8bucks

Seems very similar to the situation here when brother Eric was thinking about where to commit. It would make a lot of sense to wait this out and not commit to a school if a coaching change here might change your mind. He is not ranked nearly as high as Eric was so his decisions may be limited to having a few less options but I am sure he remembers what the family went through after leaving Illinois

I think we have seen this repeat year after year now and his support is gone. The empty seats at AH reflect that. [attachment=3060:ImageUploadedByBtownBanners1450113900.408937.jpg]

Has Crean talked much about deflections this year? I have heard it only a few times. I would think prior to the last two games our deflections compared to VO et al would be down quite a bit

I strongly believe that there are a couple of trustees that have Alford as their backup candidate if BS says no. Have heard this from a couple of different people. Hoping ol BS says yes

Back channel discussion take place but a lot of programs swing and miss on their first choice nonetheless. BS and Shaka both pulled out of discussions with several bigger programs several times. I imagine the back channel discussions can lead some all the way to the job whereas in other cases it may only lead to a discussion.

Didn't Priller seem to play with a little edge to him last night too? I thought he did and it was good to see

It does make you wonder. Priller should have been several games earlier and he seems to be the last guy in. I get how a crowd can make a kid do things that a coach might not want (shoot) but last night he played real well.

At one point in the second half when we were up big my wife noticed that the entire bench was standing up cheering on the guys. Wondering if he was trying to craft some energy.

Saw this too. Wonder if it filled up any more later

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?? Coach Crean madder than a hornet #Iubb Threw his jacket ?!?

Yeah he spent a lot more time than normal just sitting.

Or I would argue, if they cannot learn to play D without fouling then the bench is a good motivator.

JBJ and RoJo have foul trouble right? Isn't that the reason

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