Euroclydon

Cal is feeling the heat and needed a couple scapegoats and a big gesture to appease the fans. Their fans are clamoring for Antigua because they believe him to be the answer to their troubles. He's talking about a 41 offense now and even suggesting they need to get older, which is code for more than just the one-and-done recruits. I think it's interesting after years of success Cal is forced to make changes. Is he able to adapt? More important, will his ego allow him to adapt? This much change is an admission that what he has been doing is not working.

That's A Wrap: Kristian Lander

I think CMW will be more open to kids earning playing time and starts. By all accounts he is being very open (a.k.a. "real") about what he is looking for and his expectations, so it's really on the kids to put in the work and prove they deserve the time they get. That has to be good for IU overall. Note: I read the wrap on Kristian Lander and the thing that struck me most was his dad's comments. It has to be the most logical and mature approach of any parent I've heard in a long time. Wish more parents could see big picture like he does.

Most predictions I've read are based on the offensive end of the court and that makes sense. I know CMW has made it clear defense is a priority - he is a Bob Knight kid - so that's not going to change. My guess is he will try to find a balance with the rotation but it seems his offense absolutely must have multiple shooters on the floor and guards fast enough to get by people. The 41 offense dictates you have multiple shooters because it relies on spacing and movement. If the defense can sag off poor shooters the spacing goes away it is death to this offense. The guards must be able to drive to gaps and kick out for shots while the bigs must be able to set screens, move quickly to a spot, and be able to hit a spot up jumper. Villanova calls it "roll and replace" and they screen like crazy. I'm hoping the skill development is strong enough to make some of these guys threats from outside.

Not sure who will start but you have to like the options. Add me to the list of those who believe the roster is not finalized. At some point, a guard or two will likely see the writing on the wall and have to make a tough decisions. I'd still like the to add some size who can defend and also knock down a jumper. My first thought is XJ didn't come here to sit and Bates may be too good to be on the bench for long. TJD is a lock. From there it's anybodies guess. It is nice that while other programs are still scrambling to find players or wait out decisions, IU is for the most part set and ready to focus on development and recruiting.

The fact they did not go out and add another guy 6'8 or bigger to work inside leads me to believe they are confident Duncomb can come in and contribute. Otherwise, the loss of Brunk should have been addressed by adding more size. It's a matter of forcing the opponent to adjust to IU's quickness and shooting rather than IU trying to match up with the size of the opponent.

This is a fair point. I'd point out though that Armaan and Al with those numbers were still hitting less than 2 three pointers per game on average. If IU can have 4, 5, 6 or more guys hitting at or near 35% or higher from three it will be virtually impossible for a defense to account for all of them. Last season IU basically had Al and Armaan as deep threats and Armaan missed 14 games.... so it was really just Al to game plan for outside. Occasionally a streaky Hunter would get hot and you would have to guard him also. The rest of the time the defense could sit back and watch IU hand off he ball around the perimeter hoping anyone else would shoot and miss. Rob with his 26% from deep was no threat at all. My guess is XJ's ability to get to the middle will open up multiple shooters, and TJD will still be drawing double teams opening up the shooters. There will be shots to be had from outside.

Difficult to keep expectations low at this point with everything that has happened in just a few weeks but it is necessary to be realistic. New coaching staff, new players, and no idea how it all fits just yet. A lot to be decided but it is looking really good to be a Hoosier fan. What you can reasonably expect is a faster tempo, more/better three point shooting, a more physically talented team, and more position flexibility. The fact IU, as of today, has a full roster is a stark difference than what we have seen the past four seasons. The competition level at practice should be excellent. Never understood why Archie would self-impose a roster limit (basically penalizing his program) every season. Maybe you don't always have 13, but we have seen what happens when you go with 9 or 10 and have a prolonged or season-ending injury.

I think we are getting a picture now of what it's going to be at IU. My hope yesterday was they add one more big to battle inside but it's clear CMW is saying we're surrounding you with shooters and if you want to play multiple bigs we're going to run by you or shoot lights out from distance and force you to react. They'll trade 2's for 3's. The B1G will have to adjust to be more like the NBA now and less reliant on bigs bullying the other team inside. The season cannot get here soon enough.

Congrats to Tamar and his family. Welcome to Indiana basketball. Big congrats to CMW and his staff. They are getting after it at a level I'm not sure anybody could have predicted this quickly. Dolson took a lot of criticism leading up to hiring CMW but as of today he's looking like a genius. My hope is they add another big to help inside, preferably a shot blocker. If not, at least someone who can play inside and out. The B1G is physical and comes at you with size in waves. It would be nice to finally have a team that is not pushed all over the court and completely outmanned inside during conference play. Note: The idea of Lander, Leal, Galloway, Rob, XJ, PS, and TB going at it every day in practice would be worth the price of admission by itself. The possible combinations are endless. It will be interesting to see who rises and what pace they end up playing at.

With Brunk gone IU really needs to focus inside. They should be going after John Harrar. He's not a giant but at 6'8 230 or more he's one of the physically strongest players in the conference. Archie mentioned it last season. Nothing over special about his game but at least he can hold his ground and he average 8 pts and 8 reb last season for Penn State.

Unless someone is added that is a game changer or clearly better than the current option I'd think we are most likely to see the following as the best combination of offense and defense: XJ, Stewart, Hunter, Race, and TJD The size of this lineup works and allows RP to come in as a quality ball handler and defensive stopper at guard while Lander can continue to develop. If Lander were to take a huge step forward with his shot and adds enough size to actually defend someone it could blow this idea up and let's hope that happens. Another change is they won't be forced to rotate Race and TJD inside like last year because they had no depth. Now they can start both and then move TJD around on offense for the best match up. It helps on D because they can go big with a healthy Brunk (?) and a 6'9 Duncomb without forcing TJD to guard every big in the conference for 40 minutes or ask Race to guard guys 30+ pounds bigger than him. Note: They really need one more inside presence that can defend and rebound. Counting on Brunk's back to hold up all season is risky. Asking Duncomb as a freshman to do too much is also concerning. With one more big they'd be in much better position.

