btownqb Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 XJ is the best guard we have on our team, by a lot. He's certainly not perfect though, I didn't watch that game last night and come away frustrated with him though, that's for sure. Not sure what happened on those two FTs attempts w/4 to go though. Woof. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 11 hours ago, Danomatic said: I know that I can’t speak for everyone here, but Xavier and Rob are hurting this team’s growth. Meanwhile, Kristian Lander is not seeing any minutes unless injury or foul trouble occurs. Personally, I think Lander is a better option moving forward. I believe we’ve seen X and Rob's ceiling, and it’s abysmal. There was absolutely no way XJ should’ve been out there the last few minutes. He and Rob look lost whenever they get slowed down and have to run the offense in a half court set. Honestly, I trust Woody and have no idea why Lander doesn’t see much floor time. Perhaps it’s a practice thing. But I don’t think he’s going to gain any confidence without getting consistent minutes. Maybe X is better coming off the bench, and Rob used sparingly? I don’t know, but that second half should make our staff sick to their stomachs… it did me. Just an awful overall performance. Seriously? Your plan is to START Lander? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euroclydon Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 (edited) Lander is getting better but there is no way he can physically match up with Davison or Davis today. I believe CMW is trying to put him in a position to be successful and not have his confidence crushed like last season. In other words, he's protecting him. Last night was another gut check and they failed. In the loss to Wis and Cuse they were exposed. They are short on guys who can break you down off the dribble and consistently score. In the second half, Wis got physical and of course the refs didn't call it and IU couldn't answer. No need to panic. What we want to see is growth. The first half they looked poised and not in a hurry. They moved the ball and rebounded it. Second half Wis got physical and they couldn't get the same open shots. It was clear they do not have a guy who can get to the rim and score consistently. X tried but some of those shots were just wishful thinking. I guess he was trying to get a foul call but that's not going to happen on any B1G opponents court. TJD couldn't get around his guy for a clean look and he didn't even attempt a jump shot. They need to go back to the drawing board on how to use TJD to get open shots. Wis did what other teams have done to him. They didn't double until he dribbled and for whatever reason he couldn't find an open shooter to pass to. That's a concern. Let's see if they can take another step over the next four games, see where they are when they play Notre Dame and more importantly how they play when they go to Penn State. It's the road games that have them stumped right now. Edited December 9, 2021 by Euroclydon 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 2 hours ago, rico said: Well if Phinisee is practicing well, it isn't translating into good game play. At some point in time you would think that you would want guys on the floor that give you the best chance to win regardless of how they perform in practice. But as you said, Woody has his reasons. There was nothing wrong with the way he played last night. The bolded is just not something that's ever going to happen with good coaching. You aren't trotting a guy out there that hasn't earned it and in no way shape or form has Lander earned it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 4 minutes ago, btownqb said: There was nothing wrong with the way he played last night. @btownqb I respect the heck out of ya, but yes there was... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 Just now, IUFLA said: @btownqb I respect the heck out of ya, but yes there was... Not really. He was unnoticed, which in his case, is a good thing. I still can't get why this is suuuuuch a talking point for you guys. We don't have a capable replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledies22 Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 CMW is not playing people just to screw with the fanbase. All guards have something they need to improve upon. Currently XJ give us the best chance to win. after that i dont know. I am sure Lander knows exactly what he needs to work on to get more minutes. It took Leal 1 game against Nebraska to earn minutes last night. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 3 minutes ago, btownqb said: Not really. He was unnoticed, which in his case, is a good thing. I still can't get why this is suuuuuch a talking point for you guys. We don't have a capable replacement. I went back and re-read...sorry, you were talking about Phinisee...I thought you were talking about XJ... You're right, there was nothing wrong with his game from a backup point guard perspective I guess... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierDPU95 Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 1 minute ago, btownqb said: Not really. He was unnoticed, which in his case, is a good thing. I still can't get why this is suuuuuch a talking point for you guys. We don't have a capable replacement. Lander is basically like the highly ranked freshman quarterback on a football team. When the team loses some games with the experienced QB at the helm, the fans start screaming for the backup to play. If Lander gave us a better chance of winning games, I 100% trust that our staff would play him. People screaming for him to play are just saying they think they know better than the staff. