lillurk

I think he’ll be at UM at least until his sons move past it

Frankly I’m already giddy about the Brad Davison frustration technical we’ll enjoy one Saturday afternoon next February as a result of Xavier eating his lunch in front of the gathered Assembly Hall faithful. Kopp drains the free throws and the Hoosiers lead 66-52 with six minutes to go

Great research. As @Stuhoo hints, don’t worry much about W/L here, this is a strong professional opponent. I’ll be checking the box for: 1. Who plays, and how much? Quite possible minutes are distributed very evenly, or IU’s best guys sit plenty so younger players get developmental minutes. But there may be interesting info in starters, closers, who plays with whom 2. how does IU shoot? And specifically how do Race and the guards shoot from 3? 3. Who plays with whom? We may not know this, but I’ll be curious if Phinisee plays the 1 at all, if Kopp plays much 4, who gets minutes at the 2-4 spots more generally. 4. how competitive is it? I don’t care if IU goes 0-2 but it’d be nice if they got some close/late chances, and just played well enough to be competitive

Lovely to: 1. Feel like 5th would be quite good, all considered 2. feel like it’s achievable and even a reasonable goal 3. see X suggest it’s motivating to be picked that low. We all want titles, conference and otherwise. But fifth would be much better than every team since 2016.

Interesting to imagine the circumstances that lead to the answers of others. Wayne’s got Bates hitting the ground running, I assumed X will be quite good but the other PGs good enough he might not be as statically dominant of perimeter stats, Stuhoo has Geronimo’s breakout plus Phinisee defending so well (and offering enough offensively) that he plays the bulk of the non-X guard minutes, LCS has optimism about Lander as a second unit playmaker. I like it all.

Fun idea. 1. Scoring (list 3 in order) A. TJD B. Stewart C. X 2. Assists (list 2 in order) A. XJ B. Phinisee 3. Rebounds (list 3 In order) A. TJD B. Race C. Durr 4. Blocks (list 2 in order) A. TJD B. Race 5. Minutes (list 5 in order) A. TJD B. Stewart C. Kopp D. Bates E. Race 6. Steals (list 2 in order) A. XJ B. Race 7. 3pt made (list 3 in order) A. Stewart B Kopp C. Bates

I’m not a scout but his coordination and athleticism are impressive for his size. As @brumdog45 pointed out, AAC is a serious basketball conference. He’s a nice fit; clear role this year he’s capable of succeeding in, a desire for the bright lights of IU, and an opportunity for more the following year.

Per hoop math, 52.3% at the rim last year: https://hoop-math.com/SouthFla.2021.php Just under half his shots were at the rim. Too many 2-point Js, though, which he shot poorly. To be fair, the stuff that gets called a 2-point J in play-by-play data is notoriously variant. Floaters, hooks, foot-on-the-line...

A paradox for IU is that nobody really wants to hit the transfer portal to play spot/backup minutes, and if you’re looking for a 5, everyone in the portal knows you’re returning an all-American there

Guessing X can graduate in another year if he hasn’t already, then make money playing. Will he make the league? Who knows.

It’s possible to read the Woodson interview with R. Bozich/Kravitz/Doyel to mean Woody even finds JG to be one of his five best guys from the returners

Looking at true 5s and not really combo forwards tells me they believe Race will get lots of time at the 4. I guess it’s also possible they want a situational 7’ guy for some matchups.

Well said. I imagine Brunk simply isn’t a stylistic fit on the court. Not a good rebounder for his height, no threat outside the paint, slow enough to be a defensive liability...everyone likes him, it seems, but you’ve got to win games. Not to mention the potential impact of his injury, surgery, recovery.

Yes, a paradox of the profession is you can’t make it w/o some self-belief but if you buy into your own genius you’ll get passed.

Hey if he visits, there’s a shot. Pray Duke stays away.