anyone we have had in awhile, from Newburgh

5 minutes ago, IndyResident16 said:

Lol.

This might not be statistical the worst season ever (it isn’t), but easily the most disappointing, unenjoyable season in my 52 years. Watching IU basketball is like a chore. There’s nothing redeeming about this years team or anybody on it. When Anthony Leal coming off the bench to beat a 12-9 Iowa team at home is likely the highlight of the season, you know its bad.

I’ve fallen asleep mid-game multiple times and missed others altogether.  For someone like me, this is unheard of.