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WayneFleekHoosier

State of the program

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25 minutes ago, ebridges24 said:

It was disappointing that we couldn't find anyone that wanted to fill at least one of those two spots.

I agree, but it's refreshing that we didn't just pick a body to fill a spot. I'm wide open and all over the place on my thoughts about the program. I like Archie, but we need to see some results on the court. All the other stuff really doesn't matter much to me ....

Win / Loss matters ....

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I agree, but it's refreshing that we didn't just pick a body to fill a spot. I'm wide open and all over the place on my thoughts about the program. I like Archie, but we need to see some results on the court. All the other stuff really doesn't matter much to me ....
Win / Loss matters ....

Agreed. We didn’t force recruiting. Have to win. The rest is just noise from people set in their own beliefs.


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57 minutes ago, Baltimore Hoosier said:

Makes me sad to say this... This is the most un-interested I've been in IU basketball in the last 25 years. I think it's the result of a lackluster recruiting class coming in for 2019 on top of the swings and misses for Miller and the staff. That's not to say the 2019 class is going to be bad, just saying that I have major questions about this team next season, even with the offseason additions. Shooting will probably be a problem and the staff didn't do much to address it. And all of this is on the heels of ALL of the under-achieving Crean teams that I got so pumped for every season.. Am I the only one who feels this way?... Disconnected is the word I would use. I'm sure things will change once we get closer to Hoosier Hysteria, but for now, I've turned into a passive reader of the board who really doesn't have much positive to say.

For the first time in several seasons, I'm going to tell you I think you will be pleasantly surprised instead of let down.

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44 minutes ago, ebridges24 said:

It was disappointing that we couldn't find anyone that wanted to fill at least one of those two spots.

+Jaylen Wyndham wanted to. We sent him away without an offer and he committed to Creighton.

 

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27 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

For the first time in several seasons, I'm going to tell you I think you will be pleasantly surprised instead of let down.

I have a feeling that this will be the case as well. I don't think there are going to be any real expectations, coming into the season, for this team. I like the depth a little bit better. Jerome Hunter being able to come back and play would be huge, obviously but avoiding the injury situation that Archie dealt with last year would be even bigger IMO. 

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Improving from an F to a D doesn't get me excited.

Thanks for reading. Answer the question - I said assume we all agree results were awful year one and unacceptable year two as well.

 

 

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9 minutes ago, Walking Boot of Doom said:

Thanks for reading. Answer the question - I said assume we all agree results were awful year one and unacceptable year two as well.

 

 

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Ok.  Yes there was improvement.  Can we expect more improvement?  I'm not anticipating it.  Archie is who I thought he was.

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I have a feeling that this will be the case as well. I don't think there are going to be any real expectations, coming into the season, for this team. I like the depth a little bit better. Jerome Hunter being able to come back and play would be huge, obviously but avoiding the injury situation that Archie dealt with last year would be even bigger IMO. 

I kinda feel the same way. I’m thinking they will play with more pride, flow, and chemistry. If they do, that will solve a lot of the problems.

Not knowing what happened last year complicates predictions. We were 2 different teams. ?? Injuries, chemistry, confidence, luck, game plan?? A little bit of all of it.

Hopeful (not trashing Romeo, but i think he may have complicated things through no fault of his own) players cut, pick, and pass more and don’t rely on ISO’s on each possession.


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Ok.  Yes there was improvement.  Can we expect more improvement?  I'm not anticipating it.  Archie is who I thought he was.

You can make that call after two seasons? Impressive.


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Makes me sad to say this... This is the most un-interested I've been in IU basketball in the last 25 years. I think it's the result of a lackluster recruiting class coming in for 2019 on top of the swings and misses for Miller and the staff. That's not to say the 2019 class is going to be bad, just saying that I have major questions about this team next season, even with the offseason additions. Shooting will probably be a problem and the staff didn't do much to address it. And all of this is on the heels of ALL of the under-achieving Crean teams that I got so pumped for every season.. Am I the only one who feels this way?... Disconnected is the word I would use. I'm sure things will change once we get closer to Hoosier Hysteria, but for now, I've turned into a passive reader of the board who really doesn't have much positive to say.
Yep

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Against my better judgment I'm weighing in here.
 
Speaking of weighing, some of you are weighing down the board with negativity.  Any reason you feel compelled to repeat yourselves?  And if someone disagrees, why do you have to respond, restating your position?  What's the endgame with the repetition?  Pretty much everyone here can name the handful of posters that bring negativity.  
 
