BobSaccamanno

Sounds like the deep pockets plus Buckner have the unholy alliance. It’s not their reluctance to pay the buyout so much as they are driving the bus to begin with.

I can’t think of a school that self sabotages itself in any sport like IU does, in terms of a school that could be good but the keystone cops prevent it.

What was our recruiting budget? I recall that it was astronomical. 31 offers, 11 official visits and zero recruits with no good leads. Whiffed on top 3 recruits of McNeely, Queen and Fland. Great message to the next batch for ‘25 and ‘26. Great ROI. At least we have the Simons to buy a bunch of unnamed mercenaries who are cash-focused to support the coach they are imposing on the AD and the consumers of the product. Good thing we wouldn’t stoop to hiring Pearl.

Next year is going to be fun.

Can you imagine a front court of Reneau, Mbako and McNeely, with Sparks off the bench with this coaching staff? They’d give up 85 a night with a ton of foul trouble to boot. The guards will be better but you would need a new assistant to develop them. You’d also need both offensive and defensive coordinator types to help fix the schematic problems at both ends. You also need a director of analytics….badly. Deal with efficiency on both ends, get rid of long twos, gear toward NET, figure out metrics on where players succeed or need to improve, combinations that work and don't. The AD can lead on this when coach, BOT and boosters are lost. When the coach is openly pointing to wins and losses and is befuddled by the way metrics impact the college game, you have to micromanage him. The horrendous analytics early in the year tended to be money in predicting the problems the team ended up having. There are some real lessons on getting in front of analytics. We need some real vision and energy injected into the program. Only Dolson can do it.

We are willing to buy a roster of mercenaries but we are too good for Bruce Pearl? You can’t make this stuff up. Yes, you can overcome Woody and be better but there is a long term health component that is more concerning. Let’s be honest they are trying to get a roster of mercenaries next year but where will that leave us longer term? Is this about saving face on Woody or about building a program that is way beyond Woody (who is just a latecomer)? I wish the Simons used the money on football instead of imposing their guy on the program. It sure feels like the one heroic figure is Dolson. He’s trying to make the school better in a sea of self interest trumping the greater good.

I think 99% of us can agree that we will support the team and hope for the best despite any reservations about decision making. Let’s hope for the best because the program is not about one or two individuals. If things go off the rails, there will be a time to come to terms with that but in the meantime it is very doable to correct things if the right thought process is used. I posted maybe two months ago a plan to get us on track where we set up a player personnel department, maybe an analytics head etc. You’d have 1-2 new assistants. You’d take a look at the 33 guys in suits hovering around the bench and figure out who is competent. We know what Woody is as a coach as we’ve seen it last off season and then how the season unraveled. But as others have said, the program can overcome that if we institute some changes and micromanage him to save him from himself, inject some energy and work ethic etc. There’s no reason why you can’t win more despite Woody. Woody has a boss and he needs to be taken out of his comfort level and needs severe micromanagement. You can see what happened when he unshackled himself from the safeguards Dolson tried to put on. That isn’t going to cut it.

This is the first I ever heard that QB hired Archie. Wow. It is not the Board’s role to hire the coach. The way it should work is that they let the AD do his job and then approve after some cross-examination. Not jump in and make the decision. That’s not their role or expertise. Since I am in truth-telling mode, Archie, bless his heart, is an inarticulate guy who isn’t particularly bright. Great coaches have one thing in common, they are bright. Archie was never IU material. How QB could interview him and come to the conclusion that Archie was the guy is a major indictment against QB. Dolson needs to do what he needs to do and work the other trustees. QB needs to be cut out of this. The full wrath of the IU fan base is coming for you if you don’t. Don’t be naive, you will never defeat that. No one is bigger than the university. The Board has a duty to the university, not to themselves.

I’ve been saying for awhile that Dolson is trying to make it work as logically as he can with the constraints. I have been posting without proof that Buckner is the guy here and now Intel is coming in. QB’s fingerprints have been all over this. If my suspicions are true then this is an outrage of colossal proportions. The cascade of frustration and rage that will come down on him will be the worst anyone has seen here. He is not bigger than the university and the magnifying glass is coming. “We need a chair of the BoT. Let’s hire a failed coach and color commentator to run a major university. That makes sense.”

He is one of the worst coaches in NBA history. 13-69 record. That’s remarkably bad. Yes, he played ball but this is not a guy known for his basketball acumen when it comes to team building and coaching. He is out of his lane. And how the hell is he qualified to be on the BoT as a basketball player and color commentator? That set him up to run a massive university system?

Got it. Gabe Sularski from Benet. 6’5/6’6 wing. Big recruit. https://hoosierillustrated.com/multiple-recruiting-targets-expected-to-visit-indiana-basketball-this-weekend/

Is that Aleks Alston or someone else?

How much sense does it make to not pay NIL when everyone else does? Who on earth would think that way? Less than 1% of humans? You are a player with no guarantee of future earnings. I don’t care how good you are, there are no guarantees in life. Things happen. So you get a chance to make substantial money now or you go play somewhere for the name on the jersey? By the way, it is money that the market will bear, i.e., your market value. It’s not like it is a gift or something shameful. It’s an economic value. It literally defies all common sense and judgement to recruit someone without NIL emphasized. Would anyone go work in a job for free when another company pays you well?

Reminds me of an expert in a litigation I worked on. He was an old guy and said he saw something on Wikipedia. I think the young guy deposing him got an erection he was so happy with that answer.

I loved what he said about Knight teaching the game to the fan base. This is a guy who understands the culture of IU basketball.

He’s getting a lot better.

Wonder what his record is as a college player when he’s on the floor? We need to recruit winning players.

Post of the week lol

I’m comfortable with Dolson. I liked his hire of CCC. I liked his reasoning in terms of getting a guy who understood QBs and that his success is translatable. CCC shows insight into winning and that reflects on Dolson’s thought process. He didn’t just hire an IU guy. I liked that he pursued him hard. I suspect he was saddled with Woody and he tried to make it work by bringing in Matta and Fife. I did not like his predecessor and I don’t think I was wrong about that, but I’m sure others will disagree with me. The difference between Dolson and his predecessor is Dolson has actual insight into sports and what the necessary components for winning are. But that’s water under the bridge right now and I think Dolson has a good thought process. Of course, none of us truly know the inner workings of everything going on but those are my impressions.

Exactly. The star system is superficial at best. While I dislike our system, our on-paper talent is a myth. Labeling someone a five star is a gross oversimplification. It’s both the players and the coaching. If our talent was as good as people say it is, it could cover up the coaching. You’ve seen that time and again where crappy coaches go far.

Is this your opinion or do you have a source?

Ugh peacock so I guess I’ve got to do radio. Hopefully we try to punk that curly haired kid whose name escapes me. Gotta return the favor on him after his weanie move last game.

Perpetually tan vs pigmentally challenged lol

If we have a guy in mind, I hope it is Pearl. His style is dynamic and will play well here. Beard would have been great because of the style of play and personality on both sides of the court. But his incident probably disqualifies him with the decision makers. I am a huge May fan. I watched his run last year closely and saw them beat Arizona on a neutral court this year. I think he would easily be an upgrade today. Love the offense. My concerns are the defense, but I can’t say if that’s personnel related or would he need a defensive coordinator. He’s just not as proven as Pearl who simply wins at every stop. Nate Oats, Scott Drew, the guy at So Carolina ….impressive for various reasons. Scherz: I like him but he may be one stop short on production.