TrueHoosier62

Well.....we told you so.

As long as Crean is coach, nothing substantial will change. We'll always get our fair share of talent to come through the doors, and they'll have, throughout their careers, a modicum of success. What's sad is that "a modicum" is now the stick by which we measure success, instead of national championships.   At this point, (given the recent off the court incidents), a national championship would not change my mind about Crean. He is the bastard love child of Kelvin Sampson and Bruce Pearl....... but with far less coaching ability than either parent. Like Pearl, he'll shake and rattle the alumni for support, utilizing inspirational and often times emotional talking points. Like a junior league version of Sampson, he'll walk a fine line with the NCAA rules, and blame everyone else for the failures on the court. Like both parents, he'll allow his ego and inflated opinion of himself to slowly bleed the program to death.   At this point, not only is a return of Bob Knight unlikely, it's highly unlikely to meet with success on the court. Additionally, there are still those in positions of authority at IU who would rather see Purdue win a championship than entertain the idea of Knight's return to the IU bench, so that idea would be non starter.   In the end, the only sure thing is that Crean must go, and the AD must find a highly qualified replacement.

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.

Well, this one is nearly as funny!   http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/the-ten-dumbest-fan-bases-in-america-3-the-ohio-state-buckeyes-100113   I think I need to go pee.

Far and away the funniest thing I've read in a long damned time!

I realize my position is neither politically correct nor popular, but why must we pronounce judgment and pass sentence ahead of our court system? If this were any other person, I can't believe photos of a child having received extreme lashings would have been made public; if for no other reason than it would have most definitely compromised the defendant's right to a fair trial, and indeed, may have so enraged the general public that even in guilt, the punishment would far exceeds the crime and its particulars. I think what everyone fails to remember is that that even in guilt, there are extenuating circumstances which factor in to the level of punishment one fairly receives. Those circumstances in no way eliminate that person's guilt, but they sure can affect both the punishment and perception of that person by the general public. I simply can't believe we've arrived at a point in our society where we're willing to destroy a person's life, take away their livelihood, fine them, suspend them, vilify them in the community, and make them a pariah, before a single juror has been seated, or a case brought to trial. Court cases are not conducted simply by looking at photos, and punishment is not meted, or shouldn't be meted out using blackmail, extortion and political manipulation. 

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'm not misinterpreting what you're saying, but there's a HUGE difference between what the man did when he ended up killing AD's son and AD correcting his son with a switch. I've personally been spanked using a switch. It stings like hell, leaves temporary welts, and creates a painful reminder to stop doing whatever it was that was deemed inappropriate. BUT, my life was never in danger from a spanking, and I dare say neither was this boy's. I would say that AD probably spanked him too many times, and if reports are accurate of the boy being only four, it was a bit too early for that type of punishment. In all honesty and full disclosure, I've been a Minnesota Viking fan since 1968, so perhaps there may be a bit of bias, but I'd like to think that I'm objective enough to see things for what they are. Ray Rice strikes me as a thug and his actions toward his wife were meant only to hurt her. AD's actions, though perhaps OTT, weren't meant as much to physically hurt the boy, as they were to correct wrong actions.

Not to in any way excuse Rice's behavior, (frankly, I found the video unbelievably disturbing), but I'm concerned about what appears to be justice by way of national public opinion polls. The Rice incident was an act of domestic violence, which according to our state and Federal laws, carries it's own set of punishments. If Rice was found guilty, as surely he should have been, there are costs for such actions, including jail times, fines, counseling, and service. It appears the NFL and the Ravens tried to strike a balance between punishing a player for conduct detrimental to the image of the NFL, and imposing harsher penalties in the event they overstepped their legal bounds and invited a counter suit. Undoubtedly, image is everything to the NFL these days, with polls and media attention magnifying any transgressions. I wonder though, at what point is enough, enough?  Again, I think Rice should, if he hasn't already, face justice. If he has indeed faced that justice, then I think we run the risk of allowing a mob mentality to dictate punishment based on emotional factors such as a league and team trying to save face.

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 haven't laughed so much in a long while. Very entertaining to read, and I can't wait for the game to begin.

  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....

Natty, Don't forget the Pro side of things too! Season begins one week from today!

Glad to see everyone coming on board with Nick's pickem' game. It's always more fun with lots of people.  Keep in coming!

Thanks Nick, I've signed up again and my picks are in!     I encourage everyone here to participate. It's a great deal of fun to play throughout the season against your friends here at Btown Banners!

