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If I could never, never, never, never, never, never, never have to read something on a fan site ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again, it would be this ... I wrote (insert what you wrote here) back in (insert when you wrote it), and I got crucified for it. No -- you did not f-cking get crucified for it.

Curt Cigntti: “I think there’s a lot of pro-Indiana hype, a lot of rat poison… I did see Holly Rowe’s social media piece... there has been a lot of sentimentalism ... it’s time to throw that out … You don’t go to war with warm milk and cookies.”

I'm not on the "fire him" bus yet, however I got crucified here for saying I wanted McCollum.... He is ready for the Big stage. DeVries so far looks and sounds completely like he's be more comfortable coaching at Wheeling West Side High School. Today, he said his team is "fatigued." They have played 3 games in 3 weeks. And they're "fatigued." He also said they're not buying into his offense. HUGE problem. His son is incredibly lazy and generally careless; he successfully recruited not one single "physical" player or anyone with upper body strength. We have no size. We appear to have no idea how to get a good shot when needed and settle for bad ones. I mean 20 for 52 on your home floor is embarrassing. Woodson was awful, and I am very glad he's gone. But this is almost worse because he said the right things and now just looks baffled.

He is known as a grinder so I’m sure he is as pissed as you that they are not winning. This is only my opinion but for someone to be as successful as he was at Drake and to turn around West Virginia I refuse to believe the guy forgot how to coach once he stepped foot at Indiana. Maybe IU is cursed. I know his colleagues rave about him as coach and I know West Virginia fans were really mad when he left. I don’t know. I think he can coach. I’ve watched him coach at Drake for all those years in the valley and respected the way his teams played and competed. I respected the way his teams played last year shorthanded and thought they got robbed at being in the tourney. I hope for his sake it was as simple as missing on some evaluations. I think the biggest problem is that a 2 time MVC player of the year and a kid that was playing like a Big 12 all conference performer before he got hurt last year has clearly lost his fast ball and doesn’t look anything near the player he once was and to make matters worse it’s his son. Getting next to nothing out of a portal top 20 recruit isn’t helping. I personally can be patient for rebuilds because I love college basketball as a whole and don’t need IU to be good to enjoy the college basketball year. If IU stinks I’m still going to continue watch and enjoy the sport. IU being good is just a bonus

We are going to go out there and win it all for so many folks. Including Hep. But remember this game isn’t in Miami so Miami can win it in their hometown. God put this game in Miami so Mendoza could win a NC in his hometown. A dream he had since he was a kid. Surrounded by his community. Miami said they didn’t want him so he had to find another way. And it’s also there for Hoosier nation to show how powerful we are. Earlier in the year we took over our rivals stadium and now we are going to takeover the NC runner ups stadium. So many of our guys were told they weren’t good enough for what at the time was a bad Hurricanes team. Now them and their brothers are going to go out and show Miami what they missed out on. It looked like sharks smelling blood against Oregon. This Monday we are going to see that dialed up even further. The pressure is never going to stop. This season has been a welcome distraction as I coped with many firsts after losing my wife. Something positive and good to distract me. I take it on faith that rug won’t be pulled out from under me. But win or lose this season was about more than football. It was about respect for our players, coaches and fanbase. You might beat us on the field but nobody gets to disrespect us anymore

It's not just the win loss record that matters. I understand that builds take time in spite of Cignatty's freak success. But I need to see things in the losses to make me feel like there's a bright future. I need to see hustle in losses. I need to see smart basketball in losses. I need to see a cohesive team and promise in losses. Seeing what we've seen under Devries includes none of these things. It's sloppy basketball, little hustle, bad plays. Where's the optimism? Is it true that we should accept bad basketball without potential simply because a calendar says so? I can't get behind that.

Lee Beebe has reportedly said he'll be back at IU and ready for fall camp.

This thread is pointless 18 games in. I do think DeVries can turn it around…with that said, talent evaluation HAS to be better. As noted in the other thread, whichever coach thought Bailey could win games for us, frankly should never recruit for us again.

If Key West is any indication and we extrapolate out some numbers, there’s going to be approximately 1.2 million IU fans inside Hard Rock tomorrow.

