BGleas

I hear what you're saying, but most of those same publications had Dusty May's Michigan, Maryland and Wisconsin rated in that same range ahead of last season, while having IU a top 3 team. I get it though, we spent a lot of money on the roster, so you'd hope there would be more preseason momentum behind us. Also just because those aforementioned teams out-paced projections last year it doesn't mean IU will this season. What has me cautiously optimistic are a few things. 1. We brought in a lot of experienced, proven guys, albeit at the mid-to-low major level. 2. We brought in a lot of skill and shooting, not just raw athleticism. 3. While DeVries wasnt really on my radar, i remember watching Drake in their conference tournament championship game in DeVries last season there, and thinking, 'i wish we had guys like that and I wish we played like that.' 4. He's from the Creighton/McDermott tree, and same thing there. Watching Creighton in the tournament this past season, I just loved the way they played. If our offense is anything like that, we should compete and be fun to watch. 5. I loved his answer at the Winery thing when asked about the 5 being a weakness. I feel like our last two coaches would have agreed with the question and then said they have to recruit better. DeVries didn't agree it was a weakness, said he liked his guys at the 5, but did acknowledge rim protection will be an issue and that the coaching staff will need to develop schemes and coach the 5 to be a strength. I dont know, I just really liked that answer. Really long story short, I get your skepticism especially with how much money IU spent, but I think this team has a chance to be really fun to watch and to outperform the preseason rankings like Michigan, Maryland and Wisconsin last season. We'll see.

This is partly why the Alexis signing is interesting to me. Apparently he's had a higher offreb rate in his career than TJD, Ware or Ballo. One of the best 3's you can shoot is the kickout 3 from an offensive rebound. If Alexis can translate that to IU, it will be a big asset.

I lean Conerway. Like that he was POY in his conference, that says something. Like that he's a good defender and was a strong finisher at the rim. With our shooters, we need guards that can get into the paint and both finish and kick out. I dont love how much Mack's shooting efficiency dropped with the move from Harvard to Georgetown.

And yes, he's definitely NOT the #2 ranked Center in the portal. Not sure where that came from? He's a solid piece, especially if he's behind Lendebourg, Wolf and Johnson in their front court rotation. Though, I have a hard time believing all four of those guys end up there.

Where are you seeing Mara as the #2 ranked center in the portal? I guess it's splitting hairs, as your point that Dusty is killing it in the portal at least optically still stands, but a quick look at CBS's rankings (probably not the best but it popped up first) has Mara as the 7th ranked Center.

If the Knicks lose in the 1st or 2nd round, I could see that job opening. I'd guess Michael Malone would be the obvious choice, but you never know, could be a spot for Hurley.

Definitely needed as well! Would definitely take an aggressive, downhill, good passing guard that is also a plus defender.

To your point, while i'd love everyone to be a plus-shooter, we're going to need tough guards that can drive and get into the paint to go with our shooters. Not sure if you've heard but I'm a Celtics fan lol. Nobody shoots more 3's than the Celtics. Their poor shooting nights are typically when the ball is stagnant on the perimeter, step-backs, etc. Their good shooting nights are when Tatum, Brown, Holiday, White and Pritchard are penetrating, collapsing the defense and kicking out. Even if Conerway isn't a great shooter, we're going to need guys that can collapse the defense, get into the paint and kick out to DeVries, Bailey, hopefully Wilkerson and Goode, etc. We haven't had that at IU in a long, long time.

I think the hindsight is more that "interested in coming home" actually meant Louisville, not Indiana. Didn't it come out after his commitment that his grandfather had been a big Louisville fan and used to take him to Louisville games?

You really gotta wonder who are the people advising these kids? It's crazy to go to 8 schools in 8 years. Almost as crazy as pursuing a player who has been to 8 schools in 8 years.

Crazy. This will be his 8th school in 8 years dating back to high school.

Beat them by 2 in 1997 when he was an assistant at West Liberty before getting the head job!

And on top of all of that, he's been amazing supporter of IU basketball even after being fired.

I think you'd get more of what you're looking for if they did another one of these in maybe a month and a half or two months when the staff is filled and at least most of the roster is filled out. Then DeVries could speak on specific staff members and what they'll bring to the table and talk specifics on players and how they'll be used in his system. Would love to see another one of these sometime in mid-May or something.

Can we throw a bag at Bennett Stirtz and steal him from McCollum?

Completely agree, especially on the not IU part. He's just not a winning basketball player.

Quick Mbako story. I took my oldest two kids to the game at the Palestra this season. We had a few hours to kill before our train so hung around in the gym afterwards and were able to work our way down onto the court while the players were coming out postgame. My kids got pics with every player, except I think Carlyle. The guys were so nice, all smiled, said hi and took pics with them. This is a small thing, but I think still shows his character. We get over to Mbako and he agrees to take a pic with my son, but refuses to actually look at the camera. I was waiting to take the pic an awkward amount of seconds and saying, "ok ready?", until I realized he wasn't going to look. We have all these pics of the kids with each players where they're all smiling and engaging, and them this random pic with Mbako where he's refusing to look. Again a small thing, but to me it showed his character.

It is pretty nice for us as fans and for DeVries that he automatically brings a stud with him just by having his son. It's a great start before you even have to do anything as a coach.

Saw that. Was hoping Pagliuca's group would win the bid to minimize change, but glad to hear the winning bidders are from Massachusetts and are lifelong Celtics fans. That is great news!

I'm cautiously optimistic. I was hoping Dolson had a bigger fish, and I had become partial to McCollum. But at the end of the day I had said consistently that I wanted IU to hire a real, legit college basketball coach that is a grinder, is a winner, and has a history of building culture and identity. I think we've got that with Devries. I'm not 100% sure, but I think we do. I also remember watching Drake in their conferences championship game last year and thinking, "i wish IU played like that and i wish we had players like that (Tucker Devries and a couple of their guards)"

Go hire the best basketball coach available. That's it. This is embarrassing. 9 of 22 years in the tournament!!!! https://x.com/daily_hoosier/status/1901408172809531427?t=yDJGcEccrTunmMx1Ssuqgw&s=19

I still maintain we're going to be happy with this hire. I still don't believe it's Stevens, but this search has been too weird and quiet (up until today) for it to be Brownell. IU has too much going for it (resources, NIL, etc.) for this to be Brownell. I think Dolson has something up his sleeve that will make us mostly all happy and surprise us.

Agree. Can't imagine OSU is in, but I still think that comment bodes well for IU.

I think we're in. Gavitt is being interviewed on CBS. Said injuries during the season will be a factor (we didn't have Reneau for several games) Said people often don't realize they look more at Q1/Q2 combined more than just Q1. Said when looking at victories in the top 2 quads, not every win is created equal. Road win vs a highly ranked team (we have the @MSU win) is better than a home win. Finally, he was asked about how they'll handle the SEC with seeding since conference teams aren't supposed to play early on, and he began his answer with, "well the SEC isn't the only conference with 10 teams in the tournament." I think all of those favor IU, and that last one almost confirms it. Am I off here?

All good! I didn't think you were calling me out or referring to me, was just using your post as a jumping point to clarify where I stand.