Hey guys,   For the last two or three years, I've been part of a Yahoo College Football Pickem' contest, started by somebody who was or may still be on this board. I hadn't yet received the weekly distribution notification to start this year's season, so I'm wondering if that person is no longer running if, and/or if someone else might be?  Anyone here know anything about it?     Thank you for your help. TrueHoosier62

I'm not convinced that Knight would have retired by now, had Brand, (the traitorous bastard) left him the hell alone, so the point of whether Pat Knight would have replaced him is moot. In my opinion, there's no way that Crean would ever have been hired by Knight. No way, no how. Crean is too superficial, too greasy and two milk and cookies for Knight, so he'd have never even been considered. A former player under Knight most likely would have been considered and I suspect Alford would have been that player. There's no doubt in my mind that under Knight's direction, the 2002 team would have won it all. He'd have more than compensated for any physical shortcomings we had against Maryland by whipping the ever loving dog shiat out of Gary Williams' coaching.  I know there are a LOT of CTC fans here, but as far as I'm concerned, we'll never get back to championship basketball as long as he's the coach. We'll always vacillate between very good and underachieving. Frankly, if I were the AD, I'd fired CTC tomorrow, then ask coach Knight what it would take for him to return to coaching. Money would not be an issue. After re-establishing our program as it should be, an orderly transfer of regimes, with Knight also directing that, could be set in motion. Just my thoughts. 

I realize that when one takes a "personal" leave of absence, it's "personal" for a reason. Still, just thinking aloud, (mainly because I'm bored), I wonder if this is medical, psychological, (depression), or relational, (issues with coaches, girlfriends, family, etc).

I don't know if I'd classify this year as a "put up or shut up" year for IU football. The team is still developing, particularly on defense and the schedule isn't very favorable. I'd say next year, it's more likely we ought to see some serious improvement. Perhaps with a few good breaks we can reach bowl eligibility this season.

I  think Nate will do just that, leading us to our first bowl game in years!

This is the kind of shiat I like to hear. Recruit a bunch, winnow out those who aren't going to do what you thought they might, and bring in some more. Eventually, if you keep your standard high enough the product WILL get better. Glad to hear Wilson taking the right approach.

I remember when Knight was here, players had a role, and when they stepped out of their assigned role, they quickly found themselves on the bench. That wasn't just a Knight trait, but a fairly common practice among coaches that demanded discipline of their players and equally demanded that the good of the team was worth more than anything they brought individually.   We had a player named Jason Collier back in the, (I think) late 90's who was around 7'. All he wanted to do was chuck it from the three point line. He was typical of some players coming out in those days; guys who were built to play center, but wanted to be a guard. Knight was having none of it, and chewed his ass off frequently. Eventually, I think the kid transferred to North Carolina and may or may not have made it to the NBA.    In my own opinion, Zeller was similar in that he was tall enough to play center, but wanted to be a forward, (I never considered him a "tough" nosed center). Ditto for Vonleh. Great talent, great athlete, but not nearly tough enough under the basket. Crean simply doesn't demand from his Centers, a level of toughness and commitment to that role; he's too afraid of pissing them off.

To be fair, IU has never produced centers of note that went on to great careers in the NBA. In fact, I can only think of one, (Benson) and that was over forty years ago, (and he could hardly be classified as a star); everything else has been guards or forwards. Neither Crean's system, nor his coaching are conducive to developing Centers; recruits see this first hand, and hear it repeatedly from rival recruiters. As I said earlier, until Crean lands an average player and truly develops them in to an NBA caliber Center, he'll struggle to get anyone to even visit, must less commit.   Vonleh not getting the ball on a consistent basis was all on Crean. There simply was no excuse for it. If it was Ferrell's job to do so and he didn't, then Crean should have sat him on the bench until the tiny receptors in his ass told the grey matter in his head to "get me the hell off here, get back in the game, and follow the damned plan"!

Just my opinion, but the reason we aren't able to convince centers to come to IU is because our coaches and our system don't develop them in to NBA caliber players. You can make an argument that both Zeller and Vonleh could have gone to virtually any college in America and had the type of collegiate career they had at IU. Similarly you can make an argument that their games were nearly NBA ready coming out of high school, essentially making their decision to attend college at all, a concession to the need for physical development  more than anything of substance they'd receive under Crean and Co. Until Crean shows that he can develop a true center out of a virtual unknown, the way he supposedly has done with guards, we won't be seeing too many five or even four star centers beating a path to Bloomington.