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Basketball Blue Bloods

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This is interesting.  The usual suspects are at the top of the list.  For anyone who doesn't think Indiana is in this class anymore, check this list out.  Interest in Indiana Basketball is still at the very top of the list and Indiana is among the nation's obvious blue bloods.  Not that social media followers means anything....it doesn't, but a program isn't second on this list if it's Joe Schmoe.  Archie needs to get this figured out.  He is not the head coach of just any program.  It is, in fact, Indiana - unlike other programs.  And that does matter.  Discuss.

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3 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

This is interesting.  The usual suspects are at the top of the list.  For anyone who doesn't think Indiana is in this class anymore, check this list out.  Interest in Indiana Basketball is still at the very top of the list and Indiana is among the nations obvious blue bloods.  Not that social media followers means anything....it doesn't, but a program isn't second on this list if it's Joe Schmoe.  Archie needs to get this figured out.  He is not the head coach of just any program.  It is, in fact, Indiana - unlike other programs.  And that does matter.  Discuss.

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We are the only one in the top 5 to not win a title this century. 

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How Indiana can continue to be outclassed by programs who can't compete in terms of fanbase, revenue, facilities, tradition, etc is just beyond me.. What is the disconnect? What is going on here? The more I think about my 30 years of fanhood, the amount of money I spend on IU gear and planning trips to games, game tickets, etc., the more angry I get. How as a "blueblood" is IU the ONLY team in the top 5 to have not won a Championship in the last 10 - 15 years? It's been 32!! And in that 32 years, there have only been a hand-full of legit contenders. Totally unacceptable.

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38 minutes ago, Baltimore Hoosier said:

How Indiana can continue to be outclassed by programs who can't compete in terms of fanbase, revenue, facilities, tradition, etc is just beyond me.. What is the disconnect? What is going on here? The more I think about my 30 years of fanhood, the amount of money I spend on IU gear and planning trips to games, game tickets, etc., the more angry I get. How as a "blueblood" is IU the ONLY team in the top 5 to have not won a Championship in the last 10 - 15 years? It's been 32!! And in that 32 years, there have only been a hand-full of legit contenders. Totally unacceptable.

I think the total mismanagement of the program and the lack of succession planning are key to this drought.

Why is Derek Elston the only person on staff? Why didn’t Crean have more IU guys on his staff?

To me Duke is the model. You take care of and treat your past with respect. Their bench is lined with former players. We have Elston as a player development coach. Where is Fife?  Where is Lewis? To me you pay them enough to leave their gigs and be assistants here. Until IU can take care of their own, they will be a middling program imo. 

Edit: In summary it’s a cultural issue not a fan desire issue. 

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4 minutes ago, Feathery said:

I think the total mismanagement of the program and the lack of succession planning are key to this drought.

Why is Derek Elston the only person on staff? Why didn’t Crean have more IU guys on his staff?

To me Duke is the model. You take care of and treat your past with respect. Their bench is lined with former players. We have Elston as a player development coach. Where is Fife?  Where is Lewis? To me you pay them enough to leave their gigs and be assistants here. Until IU can take care of their own, they will be a middling program imo. 

Edit: In summary it’s a cultural issue not a fan desire issue. 

I would never insinuate that fan desire correlated to wins and losses. I am just trying to show how frustrated I am by using examples.. I agree with what you're saying. This University needs to do everything they can to get former players back. Just not sure how that would move the needle in terms of being more of a winning program.

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14 minutes ago, Baltimore Hoosier said:

I would never insinuate that fan desire correlated to wins and losses. I am just trying to show how frustrated I am by using examples.. I agree with what you're saying. This University needs to do everything they can to get former players back. Just not sure how that would move the needle in terms of being more of a winning program.

I think fan desire plays a role. Look at when the Hall is rocking, how hard it is for the opposition. Also, if the arena was empty, there would be a decline in recruiting. Players want to play in exciting environments and be watched by a lot of people. This isn’t the most important thing but it’s a factor. 

