Stromboli

Boy I sure hope we can beat Penn State. Big game!! Barf.

Excellent! That article does a great job showing what is happening here. Otherwise he's just a link on btownbanners for me. But this kid is quite a bit more than that. He's a phenom. Wait until the hype machine gets past Romeo and settles on him. Stuhoo, you're right on with the Jimmy Chitwood reference. In other words, he's just playing the lead in the same story of Indiana Basketball that we all love. I'll be cheering for him. Does anyone know what kind of connections we may have to Luke's family or his coach?

I don't think any team has it in the bag. I think Romeo is getting exactly the kind of information he wanted when he decided to put off his commitment. For Vandy, he has learned that Garland and Shittu will be there; Garland got suspended for some behavioral stuff; Shittu will be coming off a torn ACL; and that the team sucks and Drew isn't working any miracles. For Indiana, he's watching what our 4 commits are doing this year; seeing that we've stayed clean through the FBI stuff; learned that we have a gaping hole in the SG position; and that Archie's first year has ups and downs. For Kansas, he's seeing continued murky waters with the Preston situation; some lower than expected results; and watching how the other players/commits are doing this year to gauge what kind of minutes he'll get next year. All of this is valuable, and I think it is being utilized by the Langfords in the decision making process. He's seeing love from Indiana fans every day, all over the place. He knows that it could be a good year here. I don't get the impression that he really wants to go to Indiana. He's not popping up to campus on a regular basis like he used to with Louisville. But he was here for HH, and he watched the Duke game. He knows that we've got something good here. As a fan, I'm calling it 33% to Kansas, 33% to Vandy, and 34% to Indiana. In other words, more likely than not he doesn't come here, but we're still in the best spot.

Assumptions: Everyone is back but Clifton. No grad transfers. This is based entirely on a brief shot to the bench during the Minnesota game (see below) where everyone was happy for a Justin Smith play except Clifton, who looked less than thrilled. Even De'Ron looked happy about it. Devonte may have questions, and may love the East Coast, but he hasn't played his way into a better opportunity, I think he likes the prospect of playing big games, and I think probably has a connection with Coach Miller and IU. Total guesses. Making guesses at the roster starts with a giant hole where there should be a competent shooting/scoring guard. Someone that plays on the perimeter, is a threat to score in a number of ways (except post play), and will never be expected to guard the opposing team's post player. In our case, a perimeter guy that can provide some offense. We just lost Curtis, who was our best bet to fill this role. RoJo leaving will be a huge loss that we are not equipped to handle. If Romeo comes, then this is an easy fix. He'll slide into this spot and succeed. If not, then who will? I know there is discussion that Jerome will play shooting guard. Maybe someday he will. If you've watched his game, he does not play like a shooting guard. He plays like a 3/4. Sometimes facing the basket, sometimes pure post play. A little bit of 3 pt shooting. In my view, he's not a guard yet. Damezi, on the other hand, very much plays like a long SG. Better shooter than anyone we have. He helps on defense, but won't be a "big." And you watch him time his sprints to an open spot, or squirting out behind the 3pt line in transition or after an offensive rebound for a dagger 3, and he plays like a good SG. And at 6'6" he's got the length Coach is looking for defense, and some quick slashes to the basket. If he earns CAM's trust, I can see Damezi filling in some minutes at the SG spot. Otherwise, I think it will be a mix of players with undefined skill sets like Al and Zach, who still bring hard defense and dependability to the floor. For point guard, we have to use Phinisee. Expectation for me is that he averages about 5-5-5. That may seem low on points, but for a contributing non-star freshman PG, that's fine. I got to see Rob play. On videos he looks small and maybe not built for the next level. In person, he is much more robust. I think Coach called him sturdy in an interview. He's wider/stronger/taller that the other kids on the floor. On his way down the floor he is absolutely trying to set something up for his team. I think he'll be fine, and frankly I think Archie will be ride-or-die with him because we need it. Then Green and Al can spell him when needed. If he proves to be reliable, you know he's going to be a fan favorite. Slightly undersized PG from Indiana? That's the stuff. The "3" spot (we'll call it a wing) is wide open. Zach is proving that he needs to be on the floor. Justin may continue to do the same. For Justin, I said last year I think he's going to be finishing his IU career with some great numbers that stack up well on the leader boards. His temperament is just rock solid. And he wants to dunk on every body. Jerome will fit here nicely as more of a gadget wing. Get him out there to make some plays and find a mismatch. Too big for a guard to guard, too shifty for a big. I haven't gotten the sense that Jerome will be a day-1 contributor. We will have one "5;" De'Ron. There's been a lot of negative talk towards De'Ron recently, but I'm a big fan. "Duuuuhhh, but he don't hustle hard enough." Right. Few 6'10" guys can go full bore. Frankly there are just very, very few athletes in existence that can play this position, and that we have one is important. Coach Flint likes to quote Calipari, in that if you don't have a post presence, then your team is a fraud. Juwan is an excellent inside player and doesn't back down from anyone, but he's not a 5 and shouldn't be expected to play that. In my view, even if De'Ron returns and averages 20 minutes and 7.5 points a game, having him is a very important piece. Not to mention we don't have anyone else that can play a 5 on the team or coming in. I reeeeeally hope we get TJD in '19, who seems ready to lead a team playing as a very mobile 5. Lastly, the 4 (no, I'm not very good at going in order). Lord willing, Juwan will return. This is his team this year, and it will be his team next year. I've heard him say that he talks with OG all the time, and OG urges him non-stop to "get to the league." OG is having a blast. Juwan has had more valleys than peaks in the first 2.5 years. But man, I hope Archie can sell him on staying to have a full 4 year career, enjoy the full experience, the senior speech, make a last run, all of it. If he comes back, then he's our 4. Race, Justin, and maaaaaybe Forrester can get some time here. Tl;dr Starting 5: 1. Rob Phinisee 2. Damezi Anderson (or Romeo) 3. Justin Smith 4. Juwan Morgan 5. De'Ron Davis First man off the bench is always McBob, who will get starter's minutes. Al gets 10 min/game. Devonte gets 7. We'll usually have 4 guys on the floor at 6'6" or taller. Juwan gets his dog points. Justin averages 11 pts a game of mostly dunks and free throws. The team has De'Ron on the floor 50% of the time, the rest of it a faster line-up. And we all watch with bated breath to see if a couple of freshmen can provide an upgrade to our backcourt.

