BGleas

If I'm Woodson I would have called MM right after that Kansas player announced his transfer to remind him he's absolutely a wing at IU and looks like he'll be playing in the paint and defending 4's and 5's at Kansas.

It's not a possibility though, it's a certainty. It might not be Mgbako, but Woodson has made no secret that he's looking for minimum 1 and most likely 2 guards/wings that are starter caliber. Gunn and Banks both know this. They've had 6 weeks+ to enter the portal if they were uncomfortable with that. Friday's decision is sort of irrelevant to it, those spots are getting filled.

Why? Those players know IU is recruiting Mgbako. They knew we were recruiting Ledlum and others. They know Woodson is trying to fill at least one, if not both, open scholarships with wings/guards. They've known filling those spots was not only possible, but probable, and they've had 6'ish weeks to enter the portal. These aren't secrets.

The most likely scenario is that he actually has no real information.

Matt Carlino's response...

First, the staff is capable of multi-tasking. Because Walker is visiting and if he commits it doesn't mean the staff thinks that is the #1 priority. It's just the timing. But, do agree we need to address those guard/wing issues. On your 2nd point, I'd rather have this guy than a freshmen. It's the equivalent of an NBA team getting a vet minimum guy as their 10th guy vs an undrafted free agent. I'd rather have a kid who, albeit in limited minutes, has played at Duke, at UNC, in the Final Four, etc., etc. to replace Reneau when he inevitably gets in foul trouble on the road in the Big Ten as opposed to some freshmen big ranked 147th in his class.

Funny. I played bball in the same conference as Slippery Rock. Played them twice each season.

Yeah, the program I coach in (my team is 13U) all of our older/HS level teams are at a live period even in Pittsburgh this weekend.

It's also a really big AAU weekend, so while that doesn't impact transfer visits, it does impact hs recruit visits and also probably has our staff on the road and not on campus.

We actually got better after he went down but I get what you're doing.

And having 5 future NBA players around you that the defense is focused on. That team had way more talent than this years, it's not really close.

It's about overall talent and guard play really. Zeisloft was surrounded by 5 guys that eventually played in the NBA, and that doesn't even include Robert Johnson and JBJ. That team was pretty stacked, making a guy like Zeisloft even more valuable. That team had multiple guys that could break a defense down and get a bucket. While we certainly need guys like Zeisloft, we need those other pieces (guards and wings that can create and score) much more.

I would lean more towards nothing really changed and "every person who seemed to know anything" didn't really know that much, if anything.

A little different, Indiana had 2 McDonald's AA's on its 2013-14, along with the 7th rank 2012 class returning and 4th ranked 2013 class coming in. Not remotely the same thing. With Furst (5.5ppg and Loyer (11ppg) as our best returning players people would be going nuts with negativity.

Huh? If Indiana was returning a team with Furst and Loyer as their best players, this board would be jumping off the ledge and demanding Woodson be fired.

The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards the idea that both Reneau and Ware might not start together. A lot of that depends on who else we get in the portal of course. Say we get Ledlum and Knecht, I'd say there's a decent chance both Reneau and Ware don't start. Both guys only averaged 15mpg last season. I don't see a guy like Galloway in that scenario going from 28mpg to 6th man, especially when also given Woodson's expressed desire to play a more perimeter oriented style. You'd go XJ, Galloway, Knecht, Ledlum, Ware/Reneau. Then you have a bench of Ware/Reneau, Banks, Cupps, Newton/Gunn and Sparks.

Right, and I think Ware fits that style really well.

We did some with TJD, but once XJ went down we largely ran the offense through the post. We did PnR heavy when JHS had a clear mismatch (ie Purdue with Edey playing drop coverage). With TJD and Race both of their best attributes was posting up. Ware has almost no post-game at all, that's not his strength. Ware also can shoot a bit and I think Reneau can develop that too. Reneau hit some perimeter shots early in the season. Beyond that, I'm not 100% convinced they both start. Not saying they won't both start, I just think there's a chance they don't both start. With Ware, I'd envision his game his PnR, catching lobs and almost crashing the boards from the perimeter after setting screens. I don't really see him in the paint that often, I see him way more active in terms of movement in the halfcourt compared to TJD.

I really don't think those expectations need to be put to bed. Ware is a modern big, not a post-up inside big. He's going to be out on the perimeter in the PnR game opening space for our ball handlers to get to the rim. His inside game is basically catching lobs off the PnR and crashing the boards for putbacks off of missed layups, etc.

He's pretty plugged in. Played at Michigan and is tied into the Big Ten. His content is a mix of analysis, some recruiting type stuff and entertainment type stuff mostly again focused on the Big Ten.

There is buzz and there's winning. If they're both at IU, I'd bet Ledlum has a bigger impact on IU winning game than Ware. Ware wins you the offseason, I'd bet Ledlum wins you more games in-season.

Is it realistic though? I don't mean to go at Wayne, he's a great, longtime poster of course. But is it realistic to act like recruiting is in the tank and next season is already going to be bad when the roster isn't set and literally not a single portal player that the staff is recruiting has committed anywhere, other than the one that already committed to IU? Wayne of course brings up some real questions and concerns, I'm not debating that. But, we're a long, long way from recruiting and next season already being in the tank.

Honestly, at this point I'd rather we recruit like Texas, UConn, Houston, Baylor, Miami, SDSU, Villanova from a few years ago, Michigan under Beilein, etc. Multi-skilled, multidimensional guys that are tough and athletic. We need to find guys like that in the portal, and while they need work and development I think/hope that Banks, Gunn, Newton and Cupps fit that mold. We don't need to recruit like Duke, Kansas and UK.

That's why I said people have different definitions. My definition, and many others, of hit it out of the park is what I said in my post. Finding pieces that fit. Getting at least 2 more guard/wings that fit the culture and are multi-skilled playmakers. Also, landing your main targets and not having to go to option 3, 4, 5, etc., to get players. Others think we need too land massive recruits from UNC, Kansas, etc., that are former top 30 recruits with ever portal transfer or else it's a failure. But, not everyone means that when they say "hit it out of the park".

Elite or not, that's just semantics. I look at XJ and say, which Big Ten point guard on another team would you trade XJ for straight up? I'm not completely up to speed on who all is coming back on the other teams, but I'd guess the list of point guards that you trade XJ for in the conference is pretty small. On top of that, we weren't even supposed to really have him back. It's almost like a portal win in and of itself.