Having former players on staff helps bridge the gap from the Knight era till now. They know how Indiana had success and where the failures came from. They aren’t afraid of the past (which I think some in administration are). It also shows that even if you don’t make it, IU will be there and support your growth as a coach. IU isn’t finished with you as soon as you stop playing. That pays dividends on the recruiting trail as well. I’m hopeful once Archie gets it rolling and feels secure in his position, that he will be open to some former players joining the ranks behind Elston. 

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29 minutes ago, Feathery said:

I think the total mismanagement of the program and the lack of succession planning are key to this drought.

Edit: In summary it’s a cultural issue not a fan desire issue. 

This is it in a nutshell. Too many non-basketball factors have played into decision-making, and we've paid dearly for it. Who gave two sh*ts if fans didn't like Davis because he was black? I guarantee we could have hired any successful non-minority coach at the time, and within a couple years, Davis and his idiotic comments would have been little more than a memory.

 

I've followed IU sports for 20 years, and have always felt the university cares more about protecting itself than trying to compete with the best.

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42 minutes ago, Feathery said:

I think the total mismanagement of the program and the lack of succession planning are key to this drought.

Why is Derek Elston the only person on staff? Why didn’t Crean have more IU guys on his staff?

To me Duke is the model. You take care of and treat your past with respect. Their bench is lined with former players. We have Elston as a player development coach. Where is Fife?  Where is Lewis? To me you pay them enough to leave their gigs and be assistants here. Until IU can take care of their own, they will be a middling program imo. 

Edit: In summary it’s a cultural issue not a fan desire issue. 

Calbert was Crean's director of operations -- whatever that is. It's not an assistant and by NCAA rules, that person cannot coach and work with players. But then one of the assistants left and pretty much all IU fans were clamoring for Calbert to get the gig -- but instead, he left to be Crews' assistant at St. Louis. ... I can't attest to Crean's behavior, but I've seen many write here that he could make people feel uncomfortable and many people ended up thinking he was just plain weird. I wonder if that's what drove Calbert away? Or maybe Crean was too foolish to offer him the job. You've got the greatest Hoosier in history -- or one of the top-3 greatest -- and you let him get away to ... St. Louis? I always thought that was odd. (Although it's very possible there's a backstory I don't know about). 

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7 minutes ago, LamarCheeks said:

Calbert was Crean's director of operations -- whatever that is. It's not an assistant and by NCAA rules, that person cannot coach and work with players. But then one of the assistants left and pretty much all IU fans were clamoring for Calbert to get the gig -- but instead, he left to be Crews' assistant at St. Louis. ... I can't attest to Crean's behavior, but I've seen many write here that he could make people feel uncomfortable and many people ended up thinking he was just plain weird. I wonder if that's what drove Calbert away? Or maybe Crean was too foolish to offer him the job. You've got the greatest Hoosier in history -- or one of the top-3 greatest -- and you let him get away to ... St. Louis? I always thought that was odd. (Although it's very possible there's a backstory I don't know about). 

Total headscratcher... I follow AJ Guyton pretty closely. Probably in my Top 3 all time Hoosiers. He's a freaking assistant at Loyola-Maryland just outside of Baltimore. A perineal bottom-feeder in the Patriot League. And before that? Was the DIRECTOR OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT at Northwestern!! Get AJ back at IU!

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In response to the above :

1)  Mismanagement of the program for a long time.  Mike Davis should never have been the coach here.  Kelvin Sampson should never have been the coach here, and he was hired for reasons having nothing to do with basketball by a man who cared nothing about tradition or winning.  Crean was given an extension before he won more than 4 games in the Big Ten, and yeah, he won 2 titles, but finished 10th and 8th the years following.  Consistency was never prioritized and he stopped recruiting Indiana or kids who knew what Indiana is all about.  Or was all about.  

The fans older than 35 get it.   Seems the people inside the program do not.  Michael Lewis was interviewed on Dakich's show yesterday and told a story of one of Nebraska's players saying "wow, you can just feel the tradition in here."   I don't believe the people inside the program get that now or have since Knight left.  Currently, we have a board of trustees who are complete yes people, and a president who couldn't care less about sports.  And an AD who's kumbaya and all about the budget.  Winning is not prioritized.  

