BGleas

Positionless basketball does not mean 5 LeBron’s on the floor. It doesn’t mean 5 guys that are wings all playing together. It typically means a guard, 2 wings, a stretch or perimeter 4 and a big that is athletic enough to switch defensively on the perimeter and has the skill to handle a bit, play the pick and roll, etc. Bigs IU has had that fall under a positionless lineup would be Zeller, Vonleh, Bryant, Beifeldt, Morgan, I’d expect TJD, etc. Perimeter 4’s we’ve had that fall under this are Watford, Troy Williams, Justin Smith, etc, So yes, you can build a program that way.

Positionless basketball doesn’t mean you don’t have bigs, it means those bigs are skilled guys that can handle, pass, shoot and defend the perimeter. For example, I just watched Boogie Cousins, who is a big dude, grab a board and take it up in transition and the kick it out to Iggoudala for a 3.

Unpopular opinion, but the more I look at last season, and now what we’ve learned about Langford’s injury since the season ended, I’m chalking last season up to injuries. If even 1/3 of the injuries don’t happen, IU makes the tournament and Brooks probably even commits. But, the reality is that those injuries happened and we are where we are. So, now Archie has to try and overcome it. I really hope he can get this team to gel and overachieve, because I think he was really close to getting the momentum going if the injuries hadn’t been so bad. If he can find a way to get this team in the tourney, then I think he can get all this back on track and get IU back to contending regularly

While the paycheck is certainly nice, being a college basketball coach sounds awful.

Agree completely. Hunter, while seemingly talented, will be a RS freshmen coming off a serious condition, Damezi was completely lost last year, and in two years Smith hasn’t any ability to play the wing. I’m not sure why people think Smith can play the wing, unless he improves dramatically, which is possible I guess. The wing is the position that worries me most.

I think the front court is strong, but man the backcourt is really scary and thin. There’s a not a single proven volume shooter on the team. By volume shooter, I mean a guy proven to be consistently good at scoring from the perimeter.

Why would it be a money jump? The guy has made a ton of money. He’s in his mid60’s, it’s his last shot at the highest level most likely. He doesn’t has to deal with recruiting, FBI scandals, etc. , etc.

Like Aloha and MikeRoberts said, I'm talking more about personality. Defense and limiting turnovers are more of an X's and O's thing. I'm talking about the tenacious, you're not going to outwork me, pit-bull mentality that Archie has. I don't watch his IU teams and see his personality coming through in the teams yet. Do you?

I think Archie has the ability to get the job done at IU at this point I will continue to think that, but with that said one major issue I have so far is his inability to get the team to play in his mold. Yes, the defense has been much better and the turnover issue is better since Crean, but I'm talking about identity and culture. That feeling that while you don't if we'll win or lose, you know it's going to look like an Archie Miller team. You know you're going to get toughness, hustle, defense, etc. I understand culture can take time to implement, but how many times do you see a new coach come to a team and while they might not win right away, most likely just due to lack of talent in the coaching transition, but you can see the coach in the way the team plays. You can see how there's a connection between coach/players and they culture is being implemented. I haven't seen that yet from IU under Archie and it's kind of worrisome. I thought at minimum he'd have IU playing super hard and with energy and toughness.

Yup, we literally have no idea what happened. Time to move on. Regardless of who IU has/doesn't have the proof will be in the pudding on the court. Maybe Morton kills us while at Purdue, maybe he's a dud and whoever IU gets turns out the better player. We will see.

I think he's just a guard, not really a straight point guard. In AAU he shares the backcourt with Davis who could also be classified as a point guard and who IU also recently offered. If IU was a finalist and he picked Purdue, then I'd absolutely be thinking that Archie just lost/missed. But clearly with IU not even in the final group something changed, other than Morton just picking Purdue over IU. Nothing in Archie's resume tells me he would have botched things so bad to get eliminated by a kid he was putting the full court press on.

Brunson and Spellman, starters on their last title team, were both 5*'s as well.

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.