Rayl

On paper this one looks like a near impossible match-up. If we are going to win, these are the three most important things that I think we need:   1. Offensive fire power. Both teams are amongst the best defensive teams in Division 1. The Hoosiers are slightly better. The big difference is on the other end. Iowa has one of the most efficient offenses in the country. There isn't anything that they don't do well. We, on the other hand, are below average. Limiting turnovers is important of course, if that's even possible for this team. Our best chance might just be to have Yogi go off like he did against Michigan.   2. Rebounding. These are two of the best rebounding teams in the country. Both teams rebound well on offense and defense. If we box out and manage to limit Iowa's offensive rebounds we have a chance.   3. No zone. Because of the rebounding situation, we cannot afford to play zone to protect Noah. If Noah can play man-to-man without fouling, we shouldn't embarrass ourselves. But, if we have to go zone or if Crean decides to just play zone because that's what he does, it could get ugly.

Huh. I must be losing my mind because recently I find myself agreeing with Dakich on more and more things. I was fairly po'ed that Buss was not on the McDonald's AA team. I haven't been this excited about a high school girls player since I watched Jackie Stiles absolutely destroy everyone she faced in western Kansas. I think Buss could have a similar impact in college as Stiles had.

Never said that's all I want.

So Crean said on his radio show that last year no one could have foreseen that Cody and Vic would leave early....

Did Edwards ever get arrested? I know he smoked weed like it was the Summer of Love.

  He's an uninspiring candidate, but as a caretaker for a few years until someone better is available he would be an OK option.

It should be noted that Brown has a National Championship on his resume. He's been successful in college before.

  But what if my opinions really are better, like objectively so? :devil:

  They left out 21-11, 9-9 in conference, 1 win in conference tourney Iowa last season. I have no idea where everyone was ranked in the polls when they played, but Iowa beat some pretty good teams via kenpom: 27 Iowa State, 13 Wisconsin and 26 Minnesota. The B1G was also tougher last season.   Right now, the mathematical probability is that we will win 2 more games, but the only game we are actually favored is against Nebraska. Realistically, our tournament chances are very slim.

They'll be better next season, no doubt. But, how much? If Noah stays, then a conference championship and a deep run in the tournament is definitely possible, depending on how fast JBJ acclimates to the college game and off-season improvement of the returning players.   If Noah leaves, I wish people would temper their expectations. It will likely be a long year. You have to have some kind of inside presence. It doesn't have to be great, but Hanner, if he's even allowed to return, and Peter Jurkin don't appear to be good enough.

  I completely agree. I don't think there is anything to worry about though. We are not going to fire Crean a year after our first outright conference title in two decades and being ranked number 1 for most of the season. I also doubt that the university would allow donors to dictate terms at this point, especially in regard to Glass. Now, if next season doesn't get a lot better, things might change on either the donors' part or the school's. But, that's getting ahead of ourselves a bit.

Yes. It does.

  His buyout after this season is supposedly $14 million. There is some debate about that.   On another site, someone posted that he was told by someone in the know that the money from the big donors is there to buy out Crean, but only under the condition that Glass goes too and that the next coach has to be an Indiana guy.   I can't emphasize enough: that is a rumor and completely unsubstantiated. It kind of has a ring of truth to it as far as what kind of conditions the money would come with, but it could be BS.

Watching their body language and interactions with each other yesterday led me to the conclusion that the locker room is broken. That's one I didn't need Crean to spell out for me.

Unfortunately, to me it doesn't look like they care enough to come together and fight for a tournament bid. They look like they have had enough and just want the season to be over with.   Maybe they'll get pissed off after yesterday's embarrassment and decide to fight, but I've been waiting for that to happen after a lot of bad losses this season. Collectively, they have a glass jaw. When they get punched in the face, they'd rather throw in the towel than fight back. I'd love for that to change starting right now. I just don't see it happening.

Whether Noah is "ready" or not is mostly beside the point and might be completely irrelevant to his decision. Our team right now looks completely dysfunctional. They don't know what they are supposed to be doing on the court. They don't look like they particularly like playing together. What would you do if you were Noah? Sign on for another year with the same group or go become a millionaire?

  It's kind of sad, but the Denkinger call is one of my best all time memories. Sorry. It was a terrible call. But awesome. So bloody awesome.   It's really not a mystery how I became a Royals fan. My family is from Kansas and I grew up there. ( Born in Indiana. Native Hoosier and all that. ) Dad was drafted out of high school way back in the day. His elbow was shot though so he didn't sign and went to college on a track scholarship. I was raised to love baseball.

I am a big fan of efficiency on offense. Efficient players help their teams more than inefficient players. That should be obvious. I especially like efficient players who play a major role on offense. It's easier to be efficient if you don't do too much. Jeff Howard is the second most efficient player on the team. But, he's barely involved in the offense when he's in the game, so it doesn't matter too much. If he were more involved, he would not be as efficient.   What's this leading up to? Well, it's leading up to the fact that efficiency stats currently state that Yogi Ferrell is the most efficient major contributor in the Big 10. Major contributor is defined as having a usage rate of at least 24%. Here's the top 5 with their efficiency rating on offense:   1. Yogi Ferrell 116.9 2. Adreian Payne 116.7 3. Andre Hollins 112.8 4. Tim Frazier 112.1 5. Gary Harris 111.1   So, congrats to Yogi. Here's to hoping he keeps it up and improves from here. For fun, the top 10 for the last 5 years:   2011 Jordan Taylor 126.9 2012 Cody Zeller 126.8 2013 Trey Burke 121.2 2011 Jared Sullinger 120.4 2013 Cody Zeller 119.4 2010 Jon Leuer 118.5 2012 Jared Sullinger 117.7 2014 Yogi Ferrell 116.9 2012 Robbie Hummel 116.8 2014 Adreian Payne 116.7     Source for all stats is kenpom.com

  That is correct. It's certainly not an opinion poll. Cold hard stats from Ken Pomeroy. http://kenpom.com/   And, yes, access to most of the stats does require a subscription.

  Was there something about my posting that Yogi is the best overall offensive player in the conference you didn't understand? Do you need me to spell it out for you? I hope not because Yogi is one helluva basketball player.

  It shouldn't be hard to figure out. Insanity and a high pain threshold explains the Royals love.

I'm from Kansas and went to Wichita State basketball camps as a kid. I have certainly been paying attention to Marshall.   He's a good coach, but I don't think we would get better results than what Crean is getting. Marshall is great at motivating players as the underdog. He plays the no one respects us card very well. I'm not convinced that he can translate that to a program like IU. He's also pretty damn lucky. His best player is redshirt sophomore Ron Baker. Baker is from a small western Kansas town and walked on at WSU. Everyone, including Marshall, just missed on the kid. Without Baker, WSU is not undefeated this season and did not make the Final Four last year.

  Ouch. That sucks. I'll have a drink and pray to the beer gods for you.

  Maybe it's the IPA's, but I can't follow this at all. I could user a stripper right about now as long as it's not one of the nasty girls at Night Moves. I say let the Purdouches buy you drinks. They just won their Super Bowl. Good for them, I guess.

  Not really sure it matters too much at this point. Our tournament chances are next to nothing. If Noah is hurting, I'd rather he take care of himself and not play instead of trying to eke out a meaningless victory or two.