Offseason 2022

[MoyeCowbell]

5 minutes ago, bluegrassIU said:

You seriously are a sick man.

He has to be or the Naughty Nurses won't have anything to do at Night.

[rico]

12 minutes ago, 5fouls said:

I'm watching 'The Making of Naughty Nurses at Night, an Inside Story'.  The floor level cameras the used here are pretty cool as well. 

[IUCrazy2]

So is it just me or has this felt like the quietest, most uneventful offseason in a long while?  We are about a month out from the season starting and this place is really quiet.

[BruceDouglas]

23 hours ago, IUFLA said:

He didn't quite do enough in that last game against us 😮

He did, just didn't get much help.

[rico]

39 minutes ago, IUCrazy2 said:

So is it just me or has this felt like the quietest, most uneventful offseason in a long while?  We are about a month out from the season starting and this place is really quiet.

Peace and quiet in the offseason is a good thing.

[mrflynn03]

1 hour ago, IUCrazy2 said:

So is it just me or has this felt like the quietest, most uneventful offseason in a long while?  We are about a month out from the season starting and this place is really quiet.

Could be the ongoing forum issues affecting traffic. 

[IUCrazy2]

3 hours ago, rico said:

Peace and quiet in the offseason is a good thing.

It is but we have what looks like a pretty good team lined up for next year and it is kind of a ghost town on most of the forums I check.

[rico]

Just now, IUCrazy2 said:

It is but we have what looks like a pretty good team lined up for next year and it is kind of a ghost town on most of the forums I check.

Mostly football fans here.

[Madison22]

4 hours ago, IUCrazy2 said:

So is it just me or has this felt like the quietest, most uneventful offseason in a long while?

Give X his car back.

[Maedhros]

The Unofficial Big Ten Media Poll has been released by Brendan Quinn:

https://theathletic.com/3664020/2022/10/10/big-ten-basketball-indiana-illinois/

(first-place votes in parenthesis)

1. Indiana, 43 (19)
2. Illinois, 81 (6)
3. Michigan, 92 (1)
4. Michigan State, 139
5. Purdue, 141 (1)
6. Ohio State, 167
7. Iowa, 185 (1)
8. Rutgers, 218
9. Wisconsin, 229
10. Maryland, 267
11. Penn State, 304
12. Minnesota, 334
13. Northwestern, 362
14. Nebraska, 378 

Hunter Dickinson is preseason Player of the Year, by one vote over Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Jalen Hood-Schifino is the Freshman of the Year, garnering a majority of the vote.

Trayce is First Team All-Big Ten. Xavier is Second Team.

Brendan himself had Indiana third:

"Yes, IU is widely considered the league favorite. It’s also essentially the same team that finished 48th in KenPom’s efficiency ratings last year. It’s the same team that needed an epic collapse from Michigan to reach the NCAA Tournament. It’s the same team that shot under 32 percent on 3s. There’s talent, though, led by Jackson-Davis, and the league’s best returning defense."

[Maedhros]

1 hour ago, Maedhros said:

The Unofficial Big Ten Media Poll has been released by Brendan Quinn:

https://theathletic.com/3664020/2022/10/10/big-ten-basketball-indiana-illinois/

(first-place votes in parenthesis)

1. Indiana, 43 (19)
2. Illinois, 81 (6)
3. Michigan, 92 (1)
4. Michigan State, 139
5. Purdue, 141 (1)
6. Ohio State, 167
7. Iowa, 185 (1)
8. Rutgers, 218
9. Wisconsin, 229
10. Maryland, 267
11. Penn State, 304
12. Minnesota, 334
13. Northwestern, 362
14. Nebraska, 378 

Hunter Dickinson is preseason Player of the Year, by one vote over Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Jalen Hood-Schifino is the Freshman of the Year, garnering a majority of the vote.

Trayce is First Team All-Big Ten. Xavier is Second Team.

Brendan himself had Indiana third:

"Yes, IU is widely considered the league favorite. It’s also essentially the same team that finished 48th in KenPom’s efficiency ratings last year. It’s the same team that needed an epic collapse from Michigan to reach the NCAA Tournament. It’s the same team that shot under 32 percent on 3s. There’s talent, though, led by Jackson-Davis, and the league’s best returning defense."

Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops voted, and explains his ballot here:

https://umhoops.com/2022/10/10/michigan-picked-third-in-official-unofficial-big-ten-poll-and-a-breakdown-of-my-ballot/

He picks Indiana fourth:

"Indiana hasn’t had a winning record in the conference since Tom Crean was in charge. Last year’s group had an even efficiency margin in league play, only making the NCAA Tournament because of a Michigan collapse, and finished 48th in KenPom. If that Michigan game doesn’t go sideways and the Hoosiers lose 8 of their last 10 games of the regular season are they still pegged as league favorites?

It’s fair to expect this group to take another step. That means that this should be an NCAA Tournament team that competes in the top third of the league, but pegging the Hoosiers as Big Ten favorites is too far for me to go right now.

IU’s defense was terrific in Mike Woodson’s first year, and the foundation returns. A talented incoming class adds some upside, but I haven’t seen enough from Woodson’s offensive scheme or the starting frontcourt combination of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson to expect a title-caliber offense from this group."

Edited October 10, 2022 by Maedhros

[btownqb]

3 minutes ago, Maedhros said:

Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops 

Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops voted, and explains his ballot here:

https://umhoops.com/2022/10/10/michigan-picked-third-in-official-unofficial-big-ten-poll-and-a-breakdown-of-my-ballot/

He picks Indiana fourth:

"Indiana hasn’t had a winning record in the conference since Tom Crean was in charge. Last year’s group had an even efficiency margin in league play, only making the NCAA Tournament because of a Michigan collapse, and finished 48th in KenPom. If that Michigan game doesn’t go sideways and the Hoosiers lose 8 of their last 10 games of the regular season are they still pegged as league favorites?

It’s fair to expect this group to take another step. That means that this should be an NCAA Tournament team that competes in the top third of the league, but pegging the Hoosiers as Big Ten favorites is too far for me to go right now.

IU’s defense was terrific in Mike Woodson’s first year, and the foundation returns. A talented incoming class adds some upside, but I haven’t seen enough from Woodson’s offensive scheme or the starting frontcourt combination of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson to expect a title-caliber offense from this group."

"Offensive scheme" 

He was fixing the remnants of Archies Millers "one ball screen and stand in the corner offense."

[Drroogh]

46 minutes ago, btownqb said:

"Offensive scheme" 

He was fixing the remnants of Archies Millers "one ball screen and stand in the corner offense."

Not to mention concentrating most of the team’s efforts fixing CAM’s “Pack Line”

[tdhoosier]

58 minutes ago, Maedhros said:

Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops 

Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops voted, and explains his ballot here:

https://umhoops.com/2022/10/10/michigan-picked-third-in-official-unofficial-big-ten-poll-and-a-breakdown-of-my-ballot/

He picks Indiana fourth:

"Indiana hasn’t had a winning record in the conference since Tom Crean was in charge. Last year’s group had an even efficiency margin in league play, only making the NCAA Tournament because of a Michigan collapse, and finished 48th in KenPom. If that Michigan game doesn’t go sideways and the Hoosiers lose 8 of their last 10 games of the regular season are they still pegged as league favorites?

It’s fair to expect this group to take another step. That means that this should be an NCAA Tournament team that competes in the top third of the league, but pegging the Hoosiers as Big Ten favorites is too far for me to go right now.

IU’s defense was terrific in Mike Woodson’s first year, and the foundation returns. A talented incoming class adds some upside, but I haven’t seen enough from Woodson’s offensive scheme or the starting frontcourt combination of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson to expect a title-caliber offense from this group."

Those are fair points. But the B1G lost a lot of scoring from last year. Any other year, I agree that we are in the 3-4 range. Other teams have just as big question marks.

I'm going to be honest, our lack of proven shooters still gives me indigestion. On the other end of the argument, the ability to more consistently pull TJD out for the pick and roll at the end of the season has me hopeful we may not see as much stagnation on the offensive side of the floor. 

