8bucks

I agree. I do think we will see more fluff pieces during the year and if we end up with a good win - loss record (even if as fans we know we have played well below expectations and talent) i would not be surprised to see some pushing him for coach of the year awards. They will look at how we struggled early and on neutral courts and assume our later wins against less competition and at home will reflect great coaching.

and then deduct travel expenses. Maybe the top bowl participants make money but few do. Still good to go.

I see your point. He may not have compared the styles but did compare their potential impact. I suspect he forgot how much Dekker actually did as a freshman though. To suggest that Dekker did not do much his freshman season besides being a slot shooter suggests that Decker had a modest freshman season. He actually had a very good rookie year Dekker played in 35 games (3 starts) as a freshman on the Wisconsin Badgers. He is one of only four true freshman to start under Bo Ryan joining Devin Harris, Alando Tucker and Josh Gasser. He earned Big Ten All-Freshman team recognition as well as honorable mention All-Big Ten honors. He was also two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (January 14 and March 4, 2013). Dekker scored a season high 19 points against Arkansas on November 24, 2012 and Nebraska on February 26, 2013.[4]

Is this a record for the smallest post game thread?

I would go with dim, not dark. Dim like an early morning before the sun has come up but you know it is near. Dim because the dark days included the Sampson stain and that also carried a stench and brought us down to levels we in Indiana do not accept. Dim, because not only did the dark days carry the stench but they also put us in a deep hole. A hole that would take time. Dim also because we did find a willing leader to bring us from darkness to these early morning hours where we wait for the new day. Dim now because we have seen and now others have seen that while the current leader accomplished his task he is not the guy to lead us into the new day. No, it might still be dim but the new day is near. Soon the golden rays of that new day will begin to peak over the eastern horizon. Hope will abound and results will follow. No my fiend, these are not dark days but dim. Hold fast because the new day is coming.

Wait I know who YF, TW and JBJ are but who is HE

I agree. We have seen all the players you mentioned benched at different points except Yogi.

An interim coach might also not feel obliged to keep Creans promises to current kids made when recruiting them.

They make a good point and it corresponds to the questions I asked above. Painter built a great team with the baby boilers and seemed to have all the recruiting momentum but instead of building on the success they faltered. Why, because they got away from recruiting Purdue guys. Guys who would play defense primarily. Similarly, Crean built a great team with VO, Cody ETC but then when he should have had recruiting momentum his later classes have largely bombed. Did he get away from recruiting his kind of players and followed the stars too much? Does he really know what his type of guy is?

Is this it Wayne? http://www.fanly.me/c/ROBJ9s38ls

Hypothetically - if the hot seat weren't a problem do you think he can deliver more contenders or does the churn and broad recruiting lead to more pretenders. I agree though about the challenges he faces now

Good perspective. It seems there have been 5 groups recruited by Crean. First group was just to fill spots. Certainly no issues here. Second group included VO, Will, Wat, Cody and Hulls. Big winner. The third group, the movement. Bust, these happen but we had such momentum and poof. The fourth group was Troy, Stan, Noah, Max, RoJo and James. Again, it seems to have some great talent but leadership and off court threaten their contributions. The last group are our freshman and I will wait on them. So my question for you Pap is - do you think Crean will find more groups like VOs group or more like the movement and the post movement? If he had 2 strong groups and one dud I would be more patient

Hey any idea why Dukes managers sprint to the locker rooms at halftime? Oddest thing I have ever seen

Yeah but maybe he takes what he can to motivate. I bet he carried that into the locker room, embellished and got his team focused on the second half. A half where they held us scoreless for the first 25% of the half

I expect us to win by 15 but will be disappointed if OG does not get a ton a time. Too often Crean pounds the pansies and keeps the regulars in for most of the game

Ray. Brad will come, Ray. Brad and his wife will come. They'll come to IU for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. "Of course, we won't mind if you look around", you'll say, "Just sign this contract if you want to stay". They'll pass over the contract without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines for the family, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. The Stevens will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been Indiana Basketball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But IU has marked the time. This building, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again. Oh...Brad and family will come Ray. They will most definitely come.

Many have critiqued our players by saying they are more interested in being on ESPN (highlights). Well with all the discussion, they are all over ESPN but for giving up highlights

Well sometimes kids focus too much on being on ESPN.

Pretty good article "The End Is Near for Crean at Indiana" via http://TeamStre.am by Bleacher Report http://teamstre.am/1jAqaXK

Good article "The End Is Near for Crean at Indiana" via http://TeamStre.am by Bleacher Report http://teamstre.am/1jAqaXK

I would not say I felt sorry for the kids but I believe that Crean is not getting the most out of them nor pushing them to become all they can be. For that I get the empathy idea and place the majority of this on Crean.

Is she still following Crean on Twitter?

I don't see much from OG to think he will do much this year. Our next several games are against weak teams so now is the time to let OG try and find his groove. I will be sorely disappointed if we win these games by 15 or more points and OG does not have a ton of minutes

I think IU and Crean do a lot of work to make sure he is well liked in the industry. Hence the recent articles from national guys subtlety defending him but that tide is turning. Jay Williams has been beating the negative drum on IU (not completely directed at Crean but he has been included), DV last night really questioned our team repeatedly and in this article there are several national folks taking jabs now too. Sage, one year after being here for MM clearly questioning the makeup and leadership of this program. Heck even Seth Davis got a little negative The tide is turning. I really wonder what the boosters that attended the game last night thought. Are they happy just to be able to travel with the team or do they expect higher results? Do they think it is all on the players (again), bad luck due to not having the roster Crean thought he would (again) or do they like many of us see this falling mostly on Crean?

for some yeah that applies but the Z double is just bad coaching. Bad preparation. Z gave great effort on that play but you cannot outrun a pass and he should have never left his man to double When this becomes the theme every year I just cannot pin much on players. One man identified and recruited these guys to come play here. Season after season one guy has kids that do not defend well. Crean is the guy. If this were a one year deal then fine but with so many different kids the problem is the same.