So some concerns I’m having...

[Feathery 3,848]

33 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

There is adversity every year one way or another. This team folded like a cheap lawn chair whenever it experienced it except for the last 4 games of the regular season. 

Yes you are correct. We also were starting 4 freshman/sophomores. We are young and do not have the metal toughness or the leadership capabilities to not fold. The senior leadership was a guy who said he wanted to transfer. 

[cchuntsman 186]

2 hours ago, tortex28 said:

Watching some of the teams play in these conference tournaments, it is evident how far Indiana has to go to really be good again.
I like phinisee and the Davis bros for next year but man, a lot question Mark's after that.

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Clearly you haven’t been watching the PAC-12.  ;-)

[8bucks 6,106]

Seems as if most are assuming we will have Hunter back next year. Has anything been released to suggest that as a possibility? The more I read on what we assume are his conditions the less likely I am to think he will play.

Hopefully I have missed something and there is good reason for the optimism with him.


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[mdn82 25,456]

Seems as if most are assuming we will have Hunter back next year. Has anything been released to suggest that as a possibility? The more I read on what we assume are his conditions the less likely I am to think he will play.

Hopefully I have missed something and there is good reason for the optimism with him.


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Well hopefully he had the same prognosis as Ingram for the Lakers. 3-4 completely off. Then ease back in. He has started non-contact drills. So hopefully that’s where we are.


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[Old Friend 8,389]

4 hours ago, tortex28 said:

Watching some of the teams play in these conference tournaments, it is evident how far Indiana has to go to really be good again.
I like phinisee and the Davis bros for next year but man, a lot question Mark's after that.

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I'm more concerned with style.   The ACC, for example plays a wide open style that's not as physical.  Much more fun to watch.  Historically, some Big Ten teams have gotten in trouble with fouls because they play a physical game and NCAA refs don't allow it.   Indiana needs more talent to be sure, but I'm not sure the Big Ten doesn't need to change the way they officiate and perhaps the kinds of athletes they recruit.

[8bucks 6,106]

Well hopefully he had the same prognosis as Ingram for the Lakers. 3-4 completely off. Then ease back in. He has started non-contact drills. So hopefully that’s where we are.


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I read where one cause of DVT in the leg was a pinching of a vein or artery and that surgery could be done to relieve that. Post surgery if they keep from forming clots then they can participate in non contact activity. I kept looking for when they could return to contact sports but the article bounced over to other causes and things that can be done so I never saw if that was expected or probable.

The end of the article talked about support groups for athletes learning to cope with a life changing condition. So yeah I am hopeful there can be a path back to playing


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[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,090]

I read where one cause of DVT in the leg was a pinching of a vein or artery and that surgery could be done to relieve that. Post surgery if they keep from forming clots then they can participate in non contact activity. I kept looking for when they could return to contact sports but the article bounced over to other causes and things that can be done so I never saw if that was expected or probable.

The end of the article talked about support groups for athletes learning to cope with a life changing condition. So yeah I am hopeful there can be a path back to playing


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But, we are all speculating that is what he has, correct? I don't recall any statement regarding the nature of the injury/disease. It certainly sounds like DVT.

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[HoosierAloha 29,880]

I'm more concerned with style.   The ACC, for example plays a wide open style that's not as physical.  Much more fun to watch.  Historically, some Big Ten teams have gotten in trouble with fouls because they play a physical game and NCAA refs don't allow it.   Indiana needs more talent to be sure, but I'm not sure the Big Ten doesn't need to change the way they officiate and perhaps the kinds of athletes they recruit.

I’ve been saying this for years. It’s half rhetorical half not but is there another conference that can match a D. Davis, K. Wesson, N. Ward, Minny’s big, and Rutgers’ big? Bulky bigs go to the Big Ten because they can show their hands and slam their body into a driving guard without a foul. That’s fine for pre 2000s basketball but that’s not how the game is played or officiated today. The Big Ten really needs to get with the times change the way they officiate games.

On one of the games this week they were talking about the Big Ten not having a natty since 2000. They were stunned it’s been so long. There are two reasons for this, in my opinion. The first is how the Big Ten officiates games. The second is the fiasco at IU in that time. Like the IU administration, I don’t think the Big Ten cares about Indiana basketball all that much. As long as the Big Ten is swimming in money with huge TV contracts I don’t think they care who wins or to what level.

I know some label me as a conspiracy theorist and that’s cool. However, as has been shown time and time again, where there’s big time money there is big time corruption. How much money does each school/conference get per game in the NCAA tourney...?


