All_Hoosiers

[quote name="Hoosierfan2223" post="29621" timestamp="1389671596"]I just have a good feeling about this game and I don't know why[/quote] Nobody beats Indiana basketball 13 straight times. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

The only people that say Hollowell gives no effort are the ones that don't know him. People question Watford all the time. If he hasn't made the shot against UK, I wonder how much fans would've really loved him. Yes, Hollowell is upsetting because he should be much better than Watford was. He should be one of the best guys on the team. If it takes him two years to adjust, then so be it. There's a reason Crean still supports him unless he does something stupid off the court. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

It's cute when people assume he has a lack of effort. It would be ill-advised to just dump him. You might as well dump the bench too. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Vonleh can only move up the draft by staying. It was a different story for Zeller. I'll be shocked if Vonleh leaves. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

  I never said he would do worse. I'm just going to withhold judgement until he coaches his own players, which he has yet to do.

What a horrendous week from Illinois. Bad loss is an understatement.

Just saw the score when I was putting together my Big Ten power rankings. That would be such a bad, bad loss for Illinois.

Etherington. In all seriousness, I'd say Yogi. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Nebraska may be the toughest of the three teams. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Inside The Hall said Crean coached an excellent game. I have a feeling some may disagree, however. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Northwestern is awful. I will be extremely angry if Indiana doesn't win by at least 10+. Indiana-86 Northwestern-65 Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Because blind faith is fun: Indiana-64 Wisconsin-59 Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

[quote name="ccgeneral" post="29247" timestamp="1389472430"]Minny up 3 with 12 left. Haven't watched much, but shaping up to be a good one so far. Payne out for MSU.[/quote] I think Payne out is the key. Minny not a bad squad though. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

[quote name="Alford_fan" post="29224" timestamp="1389469730"]Someone asked earlier in this thread, who is better then Crean out there? It looks like Richard Pitino in his first year at Minnesota is going to do better then IU this year. [/quote] Let's see what Pitino can do when he gets his own players. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

We won. That's all I care about.

[quote name="Alford_fan" post="28893" timestamp="1389459611"]I'm not sure that us IU fans are hard to please. I myself don't expect us to win the NCAA every year, but I do expect us to be competitive. I am not interested in seeing Tom Crean bring in great talent every year as a great recruiter, but not know how to coach them into playing together as a team. It is one thing to say he had to rebuild, but come on he has had five years. He has plenty of talent on the team this year to make them competitive. I don't expect them to win it all because they are young, but they should still be competitive. People that are dishing on Alford for his coaching and saying that he hasn't done anything, haven't followed his coaching very well. He has done well every where he has been besides Iowa, and I'm not sure anybody will do well there. The teams he has been on, haven't been the kind of teams where you can get the recruits like you can at IU. His intelligence for basketball is high above Tom Creans. [/quote] If Alford had never played at Indiana, would you even care about him or his coaching? Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Few, if any, teams in college basketball play a must-win game in mid-January. Few play a must-win game in just the third conference game of the season. Do must-win games at this stage in the season even exist? For Indiana, yes. It shouldn’t be this way, however. Indiana could easily be 13-2, maybe even 14-1, at least 12-3, and comfortably in the tournament. Instead, the Hoosiers sit at 10-5, have zero signature wins, and, frankly, don’t look very good. As a result, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi believes Indiana’s tournament chances “very slim.” Indiana is 0-4 against RPI top 50 teams, and 0-5 against RPI top 100. Close losses to UCONN, Notre Dame, and Illinois are tough to swallow, as wins would have drastically altered this season’s prospects for the better. Indiana is left with a lot of work to do if it wants to play in March. A victory at Penn State Saturday honestly won’t do much for a tourney résumé, since the Hoosiers would still be left without an RPI top 100 win. A loss, however, would make a shaky situation even worse. Right now, IU’s tournament chances are estimated at about 20%. The Hoosiers are clinging to postseason life only because they don’t have a "bad" loss. Lose Saturday, and that all changes. Penn State is currently 105 in the RPI, two spots ahead of Washington, Indiana’s best win. Road wins are hard to come by in the Big Ten, but this is Penn State we’re talking about. Indiana must win and win big. If Indiana happened to lose, cries against Tom Crean would become deafening and fans could all but kiss the Hoosiers’ tournament chances goodbye. A loss would be worst case scenario. Because of the poor start, there’s no room for bad losses - no room for error for that matter. From here on out, each game against a mediocre team is a must win. Everything has seemed to go wrong, and Indiana just needs something good to happen. The fans, players, and coaches all need a positive spark. The Hoosiers just need a win. Indiana didn’t have national title expectations to begin the year, but fans expected a tournament berth at the least. 15 games in, and those low expectations somehow appear too high. Indiana has disappointed, which must change Saturday. An important six game stretch begins tomorrow, and, if Indiana has any shot of making the dance, it needs to start this stretch strong. As crazy as it sounds, Penn State, the third conference game in mid-January, is a must-win. And that might be an understatement.

Newbill and Frazier are tough. Could easily see Indiana losing this game or winning big. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

I don't think there is a "best" team this year. Syracuse, Wisconsin, and Michigan State all up there with'em, and none of them may win the national title. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

[quote name="Hovadipo" post="28465" timestamp="1389141364"]Watch us lose to a couple Northwestern/Penn State/Nebraska's this year. Crean's cheeks might start getting a little toasty, if not from administration, IU fans as a whole. Not saying it would be right or wrong, just saying.[/quote] Something would be seriously wrong if we lost to Northwestern. That's really the only easy win right now. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

  UK and Duke get one-and-done players. There's a reason those kids are one-and-done, and I wish Crean would bring some to Indiana. Until he does, I would never call Crean anything above a good recruiter. 

Crean's problem is that he lost basically everything that built the program, and didn't recruit players that were good enough come right in and play really well. These kids are athletic beyond belief, but simply don't know how to play basketball yet. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Penn State will be tough, and IU could easily lose. If the Hoosiers can keep Frazier and Newbill quiet, however, they should get their first conference win. Jeremy Hollowell with a very nice game, as Indiana takes a 13-point win. Indiana-74 Penn State-61 Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Gotta go with the better QB and team: Noles win. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Just going to throw my thoughts on Vonleh here first before I give more toughts on Crean:   Noah Vonleh will not sniff the top five this year, and I highly doubt he goes higher than seven or eight. Also, unlike Cody Zeller, Vonleh's stock will more than likely rise if he returns for a second year. If Vonleh's eventual draft selection is ever lower than Cody's, then the particular draft is either stacked beyond belief like this year or reaffirms how incredibly lucky Zeller got when Jordan decided to pick him at four. I believe Vonleh will stay.   Now on to Crean:   People had low expectations for the year, and somehow Indiana can't even reach those. At some point, we have to stop using "youth" as a crutch also. Indiana could easily be 13-2, maybe even 14-1, so it's disappointing to look at 10-5. Sure, the players need to be held accountable to some extent, but Crean needs to be held accountable as well (No, he doesn't get a pass for rebuilding the program.)   There is no reason why Vonleh shouldn't be taking the most shots on the team. There is no reason why the starting five should be kept intact. There is no reason why four guys should stand around and watch, while Yogi or Vonleh try to do something.    The offense is a mess, and that falls on Crean. Has the team even improved? That also falls on Crean.   I think he's a good - not great - recruiter, a great motivator, and tremendous man. He's not a great coach, but how many are actually great? I'd give him next year at least, but it's okay to begin questioning him and the future.