BobSaccamanno

You’re a good guy and I’ve warmed up to you over the years. It’s certainly always interesting with you lol. By the way you will be happy to know I just heavily recommended a Purdue grad for our firm. Outstanding candidate.

Well fine. I heard a ton of stuff about him and how good he is. By the way, I complimented several Purdue players in my post and mentioned that Purdue is rolling in recruiting. So it’s not like I’m not being credible by just trashing Purdue. I just think I was surprised by how far he’s got to go. I did say he could turn into a good player depending on his makeup.

I see a guy with a broken shot and unstable with the ball. And he was heavily publicized coming in. You disagree?

This one could go either way. Probably overhyped and not skilled. But he’s athletic and could turn into a good player. Basketball has always been a game of skill not how good you look coming off the bus. Yet guys like Sasha are overlooked. How many physical specimens cocky about it looked like dumb asses when Larry Bird destroyed them. Think Rodman. Ivey could turn into a good player but I was surprised to the negative when I got a good look. Purdue has recruited well lately. But they will find out what Indiana has faced much more than Purdue has. A lot of times the higher ranked guys have defects and the hungry under ranked guys can take it to them. Andrae Patterson vs Brian Cardinal is a good example. Or Brad Miller vs Jason Collier. Purdue has benefited from this fallacy over the years. But in many ways, when you are rolling in recruiting, you may pick the wrong ones. Logan Duncomb vs Furst might be interesting to see play out. Or Kaufman trying to play the three.

First time I saw him, I literally thought he was a walkon. But he has really impressed me over time. Certainly he thinks he can score on our guards anytime which is a nice edge to have.

Hunter Dickinson’s frame reminds me of Brook Lopez, who was a top ten pick. I don’t know why he wouldn’t just go pro and be done with it. He’s tall but also well put together and not a goof ball like a lot of big guys. He’s got tools.

They’ve got a few guys in the portal. OT Jahmir Johnson is another. I wonder if we make any overtures.

Exactly. And you can never have too many DBs that can play. And Layne will really come up and pop you with authority for a DB. And he plays his strength well to get into you at the LOS. But he’s not blazing fast. The switch to S should be interesting. He seems to have the skill set and he’s had a year to think about his assignments.

Yes http://www.hoosiersportsnation.com/index.php?/profile/700-jackson-kellogs/ played at Center Grove and is tuned in regarding Curry. He said in that other thread that OSU will be tough to beat.

Couldn’t agree more about Moore. Huge ranking and having an interior O lineman like that can really help the run game and keep the middle of the pocket clean in the pass game. I have felt that the middle of the offensive line is too overlooked by fans. It can really make the run game go.

I’ve seen what you’ve seen probably so would love to hear from someone with insight. Love the length and he looks fluid. He has potential on both ends. To me, player development will be critical because there seems to be a lot to work with.

Coach SS is out with the latest edition of his outstanding email newsletter. I’m not going to re-hash all the details out of respect for his work, but let’s just say he and I are on the same page regarding Smith. He likes him, thinks IU should recruit and offer him, and believes he can defend at the B1G level. Sam is a member here. Great stuff, Sam.

It’s going to be interesting to see who we land at RB coach. But Allen has been able to get some really good guys in here so let’s hope that continues.

You may be right but from a recruiting standpoint I hope this a moonshot. He knows what good football looks like so he will be able to identify talent. He will also have connections to uncover some gems, hopefully early. And once a player and his family are at least listening, he can really convert. Fingers crossed that this all turns out true. In terms of calling the D, that remains to be seen. But he seems to be a sharp guy. I’ve always felt Allen has been an A plus in terms of identifying talent and the skill sets in players that he needs to win. Hopefully we will be able to extend that to this hire.

I see that he went to school and played at the Air Force Academy. So, not surprisingly, he’s really smart. You’d expect that for a coordinator. I think of disciplined play too when I think of the academies. I like coaches who get penalties and errors way down. He sounds like a very solid hire.

I’m a bit surprised because I’m not sure about his prior knowledge of the 4-2-5. I’m sure Coach Allen will address it when they introduce him. Maybe Allen will be hands on and work with him in installing it. Georgia is always fast on D and we’ve been headed that way. I like that trend and expect it to accelerate. https://247sports.com/Article/Indiana-Hoosiers-football-Charlton-Warren-defensive-coordinator-Georgia-Bulldogs-football-coach-159449834/

Thanks for the intel! Hit the south hard in recruiting! He’s worked for some big southern schools, UNC, Florida, Tenn, and of course Georgia.

His dad is rich enough to be an owner!

Thanks for the research on Symons. Sounds terrific. I wonder about the Georgia DB coach, Charlton Warren. Could he be brought in for a different role? He doesn’t seem to be a 4-2-5 guy which you would think is an obvious prerequisite. Mike Hart was a terrific recruiter and Warren could bring that element even if he’s coaching a different position. I see from his bio he has also coordinated specials.

Would love to have him. I think he can do damage at the spot for us. But if it’s not meant to be, it’s good to know early. We can focus on other big forwards in that class.

Can we pull Strickland, DeMon Moore and Cooper? That’d be nice. We’ve been told Curry is a long shot.

Jamal is a tough loss. He’s great in coverage and his playmaking speaks for itself. Good for him though. Let’s hope he does well at the next level. He’s got a good knack for playing the ball.

Our roster is getting better and deeper. Honestly, I’m easily comfortable two deep and really potentially three deep if you project what guys can be after an off-season of work. I’m not sure I could have imagined a roster this athletic with that kind of depth.

If Archie can come up big and close on his favorite targets for 2022, we might be taking off. The identity of the program is forming and we have some high character young guys already who will bring about continuity. Now if we add the next gen of recruits in the same mindset, it’s going to be like a snowball rolling down a mountain, picking up steam. If we get an entire team with Archie’s favorite recruits, no one will be happy to play us. They will be in for a war.

I haven’t seen him play live so it’s tough for me to judge him. But if Archie likes him, which he apparently does, I’m all for it. One of my themes for a roster is that when you have 13 scholarships, that leaves you plenty of space for maneuverability. Maybe you have ten spots taken by the core recruit type of kid. Maybe you leave a spot open for a wildcard like a transfer or European who falls out of the sky. That still leaves 1-2 spots for a kid who may not be a 4 star but he brings some attribute you want on your team, maybe like a riskier big man project and/or maybe a kid like Smith who brings toughness, competitiveness, work ethic, IQ, ball handling, whatever traits you want on your team. There is more than one way to be worthy of a scholarship IMO. That Indiana boy, tough kid thing, is something I can never get enough of. Let’s put it this way, one of my all time favorite players is Tom Coverdale which may not be logical but I love that type of player. That kind of edge and attitude is what brings out my love for Indiana basketball. Tom famously said in a recent interview that we don’t have that bleep you attitude. He certainly had that. I feel like we lack that attitude and type of player right now. That’s how I’d see the 13 spots if I were a coach.