State of the program?  Not good!  It's pretty obvious, no?  We haven't made the tournament in 3 years.  We lost our two best players.  We pay top ten money and get (barely) top 50 results.  
 
We can all see this.  But we can also see that the program isn't dead.  And a huge part of being a fan is sticking with your team in the bad.  So what do we having going for us?
 
1.  Archie WAS a big hire, and many had him pegged as the best available at the time.  He turned down offers from other programs, and in a way legitimized us when he took the job.  Obviously not a lot of success here yet.  But let's not write him off.  He has had several very good seasons as a head coach.  He recruits well, and coaches the brand of defense that just carried UVa to a title.  There is a very real chance that he pans out, and we have a coach for 20 years.  I know that is what most of us are hoping for.  Let's also give him credit for not being a goober.  He has the attitude that we want, and it jives with us Hoosiers.  
 
2.  We've kept our noses clean.  You guys comparing our recruiting to "the blue bloods" aren't being fair without making clear that you want to cheat.  By and large, the teams recruiting well are cheating.  Kansas cheats their faces off.  Duke is basically a professional team not bound by any kind of collective bargaining agreement.  Kentucky?  Built a dynasty out of it.  Even the non-blue blood teams that you guys compare us to are simply cheaters.  Arizona, Maryland, Oregon, Oklahoma State, LSU, even Creighton.  We have a program that has stayed out of that, even in the face of a very antsy fanbase.  I'm happy about that, and cheer for success only if we do it cleanly.
 
3.  Recruiting's been pretty good, y'all.  Two straight McDAAs?  Both Indiana Mr. Basketball's?  Two straight years having the highest rated recruit in the BigTen?  Have we forgotten already the Indiana recruiting drought we had prior to Archie?  IU was programa non grata in Indiana.  In his first two classes Arch landed Romeo Langford, Damezi Anderson, Rob Phinisee, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Armaan Franklin.  Even circled back and picked up Joey Brunk.  What more can you ask for from the in-state recruiting front?  Keion Brooks?  I mean, sure.  I think we know enough now to see it wasn't the right fit.  The LaLu/Kentucky thing really isn't our speed.  It does seem like he was ours prior to the losing streak, but remember he wasn't ours.  He never committed.  Trayce did.  So Kentucky was pretty much always there.  As far as other recruits, I'd agree there are a couple misses of guys that would've been nice.  DJ Carton, Harlond Beverly.  But, that's going to happen.  You can't expect to get everyone.  I think Archie was in a tough spot for 2020.  The fanbase would've erupted if he didn't offer Leal.  So don't put him down for pursuing an "underwhelming" target.  And Galloway is only underwhelming if you're kinda simple.  Nothing underwhelming about Cross, Davis, Garcia, Steward, Love, Diarra, etc.  Would you prefer he just gave offers to 10 of the top 20?  
 
4.  We have an awesome program in spite of our last 3 seasons (or 17...).  Excellent attendance.  Enormous amounts of coverage and fan involvement and forums.  Third ranked by value.  Excellent home court (if you don't agree fight me).  Still the flagship program in Indiana.  Still have half the total NCAA Championships of the BigTen.  Still at least discussed in the blue blood conversation.  We can be proud of being Indiana fans.
 
5.  We do have hope.  Yep, it requires you to put on your crimson colored glasses.  Or, in other words, be a fan.  How many NFL fanbases have hopes of a SuperBowl this year?  Probably at least half.  How many teams will win the SuperBowl?  I think it's pretty low, like one.  The hope is mostly what being a fan is about.  Because, newsflash, all of this is entirely meaningless.  Completely arbitrary.  But we're investing time, attention, and money into it anyway.  So be a fan and make it a positive experience.  We have real depth at the 5.  We have a McDAA freshman from just up the road coming in to play the 4, with depth there to back him up with Race and Justin.  We may be getting to premier our best player in Jerome Hunter, who was the reigning Gold Jersey wearer when he went down.  Devonte, Phinisee, and Al have a ton of minutes between them, and happen to be the best 3 shooters on the team last year (remove Phinisee's games when he couldn't see straight).  Armaan might be the most talented guard on the roster.  And Damezi might just be icing on the cake, if he finds his footing.  That should be a top 5 roster.  Squint a little harder and I'm pretty sure I see a deep tourney run.  Big season coming up!
 
 
 


While I don’t agree with you about the post-season run and being a top team next year, there is reason to be positive, but very cautiously. To me, this is the most important season coming up, because to me this is what makes or breaks Archie. I could be wrong, but if he misses the tournament this year and barely gets in the following, I don’t know if I see him lasting after that. If he makes it in this year, then I think that will not only help with the fanbase, but getting over some recruiting humps.

