lillurk

For those who don’t know, Reed’s going to Michigan, so we can watch Malik work him in the Big Ten, too

Believe we won in those, actually!

Probably the best alts we’ve worn. An inverted road version would also be spicy

IU has two incoming 5-star frosh who started on the prep school national champs.

Are the Maryland and Virginia visits scheduled? I don’t doubt that before this weekend he had intentions of taking them but scheduling them is a different deal. It’s late in the process for a ‘22 who’ll be on campus somewhere in six or seven weeks. I would not be totally shocked if he committed without taking every visit. Looks like he visited three schools before his fifth commitment, so he’s not necessarily just maxing out visits.

Yep, would’ve expected more volume if you’d told me he and Pstew would play as many minutes as they did. I might’ve hoped he’d have easier looks and thus hit a higher %age but I was not disappointed in that, personally. The other dynamic I see with the transfer discussions: there’s some element of one side saying, “this guy can help IU,” and others saying “he has these flaws.” Well…I don’t know that those things are exclusive from one another. And then perhaps a third group thinks group 1 is saying so-and-so will be a star, when he’s clearly a role player, and group 3 is upset when he’s not a star.

has anyone seen a Jordan Brand Classic box score?

Yeah the AAU pipeline thread gets into some of this, but a fun thing of the CMW era — perhaps partially facilitated by NIL — has been keeping*, pursuing**, and landing*** players from situations where prior coaches have failed, or not even tried. *TJD last year, but honestly all the portal-and-back during the coaching change last year; Race, some others this year with at least one still TBD **lots of the players they’re after right now would not have been targets at all under CAM, or would’ve been offers with tepid interest under CTC ***Bates, JHS, Banks, JHS, Newton…even Cupps are from different parts of the country or different kinds of schools or AAU programs than prior staffs made work. Some from situations they never even would’ve tried.

Thanks, this is what I figured. There were/are a few factors that I thought made an interesting pattern but happenstance, or misunderstanding on my part, is probably more likely.

Also…are the other two visits actually scheduled, or just sort of ideas? Nobody is reporting dates.

Daily Hoosier piece lists UGA and Tennessee official visits as possibilities. I think your concern is valid but I’m inclined to take it at face value: unscheduled potential visits are lower priority. Are the UMd/UVA visits actually scheduled? Haven’t seen dates.

Oh, REALLY good sign. Good programs in worse spots last year than IU, maybe more PT but without his PG and without as much likelihood of winning right away. I was worried about a coach he’d already committed to at UGA.

Notes here he was 6/42 on closely-guarded 3s last year. That means he hit 38% of his other ones, for those who’ve been concerned about shooting.

Terrific dot connecting here, and I’ll add that at the highest level of recruit, you could even imagine a player making enough to relocate his family closer to his college. That’s always been possible with under-the-table feels, but now a school like IU, with NIL collectives working outside the formal institution, can say, “our last draft prospect got $x/year from Hoosiers for Good, Hysterics collective, and endorsements. You can buy mom a house.”

No obviously there will be newcomers to those lists: frosh, transfers, breakout sophomores, etc. But having two or three of the best dozen returning players in the league is a terrific foundation.

Only four players from 2022 B1G first-third team are still pending a definitive stay/go announcement: Kofi, Edey, Dickinson, TJD. By my count, roughly ten honorable mention players are likely to return, Race and X among them. Also, a fun aside unlikely to matter: Race played 63 minutes across nine games his redshirt freshman year due to injury. Often a player with a year like that can petition the NCAA for an injury redshirt waiver. He almost certainly won’t, of course, but I think it would be an option, though not realistically.

The scouting quoted here on him literally mentions he’s a good catch-and-shoot player. I’d love to see the Synergy #s on that type of 3 vs. off-the-dribble for him, and closely guarded, late clock, etc.

I think the staff would like it if the AAC DPOY was also a dead-eye shooter, but if he was he’d be in the draft. As pointed out above, CMW correctly identified shooting as an offensive weakness. Dennis isn’t a great shooter but, as @Stuhoo said, he’s an upgrade on Galloway in that department right now. Shooting can be developed, too. I understand the hesitance to assume Bates will be a high-volume, high-% shooter next year, but sophomores who scouts say can shoot and who have the green light from their coaches are a terrific bet to improve in that area. IU’s defense was good, but a little short of truly elite last year, and the leaks were on the wing. Dennis addresses that well. He’s a good fit with the type of 2/wing CMW has targeted; clearly long, athletics defenders are a priority. That also tells me CMW thinks he and the staff can teach/develop shooting IU (like every team) has two avenues to get better next year: get better on offense or get better on defense. Of course they can do both, but just because the defense was good doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon. More Bates, Galloway, Geronimo, JHS, and a wing defender like Dennis helps on defense. Some of those players also likely improve the offense, even without massive shooting gains, when you consider whose minutes they’re replacing.

A 2-guard who knows that’s what he is…as if I didn’t like his game enough before.

Buy low on frosh who hit FTs and miss more 3s than you’d guess.

This is the general consensus among informed UM fans, too

Believe USPS mentioned he stayed in Centerville when he went to the first four this year. Think they’re neighboring towns.

I used to play in a 2x/week pickup run where I was the only regular who hadn’t been a college athlete (mostly hoopers, some former footballers). I’m 6’, still roughly in my athletic prime of life though not in the shape I wish. Not much of a scorer but in said run I always marked one of of the opposition’s two best perimeter players. I’m a 3-and-D wing with enough playmaking to attack a close out. I’d gladly play but we’re gonna get skunked.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an interesting story about Sean and Archie Miller both getting back into coaching this cycle. I have no ill will toward Arch, but, “I haven’t thought one second about my time there. It came and it’s gone,” is not what I’d want to here as an AD looking for a coach to have learned from his experiences. It’s not what I’d want to hear if I’d played for him. And it’s not what I’d want him to say if he wanted my child to play for him.