BGleas

Disingenuous? Yeah, ok?!?! I appreciate everything the insiders bring so this isn't some shot at them, but if you run with everything they post you're going to be sorely disappointed most of the time. I view most of them as slightly more educated guessers (again, not meant as a shot at them) in a game where things change extremely rapidly. Some anonymous person posted on a message board that Morton was IU's #1 target? So what? That doesn't make it true. Depending on your perspective, it's been tough not getting Brooks, Harris, Quionoes, etc., but what in Archie's history as IU's coach would indicate to you that he can't get in a guy like Morton's top 4-5? A guy from his neck of the woods where he probably has really good connections and intel? He's landed Langford, Phinisee, Hunter, TJD, Franklin, etc., and got in the final 2-5 for Brooks, Garland, Harris, Quiones, Newman, Carton, etc., etc. We also know that in the last month Archie has offered Leal, Galloway and Morton's AAU teammate Davis, who is really outplaying Morton. It is certainly possible that Archie desperately wanted Morton and Morton eliminated IU, but I find the other scenario much, much more plausible given history and the fact that other than Purdue, IU is the only other school Morton took an official too.

The main reason I think IU cooled is because Morton has a top 4 and I have a hard time believing that IU and Archie (being a fellow Western PA guy) couldn’t at least convince Morton to make it a top 5. After giving IU an official as a junior, I’d be really surprised to hear that he completely eliminated IU from contention.

Tough to answer. He would not have gotten $100 million last summer heading into the NBA season because he wasn't thought of at that level as a player. He wasn't projected to be the #1 pick if he came out last year, so then it would have come down to how good of a rookie season he was having. He he had come right from high school and killed it in the NBA immediately, then he might have earned $100 million in the NBA this past season, but that's an unknown. By going to Duke for a year, he'll be a $100 millionaire before he ever steps foot on an NBA court.

I agree with your point, the NCAA, ACC, Duke, all the broadcast partners, etc. all made millions off of Zion Williamson. That's absolutely accurate and true. But at the same time, Zion himself also made tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars off the exposure and branding he received by playing college basketball. He would not have been the #1 pick if he came right out of high school and the branding and exposure he received playing college basketball will garner him a $100 million shoe deal which would not have happened if he was allowed to go the NBA right out of high school, as well as other endorsements. Zion Williamson benefited incredibly by playing college basketball.

I think there is absolutely a growing sentiment among recruits and families of recruits that the NCAA is 'sticking it to them', so getting paid is now more looked at as a badge of honor as opposed to years ago when you were blackballed as "dirty". Getting paid used to be a scarlet letter, but there's no longer a stigma attached to it by the players and families, it's now more of a "go get mine, I deserve it" mentality. Some of the coaches that pay are definitely benefiting from this.

I think even within the fanbase. Not that fans don't respect TJD, of course they do, but has IU had a less-hyped Mr. Basketball/McDonald's All-American? Maybe the fans are getting smarter and rightfully not putting crazy expectations on him, but it does seem like there is much less excitement/buss around TJD compared to Zeller, Yogi, JBJ, Langford, etc., etc. I'd say even less buzz than out of state guys like Bryant and Vonleh.

Almost feels a little DJ Carton’ish. Remember everyone thought it was Michigan or IU, then Carton made that last visit to OSU and came out of the visit talking about how well he bonded with the OSU players? I don’t expect him to pick IU, but when talking about IU that the second time I’ve heard him mention how well he bonded with the players.

It's a package though, it's not one or the other. Yes, he got to know these kids personally because he was an AAU coach. But, there are hundreds of AAU coaches around the country, very few would have the pull that Hardaway has and he has that pull because he was an All-American college player and superstar in the NBA.

That's factually accurate, but also a little misleading. He made the all-star team 4 out of his first 5 seasons and was well on his way to being around a 10-time all-star before injuries derailed his career. He was a superstar in the NBA before the injuries.

Completely agree with your point. The problem is who did IU miss out on that could have helped and might have wanted IU, while the staff was chasing Harris, Watford and Quinones? It's more about wasted time and opportunities. There were numerous grad transfers out there at the guard/wing spots that were experienced, shot over 40% from 3 and averaged double figures. Some guys that really could have helped. Or even the Wyndam kid. He most likely would have jumped all over the chance to play at IU, but now he's gone.

I doubt Holtman turned him from a disappointment to the BIG POY in 3 months.

I’d say it was the case, the media picking OSU to be bad, in this case, just means the media doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Bates-Diop was coming off an injury after averaging 12 and 6 as a sophomore. So the media and fans, having really not seen him for a year, miscalculated what he could bring. Holtman’s first year, Bates-Diop was way better than Juwan Morgan. He was Juwan Morgan with a perimeter game. They also had Kam Williams and Tate who were highly ranked seniors and Kaleb Wesson fell in his lap. Wesson, even as a freshmen, was a guy you had to alter your regular style for due to his size. Add CJ Jackson as a veteran guard and that’s a solid, legit lineup, certainly better than what Archie had. We seriously had to start Freddie McSwain and Zach McRoberts.