Who will step up this year? I'm sure at this time last year nobody saw  Johnny Davis and Keegan Murray playing their way into the lottery. This year, hopefully that 'out of nowhere' player in the B1G will be Bates or JHS....we always seem to be one good guard/wing away from being a top team in the conference. 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by tdhoosier

[IUProfessor]

This year, even more than most, strikes me as a season where there's probably no clear cut single favorite to win the league. Rather, there is probably a group of three or four teams that are most likely to be in the mix for a championship. I certainly think that IU deserves to be in that top tier category.

But I also understand why some might be skeptical that a group whose strength is predominantly returning talent, but yet has never finished above .500 in the league with this core, should be anointed the preseason favorite.

That having been said, I do think that reliance on season-long metrics is a little unfair and unwise when evaluating this Hoosiers squad. Any team playing the first year of a new system would be expected to face some growing pains early on, which we certainly did. But if you look at the last month or two of the season, we were playing much better than the overall metrics suggest. I think it's fair to assume that that stretch-run performance is a more accurate reflection of the 2022-23 team's talent level.

If JHS and Bates can combine to play a couple standard deviations above where Parker and Bates were last season, and Kopp can be a bit more reliable, this club certainly has championship potential. But I understand the reluctance to put them #1 overall in the B1G.

Edited October 10, 2022 by IUProfessor

[Maedhros]

4 minutes ago, tdhoosier said:

Who will step up this year? I'm sure at this time last year nobody saw  Johnny Davis and Keegan Murray playing their way into the lottery. This year, hopefully that 'out of nowhere' player in the B1G will be Bates or JHS....we always seem to be one good guard/wing away from being a top team in the conference. 

Those first two lines are why I have Indiana at 3-4, rather than first. It's great for our floor that we return a lot. We have fewer open questions than most teams, and that's why we're being picked first by a majority of voters. But having an answer and liking that answer are two different things. Sometimes bringing back a lot of guys just means you have the same problems as last season. Some of that will get solved by being in the second year of Woodson's system, yes, but we'll need someone who didn't contribute last season to step up, just like a lot of teams in the Big Ten.

Given that, I'd almost rather be an Illinois or a Michigan heading into the season. Lots of new pieces, but lots of opportunities for someone to break out. Like Brendan's reason for picking Skyy Clark as freshman of the year, we know he's going to have the ball in his hands. Jalen Hood-Schifino might be the better player, but at best he'll be playing alongside arguably the best point guard in the Big Ten. We have a lot of veterans on this team, especially in the starting lineup, and that's going to make it harder for a Bates or JHS to break out. Guys need minutes to develop, and I don't know that we're going to roll the dice with them enough for that to happen.

The variance of the other rosters in the Big Ten means I don't know who will eventually win the conference. But the limited variance on our own roster is why I don't think it will be us. Hoping for a Bates or a JHS to prove me wrong. 

[tdhoosier]

3 minutes ago, IUProfessor said:

But I also understand why some might be skeptical that a group whose strength is predominantly returning talent, but yet has never finished above .500 in the league with this core, should be anointed the preseason favorite.

It's this intangible.

Winners need to know how to win consistently. They need to expect to win every game. IU needs to learn this intangible quickly. 

Say what you will about Purdue and Illinois getting votes. Current players on their rosters have been a part of winning teams - they've experienced this mentality. 

 

 

[rico]

None of these so called experts are gonna rain on my parade.

 

Sweet Sixteen baby!

[Purdue7]

Am I crazy but XJ was a different player after January?

Race shot better down the stretch in a small sample 

you have actual depth 

still one XJ incident from relying on a freshman PG…..I wonder what that’s like 

hard to ignore the incredible experience a 6-5-4 year starter in college have…plus you guys play defense 

[BGleas]

2 hours ago, btownqb said:

"Offensive scheme" 

He was fixing the remnants of Archies Millers "one ball screen and stand in the corner offense."

I'd love to hear what that reporter or bloggers breakdown of Mike Woodson's "offensive scheme" is. 

[btownqb]

10 minutes ago, BGleas said:

I'd love to hear what that reporter or bloggers breakdown of Mike Woodson's "offensive scheme" is. 