Nothing can be that hard. German refugee physicists alerted the US to the Nazi nuclear program in the 30’s. We started the Manhattan project in ‘41 and bombed Hiroshima with a functional atom bomb in ‘45. Four years to split the atom. The soviets launched a satellite in ‘57 starting the space race. We successfully landed on the moon, ending said “race”, in ‘69. Twelve years start to finish to put a man on an extraterrestrial planet. IU basketball returning to competence (never mind glory): an inconceivably complex riddle wrapped in an enigma that requires so much PATIENCE we’re now entering something like our third full decade. IU BASKETBALL: More complex than nuclear physics and space travel. Feel the excitement!!!

Tweet version

Looking like Alberto will return to IU for the 2026 season.

Enright was the first player in (other than Tucker) and he is a truly fantastic piece for a winning team. The problem is that he turned into a 30 minute per game starter.

I think what annoys fans is seeing guys that we had an opportunity to hire go to other programs and do a pretty quick turn around while we sit on our @$$ and keep getting the same results. Woodson should have been fired a year before he was. Miller should have been let go after year two. I don't think this hire is going to matter much until/unless he gets it going. The whole program is stale right now. It feels like it is stuck in molasses. In my 47 years I have never seen Assembly Hall as dead as it has been this year. That includes seasons where the program imploded and we won 8 games. To start out a tenure like that is troubling. This program is back to square one in all reality. Everything that used to make it special has finally disappeared. The fan support was the last bit of life support it had, that appears to be gone at the moment. It will have to be earmed back as if this was just any other Big Ten program. The way the school destroyed its top product over 25 years could be a study in mismanagement.

If fan appetite for a rebuild is zero, maybe it’s time for some fans to walk away. I get the frustration and disappointment. This program, with the exception of maybe 5 seasons, has accomplished nothing since 1992. We all know that. The program has been mismanaged for the better part of 34 years. So, with that reality in place, why would anyone expect a coach to come in, having to replace an entire 13-man roster, and people think he is going to snap his fingers and collect enough talent in one portal haul to be a national contender in Year 1? It makes zero sense. And that is why this fan base is ridiculed nation-wide. That’s why Malik Reneau tweeted what he tweeted. Yes, Curt Cignetti did it here. And now every dumb fan base in America—including ours, apparently—thinks every coach they hire should be able to do it, because Cignetti, I guess, is really nothing special. Reality isn’t going to change just because some folks don’t like it. So, there’s going to be a rebuild, whether there’s an appetite for it or not, no matter who you hire.

Devries watched Enright every day for two years and thought he was a big ten caliber starting point guard.. that speaks volumes about his eye for talent.

These tweets and the others that are out the blaming the fanbase for IUs struggles over the last 2 decades is softer than Charmin! Where do these people and players think the money comes from? It comes from the Fans, you knuckleheads (in Barkley’s voice)! It comes from the donors, season ticket holders, the dad buying IU merch for his children, and people on this board! So excuse the H3LL out of us for expecting positive results or effort out of the players that “Our” money is funding! Notice how the “Positive” results of IUFB caused a sea of red in Pasadena and Atlanta! If IUBB wants similar support, put forth the same effort that the football team does. I guarantee that “pressure” will lessen if you do. Today was probably one of the biggest 180s of crowd support I have heard in the Hall. Crowd was 100% behind the team on the run in the first half, second half maybe 10%. Like I said in an earlier post, the guys next to me (season tix holders, traveled to Pasadena) left at halftime saying they had seen enough. I left a few minutes after the second run that got within 4 flopped. Then to hear comments from the coach about fatigue! Holy s**t I thought the hump was a bad excuse!

Yea. CDD is not getting fired after one year. Kind of pointless to have a thread with a bunch of fights over a hypothetical with zero chance of happening. Woof. Once we see how year two goes this topic could become worth debating. Hopefully not, but things will need to improve quite a bit here. I am in favor of firing sooner rather than later every time. But after one year? No way. And it also makes no financial sense/is not financially possible anyways.

That’s how EVERY administration rolls. Absent real misconduct, it would be malpractice to not give a coach three years.