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[Free Jurkin! 1,496]

For argument sake let’s say everyone returns except Romeo. To me, the two biggest question marks will be Smith and Hunter. If Smith can be the player of MSU and Wisconsin, or at least 3/4ths of that, then we are in really good shape. If Hunter comes back 100% with plenty of off-season practice, then that will greatly elevate this team. If all of this happens, I see the starting lineup being tough to decide between 6 players:

 

Rob

Durham

Hunter/Smith

TJD/Smith

Davis/TJD

 

Who knows, Green could also force his way into the starting lineup playing the way he did at the end of the season. IU has the potential there when healthy and people playing to their potential.

 

 

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Both Rob and Durham need to become 40% 3 point shooters. I think Green actually works best off the bench in a 6th man role. I see him as a poor man's Jamal Crawford. He's probably the most skilled player on the team, definitely the most electric, but because of other shortcomings he's definitely not consistently the best. But he can be on a few nights as he was to close the season and at points last year.

 

He's at his best when he's the primary scoring option, but he's not good enough to be the primary scoring option for the first unit. He's pretty valuable if he can carry the second unit and fill in with the starters as well. Coming off the bench also I think can help him find his role for the game, and he played more under control at the end of the season. If the offense is playing well, like at Illinois, he can play more in the flow of the offense. If the offense is stalling, like at OSU, he can up his aggressiveness. The key next year will be understanding his role and sticking to it. I think early he was pressing because he had lost his spot to Rob. By the end of the year hopefully he could see that he could still have a prominent role even without starting

 

 

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[Bowhunter 2,644]

I want a team that can shoot!
I want a team that can defend!
I want a team that slaps the floor!
I want a team that wins!


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[HoosierAloha 29,880]

I want a team that can shoot!
I want a team that can defend!
I want a team that slaps the floor!
I want a team that wins!


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I could do without the floor slapping I’ll definitely take the other three though!


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[DChoosier 7,053]

12 hours ago, Old Friend said:

I'm more concerned with style.   The ACC, for example plays a wide open style that's not as physical.  Much more fun to watch.  

I’m an “old school” motion offense “old dude” but there is no denying that at this point the ACC style of play is MUCH more entertaining than the Big Ten.  A Duke/UNC match up blows away, as an example, a UM vs MSU game.

[Free Jurkin! 1,496]

Now that we've seen 2 games without Romeo, how is everybody feeling about next year? In all likelihood what we're seeing is next year's starting 5, but with TJD in Morgan's place. In losing Morgan, I think we'll be hurt on offense, but be helped on defense with TJD's added size and athleticism. Combine that with Davis hopefully being fully back from his achilles injury, and I think we'll come out a little worse, but I don't think it's a disaster.

From the outside, the idea of losing a lottery pick in Romeo seems bad, but I don't think the offense really loses much without Romeo (at least Freshman Romeo - next year's Romeo will hopefully have gotten much better in the NBA), which is unfortunate. He's a non-shooting slasher on a team that basically plays 4-5 non-shooters at all times. We have a lot of players with similar skill sets, but varying talent levels. He's obviously in the top talent tier, but he doesn't bring a different dimension to the offense like we had hoped. 

We really need a shooter more than we need a much better version of Al Durham.  A shooter who can spread the D makes everybody on the team much better. If you had put Romeo on the Zeller, Oladipo team, he would have scored so many points on drives with the way teams had to defend the 3. But when the defense could sag on everybody, those driving lanes disappeared as the season went on. Our last 3 Big 10 games were our highest scoring conference games of the season, and I don't think it's a coincidence that we finally had at least 1 reliable outside shooter. If Green can continue to play at a similar level (definitely a question mark as he's teased us before), and we get a leap from Rob and Al, which I think is a relatively safe assumption, I'll be really surprised if next year's team isn't quite a bit better

[Hardwood83 4,463]

Since you asked, I'm cautiously pessimistic about next season. I get what you are saying about Romeo- but anyway you analyze it IU was not a dynamic offensive team and is losing their top 2 scorers. 

The hope is everyone returning improves and the new-comers are as advertised. 

Rob- healthy and consistent, Green- under control and above average 3pt%, Smith- holds onto the ball occasionally and makes a shot in traffic- ANY shot (he frustrates me more than anyone. I want to shake him and scream "Just #$%*! FIGURE IT OUT DUDE!), Davis is healthy and can play a solid 20-22mins a game. Durham & Anderson improve their shooting, and Hunter is able to get on the court and show us what he can do.

I have moderate expectations for Franklin & TJD. Not that I don't believe they are good or that IU needs them, just skeptical and jaded. The last few years I've been positive and kind of expected the best case scenario and have watched much less than that materialize......but hey the Baseball team is playing well!  