My only worry with Archie is his offense, because it drastically needs to be altered or install something new. It lacked a lot to be desired, regardless of how bad the team was at shooting.

I think our defense will be better, along with a slight up tick from deep and free throw line, but I do worry about the offense as a whole. I think this is a NCAA tournament team, especially if Anderson, Smith, and Hunter are able to contribute like we hope (I hope everyone doesn’t expect much from Hunter, especially for a little while). I’m really excited to see Rob and Al be a good duo with the Davis/Brunk combo. If Green can play more under control and off the ball, I think this will be a fun team to watch.

To me, the biggest question mark that can swing this season is Justin Smith. If we get a good motor and effort from him every game, this team will be darn good and tough to stop around the rim.

This team needs confidence, shooting, and a better offensive (might be better with a more team focus). I’m cautiously optimistic because I think the season can easily go either way, but have hope as a fan that IU is on the trend up!


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7 minutes ago, JaybobHoosier said:

 


While I don’t agree with you about the post-season run and being a top team next year, there is reason to be positive, but very cautiously. To me, this is the most important season coming up, because to me this is what makes or breaks Archie. I could be wrong, but if he misses the tournament this year and barely gets in the following, I don’t know if I see him lasting after that. If he makes it in this year, then I think that will not only help with the fanbase, but getting over some recruiting humps.

My only worry with Archie is his offense, because it drastically needs to be altered or install something new. It lacked a lot to be desired, regardless of how bad the team was at shooting.

I think our defense will be better, along with a slight up tick from deep and free throw line, but I do worry about the offense as a whole. I think this is a NCAA tournament team, especially if Anderson, Smith, and Hunter are able to contribute like we hope (I hope everyone doesn’t expect much from Hunter, especially for a little while). I’m really excited to see Rob and Al be a good duo with the Davis/Brunk combo. If Green can play more under control and off the ball, I think this will be a fun team to watch.

To me, the biggest question mark that can swing this season is Justin Smith. If we get a good motor and effort from him every game, this team will be darn good and tough to stop around the rim.

This team needs confidence, shooting, and a better offensive (might be better with a more team focus). I’m cautiously optimistic because I think the season can easily go either way, but have hope as a fan that IU is on the trend up!


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FWIW I dont see a deep run either. More just referring to my statement that it's more fun to remain hopeful and optimistic.

 

Yeah the offense. It wasn't good. Easy to blame it on poor shooting despite open looks, but it went deeper than that. It looked like 5 uncoached players. Doesnt help the whole team got the yips.

 

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See and this is where I differ I don’t have a huge issue with Archie’s offense per se. 

Had we hit our 3s it would have been good enough and created space in the middle for our strength. 

That being said what worries me is I’m not totally convinced we have done enough to correct that issue. 

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Curious, do most think that if we don’t make the tournament this year then it is cause for concern?

I think making it will be much harder but it is an important milestone nonetheless.

Whether you are more supportive or more doubtful about Archie, what is your expectation on making the tournament


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Curious, do most think that if we don’t make the tournament this year then it is cause for concern?

I think making it will be much harder but it is an important milestone nonetheless.

Whether you are more supportive or more doubtful about Archie, what is your expectation on making the tournament


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I don't think we make it. I think this season mirrors the three previous ones, mediocrity. I just don't think we have the horses. We've got a couple good players here and there but not a complete team

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Curious, do most think that if we don’t make the tournament this year then it is cause for concern?

I think making it will be much harder but it is an important milestone nonetheless.

Whether you are more supportive or more doubtful about Archie, what is your expectation on making the tournament


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I think we make it, especially with even though I think the Big10 will be competitive, it won’t be as tough as last year. Also, I think our schedule will be slightly easier overall which will help us out.

I think Archie gets 4 years without a doubt unless this season is completely awful. If don’t make the tournament next year but there’s progress, I see him being out in 5 if he barely makes it in or out in years 4 and 5.

I get that our team stunk it up quite a bit, but this team was hit so hard with injuries that we lose site of the impact it had. If we stay healthy, this team is a top 50 team. I don’t see top 30 unless Hunter is healthy and killing it, along with Smith having a break out year.

I know everything is hypothetical, but I do believe that this team can make the tournament if healthy and can improve its shooting.


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"If we don't make the tournament but there's progress..." There is no progress if we don't make the tournament in 2020.  IU was the last team out this past year. If we don't make the tournament, we have either had the same kind of season as last year or worse. IU has to make the tournament in 2020.

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