lillurk

Right, especially since Buck hits back with “captain Bruin”

Physically there’s some Troy Williams, though the skill set is totally different. ”plus defense Hornsby/Kopp and wired to score” is eventually an all-conference player. Let’s hope.

I bet we see some flashes pretty early, and that in one cupcake game he hits double figures. If he gets up to speed on defense there’s a role to be earned

I had told someone — maybe my brother? Maybe I posted it here somewhere? — that someday he’d get under an opposing star’s skin in a big game and throw him off, swinging the game I realized this offseason that he already did! Obviously Ivey had a great second half when PU lost at IU last winter, but part of the reason IU hung in there in the first half was that Ivey was off his game, got a T throwing Trey to the ground, etc. And yes, his jumper is a swing skill for him as a player and for the team.

I just love the combo of a big-bodied, rim-attacking 2 like Jakai next to Cupps, a 1 you can’t leave open when he’s off the ball.

It’s correct to say some folks saw Bates, Lander, etc. as one and done, so maybe this is splitting hairs…but I’m gonna split them anyway. You can find one or two folks on any message board saying “[top 100 recruit] is OAD.” Sometimes they’re right: I would’ve thought you were crazy to say it about Blake Wesley, but it was correct in that case. However — and I’m not trying to criticize folks who thought this about Lander or Bates or whomever — more often they’re wrong. OADs tend to be too ~15-20 in their class, and usually they’re particular player types: a lead guard with NBA size, 3-and-D wing 6’8” or above with some projection, skilled front court player, defensive big with athleticism and so on. They’re typically not underweight reclassing up PGs, or 2-guards who need to put on 40 pounds. So yes, some folks might’ve said that in the past. I haven’t thought it about a Hoosier since Romeo. And it may not be true about JHS — of course I hope he has a great year AND sticks around for a second one. But a highly ranked PG with size, a pro-ready body, and a base of skills as broad as his…that’s at least the TYPE of player a team would use a 1st round pick on, theoretically.

Thanks for the response. I’m on the same page.

Stuhoo, if you think JHS is one and done, I’m curious 1. How good you think he’ll be this year and 2. How good you think IU will be this year.

Not a betting man but I would wager that any such suspension will be done at least one game before the first big game, 11/18 at Xavier. That way his first action back isn’t there. I would not be surprised if any internal discipline is already complete, though.

I love a unique name

The other thing I’ll add is that I don’t see anyone defending the bad/cringe/gross stuff Avi brings up on their own merits. Like, no one is saying “objectifying that statue immaturely was good, actually.” They’re just suggesting Avi and other critics are jealous, or have some axe to grind. I think that Avi was actually very fair, and it’s telling that the minor pushback has been name calling or “lighten up,” not really engaging with the valid critique.

I basically feel the way Avi, the author, does: if they cut out the cringe, off-color stuff, they’d be pretty ideal as an NIL funnel. The catch-22, I think, is that the rah-rah stuff is how they build their audience AND the reason they step in it. It’s easy to say they should be boring, do occasionally good interviews, and funnel NIL $ to #iubb. But I’m not sure they’d have the audience and access to $ if they were more boring. If there’s hope, it’s that many of the bad decisions Avi highlights were awhile ago in the arc of their narrative. Yes, some of it was even earlier this year…but it really seems like the podcast, Fan Fest fundraiser stuff, and NIL is their idealized form. If they cut out the unforced errors, they still wouldn’t really be for me (save some of the pods). But like Avi, I’d feel much more comfortable with their affiliation and representation of IU under those circumstances.

Anyone have the draft order? Was it public?

Taller?

Holtmann sat out the hiring cycle — not sure he even really interviewed or got too far with anybody. Then Matta left really late, early June, and Holtmann succeeded him.

Personally I was disappointed but willing to wait and see. In hindsight Woodson would’ve been interesting even then and was interested, per Woj’s contemporaneous reporting. My “realistic” 2017 pick at the time would’ve been Holtmann…maybe it’s true he would not have taken the job under any circumstance, as has been widely rumored. I don’t get the impression IU actually made him say no. In the years since I’ve cooled on him a little — good coach, pretty good IU culture fit, may not have the upside. I know the Donovan/Albers/horse farm thing is a punchline, but Donovan is who I really wanted, and like Holtmann I don’t know that IU really made the big godfather offer there. I’m happy where we’re at now, though of course it would’ve been nice if 2017-2021 had been better.

Yeah not a great culture fit, perhaps. In Underwood’s defense, the OK St. contract was a real short-term “prove it” situation, with no long-term security or buyout, he had a good Y1, they didn’t pay up, and Illinois did. Given that Illinois is a much better job than OK St. even $/security aside, I find it hard to fault him there.

I hadn’t said as much because doubting Izzo has not been a great bet, buuuut prior to their ‘23 recruiting blitz it was starting to seem like he was slipping. Post-Winston/McQuaid/Goins/Tillman they’ve been down a level, they’re entering this year with 9 scholarship players and no one can figure out why they sat out the transfer portal when they could use a 5…there were signs maybe the end was near. This all runs against that.

I certainly know what you mean. A couple additional factors: 1. There’s always the possibility that someone else’s decommit or reclass etc. shakes loose someone in the spring. That worked well with Bates and Reneau. 2. I like the long-term potential in this class, and if you think you might reel in big fish in ‘24 and/or ‘25, it makes for nice foundational pieces to complement instant-impact frosh later.

The “happy trails” section at the end of this roundup is interesting: https://mgoblog.com/content/hoops-recruiting-centers-attention-4

Just remembering Ben Carter playing 22 minutes and Jaren Jackson 15, perhaps relevant to this decision https://www.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2018/03/syracuse_basketballs_masterful_game_plan_leads_to_improbable_upset_over_michigan.html https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401025873

And UK hasn’t offered, which tells me other targets are higher priority. Whether he knows it or not, he’s not a fit in Calipari’s system. (Thus other targets are UK priorities.) I still assume they’ll have their chance if they want it.

Have watched some highlights and I’m here to report we have a developing “quirked up white body goated with the sauce” situation

I’d never suggest even a minor injury was somehow good, but if you’ve got a good idea who, e.g. Page and Power are as players, I imagine you’re a little relieved when one sits and doesn’t blow up at Peach Jam, just as you’re bummed your odds get longer when the other does

Love this, because I’m a sucker for versatility and big PGs, but mostly because the more I love players who are unique and unusual.