Buying pies, no less. I guess now that he's not playing, the diet is off. That pic looks like diabeetus.

Uhh. Only four? So a senior will find some eligibility? We'll lose McSwain, Priller, Newkirk, Johnson, Collin, and Curtis. There's 6 already. I know hating on players is fun right now, but I hope we keep our guys. Once you're on my team, I cheer for your improvement, not replacement. Hard for me to distinguish between cheering for the team and cheering for the players. Obviously if you're a jerk that's different. We need DeRon to stay. Even if his numbers aren't meeting fan expectations, he brings an inside presence that really helps the team, and can't be found easily. Getting a true 6'10" post is tough. We need to keep faith in our freshmen. You can't on one hand want to be a team that builds with 4 year guys, and simultaneously expect young players to be big contributors. We're going to need guidance for recruits coming in, and these guys will provide that. Through these losses all of these guys are gaining experience and hopefully toughness. I think Justin and Clifton will both benefit from better PG play.

Let's hope for good things for this team tonight. If anything made sense we'd win this game easily. Even if Wisconsin is playing walk-ons, a win up there would be awesome.

Green plays like trash more often than not. Get Smith back out there. Moore should get 5+ minutes too.

Does.... Does this mean we like him again?

Getting the state HS scoring record was always going to be difficult. Romeo was already behind pace to get there. And now with missing games it's looking really unlikely. Romeo is an incredible talent. If anything this just reaffirms what an incredible high school career Damon Bailey had to achieve what he did. Romeo retweeted some Darius Garland stuff this week. I haven't seen him retweeting anything from Damezi or Rob. Does this mean anything? I don't know. Garland was talking with Al Durham days/weeks before his decision. I think a lot of us are concerned with the abysmal start we've had under Archie. The good news? We've got minutes to give. In fact, the somewhat promising SG we had on the roster just transferred, removing pretty much all competition at the position next year. Also, Vanderbilt is having an historically bad season as well. Year 2 of the Drew era, and there are articles about Vandy having their worst start in 72 years. Drew isn't some wunderkind coaching prodigy. The IU struggles aren't going to kill us on this. What about Kansas? I'm not sure. Not as much playing time, but excellent support (heh) and exposure. They've protected their brand and there's some pride in just being a Kansas commit--something IU has squandered. We're still in it. I agree with the people that say he won't change the program. And I agree with the people that say he would be a huge get that would really help us as long as he's here.

Totally. That's where Juwan is finding his bread and butter this year, and it obviously helps tremendously. From every interview with Jake, it seems like he's more than happy to play that role. The guy is plugged in, too, and may help us get a few more top recruits.

We're dopes if we don't make a run at Trendon. He keeps producing. I got to see Trendon play last April. He shares a ton of mannerisms with his brother. His playing style is more explosive. What's funny is right after a play, he returns right back to the sloped shoulders, kinda lackadaisical attitude Christian had.

I'm with you. I try to keep my negative opinions to myself, but he's been less than impressive both times I've seen him. Disappears, looks lost at times. Compared to TJD or Phinisee or Langford? Not close. I support him for the Indiana thing, but I think he's twitterpated by the celebrity coaches.

Whoa. Man I'm excited about Rob coming. I'm no talent expert, but to my eyes Rob is the best recruit we have coming in. It's hard to tell but he is very much built for B1G play. When you see him play he pops just the same as the other star recruits. And man is he on a tear this year.