[Joe DeLow 1,278]

Now that we've seen 2 games without Romeo, how is everybody feeling about next year? In all likelihood what we're seeing is next year's starting 5, but with TJD in Morgan's place. In losing Morgan, I think we'll be hurt on offense, but be helped on defense with TJD's added size and athleticism. Combine that with Davis hopefully being fully back from his achilles injury, and I think we'll come out a little worse, but I don't think it's a disaster.
From the outside, the idea of losing a lottery pick in Romeo seems bad, but I don't think the offense really loses much without Romeo (at least Freshman Romeo - next year's Romeo will hopefully have gotten much better in the NBA), which is unfortunate. He's a non-shooting slasher on a team that basically plays 4-5 non-shooters at all times. We have a lot of players with similar skill sets, but varying talent levels. He's obviously in the top talent tier, but he doesn't bring a different dimension to the offense like we had hoped. 
We really need a shooter more than we need a much better version of Al Durham.  A shooter who can spread the D makes everybody on the team much better. If you had put Romeo on the Zeller, Oladipo team, he would have scored so many points on drives with the way teams had to defend the 3. But when the defense could sag on everybody, those driving lanes disappeared as the season went on. Our last 3 Big 10 games were our highest scoring conference games of the season, and I don't think it's a coincidence that we finally had at least 1 reliable outside shooter. If Green can continue to play at a similar level (definitely a question mark as he's teased us before), and we get a leap from Rob and Al, which I think is a relatively safe assumption, I'll be really surprised if next year's team isn't quite a bit better

Not any better. We still barely beat Arky who was without Gafford.


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[Honkyman 1,670]

Too early to say. The team looks better without Romeo than most would have predicted. But we're not beating NCAA teams in the NIT. In other words we're not beating teams at the level of Michigan and Purdue or even Ohio State that we will need to beat to make the NCAA tournament next year. We will have some of the same liabilities next year as this year, e.g., inadequate 3-point shooting. We don't know how Hunter will be next year. And, we don't know how ready Jackson-Davis will be at this level. Romeo certainly didn't live up to expectation (which were unfair and unrealistic). We could use one more really good player.

[Free Jurkin! 1,496]

Not any better. We still barely beat Arky who was without Gafford.


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Not saying this year's team is necessarily better, but that the drop-off is not nearly as steep as maybe would have been anticipated, and that we should be able to make up for what we lose just in expected improvements from the guys on the current roster. I expect that Romeo will make a lot of improvements too as he prepares for the NBA and that he would be awesome if he were to stay, but I don't think anybody was counting on more than 1 year


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[Free Jurkin! 1,496]

Too early to say. The team looks better without Romeo than most would have predicted. But we're not beating NCAA teams in the NIT. In other words we're not beating teams at the level of Michigan and Purdue or even Ohio State that we will need to beat to make the NCAA tournament next year. We will have some of the same liabilities next year as this year, e.g., inadequate 3-point shooting. We don't know how Hunter will be next year. And, we don't know how ready Jackson-Davis will be at this level. Romeo certainly didn't live up to expectation (which were unfair and unrealistic). We could use one more really good player.

TJD's expectations are much different though. I think most people are expecting him to be a solid player who plays good defense and contributes on offense with his athleticism. Romeo's expectations were to transform the program, which were obviously too lofty. It's much easier for TJD to meet expectations


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[Joe DeLow 1,278]

Think about this, we were an NIT team this year. Everyone on the team seems to have hit their ceiling except Rob. We lose Juwan and Romeo. Replace them with TJD and Franklin.... so how much better will we be? Probably worse.


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[8bucks 6,106]

Think about this, we were an NIT team this year. Everyone on the team seems to have hit their ceiling except Rob. We lose Juwan and Romeo. Replace them with TJD and Franklin.... so how much better will we be? Probably worse.


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I can see that but I can also see a scenario where Race, Moore and Jake work hard this offseason and come back improved.

I can see that while losing Romeo and Morgan you actually improve because you have guys who aren’t wishing they are in the NBA.

I can see a scenario where Green, Rob or some unnamed transfer have a really big year and become a solid #1 or #2 guy for us consistently.

I could see a scenario where TJD, Franklin and some other freshman have much bigger impacts than we expect.

No one thought Purdue or Michigan we’re going to be that strong and look at them. Texas Tech is the same and look at them.

No one is thrilled by how this year turned out and I am skeptical about next year as well but I am not going to rule out any hope. At this point, hope is most of what we have. Take away hope and you become depressed and consistently negative.

I was there earlier when this season was sinking but I like how Archie somewhat righted the ship in the midst of the storm. Truth is nothing is going to happen with the staff right now so I am choosing to hop on the hope train instead. If that derails next year then we can deal with that then.






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