HoosierTrav

I agree to a point. If we were to only get 4 star guys, we would have never landed Zeller. He was the most important recruit in my lifetime.

 What in the world is ESPN thinking? They chose to broadcast IU vs Maryland at 9 PM on ESPN U? This is ridiculous. I just broke the news to a fellow employee and he is beyond himself right now. He just bought a cable package 2 weeks ago so he could watch the IU games. Of course he doesnt get ESPN U, so he has to miss our biggest game of the season. I wish ESPN would fold already.

False. This was "TBA" for time and Station slot for a large portion of our season.

I envision this game being much like the IU vs Wisconsin game in B-town last year. Terps haven't played in a venue as tough as the Hall will be tonight. Not even when they were in the ACC. Welcome to basketball country! The students have been camping outside since the butt crack of dawn. the place will be electric......during warmups.   Close game where IU has to overcome a double digit deficit or two. We pull away in the last 3 mins and hit all of our big free throws. Hoosiers by 9   Indiana - 79 Terps - 70

I think its hilarious that his mother is "worried" about drugs and wants his son to attend Syracuse. She thinks that Indiana lied about Drug use? Has Boeheim told her that the NCAA is currently investigating his program for RAMPANT drug use and the lack of discipline for players who have failed MORE THAN 4 DRUG TESTS IN A SINGLE SEASON? Has she even looked at APR scores between the 2? Not only is her son going to be exposed to a forest of chronic at Syracuse, he's also not going to be forced to learn anything other than a 2-3 zone. 

I totally agree. This is the type of team he's always had success with. Don't be sorry for having high expectations. Hoosier Nation has become the Burns/ Focker family. One side thinks they should get trophies for finishing in 8th place, while the other side thinks trophies should go to champions. Accomplishment means two completely different things to the two sides. You've picked the right side my friend.

  May I ask you what would have to happen for you to lose support of CTC? I'm really just trying to get a better understanding of the mindset of someone I don't agree with. I'm not trying to be argumentative at all.  Lets say he's been here for a decade and we never reached a final four; would this be enough for you to want another coach to take the reigns? Are you completely sold on the idea that Indiana can never be what it once was, like many fans today? In your opinion, why is Crean struggling tremendously on the recruiting trial right now. In your eyes, he's elite. What could possible cause our recruiting to bottom out IMMEDIATELY after sending 3 players into the NBA draft lotto?   I myself happen to believe that the right coach would have made a Final Four @ Indiana within 7 years of taking the job. I don't subscribe to the notion that Indiana cannot and will never be what it once was. We have every single ingredient in place to achieve this, except (IMO) having the elite coach. I sometimes hear the people who support Crean the most bring up the point that ALL coaches have down years. This is true but I think the most common denominator amongst them that Crean doesn't fit into, is the fact that their recruiting doesn't really fall flat and they only average 1 down year out of every 4. Looking at Crean's entire head coaching career, it is completely reasonable to expect a mediocre or below avg year 2 or 3 times out of 4 years, with the 1 or maybe 2 seasons where he overachieves.. Another crazy statistic that should not be overlooked is the fact that Crean has only qualified for the NCAA tournament in 7 of his 16 seasons coaching.   Maxwell: You mentioned that no solid professional or man of integrity would take Crean's job after the job he's doing here. First and most importantly, Crean is paid accordingly. The pressure of making final fours or bust is offset by making him the highest paid state employee. Did you know that Bo Ryan makes a full $1,000,000 less than CTC on a yearly basis? I dare you to try and give me a rational justification for that.  I think any coach willing to accept the Indiana job after CTC is ousted would be fully aware that he is coming in with huge expectations and is fully confident in his ability to live up to or exceed these expectations. He would understand that Sweet 16's and missing the tournament and NIT is unacceptable. It may be acceptable for you but I guarantee you that if he doesnt win and win BIG within the next three years, he's toast. Thats how it is and it's completely fair to expect at least one final four in a decade. If Crean had the level of integrity that you speak of, he would have refused to be paid all of his $3.5 million dollar salary last season. Him accepting last seasons salary after performing the way he did puts him in the same class of integrity as any coach who wants the Indiana job after him. No?

You must have missed the IU vs Michigan game in Bloomington last season.

I forgot how sloppy we played. We missed so many golden opportunities. Bummer.

. Watch out for Iowa pulling it out in Madison. They've been killer on the road this year.

