Stuhoo

HEY BTOWNBANNERS...IT'S "COMPARE THE COACH VIDEO" TIME! :) ^^Yes my friends, we've gone from this^^ - To this - >

Yes! Uspshoosier consistently makes this board a great place to learn, laugh, and hang out. These photos are just the latest example.

Firstly...I generally agree with everything above you said. However, I think the problem will never be "too many point guards"; instead, it will be "can two or three of these potential players (Phinisee, Durham, Green, and Carton) be on the floor at once" and be effective. I don't see why not - primarily, Durham and Green would need to be able to defend against a big guard. I have no doubt that Durham can, and I think DeVonte is listed at 6'3" and is a pretty solid build. If the defensive end of the floor is covered, having DGreen or Durham as the two guard on the offensive end is excellent news. A starting lineup of Carton, DGreen, Hunter, Justin Smith, and TJD with Durham and Phinisee the first two guards off the bench? Sign me up.

Well...there is already no doubt that Grant Gelon was the "Target of Arch-ery"

Personally? I don't mind discussing it like you just did at all - as a mod the place that I (hopefully gently) draw the line is when posters name a specific kid that may be in good standing, and posit him as needing to be gonzo. I agree that we have a bit of a glut of bigs, especially if/when DeRon comes back healthy.

So we can "slow play" a fantastic get like Newman without really slow-playing him!

In my opinion? Best of all worlds for IU...currently. In saying that, I strongly believe that DJ Carton is the guard that IU is most enamored, with serious interest in Ramsey, and that we are slow playing Newman, Franklin, and probably Curtis from Ohio. The beauty of it is that IU and Michigan have a visit this week from Carton, and as Bozich said on his ITH podcast this week, the fact that the IU and Michigan visits this week are official visits is telling. To paraphrase Bozich's logic, if Carton takes these two official visits and thereafter decides to wait for the fall, and then schedules other official visits in the fall, that is a pretty clear sign that IU will not be his first choice. So, the beauty of the situation is that we can slow play the other guards, but we don't have to do so for very long.

So very excellent! Thanks Strom!!!! The team wasn't half bad last year, and that was with major minutes going to the less experienced and less able (Freddie as the starting center, Collin with major injuries). Our talent level is about to skyrocket.

I'm thinking that if #385 ranked Illini 6'7" big man Anthony Higgs was three inches taller, he would basically be... The other Illini freshman big man; #315 ranked 6'10" Giorgi Bezhanishvili.

#385 in the class. Also...while I know it is just a message board fan saying it, couldn't help but giggle at the following Illini board Higgs-celebratory post [emphasis added]: Peoria Pipeline Higgs is a hell of a get this late in the process. From everything i have seen and read he plays his butt off and is really athletic. Maybe it's just because he's a lefty but that stroke looks really nice as well. If this dude was 4 inches taller he would basically be Marvin Bagley.

Love my dogs - so very sorry for your situation...a true family member in every way.

Yup! With Fitzner, Durham, Hunter, Race, and Rob the most likely first five off the bench.

I am a big, big fan of college teams playing their games on college campuses. It's one of the primary dynamics that makes college basketball more than, and far better than just an NBA developmental league. So those five suggestions for me? No No No No No