Just watched Archie's post-game interview on ITH. Some notes. - He's still talking about Fort Wayne. Good. Kinda questioned the pride/leadership of guys, especially the upper classmen. - When asked how he's going to keep this team primed for sustained effort, said something along the lines of "I think I'm just going to be a raving lunatic every day." And "going to have a lot of headaches over the next couple months." - The team will be off until 12/26 I've been quiet after the IPFW loss, but I can tell you that I'd give Archie about a C- so far. And some of these comments are very close to throwing players under the bus. Let's not forget he called them "soft" early on. Not really great leadership. I also think that we're watching Coach Miller grow up. That sounds condescending, but I don't mean it that way. I'm basically his age and so in ways I understand some of the struggles he's making as he transitions. I don't think he's finished becoming what he will be. I think he'll learn more tricks of connecting and teaching, perhaps being more fluid with his adjustments, and will get to a place where his players enjoy playing for him. Honestly, right now I don't think the team is having a ton of fun. In grading Archie low, don't interpret that to mean I'm questioning the hire. I hope he's our coach for 25 years.

It looks like we're putting our perimeter defenders out there a little more. More like normal man defense. Can anyone smarter confirm?

Who's ready for the next huge embarrassing failure?? Go Hoosiers!

Yogi's line is incredible! There are some guys with big contracts that don't have a game like that.

Hey boys, that was awesome. Archie needed that win, and he really wasn't hiding how bad he wanted it. Man that felt good. Against Notre Dame, like deja vu all over again. Juwan. Man. Our team has a star, and it couldn't be a more likable guy.

I think Mr. Bailey7878 was employing sarcasm. Which he hates doing. <----- Also sarcasm.

I think the on court difference of 2018 IU with Romeo compared to 2018 IU without Romeo is tremendous. Having him on the court will impact everyone positively. He'd be our best scorer and defender. He'd bring an outside shot that we don't have. He'd bring highlight plays that energize the crowd and demoralize the opposing team. He'd give new dynamics and options to game plans. He is already playing levels above everyone else. As others have noted, there is not 4 inches difference between Romeo and Keion. Romeo is pretty big/physical, and can play above the rim. He's played a ton of AAU ball, and now has international experience. He's been coached by a ton of good coaches already. He'll have already spent 2 full seasons being the guy that gets double teamed all the time, and so he knows how to use that as an advantage, creating for others. The "must get" language rubs me wrong. But Romeo would make a very big impact on what IU can do.

I heard something! Very similar to what the other guy posted. I went to Southport this weekend, sat by some other IU fans that were there for the show. One guy (who works for the University, but not in athletics), is family friends with people very much in the NA basketball world, including the high school team and AAU. He said there is basically an understanding among that crowd that Romeo is coming to IU. I know, I know. Another 3rd hand account of someone that doesn't know anything. It's possible that there's nothing to know, you know? I don't get the impression that Romeo is a huge IU fan, but he may decide nonetheless that it is the best opportunity for him. Fine, right? Maybe by the time he leaves he'd be a proud Hoosier. Tim Langford has called this a "business decision" many times. Romeo stays late to sign autographs. Romeo is hanging onto his recruitment for a looong time, and giving interviews along the way. It very well may be the case that Romeo is playing the long game here, and he is just increasing the value of his name. To be clear, I respect this a ton, and would never expect someone not to do this. If this is the case, then maybe that bodes well for IU, maybe not. A little bit about Romeo's play on Saturday. I think it is going under-appreciated that he has a nasty streak to him. Part of his brand is that he is cool-headed, never showing a great deal of emotion. But if you were to watch he and Keion grappling at the game, Romeo is not shying away from contact or anything. This will sound too simple, but it's that same cool, competitive streak Jordan had. He went straight at the best player on the other team. I swear, Romeo was there to embarrass Keion and get under his skin. Did anyone else notice the games those two were playing? Like walking into his path coming out of a timeout, little hand games for position that went beyond the norm. And yes, I was watching Romeo the whole game, like a total creep. Aside from that, Romeo is just better than the other players on the court. He does a ton of things that don't show up on stat sheets. He was tasked with doing the jump ball, guarding the tallest guy/best player, a ton of point duties, all while drawing doubles. Among all of this he scores 42 points and shuts down the opposing team's star. He deflected passes, and cuts off passing lanes. He sees what's happening out there and anticipates it. A few times when Keion would be trying to time a burst to an open spot, Romeo timed it too, like he was expecting it, and took a more direct route to meet him there. Weird little things like one-handed rebounds that he collects and going straight into a running dribble to create transition opportunities, or offensive rebounds that he just deflects straight to an open teammate instead of coming down with the ball and then passing. Anyway, I really enjoyed watching him play. He's handling the enormous pressure of all of this very well. An IU commitment would be awesome.

Guys the technicals were nothing. Jerome doesn't have an attitude or anything. No one understood the first tech, and the second one was just an over eager ref. Don't worry about it. Neither Damezi nor Jerome were crazy impressive.

Yep, TJD is very good. His moves are already smooth and explosive. Excellent shot blocker. They don't pass to him much, and he'll pass back out willingly. Dale Davis is about 10 feet from me watching. Edit: Also Trayce is talking to his teammates constantly, putting them in position on offense and defense.