2)  Students are apathetic now.  They get tickets to every game and they aren't close to as passionate about the team as they once were.  The home court advantage is now only present when the team plays well.  Sorry....that's the truth.   I'm not talking only about the ones who dress up as Power Rangers...I think the entire student body that attends games is nowhere near the asset they could be.

3)  Many fans (and I have been on the other side of their ire and castigation for suggesting this) have said they don't care where kids come from and that it doesn't matter.   Bull$hit, it doesn't matter.  Kids have to understand Indiana like they understand Duke or Kansas or North Carolina.   And...they don't.  It showed in the effort the other night.   It shows when they jog back on defense.  It shows when Archie doesn't have a reliable shooter on his roster.  Right now?  Indiana is 140th in 3pt FG% with just 103 made.   That ranks 295th in makes.  Imagine that.  Indiana University....ranks 295th in the country in made 3 pointers.  Let THAT sink in.   I am laughing again at the couple of people who argued vehemently with me a week ago that IU has shooters.  No....We don't.  Archie is trying to do it with long athletes; Crean tried to do it with kids from the east coast, (in part, IU's current university blueprint, and THAT has been a detriment, also.  Indiana University is no longer sacred to Indiana.   McRobbie has been after east coast money for a long time)  Davis tried to do it with kids from the south.  One man's take....but I rest my case.

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10 minutes ago, Baltimore Hoosier said:

Total headscratcher... I follow AJ Guyton pretty closely. Probably in my Top 3 all time Hoosiers. He's a freaking assistant at Loyola-Maryland just outside of Baltimore. A perineal bottom-feeder in the Patriot League. And before that? Was the DIRECTOR OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT at Northwestern!! Get AJ back at IU!

AJ is my all-time favorite Hoosier and I enjoy following him on Instagram, however, I don't have a clue regarding his coaching acumen.

We shouldn't be hiring guys solely because they went to IU.  By that logic Alford would have been a no brainer.

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7 minutes ago, HoosierX said:

AJ is my all-time favorite Hoosier and I enjoy following him on Instagram, however, I don't have a clue regarding his coaching acumen.

We shouldn't be hiring guys solely because they went to IU.  By that logic Alford would have been a no brainer.

AJ has a bunch of coaching experience. You don't bring him in here and make him the head coach. But damn if they couldn't use a guy on the staff that is/was a very high level shooter. Oh and he's one of the Hoosier greats.

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11 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

Crean tried to do it with kids from the east coast, (in part, IU's current university blueprint, and THAT has been a detriment, also.  Indiana University is no longer sacred to Indiana.   McRobbie has been after east coast money for a long time)  Davis tried to do it with kids from the south.  One man's take....but I rest my case.

I thought Crean was actually pretty good in terms of scoring and recruiting. Especially those Jordan Hulls teams. Defense and high TO percentage were the major issues IMO.

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22 minutes ago, Iugradman said:

The facilities were for a long time not up to par and corners continue to be cut to save money. When Archie came in he forced some changes and upgrades to be made, but IU is still lagging.  Bad coaches were hired and kept on entirely too long. There are elements in the athletics department that prioritize moral posturing above winning.

Rumors are swirling that our President might be going to Georgia Tech. Can’t say I’d be sad. Athletics and Academics have been underwhelming during his tenure

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This is interesting.  The usual suspects are at the top of the list.  For anyone who doesn't think Indiana is in this class anymore, check this list out.  Interest in Indiana Basketball is still at the very top of the list and Indiana is among the nation's obvious blue bloods.  Not that social media followers means anything....it doesn't, but a program isn't second on this list if it's Joe Schmoe.  Archie needs to get this figured out.  He is not the head coach of just any program.  It is, in fact, Indiana - unlike other programs.  And that does matter.  Discuss.
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Interest does not make you a blue blood. Winning does. We are a middle of the pack big ten team and have been for 20 years. They need to quit scheduling us against duke and nc like we are in the same class as them. Archie will need to have us in the top 3 of the big ten consistently before we can talk blue blood again imo.

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