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Stuhoo

A Reason For Optimism

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13 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

Until we beat a team that doesn't suck take solace in the legitimate reasons for optimism, but temper won-lost record expectations.

 

Gonna be a slow process as each player buys in and comes to an inkling of understanding the offense and defense, at different speeds.

I can sure see signs of it slowly coming together as individuals awareness grows.

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Without doing any research, I suspect this group of players has as much or more talent on its roster than any Dayton team Archie coached. Granted, this team is just learning how he does things, and some of his Dayton teams had experience with him for years (which certainly counts for a great deal), but if you look at the number of four-star and three-star recruits on the floor and on the bench, it wouldn't surprise me if this was the highest pool of talent Archie has ever had to work with.

So...with that in mind...we might have a much higher ceiling ahead this season than the first games indicate.

To me, the key men are RoJo and Morgan. RoJo is a four-year starter, and there are times a guy like that must put the team on his back and carry it. I saw a little of that last night for the first time this year. Ditto Morgan on the front line. Apparently he hits 3's well in practice, and if that starts to translate to games, he would become a nightmare to guard with his slashing ability to go with that jump shot.

Hey, the title of this topic was 'a reason for optimism'

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Without doing any research, I suspect this group of players has as much or more talent on its roster than any Dayton team Archie coached. Granted, this team is just learning how he does things, and some of his Dayton teams had experience with him for years (which certainly counts for a great deal), but if you look at the number of four-star and three-star recruits on the floor and on the bench, it wouldn't surprise me if this was the highest pool of talent Archie has ever had to work with. So...with that in mind...we might have a much higher ceiling ahead this season than the first games indicate.

To me, the key men are RoJo and Morgan. RoJo is a four-year starter, and there are times a guy like that must put the team on his back and carry it. I saw a little of that last night for the first time this year. Ditto Morgan on the front line. Apparently he hits 3's well in practice, and if that starts to translate to games, he would become a nightmare to guard with his slashing ability to go with that jump shot.

Hey, the title of this topic was 'a reason for optimism'

 

While this is surely true, he also has never fielded a team with these type of habits that need broken. Not just bad habits, but habits formed over hundreds of hours in the gym. It’s like a basketball player with Lonzo Ball’s shot trying to reinvent it in a couple of weeks of true practice time. The younger kids look better than the upperclassmen most of the time for a big reason.

 

 

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34 minutes ago, incrediboy said:

Without doing any research, I suspect this group of players has as much or more talent on its roster than any Dayton team Archie coached.

Probably, but would he have even attempted to recruit RoJo, Morgan, Green, CuJo, etc., based on what he saw of them in high school and on the AAU circuit and what he wants in a player for his system?   Obviously there is no answer to this question, but just something to ponder.

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12 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Probably, but would he have even attempted to recruit RoJo, Morgan, Green, CuJo, etc., based on what he saw of them in high school and on the AAU circuit and what he wants in a player for his system?   Obviously there is no answer to this question, but just something to ponder.

Exactly. All these guys committed to IU based on Crean's recruitment and his vision for them at IU.  Archie's recruits in his system will show what we can do in his era and I think the second half of USF showed some glimpses of what we'll see in the future consistently.

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23 hours ago, IUrocker said:

oh, i absolutely agree that it's all of them, i was just trying to be nice on here, haha. I definitely like your way of stating it better...and believe me, i sure as heck make sure i let them know what i think of them when they have something to say!! 

Being nice is terrific and I admire you for it.    A wonderful, admirable, and respectable trait.  Except as it relates to those people.  Honestly, the more I talk to them....and I think this has been true for most of my adult life....the more I can't stand them.  For the reasons you stated and for their selective arrogance.  Remember when they were "basketball on grass": under Joe Tiller and had some success on the football field?  Like Notre Dame fans when they're good, people came out of the woodwork and just talked and talked and yapped and bragged as if they'd been true black and gold all along.   Yet when Darrell Hazell was the coach, they couldn't give tickets away. 

 I remember specifically at a couple of bowl games in the Mallory era hearing compliments about our fans and how classy they were.   Maybe fair weather; but there wasn't the braggadocious and very exaggerated self importance those people show every time they have even a modicum of success.  They are an embarrassment to themselves most of the time.   Just laugh and be glad you aren't them.  (Un-necessary disclaimer.  I do not like Purdue fans.  In case anybody was wondering.  Anyone who feels the need to wear black gloves and carry a hammer to a basketball game is joke fodder for me.  Please feel free to contact me with questions.)

Purdue1.jpg

Purdue.jpg

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I was just thinking, that one thing we haven't really seen is a close win this year. Should be interesting to see how CAM handles that. Personally, for the past several years, coming into the final minutes of a close game wasn't something I had a good feeling about. I've got to think from what I've seen so far, there will at least be some planning put into it. I sure hope our days of seeing a wide open layup for the win are done.

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IU is currently the #49 offensive team in the country and the #179 defensive team in the country according to Kenpom. Going into this year, I think the general consensus was that this team would struggle offensively given the lack of true scorers (or unproven scorers) and lack of three point shooting.  This team has vastly outperformed my expectations offensively and I think Archie deserves major credit for where we are offensively.
We have shown bright spots defensively but have yet to put an entire game or half together. That said, I've been encouraged by the direction we are going defensively but still realize we are a long way off from what Archie wants. I think it's possible this team could be in the low 100s or break 100 in Kenpom this year and if the offense holds, we could be in for a strong finish to the season.
All these guys playing were recruited by Crean and coached under his philosophy and approach. Disregarding the ISU game, I like where this team is at and I think Archie has what it takes to make the most out of this roster.

A huge reason our defense has struggled so far is the open threes. Principals to the packline have players "shading" to the paint for help side defense.

There are two problems I see with this right now. The first is players over helping and not getting back to their man who is wide open for a layup. This should get better as the season progresses. However, were limited by the personnel.

The second will get better as CAM brings his players in. I can see an Anderson, Hunter, or Smith being able to close out much better than Newkirk, Johnson, and Hartman.

For this season, we need to remain on the floor and stop biting on every little fake. Closeout with a handup. This will solve a lot of defensive woes.


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16 hours ago, HoosierAloha said:

The second will get better as CAM brings his players in. I can see an Anderson, Hunter, or Smith being able to close out much better than Newkirk, Johnson, and Hartman.


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Completely agree. Under Crean and right now we're a 3-guard team, not a postionless basketball team. It was always partly what killed IU under Crean. We rarely had size/length/athleticism at the 2-4 spots, and especially the 2-3 spots. I think Archie is looking to recruit a bunch of 6'5" to 6'8" "wings" that are skilled and have length/athleticism which will greatly improve the 3-pt defense. It's much harder to knock down an open 3 when someone like OG is closing out on you as opposed to someone like Josh Newkirk or Robert Johnson. 

I'm not sure what years Archie was at OSU as an assistant, but I'd look for him to build teams similar to the OSU teams when Matta had it rolling. Those teams always had a big and a point guard, but then surrounded them by versatile, athletic, long wings in guys like Buford, Diebler, Lighty, LaQuinton Ross, Evan Turner, etc. 

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Hopefully the returning players. Please Morgan and Davis be included in that. Help teach the new recruits the system so that there's not the mass confusion we saw this year. 

Green/Al/Smith/Morgan/Davis 

shouldnt be a bad starting unit at first.  Hopefully Thompson or Moore is ready to contribute off the bench  

More than likely we will need real contributions from 2 Freshmen  Hunter and Phinisee most likely I think  Yes I am assuming we miss on Romeo  

 

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