Yes, I am all ears.  

Undoubtedly, our offense needs to convert more, but.. it was never going to be a perfect/finished project year 1. 

[btownqb]

1 hour ago, Drroogh said:

Not to mention concentrating most of the team’s efforts fixing CAM’s “Pack Line”

You know, this is a really good point. Because we all sort of took for granted how big of a shift that was, as well. The work we put in altering our defense took an immense amount of time and resources. 

I think we all took that for granted because it "worked" right? Our defense was damn good last year, so we all assumed that was an easy adjustment, I'm sure it wasn't. 

[FKIM01]

2 hours ago, Maedhros said:

Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops voted, and explains his ballot here:

https://umhoops.com/2022/10/10/michigan-picked-third-in-official-unofficial-big-ten-poll-and-a-breakdown-of-my-ballot/

He picks Indiana fourth:

"Indiana hasn’t had a winning record in the conference since Tom Crean was in charge. Last year’s group had an even efficiency margin in league play, only making the NCAA Tournament because of a Michigan collapse, and finished 48th in KenPom. If that Michigan game doesn’t go sideways and the Hoosiers lose 8 of their last 10 games of the regular season are they still pegged as league favorites?

It’s fair to expect this group to take another step. That means that this should be an NCAA Tournament team that competes in the top third of the league, but pegging the Hoosiers as Big Ten favorites is too far for me to go right now.

IU’s defense was terrific in Mike Woodson’s first year, and the foundation returns. A talented incoming class adds some upside, but I haven’t seen enough from Woodson’s offensive scheme or the starting frontcourt combination of Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson to expect a title-caliber offense from this group."

Somebody sounds a little butthurt from last year...

[HoosierDom]

1 hour ago, tdhoosier said:

Those are fair points. But the B1G lost a lot of scoring from last year. Any other year, I agree that we are in the 3-4 range. Other teams have just as big question marks.

I'm going to be honest, our lack of proven shooters still gives me indigestion. On the other end of the argument, the ability to more consistently pull TJD out for the pick and roll at the end of the season has me hopeful we may not see as much stagnation on the offensive side of the floor. 

Who will step this year? I'm sure at this time last year nobody saw  Johnny Davis and Keegan Murray playing their way into the lottery. This year, hopefully that 'out of nowhere' player will be Bates or JHS....we always seem to be one good guard/wing away from being a top team in the conference. 

 

 

While fixing our shooting was my number 1 hope from last year, I think we can fix our offense even without shooting. X was the only guy on the team that could make something happen with the ball in his hands. No one else could move downhill and make defenses scramble. That's why having Galloway out hurt us so much - not so much because he was great at it, but no one else could do it at all. Now with X stepping up the last 12ish games, Galloway hopefully being healthy and JHS looking to start, and maybe even Bates, I think that's a strength of the team.

Seems to me that if you can't shoot, you need to aggressively attack, and we couldn't do either. Hopefully, now we can at least do one.

 

[NotIThatLives]

20 minutes ago, HoosierDom said:

While fixing our shooting was my number 1 hope from last year, I think we can fix our offense even without shooting. X was the only guy on the team that could make something happen with the ball in his hands. No one else could move downhill and make defenses scramble. That's why having Galloway out hurt us so much - not so much because he was great at it, but no one else could do it at all. Now with X stepping up the last 12ish games, Galloway hopefully being healthy and JHS looking to start, and maybe even Bates, I think that's a strength of the team.

Seems to me that if you can't shoot, you need to aggressively attack, and we couldn't do either. Hopefully, now we can at least do one.

 

I loved St. Peter's constant drive attack.  Every guy that touched the ball was in attack mode.  We had 3, sometimes four statues on the court.  Replace them with a confident Bates, a Jason Kidd prototype guard JHS, and a finally healthy Galloway with a respectable enough shot.  Kopp can afford to chill in the corner and wait instead of trying to do what he can't.  Race will have wide open set shots.  X started to thrive getting wide open set shots.  When you put it all together, guys will be open with a strong attack and good ball movement.  So long as they don't fall in love with watching Trayce