lillurk

OSU is really broken

Torvik has it as the 7th best conference, closer to 9th (WCC) than 6th (Mountain West). Sounds about right to me https://barttorvik.com/?year=2023&sort=&hteam=&t2value=&conlimit=All&state=All&conyes=1&begin=20221101&end=20230501&top=0&revquad=0&quad=5&venue=All&type=All&mingames=0#

I love that about him

The over-the-head bicycle pedal thing?? Yeah

Yeah I almost made a comment like this. It’s still early, injuries etc. happen to other teams, too. All but one team has three or more B1G losses so far, so even if 1st is a bridge too far, plenty of opportunity for a BTT double-bye.

Let’s get everyone healthy and have a special spring to send him out in style.

I agree. His deficiencies on D are about footspeed, leaping, other physical limitations. IU’s other personnel means he doesn’t get torched too often. Injuries have taken two of IU’s three or four best defenders, so he’s more exposed lately.

On top of this, he spent a little time guarding Terrence Shannon on Thursday night when Trey and JHS were in foul trouble. At full strength he’s also probably behind X and Race in who you’d assign that job to. Of course, he did not fare as well as Trey in the role, or to a lesser extent Jalen. And yet: he stayed in front, made catches hard, and wasn’t blown by to my memory. Shannon did his best work against Kopp, but just being able to staunch the bleeding has value. It reminded me a bit of Nick Zeisloft staying in front of Jamal Murray in the ‘16 round of 32 game. Of course OG did a better job. Of course Robert Johnson would’ve gotten the call if he’d been healthy. But through wile and focus, Zeisloft gave Murray nothing easy when pressed into a tough spot. That doesn’t make you a good defender, but it makes you a good teammate (and it’s part of an overall package of being a good player).

Believe I’m “people,” and to be clear I’m losing sleep win or lose! Every night game! The question is simply whether it’s because I’m disappointed and feel bad the next day, or elated and feel great. Not healthy I’m sure.

Particularly notable that he didn’t double Edey in the contexts of IU/PU. In some respects I think it makes more sense to double Edey than TJD, given that Trayce is a better passer AND IU has been a better 3Pt shooting team this year.

Didn’t sleep well because I was so amped on this win. It’s a much better feeling than the other thing that impacts my sleep: being bummed about a loss

Goodnight to a Mickey Mouse program

Hoping you have as much fun as I did one cold January night at Crisler in 2016 when IU scored about 3,442,181 consecutive points

Yeah, I didn’t mention it in the post you’re quoting but the best real option IU had then might have been just getting Coach Woodson four years earlier. We know he wanted the job. Would’ve gotten slightly ahead of the mini-boom of NBA coaches using clout. Obviously not everyone has been pleased with the last six weeks but I think there’s a case even if you’re in that camp that having him here earlier would’ve been better than what we had or could’ve had on the list you have

It’s a beautiful design but someone should tell coaches there are end-of-game play options other than the Brad Stevens “winner” set

I thought IU should’ve nabbed Holtmann during the cycle they got Archie, at least assuming Donovan was out of reach and Sean Miller was radioactive. Holtmann has clearly been one step better than Archie was, but at this point I think it’s clear the outcome would not have been much different.

I agree, it was much better. He’s still out to lunch while his man takes a stroll too often — I don’t recall a junior with a top 100 pedigree and as much game experience as him seeming so lost on that end. But it was progress, and if he plays like that he’s a net positive.

This feels like a game where Bates, Galloway, and Gunn may have a larger-than-usual impact on the outcome because of Illinois’s personnel. Can Bates play within himself on offense and stick to the scouting report on defense? Do Galloway and Gunn offer enough offensively that you give them a little more run to mark the big, athletic Illinois wings?

Yes, I can imagine that X, in particular, would have serious motivation to be back for that one

In this theoretical arrangement is your PG depth chart Cupps/Mustaf, a la this year’s X/JHS? Where you start both but they stagger minutes? Part of the question here is that I’m not sure what Newton is at the college level. Like him, but not sure the role on offense.

He’d be the expected starter at this point, right? Especially given Williams’s recovery timeline?

I agree with this. I have a few stray thoughts in this vein so here goes: 1. Under Archie Miller, IU could never really raise its station or reverse negative momentum due to some balance of his shortcomings and misfortune. Mike Woodson is not Miller. A lot of our worry is a Miller hangover 2. This may be one way CMW’s NBA experience is helpful. In an 82 game season, every team deals with injuries, DNP (rest), slumps. You need to be willing to ride with the healthy players, identify and address issues within the season, self-scout, motivate out of a lull… 3. After the game I found myself giddy at the idea of X and JHS playing together again after Jalen has the responsibility of playing without X. If and when everyone comes back full-strength, the same benefits may pay off in some measure for Geronimo, Tamar, Trey, Malik, and CJ, too.

I think if you adjust your expectations to “not gonna win the B1G because of some dumb early losses (two of which were by 3 combined points) and injuries, but could get everyone back and make the postseason interesting,” it helps.

Without playing a contender! 0-3 against three bubble teams. Not sure that Texas win will be as shiny in a month or two, either

Obviously the closing margins were disappointing, but IU was within striking distance deep in the second half in both the Rutgers and Arizona games — Kansas was the only truly non-competitive one. (Which makes sense, as the one elite team they played on the road thus far.) If, indeed, they learned, then hopefully the non-conference road/neutral games pay dividends in the B1G.