lillurk

Didn’t see the game but 14 points on 13 possessions used max (8 shots, 2 TOs, 3 or fewer trips to the FT line) is a good offensive game in a low scoring affair

Yeah, don’t totally disagree but Wesson ghosts a screen and Smith gets caught flat-footed, trying to hedge it like the packline does. The other Wesson is lifted so there’s no defender in the lane, weak side action means the help from the opposite corner is late. Smith should’ve played it differently…but really CAM should’ve changed to switch everything for the possession, or switch 1-4.

The OSU/Holtmann late game execution failures are weird if you remember 2019, when his team was more experienced but less talented than IU, and won both games by a combined 7 points. Flip one outcome and IU probably made the tournament instead of OSU. In the game at IU he drew up a SLOB for a game-winning backdoor cut and dunk that burned Archie’s unwillingness to adapt his defense to the circumstances.

I think that’s Ermann, a Maryland 247 writer who’s a bit of a homer from what I gather. He put in the crystal ball almost a year ago, and the 247 CB system incentivizes having it right for a long time. Given all that, I wouldn’t put too much stock into it unless there’s new premium info

Eeeehhhh, CMW made substantial, marked changes mid year each of his previous two years that made the team better down the stretch. He’s shown some flexibility this month even in games that have gone poorly. If there’s criticism of his rigidity — and I think there is! — it’s that he hasn’t changed enough, or soon enough. I have been pretty negative about the job he’s done this year BUT maybe he makes some adaptations and the roster changes for next year reflect that. This kind of year happens to almost every program, much as I hate it and I think the particular manner and reasons were predictable and could’ve been mitigated. The real test is what happens next year, and in the offseason. If IU hadn’t suffered through Archie’s fallow years it would be a little easier to stomach a year like this, assuming it ends in the NIT or whatever. But there’s pressure built that isn’t really CMW’s fault, and it sure would’ve been nice if he inherited more at guard than he did.

Even if you say Phinisee’s health is a bad break, it’s just remarkable how bad CAM was at evaluating and utilizing guards. I thought he underutilized Robert Johnson the one year he had him, failed to maximize Devonte Green, confused/scared Phin even setting aside the injuries, absolutely mishandled Romeo (who should’ve been running like 15 PNRs/game), prioritized Morton, didn’t offer Braden Smith….

Without turning the game on, I’m sure the vibes are so bad you can feel it

Archie was really after him, and he wasn’t putting up big numbers in PA HS hoops. I know everyone knows that but it remains so deeply strange that I feel like I must bring it up

2nd half foul disparity is 8-1 after just over 10 min

Boarding a flight in about 90 minutes, would like to do it while the game is in hand.

Agreed, though despite a bad plus/minus today I don’t know that Gunn would’ve been better than Leal. Woody hasn’t had a good year but the coaching today wasn’t the problem.

I have a good story about John Beilein recruiting Booker but since I’m anonymous this will have to suffice: Beilein knew what he was seeing the first time he saw Book, way before anyone knew his name

This one had some dominoes — if I recall Devin Booker picked UK over UM earlier that day (week?), and while UK probably had a scholarship, the PT writing was on the wall for JBJ

I’m curious where you’re at with regard to Cupps going forward after what we’ve seen this year.

I would say Mgbako’s not a full-time 3 at this level. I’ve been impressed sporadically with his rebounding, and guarding college 4s probably masks his defensive deficiencies at this point. I was encouraged when Queen’s defense on a perimeter switch impressed you a week or two ago, Demo. I love a real rim protector, but plenty of good defenses just force tough shots without one — Tennessee the best current example IMHO

Yes, he’s been much better literally his entire career until now and even those better times were up-and-down. They have two other guys who can play point in a pinch and should’ve prioritized any playable combo/2-guard

Yep and in hoops you only play 5 at once, so a small number of players make a big difference. We all saw a need all offseason, though to be fair to the staff, it’s worse than expected because a sixth year guy has been worse than any reasonable expectation (even baking in prior volatility).

Why does anyone assume new coach = multi-year rebuild in the portal era with IU’s resources?

Tend to agree that Woodson deserves another year if he wants it, though of course his direct report needs to give him some clear feedback about the issues everyone sees (Dolson sees it too, I’m sure). That’s clearly fair, unless he’s just done, in which case we have no choice. Practically speaking CMW’s buyout is 50% of remaining salary after 4/1/25. Are we sure May would go to UL? I’m not convinced. There was some reporting/rumor going around that they were pretty low on cash, he probably has the guys to be prettt good again at FAU next year, and if he has an inkling the dream job might come available…. Even if UL is interested — and I’m not convinced — I don’t know if the interest is mutual.

Like many of you I have attended multiple IHSAA tournament games at larger HS gyms.

Thanks, I waited awhile to post after you cooked someone else for a “wall of text” over the weekend

Someone got the memo

Let me give it an edit and I’ll get it posted.

Yes, although Crean had like 6 Kenpom finishes higher than any of Archie’s, his tournament run was not just all coinflips, and he’d pretty consistently put together elite (or nearly elite) offenses. And the proof is kinda in the pudding. Say what you will about Crean but his IU career is so far clear of Archie it isn’t even a discussion.

I get the impulse to be leery of low- and mid-major coaches making the step up but I think Schertz and May are both worth a long look. I think a deeper, more nuanced evaluation of those type of candidates typically gives you a good idea of what job is a good match, what to expect when they level up, etc. To give an example that probably hits too close to home, when we hired Miller I was worried that too much of his case for the job rested on 1) name/family recognition, 2) one single tournament run that hinged on winning some close ones. I didn’t even consider one of the issues we’ve seen since, which is that Dayton’s a darn good program across multiple coaches. But he hadn’t really popped on efficiency metrics, with the exception of one really good defense. And, well, we all know how that went. He didn’t really have anything that said he’d scale up well, and he moved up right about the time teams started bombing more 3s and really exposing pack line defenses. Anyway, I’ve got a note outlining why May’s a really good candidate for SOME high major job, but idk if anyone wants to read that right now.