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 Just now, HoosierDPU95 said: Lander is basically like the highly ranked freshman quarterback on a football team. When the team loses some games with the experienced QB at the helm, the fans start screaming for the backup to play. If Lander gave us a better chance of winning games, I 100% trust that our staff would play him. People screaming for him to play are just saying they think they know better than the staff. Hey, I agree. Hopefully KL can improve and take RP mins by the end of the year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inequality Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 You could have inbounded the ball to no one and got the same results that XJ gave the last 5 minutes. IU was up 8 with 6:30 or so remaining. XJ was out of control. Just running down into the paint and throwing a blind prayer over his head. That’s his fault completely but the staff let him do it over and over and over again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 2 minutes ago, Inequality said: You could have inbounded the ball to no one and got the same results that XJ gave the last 5 minutes. IU was up 8 with 6:30 or so remaining. XJ was out of control. Just running down into the paint and throwing a blind prayer over his head. That’s his fault completely but the staff let him do it over and over and over again. Thompson missed a layup, TJD allowed an offensive reb, Parker Stewart made a SOFT move, and TJD did, as well. There is 8-9points that had absolutely nothing with XJ. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledies22 Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 2 minutes ago, Inequality said: You could have inbounded the ball to no one and got the same results that XJ gave the last 5 minutes. IU was up 8 with 6:30 or so remaining. XJ was out of control. Just running down into the paint and throwing a blind prayer over his head. That’s his fault completely but the staff let him do it over and over and over again. at that point... who wasnt? TJD did. Race did. P Stew didnt want to shoot. Someone has to try to make something happen. Typically the first thing you do to create is to try to get to the bucket. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxnJxn Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 3 minutes ago, IUFLA said: I went back and re-read...sorry, you were talking about Phinisee...I thought you were talking about XJ... You're right, there was nothing wrong with his game from a backup point guard perspective I guess... As you said, Rob's game last night was fine for a backup PG. I think the biggest issue for some of us is that (1) Rob really hasn't shown much progress from his freshman year and we thought he'd be much better than this by his senior year, and (2) KL not getting any minutes at all is kind of a head scratcher. I don't think anyone's saying they know more than CMW or the staff on KL, but we're on a message board, and it's legit to have questions as to why he couldn't get into either of the last two games for even a single minute. He made a mistake or two in the Syracuse game, but he also made some dynamic plays that we simply aren't seeing from Rob. I'm not questioning the staff's decisions, I just ... don't really get it, and I'm clearly not alone on that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotIThatLives Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 3 minutes ago, Inequality said: You could have inbounded the ball to no one and got the same results that XJ gave the last 5 minutes. IU was up 8 with 6:30 or so remaining. XJ was out of control. Just running down into the paint and throwing a blind prayer over his head. That’s his fault completely but the staff let him do it over and over and over again. I think it was design... by Wisconsin. They couldn't stay in front of him so force him into the trees and collapse. Had he kicked to Stewart in the corner for 3 a few times, different result. Once he tried a lob to Trayce that hit the rim. X has a little Westbrook in him, which with this team, someone needs to be pissed off about losing and do something about it. He just didn't make the plays that are required of your point guard once you get into the paint. If y'all want to bust balls, bust Trayce for getting worked by a walk on stiff. Show some will to freaking win. And yes, as @BGleas said, the 2nd half defense was lazy and weak. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inequality Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 Also, I think someone may have mentioned the shot numbers. In the second half I believe XJ had taken 10 shots to TJD 4. That’s not going to work. TJD was getting the double but because of that he should have got even more touches to find an open shooter. It is going to be a long season on the road. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGleas Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 2 minutes ago, Inequality said: Also, I think someone may have mentioned the shot numbers. In the second half I believe XJ had taken 10 shots to TJD 4. That’s not going to work. TJD was getting the double but because of that he should have got even more touches to find an open shooter. It is going to be a long season on the road. TJD got a ton of touches in the 2nd half, he just handled the way Wisconsin was defending him poorly. We went to him on the right block on tons of possessions. TJD made no adjustments and other than hard dribbling to the left from the right block, he doesn't really have much else to go to. He was slow to pass it out of the double and often passed it out to the wrong guy. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IUFLA Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 1 minute ago, AxnJxn said: As you said, Rob's game last night was fine for a backup PG. I think the biggest issue for some of us is that (1) Rob really hasn't shown much progress from his freshman year and we thought he'd be much better than this by his senior year, and (2) KL not getting any minutes at all is kind of a head scratcher. I don't think anyone's saying they know more than CMW or the staff on KL, but we're on a message board, and it's legit to have questions as to why he couldn't get into either of the last two games for even a single minute. He made a mistake or two in the Syracuse game, but he also made some dynamic plays that we simply aren't seeing from Rob. I'm not questioning the staff's decisions, I just ... don't really get it, and I'm clearly not alone on that. I'm in total agreement...I think Rob is adequate for a back-up PG, but I think Lander could be more than adequate... It kinda makes you wonder if Khristian is in Coach Woody's long term plans...Rob and XJ will be gone next year, and we have Hood-Schifino and Gunn coming in...Our backcourt will have Trey, Anthony, Tamar, and Khristian potentially coming back... I think the big question becomes, if KL isn't going to see any action in the majority of our games, does he wait his turn? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxnJxn Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 4 minutes ago, IUFLA said: I'm in total agreement...I think Rob is adequate for a back-up PG, but I think Lander could be more than adequate... It kinda makes you wonder if Khristian is in Coach Woody's long term plans...Rob and XJ will be gone next year, and we have Hood-Schifino and Gunn coming in...Our backcourt will have Trey, Anthony, Tamar, and Khristian potentially coming back... I think the big question becomes, if KL isn't going to see any action in the majority of our games, does he wait his turn? Yeah, you read my mind here, and I'm also wondering if the transfer portal has changed the strategy a bit for coaches, in that you may not need to get the younger guys experience if you can go out and get a guy like X to run the team (and yeah, he had a rough second half, but he's been a pretty good pickup overall). People like to note that KL's really just a freshman, but this is year 2 of major college basketball experience, and he's still not seeing the court at all. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 5 minutes ago, AxnJxn said: Yeah, you read my mind here, and I'm also wondering if the transfer portal has changed the strategy a bit for coaches, in that you may not need to get the younger guys experience if you can go out and get a guy like X to run the team (and yeah, he had a rough second half, but he's been a pretty good pickup overall). People like to note that KL's really just a freshman, but this is year 2 of major college basketball experience, and he's still not seeing the court at all. I see KL's NBA aspirations slipping away...at IU. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 14 minutes ago, IUFLA said: I'm in total agreement...I think Rob is adequate for a back-up PG, but I think Lander could be more than adequate... It kinda makes you wonder if Khristian is in Coach Woody's long term plans...Rob and XJ will be gone next year, and we have Hood-Schifino and Gunn coming in...Our backcourt will have Trey, Anthony, Tamar, and Khristian potentially coming back... I think the big question becomes, if KL isn't going to see any action in the majority of our games, does he wait his turn? The biggest question for me is... do we want him to? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IU878176 Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 19 minutes ago, IUFLA said: I'm in total agreement...I think Rob is adequate for a back-up PG, but I think Lander could be more than adequate... It kinda makes you wonder if Khristian is in Coach Woody's long term plans...Rob and XJ will be gone next year, and we have Hood-Schifino and Gunn coming in...Our backcourt will have Trey, Anthony, Tamar, and Khristian potentially coming back... I think the big question becomes, if KL isn't going to see any action in the majority of our games, does he wait his turn? Does X have another year if he wants it? I know Rob does. Wonder of either of them surprise us by coming back another year. Maybe KL turns it around in practice and wins minutes but at this point he is clearly not in the rotation. Woody, and the entire staff including Thad, knows the possible implications of KL not getting time but that clearly is not an issue for him (them). Maybe KL will wait his turn but in addition to not playing I’m sure he is very aware that JHS is coming and I believe JHS has been more of a PG this year than a CG. For all we know next years PG plan might be JHS and a portal PG. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btownqb Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 14 minutes ago, IU878176 said: Does X have another year if he wants it? I know Rob does. Wonder of either of them surprise us by coming back another year. Maybe KL turns it around in practice and wins minutes but at this point he is clearly not in the rotation. Woody, and the entire staff including Thad, knows the possible implications of KL not getting time but that clearly is not an issue for him (them). Maybe KL will wait his turn but in addition to not playing I’m sure he is very aware that JHS is coming and I believe JHS has been more of a PG this year than a CG. For all we know next years PG plan might be JHS and a portal PG. Every player on our roster has at least one more year of CBB if they want it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IowaHoosierFan Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 24 minutes ago, btownqb said: The biggest question for me is... do we want him to? I can't tell yet. He hasn't played enough with talent around him to tell me if he is going to be any good. He has never been given a starting place or extended minutes with a long leash in a game. Sometimes talent from high school doesn't transfer. Maybe his skillset is better for a PAC10 or ACC conference and not the physical B1G. The biggest problem is, we haven't seen him in a leadership role. Maybe he blooms, maybe he folds but its hard to tell what a kid can do in snatches of minutes of play. I would rather see KL than Rob. I personally don't like his style of play or his lack of leadership. I understand he is probably a net + over KL but i don't care anymore. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledies22 Posted December 9, 2021 Report Share Posted December 9, 2021 I think KL got screwed by Archie. People forget that this truly should be KL's freshman year. Are we having the same conversation if we didnt see him last year and he was a freshman? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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