Good luck to ArMOM Franklin. I'm sure they will be happy in Virginia. IU did what they could and made it clear they wanted all of the players in the portal back. They got 4 of 6, which is incredible. Fife made the best statement - IU has a new approach. You should want to play at IU and if you don't want to be there they will win with our without you. Now they have time to evaluate and hopefully pick up some players that truly want to be on the team.

Glad Franklin made a decision. Based on the timing with Race I'd guess they were give a deadline by CMW. Time to move on. The good news is there are quality players still in the portal.

Wow! This is incredible. Dane was my realistic choice to be the next head coach at IU. When that didn't happen I figured it was not meant to be. Now it seems to be a real possibility down the road. Mike Woodson is the bridge to IU's past. Dane is a bridge to IU's past with college recruiting and coaching experience after learning from Knight and Izzo. Add what Kenya and Thad bring to the table and IU has to be considered among the best coaching staffs in the country. Oh yeah, Kristian Lander is coming back. Talk about a good day for IU basketball. Update: AND... IU is still the last undefeated team.

Timing is everything. So many in the portal- how do you prioritize and how long do you wait? Same issue with the IU kids that put their names in. How long do you wait on them? Have to believe the discussions have already been held with CMW. IU is not in position to wait it out if kids want to join the program.

Lander would seem to benefit the most from Woodson running the program and a 4 out 1 in offense. For as much as he talked preseason about pick and role with TJD, it never materialized. Mostly because nobody had to guard IU outside and could jam the inside. The spacing should open things up for Lander and his quickness. That said, he still has to get stronger and improve his shot no matter what offense or defense he is in.

I can't imagine this is what the NCAA wanted from the transfer portal but it seemed an obvious result once it got going. Then they amplified it this season with the one year wild wild west option to move anytime and without sitting. It makes me wonder if they intended the portal as an appeasement for the growing push for player payment and ownership of their image/likeness. Either way it's reeking havoc on programs and coaches. There has to be some sort of compromise that works better.

It does seem like the "writer" had his feelings hurt or at least a grudge. Someone pointed out recently there are few real journalists left today. It's all content creators and opinion pieces. In other words, let me say something to get people to click on the articles. This guy is trying to have a hair pulling fight and does seem very petty. I don't suggest clicking his article and rewarding lazy work that brings nothing to the table.

It's going to be interesting. Could it be IU is changing the game? What's important to the players? Getting to the NBA. Maybe IU is building a separate supporting staff focused on player prep and gathering feedback from those in the know with the NBA. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they bring in Dale Davis as a "big man coordinator". Whatever works. Flip the script on the rest of college basketball.

Constantly is false. I've never called out posters on this forum until now and it's not even you specifically, though you seem to want to debate it as if these things are not happening. Look back and you will see not one posters name was mentioned. However you're, in my opinion, part of the problem if you are ok with bashing this hire. How many times through the past three coaching searches have you read about the concerns coaches have with IU fans and unreasonable expectations? The amount of negative sludge that's been tossed out when it comes to IU hiring a coach is relentless. That has to stop. IU should be one of the best jobs in the country because of its fans, not in spite of them. Most of the fans get that. It's the small group of anti-IU zealots and/or troll that claim to be fans causing a lot of that perception.

You say not everyone but there are plenty and it's pretty easy to figure out who they are when you see the same names over and over just ripping into IU. If you're criticizing a new coach when the ink isn't dry on their contract and they haven't held their introduction yet, let alone not having coached game one, then I think loser is the most accurate label. If that touches a nerve, so be it. It may be time for self-reflection. We talk about IU needing to change. Maybe the fanbase needs to change. Maybe we don't need those who never have anything good to say about IU basketball and those who appear to be rooting against the program. If it looks like he can't get it done as we go through the season, there's time to criticize. But right now is not that time. Mike Woodson will rise or fall based on his performance but for today he's earned the right to have full fan support.

What's ridiculous is the collection of those who bash IU at every turn. It wouldn't matter who they hired. There are some who's only goal is to criticize IU and you can see the same names pop up in every topic to do nothing more than rip the program. They are not fans.

The whining and complaining is endless for some. No matter what IU does they are upset. Maybe it is time to start with a clean slate and remove the trolls. The same losers complaining Woodson is too old at 63 would be thrilled with Dana Altman at 62 or John Beilein at 68. They are not interested in giving Woodson a chance to show what he can do as a coach and recruiter. If you think it is that bad I'm sure most of us would welcome your resignation from this forum. It would truly be addition by subtraction if some of you were no longer participating as Indiana fans. The same losers should take this opportunity to spend all their time following the Celtics and waiting for the day Brad Stevens decides he wants to coach at IU. Probably going to be a long wait. Good luck to you.

What do you want to see in assistants/staff? A big time recruiter with relevant connections today, someone with recent success. Someone younger would be nice but it is not the most important factor. I've seem others mention Michael Lewis. I read Kenya Hunter may stay on. I'd still like to see Dane Fife brought in as the lead/heir apparent. An Xs and Os guy or a specialist on shooting. Again, someone with recent success. Maybe another NBA coach/former player to appeal to recruits. This only works if they can truly coach or recruit. I like that Matta is on board to help Woodson navigate the college game. Keith Smart on the bench would be interesting, if he would be open to it. It's wide open but will be crucial to have the right coaching staff surrounding MW.