MikeRoberts

24-13 IU

You think we will be 5th-7th in the bigten and make the tourney? Wow! I would be shocked and ecstatic if that were the case. I’m seeing 9th-12th and not even on the bubble

We don’t have a bigten, high level roster. This team would have to catch lightning in a bottle to beat a really good team. I was hoping for 20 wins and will now hope for 16. It’s going to be a long season for any of us that continue to watch this

Ugh, 5 guys standing around the perimeter with no movement is unfortunate. Modern? Not winning modern

This is a basketball forum and for most of us, basketball is what brought us all here. Our basketball program has been crappy since Dolson took over: it’s not ridiculous to expect more from this school when it comes to basketball and that starts at the top. He’s had two cracks at this and it’s not hard to see this team and system is incredibly flawed

I haven’t followed the Kraft/PSU example you provided, will have to read up on that. It’s pretty obvious to those around an AD when they have no idea what they are doing and that was the case for Dolson, vote of no confidence without an official vote. Crazy if others from the IU tree have essentially done the same elsewhere. Breeding ground for weak leadership. cig has been amazing but I’m a basketball fan through and through and I think what has happened to our basketball program is unbelievable. I’m not mad we’re 8-3 thus far in year 1, I’m disappointed in the system/product… I have no idea what this is? It’s horrible and hard to watch let alone fun. I don’t see a vision

I know what happened, I’ve shared the story from a BOT member many times here. His incompetence in the early days of the hiring process opened the door for others to take control after he fumbled the handoff a few times. Anyway, he was the AD when he was hired and was the AD when he was given a raise and the AD when he wasn’t winning and the fanbase had already quit on him and was unable to get rid of him. It’s a bag full of incompetence

Yes he did

Idk, I think it was on life support and he might have pulled the plug with Woody hire, him alienating the fanbase and not winning, Dolson not having the pull to get rid of him and then making a questionable hire that while it’s early is not instilling any faith or excitement from anyone other than Dakich

The guy that could have been ours is going to win a natty in his second year at Michigan and we ended up with a coach nobody was pining for. This has been some incredibly ugly basketball to say the least. We used to have 5 guys in the paint standing around now we have 5 guys standing around the perimeter. No movement, no ball handling, no screens, no boxing out, no shot blocking, streaky shooting. This is really concerning. I have no idea what this is supposed to be.

We had 3 guys with 5+ assists. I could be wrong but can’t imagine that has happened very many times in recent past. the fact that one of our best scorers was one of those is a great sign!

Yeah, we have a very senior heavy roster but nice to see we might have a 4 year contributor on the roster. It would be nice to have some holdovers each year and unless something unforeseen happens, you can count on him being here

Exciting start to the season. Defensive intensity, ball movement, playing for each other all make me hopeful. fun to watch!

Haven’t logged in in a while but this seems intriguing no? We have a legit shot at this kid?

Kicking off the season against old dominion is pretty meh. I live 4 hours away and that game doesn’t warrant the drive, hotel and all that comes with it. I think fans will show up come BIGTEN

I’ve taken a break from the board for the last few months. It wasn’t intentional but just a reflection on my enthusiasm or lack there of. I hope this team can play a fun style, play with heart and effort and see them improve as the season goes on. Hoping I can get excited again

Im not sure what to make of this roster. I feel like every coach we’ve had in recent history has had a few glaring flaws and the following coach went crazy trying to solve for that that they created a new problem. We’ve been clamoring for shooters for years and seemingly we should have that but now lack size and rim protection. hopefully coach got the roster he wanted and has a plan for how to use it

All good, you might have been one of the few people that wasn’t gushing over the haul we had this time last year. It was almost unanimous that we won the off-season, best team we’ve had in a decade etc. I’m seeing these almost verbatim posts here again much like the 2021 and 2025 coaching search posts. i hope this one is different and that the pieces do work well together but that’s tbd. On paper it looks good so far but it did last year too so I am in wait and see mode. Glad to see you are feeling good this go around!

I love the optimism but this is really a reach at this point in time. We don’t know that DeVries is ten times the coach Woodson was…. we don’t know that DeVries is building a team of compatible parts instead of collecting stars and handing out bags etc etc. Without going back to read your posts from last year I would be shocked if you were calling Woodson out for the players he was bringing in and the amount he was paying them. In fact I bet you were wildly excited. the fact is most of us know very little about our coach or these players. I’m excited we are landing some players coach is prioritizing (5) but none of this factual yet

Not sure I can change your perception but as someone that has done media/marketing for some of the biggest brands in the world and my wife does too I can say with 100% confidence that Duke is getting an amazing ROI. coca-cola, AB-InBev, McDonalds etc are massive brands that are world famous but they continue to dump money into media/marketing to ensure they stay there and also to invest in their future, fueling a pipeline of love and fandom from younger audiences that will payout for the rest of their lives. $4.8m is a drop of piss to these brands and a brand like Duke. The amount of media coverage alone via Cooper Flagg is worth 10s of millions and his presence ensures a whole new generation of fans. My 8 year old son asked me for a Cooper Flagg jersey for Easter. I’m not getting it and going to force him to be a Hoosier fan but there are kids everywhere that are becoming Duke fans because of him and the lifetime value of a fan is immeasurable. Think about every dollar you have spent related to IU over your lifetime and then multiply that by every new fan Flagg brought to Duke this year. just because you are a big brand doesn’t mean you will stay one, you need RTBs and there is no bigger one this year than Flagg.

WAYYYY more. Duke is a brand and basketball is the window into the institution. They are world famous for basketball and academics. Cooper Flagg is THE biggest ambassador to the brand they have currently and that will carry on for a long time. Players like him help with viewership, butts in seats, apparel, merchandise, contract with Nike, donations, rev sharing, tournament payouts, licensing, applications/enrollment etc etc.

I recall the post game interview and Calipari mentioning Bryant but recall it differently - more like Calipari mentioned recruiting him but was surprised how good Bryant ended up being. Regardless, they definitely went after another big that same year and landed him, could look it up if I wasn’t so lazy. As I know you know, “recruited” is a very broad word. A school will “recruit” a hundred guys each year, but only prioritize and really push to close a handful or so. I don’t think Bryant was one of those handful they tried to land but was more of a backup plan for them.

Both Bryant and Blackmon were recruited by UK but both deprioritized. They fell to us when UK prioritized others like Booker and can’t remember who the big was

Laws/Rules keep things in check. That said though, some laws/rules are so stupid and devoid of reason. I jaywalk daily without a second thought

Anyone making memes about coaches and players skin color is racist. In what world is that acceptable? f em