He is way more nice/engaging than Archie but doesn’t seem to be an Alpha that I think we need at the helm. Has a good track record but might have been more comfortable as an assistant. Maybe why he stayed 17 years @ Creighton. Thats a lot of years as an assistant.

My nerves have been going since last weekend. I fully expect to puke at some point Monday.

This video is everything:

Yeesh. T-Cal!!! You weren’t kidding. I know it’s just a prediction and he could be wrong, but I’ll take it! I’ve got his little intro jingle stuck in my head. CAN’T NOBODY STOP US CAUSE WE BUFFED IN PRIME.

https://x.com/i/status/2012923170781614561 Buffed leaning one way. Hard.

For sure, the landscape has changed drastically and you definitely have to re-recruit your own players. Lots of programs are in that situation. I'd just feel more optimistic about next season if we had the opportunity to bring 3-4 of our core guys back.

For me, it's you making stuff up people didn't say to create a false argument, that take the cake for me, lol

https://x.com/i/status/2012891195941265857

Because Indiana has resources and its possible to have a “nationally relevant tourney team” in the first year. Nobody expects a championship contender year one, even the biggest fanatics. Kentucky, Michigan, Louisville as examples of it last year. Iowa with far fewer resources is doing better than us with the exact starting scenario. Plus, we aren’t rebuilding. They built a roster to win this year. 6 of the 8 guys who play aren’t returning. That’s not how you rebuild if that’s the plan. With Nil every year gives you a chance. Finding a retaining effective players betters your future odds of success. We aren’t doing any of that. Under this premise, next year can be completely different and possibly successful but we are way behind the 8 ball by trying to win now with a Senior laden roster and then not winning. Really bad. The best hope is we can have a “Woodson-eque” late season surge where we sneak into the tournament or just miss and can benefit from those vibes. But the reality is, we need to spend our money much better. And hopefully get more to spend.

Gone but never forgotten.

I was ridiculed for this observation in the offseason.

So unrealistic lol

The other angle is this is financially not possible right now. CDD's buyout is $18-19M after this season, add $1-2M for staff buyouts, and that's ~$20M to get rid of this staff. Then add $2-10M more to buyout whatever coach gets picked next, and we're talking $22-30M to flip the MBB staff. Mind you we just spent $12.7M for forcibly "retire" Woody ($6.5M) and pay WVU's buyout for CDD ($6.2M). IU is not paying $22-30M for a new bball staff right now. We don't have that money and it would be a huge waste vs. spending it on football. Or even MBB players. Or whatever else. If you look at the numbers, IUBB (and CBB in general) doesn't make a whole lot of money. Even if, and it's one heck of a giant IF, the next coach got IUBB going, that's only going to increase revenue ~$2-3M/yr. Maybe $4M at best. That's a crap return for spending $22-30M on a new staff, and there are no guarantees they'll be better. The IU athletic dept doesn't financially need IUBB to be good. IUFB is driving revenue increases, university exposure, and our influence in college sports. Our fans/donors have not been this fired up in 40 years. I agree CDD is off to a bad start. I'm disappointed and have serious doubts. But I can't see anything happening until year three, because that's how long coaches get and we can't afford to move right now anyways. So, the only options are to hope for the best or tune out. I guess another option is to post your displeasures on BTB.

I’m not on board with anything he says. it sucks to lose. Fans hate it, players hate it, and coaches hate it even more. but no one wants to take accountability. It makes them feel better to blame the fans. The pressure is real. But it’s certainly not the fans fault for how this team was put together or the fact that we are 12-6 and trending to miss the tournament. The fanbase has been incredibly ambivalent. Enrights brother, Malik, SDBurner(Race Thompson) are blaming the fans. The fans have barely given a crap this season, the results aren’t on the fans for this season and that’s a fact. The heat is turned up now, but a competive person works their butts off to win. A good coaching staff keeps them focused. Woodson, his staff, and his players hated the fans. And constantly saw things through a racial lens, which is no way to live. it all comes down to winning and exceeding expectations or not. Always.

We could yet again have one of the best receiver rooms in the country. Our current guys do a lot of things extremely well but I still can’t get over how they catch seemingly every single pass they get their hands (or fingertips) on. Mendoza throws a great ball but holy sh!t his receivers win the 50/50 balls, catch the slightly off target balls, etc etc. Fun to watch.

