rbkl Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 After a hard-fought victory over Wisconsin, there was a really special moment between senior captain Juwan Morgan and redshirt freshman Race Thompson. Juwan Morgan played very well early in the game. In fact, he finished with a game-high +20 in the plus/minus, and he netted double digit rebounds in the first half. Juwan finished with 9 points and 15 rebounds. But when foul trouble struck again, Indiana went early to Race Thompson. Clearly Archie has a lot of trust in Race, who only had about 20 minutes of college basketball coming into the match up. And he did not disappoint. While his 1 point / 7 rebound stat line may not seem impressive on paper considering he tallied 20+ minutes, Race played fantastic defense all evening. He held his own against Big Ten POTY candidate Ethan Happ. Without Juwan and Justin, who fouled out in overtime, Race stepped up in a big way to help the Hoosiers outlast #19 Wisconsin. Obviously there are a ton of emotions from both players: Juwan Morgan is counting down the number of remaining home games (now it's 2) for him in his Indiana career. Race Thompson has been itching to get back on the court after sitting out his entire freshman year. From watching their interaction, you can tell that Juwan has been a huge mentor for Race. Even though Juwan sat, he was so proud of his younger teammate that will be taking the torch once Juwan leaves. The first thing Race did after winning was to go and give Juwan an emotional hug that was truly a beautiful Indiana basketball moment. This is what it's all about. A Beautiful Indiana Basketball Moment between Juwan and Race Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxnJxn Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Juwan is everything we could want in an Indiana basketball player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwtaylor1055 Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Race I envision becoming similar to Juwan Morgan with his career at IU, maybe even better than Juwan when he becomes a SR assuming he has no major injury setbacks in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zlinedavid Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 14 minutes ago, AxnJxn said: Juwan is everything we could want in an Indiana basketball player. Ironic that the two members of the triple double club (Juwan and Steve Downing) have gone/will go down as two of the more underappreciated players in IU history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbkl Posted February 27, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 3 hours ago, dwtaylor1055 said: Race I envision becoming similar to Juwan Morgan with his career at IU, maybe even better than Juwan when he becomes a SR assuming he has no major injury setbacks in the future. Totally agree. There's a lot of promise when you can come in after 1.5 years of sitting out and compete head-to-head against one of the best in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OLDIUFAN Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 I have been a total rollercoster when it comes to Archie. The truth is I believe he will do us proud. I don’t understand at times his moves, but it’s his call. I love the way he recruits, it means a lot to me that we get some of the best Indiana has to offer. Second if you really look he has done a great job with what he has to deal with. As for as this team is concerned. The injures are unbelievable. He has had to deal with a very short bench talent wise, for a large part of the year, against a very talented and tough Big Ten schedule. I personal would like to see Smith stay. It’s not his fault his Dads a problem. That is for him Smith to handle. Green is different for me. He is going to be a senior and his basketball IQ is that of a high schooler. He hasn’t came close to filling his potential under Crean or Archie. That’s on him ! I’d say good bye to Green. One way are another. Don’t need him. Race has shown us what could have been. Add Hunter a shooter to this team and hay a lot better team. I am looking forward to the future of IU basketball! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking6 Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Was joking with a friend this morning at the gym. I've come to grips with this season. Total mental anguish and frustration. Just wish we had about 10 more games to prove when almost healthy what we are. I can see what Archie is doing. Given the injuries (yes...the injuries) it's just been impossible to judge completely. Right now I equate our team/program to this. A 6-7 team win college football program who has a chance to finish off strong, maybe win a bowl game and set the tone for off season with workouts and recruiting. The anger I had has been replaced with just the realization that injuries have hurt us more than what I even posted 30 days ago. I do believe in our staff. I believe in our recruiting. All eyes and goals should be set on Indy for Final Four in 2021. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosierhoopster Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 Definitely a great moment. Awesome to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking6 Posted February 27, 2019 Report Share Posted February 27, 2019 7 hours ago, rbkl said: After a hard-fought victory over Wisconsin, there was a really special moment between senior captain Juwan Morgan and redshirt freshman Race Thompson. Juwan Morgan played very well early in the game. In fact, he finished with a game-high +20 in the plus/minus, and he netted double digit rebounds in the first half. Juwan finished with 9 points and 15 rebounds. But when foul trouble struck again, Indiana went early to Race Thompson. Clearly Archie has a lot of trust in Race, who only had about 20 minutes of college basketball coming into the match up. And he did not disappoint. While his 1 point / 7 rebound stat line may not seem impressive on paper considering he tallied 20+ minutes, Race played fantastic defense all evening. He held his own against Big Ten POTY candidate Ethan Happ. Without Juwan and Justin, who fouled out in overtime, Race stepped up in a big way to help the Hoosiers outlast #19 Wisconsin. Obviously there are a ton of emotions from both players: Juwan Morgan is counting down the number of remaining home games (now it's 2) for him in his Indiana career. Race Thompson has been itching to get back on the court after sitting out his entire freshman year. From watching their interaction, you can tell that Juwan has been a huge mentor for Race. Even though Juwan sat, he was so proud of his younger teammate that will be taking the torch once Juwan leaves. The first thing Race did after winning was to go and give Juwan an emotional hug that was truly a beautiful Indiana basketball moment. This is what it's all about. A Beautiful Indiana Basketball Moment between Juwan and Race Never never never underestimate the passing of the torch if you will what it means to have seniors in a program. Our problem has been our 6-7 guys (minus Yogi) all left early for NBA. Juwan has shown Race and hopefully others what it takes. That's the culture part we've been lacking. Maybe this moment is something we'll look back on in Indy....Final Four 2021. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbkl Posted February 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 The Race and Juwan comparison is very reasonable. Both have similar frames.. 6'8" in the 225 lb range. Coming in, they were both right outside of the 24/7 top 100 rankings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billingsley99 Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 17 minutes ago, rbkl said: The Race and Juwan comparison is very reasonable. Both have similar frames.. 6'8" in the 225 lb range. Coming in, they were both right outside of the 24/7 top 100 rankings. If RT becomes 75% of JM. give me all of them you can find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 3 hours ago, Billingsley99 said: If RT becomes 75% of JM. give me all of them you can find All day and every day...twice on Sundays. But something tells me Race is gonna out do Morgan's career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billingsley99 Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 13 minutes ago, rico said: All day and every day...twice on Sundays. But something tells me Race is gonna out do Morgan's career. That would make my day. Kid deserves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbkl Posted March 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 Haha, well you guys got a preview of this article. After hearing Juwan's presser today, I decided that it deserved a piece of it's own. "This is what Indiana basketball is all about." Would love your feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoosierfan615 Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 2 minutes ago, rbkl said: Haha, well you guys got a preview of this article. After hearing Juwan's presser today, I decided that it deserved a piece of it's own. "This is what Indiana basketball is all about." Would love your feedback! Loved the behind the scenes story! Made the win over Wisky even sweeter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zlinedavid Posted March 1, 2019 Report Share Posted March 1, 2019 A kid that plays the way he does with the name Race. Tell me he didn't belong at Indiana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indykev Posted March 2, 2019 Report Share Posted March 2, 2019 On 2/28/2019 at 3:58 PM, Billingsley99 said: If RT becomes 75% of JM. give me all of them you can find Race is a better shooter than Juwan, so yes I see big things for this kid. Could and should be a double double monster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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