Looks like our guy is gonna need a new school for football come August. From this afternoon's Palm Beach Post: BREAKING: Oxbridge Academy shutting down football program for 2018-19 1 hour ago By Adam Lichtenstein, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer WEST PALM BEACH — The reigning Class 3A state runner-up will not play football in 2018.The Oxbridge Academy football program has been shut down for the upcoming season, according to the school. “This was not an easy decision for us,” Oxbridge athletic director Patrick Hollern said in a press release. “For the past six years, we have been fully committed to a football program, built on the values of character development, athletic and academic excellence, and service to the community. Like many football programs around the country, we are experiencing a decline in participation rates. “At this time, we no longer have an adequate number of football players to sustain a safe football program. We remain committed to our athletic department and teams, building upon what has become one of the most consistently successful athletic programs in South Florida. Our athletic department creates many opportunities, which result in exceptional college placements for our student-athletes in all our sports.” The ThunderWolves are only six months removed from losing (by four points) in the Class 3A state-title game, but the team has suffered attrition due to graduation and transfers. Oxbridge Academy played its first season in 2013 under then-coach Doug Socha and quickly became a strong program. Playing in an independent conference, the ThunderWolves went 19-3 in their first two seasons and won two titles. The program moved into the FHSAA playoff system in 2015 and qualified for postseason play in each of the last three seasons. Socha was let go after the 2015 season — along with athletic director Craig Sponsky and school CEO Robert Parsons — as the school moved to de-emphasize the football program. Oxbridge later vacated two years worth of victories amid allegations of financial-aid favoritism toward football players. Socha assistant Brendan Kent was promoted to head coach in 2016, and the winning continued. The ThunderWolves went 20-4 in the last two seasons and earned a spot in last year’s state title game. Despite the sustained success, Oxbridge was low on players after last year. Fifteen of the 44 players on last year’s roster graduated, and eight others have transferred since the season ended. “I really don’t know (why so many players have transferred),” offensive lineman Da’Quan Thomas said Tuesday after announcing his transfer to Dwyer. “I guess the guys feel like it’s time to move on.” Several key players who have not announced transfers will now look for a new place to play, including class of 2019 linebacker and Indiana commit Dorian Jones (No. 13 on the Post’s Big Board), 2019 quarterback and FAU commit Gio Richardson (No. 16) and 2020 wide receiver Jordan Cash (who has offers from Bowling Green, Florida Atlantic and Kentucky).

They are gonna suck in a major way with their current roster. The only player they have over 6'6" is this freshman: GIORGI BEZHANISHVILI PF 6-9 230 CLASS OF 18 ELIZABETH, NJ(ST. PATRICK) NATL. RK 317 PF RK 54 NJ RK 10

I gots to tell ya - with both of their starting guards already gonzo, if Watkins gets the axe too Pat Chambers is a dead man walking-coach.

They've had some major issues with their high-academic achievement students and their parents, who are paying full-price at about $40k annually. Those parents and the vast majority of their kids are paying big money for a leg up on an Ivy league future, not to subsidize a football team full of financial aid students. They also had some major difficulties that began with a lawsuit by their female comptroller; sexual harassment, favoritism toward sports over academics, etc. That prompted a revamping of their overall plan, and likely for the better. Probably should have emphasized basketball; it's a whole lot cheaper! But, it's Florida and football is king. They are a fairly new prep school, but it is well financially backed and has produced real, verifiable academic achievement in their four or five years of existence. The couple of families I know that have kids there are thrilled with the changes. They are replacing big-time football with big-time theater, tennis, etc to go with big-time academics.

For anyone that might get really, really close to the on-court team camp action, a friendly whistle for TJD might seem appropriate! ;)

Jones plays at Oxbridge Academy; a very, very fancy prep school in West Palm Beach. It is also a football factory with unlimited Koch Brothers' funds to give financial aid to any kid they want for the team.

Holy crap...that team list read like a who's who of priority IU recruits. The only teams missing are LaLu, Bettendorf, IA and Mountain View, AL.!

Any idea of a list of which teams will be attending?

Just got back from two weeks overseas. Good to see all of the freshmen suited up! All systems are a go. As Chris mentioned, the team camps are about to take place, and last year those team camps were a very, very big deal in cementing the fabulous summer recruiting for the class of 2018.

^^A mike-drop worthy post^^ Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

I’m not on either end of the spectrum on this one. I really like what McBob brings, and I would be shocked if he isn’t one of our top eight players. But, Whether he starts or not is of no real concern to me. ALSO: a major dynamic that has not been discussed is that McBob has a pretty nice shooting stroke, and knowing his work ethic I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he is a much more confident and 40% three-point shooter next season. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app