TrueHoosier62

I'd have said something; screw em'.

A win is a win, and we're still in first place.

Great team win today, against an embarrassingly underrated Minnesota squad; feeling really stoked tonight.

Wish he'd have stayed, the defensive line was beginning to come along nicely. Hope we have some underclassmen ready to step up.

Hey Nat, tried to PM you, but it says you can't receive email. What's up?

Of course I was watching, I'm an IU fan, but I wasn't watching them from some sports bar on the sandy beaches of Fantasy Island. I was watching the product on the floor, and it doesn't take Bob Knight to point out how deficient this team is. Now go have a drink and relax.

Winning what?

So why is everyone upset? Indiana is the same team they were earlier this year, and last year, and the year before that, and the year before that; nothing has changed. Only our perception, (based on a winning streak against inferior opponents) and thus our expectations have changed, not the actual product on the floor. It's still a mosh pit of hopelessly flawed players, incapable of playing smart, disciplined ball when the competition improves. They're slow on their feet, and slower in their minds. If Wisconsin went to the foul stripe a disproportionate number of times, it's because they were FOULED a disproportionate number of times by players reaching with their hands, not moving their feet, and otherwise being out of position. Was there really anything surprising there? Ditto for the turnovers, which can be attributed almost entirely to poor fundamentals, (we have none). We didn't lose because we played at the Kohl Center. We lost because we're mentally weak, poorly constructed, ill prepared, and still one dimensional on offense. Wisconsin beat us with one of their poorest teams in years, simply by showing up and allowing us and our flaws to do all the rest.

This is arguably the worst Wisconsin team in the last 25 years, and we're pondering the potential greatness of beating the Badgers?! Are you kidding me? I don't care if we've lost thirty in a row at the Kohl center, that is not a good team. Next, we'll be trying to convince each other that the win against Morehead State was a signature win.

For what it's worth, in my forty years of watching Big Ten basketball, this is the worst collection of teams I've ever seen, and it's not even close. There isn't one team that passes the eye test. Many years, there's at least one, possibly two or three that one can make an argument for; but not this year. Accordingly, I don't really care how good IU looks right now, or even how well they look down the stretch, it just doesn't say much. Let's save the hyperbole until this team, and particularly this coach, does something worthy of it. Until then, we're only sounding like Purdue or Illinois fans, thinking a championship is just around the corner, when everyone else knows better.

I'll refrain from being overly sarcastic or negative and simply say "yes" it's too early. Way too early.

I have no problem with Bob Knight's decision to snub IU's celebration of the 76' squad, and understand his likely reasoning. It would have been nice to have seen his return, to see him among the players of his greatest team, and to see the warmth extended towards him by the fans; but I understand why he would avoid such an event. I wonder if Knight would have considered a celebration of that team and its accomplishments had it been held in Indianapolis, and underwritten by someone other than IU?....

As long as Tom Crean is on the sideline, the other team will always have a fighting chance, (a la, LSU coach Dale Brown), and as long as Fred Glass is the AD, Tom Crean will be roaming the sideline.

This football program, for all it's shortcomings, is still light years ahead of the basketball program. 

This is the first time since I've been a member here, that I'm going to refrain from writing a proper response. I'll let your post stand on its own merits. Deep breath in, deep breath out.....1,2,3....

Because when one talks about recruiting or possible "gets", one invariably has to remember who's recruiting them or coaching them, (or not coaching them, as the case may be). Crean's name is brought up because no matter how far the pendulum swings towards talent on one's roster, Crean is the counterbalance that brings it back the other way.

I don't care if we get Thon, Rawle and/or the second coming of Larry Bird, (hell, even if we got every one of Kentucky's current freshmen, plus whomever they have coming next year), we'd still have Tom Crean leading the charges. People can dream all they want of 7 ft. agile centers, lightening quick guards with hair trigger releases and dead eye marksmanship, or forwards who can rain threes yet still bang with the best of them under the bucket; it's fun. But after awaking from these nearly erotic level dreams, and after rubbing the sleep out of our eyes, we're forced to remember that Tom Crean is the person in charge of developing that talent; and that sobering truth is enough to counter any positive gains in recruiting. He's Lou Henson with better hair.

This team was just a bounce or two away from nine wins during arguably, the most difficult Big Ten schedule anyone had. I think it's safe to say that I feel better about the future of IU football than IU basketball, and when was the last time anyone could say that?

I worry that we'll never be free of the clap.

The phone rang a few minutes ago at Coach K's residence:   Coach K: "Hello"? Coach Knight: "Hey Mike, it's Bob. Just wanted to say "well done" on the win tonight. Your boys look damned good!" Coach K: "Gee, thanks Coach, I really appreciate it. I was a little surprised at how far that program has fallen". Coach Knight: "Are you G*d-d*mn kidding me"? Beating Indiana these days involves one thing; showing up. You just let them do all the work". Coach K: "It sure seemed like it, lol". Coach Knight: "Seemed my ass", Why I've seen more fight out of Stephen Hawking on a low battery day". Coach K:"Umm, coach, that's not very politically correct, you know?". Coach Knight: "Well, I could have said something about Connie Chung, I've got a million of em you know". Coach K: "No, that's alright; I get your point". Coach Knight: "Well, I've gotta run, just got a text message from Fred Glass. Something about borrowing money".

Somewhere tonight, Bob Knight is laughing his ass off.

Come now gentlemen. You're forgetting what Crean inherited, and that it's only been 7 or 8 years, (seems longer); that's barely enough time for him to turn things around. I think the fact that we stayed within 20 points of an average Duke squad is a true testament to Tom Crean's coaching ability.

I wonder, in the abyss that is Fred Glass's mind, what would it take to fire Tom Crean? I can't imagine the AD's at schools such as Kentucky, Duke, or North Carolina employing a matrix of criteria much more entailed than won loss records, or league and NCAA championships garnered. They might be willing to look past the occasional off court missteps which occur from time to time, but even that would be conditional. Coach Knight may have had his drawbacks, but he won. He won consistently. He won league championships. He won NCAA championships; and he did all this while playing within the rules. Most AD's will keep you around if you continue to win. Winning, particularly championships at some level, pretty much insures your survival on the sidelines. But what criteria does Fred Glass use when determining if a coach should be terminated? It's not as if Crean has showered the university with Big Ten championships, or even been consistently in contention. Nor is there a sixth banner hanging from the rafters at AH yet. He has brought, however, a good measure of dysfunction, poor play and police blotter material. Indeed, if dysfunction and questionable player activities were considered when handing out trophies, we'd be final four material most years, having possibly hanged at least two additional banners by now. But as they don't award trophies for such activity, we're SOL. Which brings me back my original question; what does it take for Fred Glass to fire Tom Crean?

"He's a snake oil salesman with lots of energy and a good line of bull sh*t"   Hey, quit stealing my lines! lol

"Pathetic" and "Apathetic". Two words you'll be hearing a lot of soon.