Overall a good write up. Not a fan of how he tries to throw a jab at Brad Stevens record in Boston, as if ANYONE else would do any better. Phil Jackson and Greg Popovich would both stink with that roster. FACT! Most all of the criticism of Crean up to this point has been valid. Results are all that matters. Being ranked 23rd in the nation is certainly progress, and I'm pysched about it, but we need to wait until the end of the season. At the end of the day the guy is making elite money at a traditionally elite program. He should be held to a higher standard than most coaches who make 1/4 of what he makes. This is completely fair. He was given a ton of slack for his first 3 seasons (rightfully so) but those days are over. Now it's about results and results only! So far this season, he is doing a fantastic with this group. We are getting better as the season moves along and we have responded to every punch we've taken so far. He deserves credit where credit is due. I'll gladly eat crow but this season is a LONG way from over and I'm going to keep it in the freezer until the results are in.

. Just Bc we predicted a loss doesn't make us any less faithful to IU than you. I'm just trying to predict it correctly one way or another. Rooting for our boys every step of the way.

Our inability to score in the paint and our poor shooting on the road do us in.   Indiana - 63   Illinois - 72

Completely removing my IU bias?  I'll try........... One would have to assume that 18 year old me, good enough to get an offer from IU, is going to be the kind of kid that gets told how great I am every day of the week. I probably have an inflated sense of self at this point and believe that I belong at IU over any inferior mid major. I also have no reason to believe I'm going to sit the bench, as CTC has really convinced me that I fill a very specific need in the frontcourt and has promised me a fair shot.

   It's my belief that the next 4 games are going to either make or break our Hoosiers chances at a conference title or finishing in the upper echelon.   @Illannoy  (This would be a HUGE win for us. It would mean we win both single play road games)   vs Maryland (Very tough match up for us. Have excellent guard play and decent bigs. Have to hold serve at home. Payback is a dish best served cold. We havent forgotten 2002 Twerps)   @O$U (I dont think their is any realistic shot at us winning this ballgame. I predict a 10+ point loss)   @ Purdouche  (Always a must win. I hate everything about Purdue. The name, the colors, the women (beasts), the smell of the town, etc. If we could get back to beating them twice a year, that's be great.   If we split this 4 game stretch, I think we will be in good shape. If we take 3 or 4 games, we would be putting ourselves in position to win the B1G. Thoughts?

It seems simple....... Hire Ed Smith! Problem solved.

Makes sense. Somebody has to feed the girls that patrol their campus.

There are 2 types of basketball fan. Those who blame the players..... and those who blame the person paid 3.5 million a year to pick the players and win.

I think this is a close one. IU: 75 PSU: 73

I would much rather have April pick these minutes up than Burton. Nothing like in game development. Holt will get 25 mins a game now and April getting some spot time in B1G games will be huge for his mental and physical development. The kid has some skill for his size. If he can just rebound the ball, alter shots at the rim, and take up space in the middle, we really wouldn't be missing anything. We haven't been able to rely on big man play this year as it is.   Note: Emmit is 2nd on the team in blocked shots (1.1/per) and was only getting 12 minutes a game. He's more than capable of providing the defense, with extended minutes, that Hanner was giving us.   I'm not trying to downplay Hanner's importance. I'm just trying to point out that this isn't going to cripple us.   Get well soon Hanner!!

He rarely admits to his own mistakes. I cant say that he never owns them, but it is VERY rare. It's one of the first things that caused me to jump off of his bandwagon, especially during the 2012-2013 season. That guy blew so many games in the second half that year, it made me sick.  It's not so much putting a ton of weight on post game interviews as much as it is wanting the coach to humble himself and take the blame for things that were his fault. It's incredibly infuriating to know that his mistake cost us in a big way, only to hear him passing the buck onto the players. He loves to blabber on and on about momentum in a game but how many times have you seen him let a 10 point + lead turn into a 5 point deficit without the use of a single timeout? You'll NEVER hear him own up to those mistakes. You hear other coaches shoulder most or all of the blame for things going awry. "I should have had this team in a better position to win this game late." "I should have used a TO at that point." These are things you will hear from some of the top names in the game and in any sport. If you think his knowledge of the game of basketball is "infinitely more knowledgeable" than any fan here, you are misleading yourself. The guy is certainly no fool but there are a ton of extremely knowledgeable fans within our base. The people of within this state learn basketball from a very young age and the unmatched passion only builds that knowledge. If anything he's being exposed more than ever due to the fan base's wealth of basketball knowledge. It doesn't take a savant to know to call a timeout as your lead is slipping away, or to figure out that the zone may not be the best option after the opposing team has scored on 8 of their last 10 possessions against it. Serious question: When is the last time you watched one of our out of bounds plays and came away thoroughly impressed by his infinite wisdom? Again, the guy isn't a moron, but he's operating way below his pay grade. Is that even up for debate? The guy is going to make off with 8 figures when he finally gets run outta town.

Spot on.

Still... 25 points in the first half is ridiculous for any player in college, let alone a frosh. Glad we only have to see him for 1 year.

Russell is the best frosh in the B1G and it's not even close. WOW!

totally agree.