How are you defining losing 1 starter? Robert Johnson started the entire season. Newkirk started 24 games. At the end of the season when the team was playing its best McSwain was starting. McRoberts, who we essentially lost because of injury this past season, started 17 games including the end of the season. In terms of regular, consistent starters, we really only returned Morgan. I guess you could argue Davis and Green, but Davis missed the second half of Archie's first season and was coming off a major injury, and Green only started 12 games. To be fair, Green's starts were towards the end of the year when the team was playing better.

I don't care what the preseason predictions were two years ago, I don't see how anyone can say that Holtman took over a worse situation? Those predictions were wrong, because people didn't know what they were talking about. Holtman took over a team that returned Keita Bates-Diop, who was injured the year before which was a major reason OSU had a down year Matta's last season, Jae'Sean Tate, CJ Jackson, Kam Williams, all veterans, and let's not forget Holtman inherited, by shear luck because his brother was already in the program, Kaleb Wesson. So between the two teams, Holtman had the best player (Bates-Diop, who is much better than Morgan), the more proven returners, and the best in-coming player, all in a system that was basically identical. I'm not saying that Holtman hasn't done a good job, or that Archie has done a great job, but Holtman had the much better situation and smoother transition.

I don't get how Archie made RoJo's 3pt percentage go down, when RoJo's 3pt percentage didnt go down under Archie?!?! RoJo's big drop in 3pt percentage happened under Crean his junior year. RoJo is a streaky shooter, his sophomore year he was surrounded by a ton of talent and good shooters so he got a lot of high quality, catch and shoot looks, hence the really high percentage. His percentage dropped significantly, under Crean, his junior year because he took far more contested, off the dribble 3's with less talent around him, and took a higher volume. That dropped percentage under Crean stayed about the same his senior year under Archie due to the same circumstances.

Agree, and actually very similar to Tatum and Brown on my Celtics, as far as the situation of young players with potential/promise on a team of veterans. You take a guy like Devin Booker who gets to dominate on a team like the Suns, but Brown and Tatum have to share time and the ball with Irving, Horford, Hayward, Smart, Rozier, Morris, etc. Much like the Pacers young guys.

Good call. At 22 and 23 years old, for whatever reason those guys don't get mentioned in the same breathe as the list I posted, but probably should be. Both are main contributors on a team that's been in the playoffs the last two seasons and who knows what would have happened this year if Oladipo doesn't go down.

The NBA is awesome right now. But, there's a difference between dominating and making an impact. Below are just a few of the 20-22 year olds (I didn't look up ages, so could be of a year or two for some). Jayson Tatum Jaylen Brown Donovan Mitchell Ben Simmons Luca Doncic Trae Young Devin Booker Karl Anthony Townes If you extend to under 25 the list includes Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Giannis (probably MVP), Porzingas and several other stars.

With Winston coming back, and saying he was coming back for legacy, I can’t see Izzo essentially burning two scholarships, especially with Ward gone now, for Winston’s senior year.

Right! Would be awesome if IU got involved, but I doubt it.

One will be a senior and the other a sophomore. Both would require a scholarship to be available. So any school taking them would need 2 available scholarships.

Yeah, I don't think that's really true. It's about fit, playing time, etc. Ryan Taylor picked Northwestern last year. Mooney and Tariq Owens picked Texas Tech. I realize Tech was coming off an Elite 8, but they had lost a ton and were projected 7th or worse in the Big 12.

I’m not usually a big grad transfer guy, but I think my preference would be Brunk, a grad transfer wing or guard shooter, and Windham. I don’t think IU needs two more freshmen right now. By getting a veteran guard/wing you then can even redshirt Windham.

Appreciate your thoughts on this! I prefer to be really careful here and I don't really feel right criticizing Dakich, as he's put infinitely more blood, sweat, tears and money into IU basketball than I ever have or will. He's actually a real part of the program and as alumni and former coach, while I'm just some fan behind a keyboard, so I really have no place to criticize him. But with that said, my only real issue with Dakich lately is the way he's treated Archie, at least publicly, to this point. His twitter feed is basically one long sub-tweet of Archie and IU basketball, and his attitude comes off as very bitter that Alford didn't get the job. I think he's been borderline disrespectful publicly to Archie and I find that detrimental to the program. At some point you have to get over it. It's not Archie's fault, and while the success Archie will have at IU remains to be seen, I think he's much closer to the "IU culture" than any coach the program has had since Knight, so I'm a little surprised at Dakich's behavior on this. I could be reading all that entirely wrong, but that's the way I've received Dakich the last two years. I'm curious your thoughts on that?

Open look for sure, but not really the guy you want shooting it there.