Parakeet Jones

3 & outs won't cut it today.

Already tired of hearing that song.

Any video of Brady Hoke getting his pregame gravy IV?

After watching the Pacers/Bulls pre-season game last night it is obvious that anytime Rose gets into the lane this year a foul will automatically be called on the other team.

I'm watching South Carolina vs. Tennessee. I guess being in the SEC gets you a #11 ranking even if you are just a step or two above mediocre.

I had to miss last week's game, Jaybob, due to travel. The more I read about it on twitter and other places, that didn't turn out so bad for me. Hopefully you'll regret not being able to see it after the fact unlike me last week.

We're all good tomorrow, I am back in town and can watch the game. I still say we go with Nate, but that is without having seen any of the MSU game.

I would drive a race car, Indycar to be exact.

I tend to agree. IMO this is how the year will play out. We'll start the year ranked, at some point we will fall out, and then end up either just outside the top 25 or ranked about where we are now. That's kind of a mid point between the best possible scenario and the worst possible scenario we discussed in another thread.

and the other

One of my traditional contributions to this thread

Yogi and Noah both second team. Yogi will come into his own as our leader and a legit big time B1G point guard. Noah will be an impact Freshman and sweat out making 2nd team.

I think the gap between the best case scenario and the worst case scenario is as wide this year as it has ever been. I 'll say best case scenario is that JH & HMP make a huge leap, Noah is as good as advertised, we get solid contribution from at least two other Fr. (think Gerry McNamara from Melo's Fr. year at Syracuse), and Yogi and Will are Yogi and Will. This leaves us ranked all year, hovering just below the top spot in the B1G, and primed for a return trip to the sweet 16 and maybe an Elite 8 run. Worst case: JH & HMP don't make much of a jump, outside of Noah our freshman look like freshman, and Yogi and Will don't handle being the focal point of other team's defensive game plans. If that happens we are a bubble team and then it depends on who else is on the bubble and their resume vs. ours.

I am really interested to see if they can hold a ranking all year long.

I feel really bad for that kid with the injuries, the sham suspension last year, and now his dad. God bless him and his family.

UM 41 IU 27

As an IU fan of course I'm going to say winning the B1G title outright. To be honest about it, if the tables were turned I'd be saying what they are. I am sure their tune would change too. However, here is my argument for the B1G championship being more impressive. The B1G season is a grueling 18 games in the best basketball conference going that tests you over the course of three months and not just three weeks. To win it you have to be consistent night in and night out, not just get hot at the right time in March. Which IU team was better last year's or the team that lost to Maryland in the championship game? I love cbb 100's of times more than I do the NBA, but you are more likely to get a truer champion in that system where you have series vs. a one-and-done scenario. Think about all that comes to play in March Madness that can cause you trouble: match-up problems - "hello Syracuse" luck - "welcome to the west Wichita St., the crappiest bracket ever home of the crappiest one seed ever" The list could go on. Having said all of that, I'd kill to make a run that deep in March again soon.

I am the farthest thing from a recruiting insider or expert, but if his older brother doesn't come to IU (which I doubt he does) than I can't see any way he does either. I don't honestly know if I want to face the possibility of another Blackmon family saga.

Here I go again getting my hopes up about a commit. Argh, I'll never learn.

The rookie Solomon Jones has gotten a lot of run with the second unit in the two preseason games so far. I wonder if they're just looking to see what they have or if he is in the mix for some minutes. They've been able to do a couple of different things with the second unit to give them some different looks. In the first game they had Mahinmi at the 5, Scola at the 4, and Jones at the 3. Today (in what little I saw) the had Scola at the 5, Copeland at the 4, and Jones at the 3. That second unit has been built to mix and match based on who they are playing.

Is that second emoticon what I think It is? lol

That's him. Thanks.

Hey, CCG, I have a question for you. Maybe I was dreaming, but wasn't there some 4 star PF for the '14 class that we were trying to get in with when things with Goodluck started to go south? I've been looking all over the recruiting forum trying to find him, but I haven't been able to. That may just be on me. I saw the guys name in Athlon's or Lindy's one. If I had my copies in front of me I'd give you the name to ask about. I know that is kind of vague, but any answer/info you have would be appreciated.