8bucks

I work with a lot of kids transitioning from college to work and I always encourage them to interview often. It helps you practice and prepare better than anything else. You don't want to be rusty when the job you really want opens up. Blackman is likely doing something similar here. He is getting some experience with the process so he is better prepared when it really matters.

Thanks. I agree somewhat with Pap but over time it is good to see us bring in classes ranked in the top 25. I honestly think Crean may be better with classes full of 3/4 star kids like this one that classes full of 5/4 star kids. The lower ranked kids likely tend to fit well with how he leads and the tools we have to get better if you work some on your own. Still think you may need to add a couple of high end guys to help get over the hump when JBj and TB leave but we have a year to fix that.

How does the class rank in total vs other schools

I think part of the thing with Grant is that we have two other guys in this class that are also diamond in the rough guys. Combine that with no blue chip recruits and there is room for some skepticism.

Is this a contact period? Could be we watched (with several other coaches) but have not talked with him

Younger brother Trendon is 6-8 & coming off his freshman year in HS, playing up this summer with 17Us. Trendon hasn't heard from #iubb yet.

I am only surprised we (fans) did not know. Doesn't the school send out tweets on the November national signing day for each letter received? I would have thought we would have known he did not sign early.

If he was bringing something to the team Crean would find a way to get him some minutes. He is literally the last guy to go in.

Man if only he could play tough D he would be a really good asset.

A few hurdles but he would ultimately have to pay his own way if he did. Why would he want to do that.

I knew they were a powerhouse but did not know if they had a coach retire from a healthy program or if they fired a coach and it was down a little bit.

Did Smith take over a program in good shape like Lemonis did? I admit to not following Smith anymore but I did express concerns about things here. Not major concerns but some concerns

What makes Priller all Hoosier? Is it his fandom? All Hoosier, to me, is the kid who works his tail off in practice to get better. Is that Priller? I don't have a clue other than to gauge it on his inability to get in games before walk ons. I don't mind Priller but just don't how to feel on this one.

What if his transcripts were going to be a problem and Smith knew it. Thon Maker's guardian said several times "He's not going through what Cheick (Diallo) went through." Diallo had to sit out to start at KU. What if based on that they did the 5th year in HS with this as a probable strategy. The NCAA clearinghouse and eligibility group has been slow and inconsistent for years. It might not be greed but a strategy.

I had high hopes that our coach would help keep us as a top baseball program but it sure seems we are descending

I don't remember much negativity towards Max at all. With regards to Nick we needed a few more bigs when we signed him. There was certainly some negativity with him but that was because we had just signed two "bigs" that did not show much promise in April and Priller. I would like to see our recruiting kick it up a notch. We had a veteran laden team this year which led us to a BT title but the talent seemed to be lacking in several big games. We have a team full of 3/4 stars like OG, Morgan and RoJo etc which can be great for team play when upperclassmen but we also need some high end guys. TB looks like he could develop into a big time player, JBj if he can come back from another knee injury(3rd?) and can play better D are close but we need more. All of our current recruits fall into that RoJo, OG mold I think we still will need some 4/5 star impact level players to advance further.

JUCO F Freddie McSwain (@Mcswain_swain), who picked up an IU offer this week, says he plans to visit Bloomington April 18-20. #iubb

If Troy could improve defensively as much as Yogi did then his offensive inconsistencies would not matter. He has great length and athleticism but is a poor defender. Change that defensive weakness to a strength and he could be so valuable.

Well our weakness next year would seem to be having a veteran ball handler. RoJo and the rookies may handle things well but if not it would be great to have a veteran we could call off the bench. This year we needed a big in case TB had foul trouble and it was great to have Max, especially late in the year. If we can get a better veteran ball handler then great but if not I would take a long look.

Picked up a Vandy offer hmmm

What do I need to do so that threads I have read don't show up until something new is posted?

I think this is key. Last year we had times when Blackman was certainly a poor defender but others had not bought in either. By the end of the year we sometimes had 1 guy out there who was a D liability but only 1 at a time. Next year we may have 2 at times with him and Troy but that can be managed if he at least gives a little more effort there.

Second half he seemed to look for better shots and certainly seems to be selfless.

Crean did seem to find a way to change a few things this year (getting his team to play D and giving their legs a break). As for a coach that made changes late in their career consider Jim Boeheim who did not switch to his zone D until late in his career. "Finally it dawned on me,” said Boeheim in a candid moment after his team’s 61-50 win over Indiana in last year’s Sweet 16, “after about 27 or 28 years that if we played zone all the time and didn’t waste time playing man-to-man and put some wrinkles in the zone, that our defense would be better.” http://dailyorange.com/2014/01/the-buildup/

I am glad it is not my job to evaluate and recruit HS kids. I am sure Romeo is great but he takes some deep threes. And seems to prefer a jumper vs anything else.