TrueHoosier62

Nope. Not because I don't think those players are very nice players, but because I've not seen enough of Tom's fingerprints on their development to think it would have make that much of a difference. At some point, Tom's ability to coach and develop talent has to be considered apart from that which one might reasonably expect from private practice and physical development. Best example that comes to mind was years ago, under Lou Henson at Illinois. He'd annually get some of the best talent out of the Chicago school system, and they'd often times, stay there four years, (this was before the advent of the "one and done" player). Four years later, those kids, many of which were burger boys, would be bigger, more physically imposing, and to a degree, fundamentally sound. Still, their overall game never achieved the level of success that everyone projected for them. Henson was legendary for taking four and five star players, and doing very little to develop them talents. I'm afraid Crean is cut out of the same mold, in this regard.

So will his tenure....  :D

The problem I have with this situation is that it perpetuates the illusion/lie that all we need are big men in order for IU to be dominate again. While "yes", getting bigger in the post would be helpful, it assumes that Crean can coach big men or that his basketball philosophy, (I've yet to figure out what the hell that is), is conducive to developing big men or meshing their talents to his game plan. Neither Zeller, nor Vonleh stayed around long enough for us to see what four years of getting coached by Crean would do for their overall game. I thought Zeller was good, not great, and one can debate how much of his development was directly attributable to Crean or his own practice time and weight room work. Vonleh on the other hand, was athletic enough, but raw, and was gone after a year. I just think we're fooling ourselves if we think more talent, or bigger men will compensate for poor coaching and development.

Good sized guard that would be nice to get, but the competition for his services is tough.

Damned, would be nice to land this kid....

Looks like a good kid and would be a good get for us.

I have to agree, that was a brutal comparison.

The sun rising in the east, setting in the west, death, taxes, and Michigan beating us in football. Just a few of life's absolutes.

I've been wondering about the line on this game. I've see everything from us being favored by 6 or 7, to Bowling Green being favored. I'm not sure who's right.

I hope I don't sound like the proverbial wet blanket, but I was unimpressed by IU today. I can find things to like of course, (the rushing game and an occasional outbreak of what passes for defense in Bloomington), but what struck me was the overall lack of crispness to their game. *Sudfield looked lost out there and held on to the ball for what seemed an eternity *Conversely, Sycamore QB Paris, working with a fraction of the talent, looked poised and in control. *The offensive line, supposedly this team's major strength, too often looked weak and ineffective against a very average Sycamore defense. Could we really not convert a fourth down against this team??? *The Sycamore wide receivers were open far more than ours were today. Think about that one for a moment. *We'll dearly miss Ewald this year I hope the reason for such a insipid showing was because Wilson was trying to not show the full game plan until needed, (Bowling Green, Missouri, etc). If this is truly where IU's game is at this point in time, it'll be a long, long season.

  I'm sorry to hear that your wife is not well. Prayers your way.

Wish I could be there, but living in Minnesota makes it a bit of a drive. One day though....

The kid sure does look like his dad, but doesn't look like he's 6'-2". I hope he has a cannon for an arm.

Welcome Titus! We look forward to cheering your efforts in the Cream and Crimson!

I think the fact that we're "constantly changing our uniforms" speaks volumes about the stability, (or rather, instability) of our football program. When one sees a team changing their unis, it's almost always because that team or program is on the down and outs, and by extension, trying to drum up excitement in the fan base or dollars to compensate for low gate receipts. I can't see where there's anything positive about it beyond the superficial. I really hope that Wilson develops a monster program that allows the focus of both fans and recruits to be on the play of the team, not the flashy gear.

I'm too old and too cynical to embrace this kind of change. They're nice if one wants to decorate their own house with what they like, but the school and team need to retain some semblance of tradition and consistency, (the exception being their won loss percentage). I still think our traditional school colors are the best, (Cream and Crimson). Adding or making black or chrome the predominant color, eliminating gloss from the helmets and making them "matte"does nothing for me. I I can see where someone could make a buck trying to introduce these changes, but as I see it, as long as the product on the field improves, our traditional uniforms will become a hot and marketable item.

A 6'-5" TE is always handy to have around, especially if he tacks on some muscle and can pile drive the DE, allowing our running game to flourish.

Kick-ass. I can't wait for football season to start. Brats on the grill, beer in my hand and a chill in the air.

The boy is going to grow into a full grown brick wall before he graduates. Whomever is our QB, they should excel with their blind side well protected. This could theoretically lead to another quality QB or RB signing.  All good stuff.  Now come on Defense!

If this coaching staff were comprised of anyone other than Wilson and company, I'd be concerned. As it is, whether it's Sudfield or one of the youngsters, we'll be alright on that side of the ball. Even with Tre leaving, it still leaves more questions on defense than offense.

This coaching staff continues to land very good talent on the offensive side of the ball. Even in years when they aren't getting all the breaks on the recruiting trail, they're good enough teachers to develop some fine players out of average talent. Now, if we can just get both the talent and teaching on the Defensive side of the ball, we'll start making waves.   GO IU!

Great get for our side.

ROFLMAO! Well played. I wish I'd thought of that.

I wish Tom Crean were the answer, but he just plain isn't. His teams are SO fundamentally flawed as to be laughable, and the fact that he had a fair number of Freshman on the roster doesn't excuse it.  Indeed, he could have started Hollowell, Perea, Ferrell, Etherington and Sheehey, not one Freshman in the lot, and does anyone think that team would have done any better? Of course not, they're systemically FLAWED. Instead, we started Vonleh and then couldn't (or didn't) get him the ball on a consistent basis. Who's the point guard on this team, the person responsible for doing that? Oh, that's right, it's Yogi, "give me the damned ball" Ferrell. Sheehey may as well have graduated last year because he surely had already checked out. Perea, when he wasn't embarrassing the program for his off the court activity, did his best to embarrass the program with his on the court inactivity. Etherington is a nice kid, but he should be cast for the next remake of "The Invisible Man". And Hollowell? I'm not sure he could start for Indiana State, much less IU, so what you do with him remains a complete mystery. He's slower afoot than Watford, has no dependable shot, and can't play defense. Other than that, he's a future hall of famer. Those, my fellow IU enthusiasts, aren't Freshman, they're four, second year players plus one four year player, (Sheehey). They've already been indoctrinated by Crean and his "system", whatever the hell that is. The most damning indictment against Crean is that he didn't start that lot because they apparently weren't good enough. So he started or heavily integrated, Vonleh, Williams, Robinson, Gordon, and something called a "Howard" into that mess, (by the way, two of those last five were also Seniors). Either way, we proceeded to lose to Penn State, Nebraska, Northwestern, and 12 other teams in a weaker than normal Big Ten, (I'd be shocked if any team from the Big Ten reaches the final four this year, and I'm not betting on any to reach the sweet sixteen either). So what about next year? After Vonleh leaves, does it matter? If Vonleh forgets for a moment that until he came here he had a fairly good chance at an NBA career, and decides to spend another year under the guidance of CTC, does it matter? This team has no direction, no discipline, no working plan, (or at least a plan that anyone knows about, or can implement). They're a collection of athletes that must have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, and having awoken the next morning, refreshed and ready for a new day, decided that they were an IU basketball team. They weren't.

Until Crean is fired, our basketball seasons are going to resemble a badly scratched LP. He "plays" a coach, not so unlike Gene Hackman played a coach in the movie "Hoosiers". In fact, at this point, I'd take Gene Hackman's acting over Tom Crean's coaching.