I have to watch these games alone. I must have paced a mile during each of the last two games.

They just need to get one of those coaches that’s standing in line waiting to coach IU or one to come in on a white horse and save the program. Either way I’m here for the grind

I rewatched the game-painstakingly-and I agree with BGleas. The effort is there but the limitations make it look like poor effort. Connerway was busting azz going to the hoop since everyone is guarding us tight out 50’ lol. Enright also hustles but physically limited.. Baily has good effort but seems lost a lot. Tucker, yes…could work harder but isn’t very athletic….so on and so forth. Wilkerson can’t win by himself and Alexis is far from a rim runner. Teams have neutralized us by taking our 3pt shot away for sure and the adjustments DD is trying to make are being worked on in practice but not in games according to him.

I'll say I lightly disagree lol. What I mean is, the system is sound and I've actually been impressed with how we've been defensively, given our roster limitations. IU wilting in second halves IMO is largely a roster issue, not a coaching or scheme one. It's hard to stop runs against teams bigger, faster and more athletic. We have no size and can't stay in front of guys because we're slow. The reason I say "lightly disagree" is because I don't know what it will look like if/when we have comprobable size and athleticsm. I think our system and coaching is fine if we can get a solid, balanced Big Ten caliber roster. We don't have that right now. Of course that is the staffs and administrations fault.

It's kind of everyones approach at this point. With DeVries, I feel much, much more confident he would coach those guys well. Give DeVries Woodson's rosters and I think we'd be in a much better spot. I'm just concerned we won't be able to get that level of talent at this point.

His brother is going to be so angry on X at you guys. He’s so soft, def reading these boards

Pretty much. It’s no different in football. Arguably worse, but it’s fun as heck because we are winning a retaining the pieces we want to retain. Year 1 was critical for all the reasons we now realize as a fanbase. DeVries and Dolson need to get together and come up with a 2 year plan to save his job and the program. Find out what resources are necessary to build a top 20 roster and try hard to attain it.

Sure. Show me the program that fired coaches too fast and I’ll believe you. There’s some secret coaches club where all the top coaches gather round the camp fire and tell horror stories about programs that pay a lot of money and fire coaches fast. At least that’s what gullible IU fans believe. Except nobody can ever name them. Otoh, the UNC alums including their most famous alum didn’t think Doherty should be fired after 3 years. But they did it anyways and the result was 3 national titles. Kentucky fired Gillespie after two years and the result….again, a national title. So please explain to me how two of the biggest names in coaching, Calipari and Williams, were lured away by big ol’ meanie schools with the reputation of firing coaches too quickly? Nevermind…I already know the answer. Nobody in the world cares when you dump an underperforming coach. Nobody. Literally nobody.

We don't have the money -- there isn't $22-30M laying around to change out the staff. As for estimating revenue, I just look at historical revenue trends. Revenue doesn't move as much as one might think -- CBB doesn't make a lot of money and IUBB always sells a lot of tickets (even if they're unused). Look at our all-time low point of 08-09, it just didn't dip that much vs. years we were better like '07-08 or '11-12. And if you want a splashy hire, add $6M+ per year in HC comp vs. what we pay now. I'm not happy with the start of the CDD era, but a staff change right now isn't financially in the cards.

Yeah, I'm with you on all of that. I might have misread the post I quoted. I absolutely don't think it's the fans fault. I was more agreeing with the idea that some circumstances made the portal season tougher than it should have been last season. A lot of that is on DeVries for sure. I'm with you though, apathy has absolutely set in. I'd usually be screaming at the TV during a 2nd half like today. This year? I just expected it and frankly other than being frustrated with the state of the program, it didn't even really bother me. I think we're in a mess right now. The only real way out I see if is a huge investment in the program from someone so we can buy a team next year.

Jared Kelly - Indiana WR Tyler Morris will be back at IU next season and expects to be full go for spring camp, he tells me. Morris, a Michigan transfer, is coming off an ACL tear suffered last spring. He jumped back into practice the week before the Rose Bowl.