cthomas

This is a very fragile team right now and has zero leadership on the court. The Maryland game wiped what little confidence the team had completely away.

Saw an article yesterday about Hunter suggesting that he would be available today but Thompson would not. Race could be very useful against a team like OSU.

Optimism for this season was based on Green being good most of the time, Rob returning to form, and Hunter being the player his pre-injury practice promised. None of those things have materialised. Given that, it's not surprising we are where we are.

How close is Tuttle to being ready for meaningful play? Anyone else in the wings who might surpass Tuttle?

The discussion is great and a lot of defensible points have been made. However, this doesn't have to be a zero sum discussion. There is an element of right and wrong in almost every viewpoint depending the perspective taken. And, decisions made after the fact are way easier than those made in the heat of battle. For players and coaches.

That Illinois win at Purdue was huge for them.

He was exactly what this team needed. No doubt he has accelerated TJD's learning curve and made him better prepared. Great addition.

The whole 'I was disrespected, I have to retaliate' culture needs to change. That mentality leads to a lot of bad things. Stealing the ball for a score when the other team is just trying to run out the clock is bad form, and frankly, looks silly. However, it deserved an 'eye roll' at most, definitely not a brawl.

The B1G tournament should be brutal this year. Could be an upset fest considering the number of teams capable of playing well. Maybe we finally get a tourney championship.

Glad to see this thread. I don't think Joey has been given proper credit for what he brings to the team. He is solid, durable, and gives consistently good effort. He has exceeded my expectations and I am really looking forward to seeing what he does next year after a year in the program. His influence on the young guys on the team going forward should not be underestimated either. To me, this is what culture building looks like.

Really happy we have Brunk for another year. I could see his leadership being huge next season. Really hope we have TJD for another year as well.

Might be good to be out of the routine. Maybe less time to think.

I don't often agree with you (which is fine because we all have opinions) but B1G basketball is on the verge of becoming unwatchable for me. It encourages a style of play that I don't really care for. I blame coaches who like to 'practice with pads' to simulate physical play in the post for the officiating problems. It can't be fun to play that way.

I believe they prefer to be called 'little people'.

The bigger problem is that B1G basketball has become nearly unwatchable. Lots of work for the new commissioner to do.

We've said that about every coach since Knight. Maybe something else is wrong.

Coach Knight always did things his own way. He is famous for his contribution to basketball but, if I recall correctly, the library was one of his favorite fundraising projects. Perhaps some recognition for that would be appropriate. I really hate the corporate naming obligation that gets tied to every major donation for facilities. The egos of the wealthy are enormous and leave little room for honoring the deserving.

I don't think I can remember a year when rankings were less of a predictor of performance. Admittedly, I don't pay close attention to such things but this year......just wow!

I don't see a night off left on the schedule. This year league play is going to eat a lot of teams. After what Purdue did to MSU today, I have no idea what's going to happen going forward.

I always respected Coach Knight's knowledge more than his methods. Whether he comes back or not is entirely up to him. If he does, he pretty clearly is not who he was when he left. I try to give him credit for the good things he did at Indiana while having compassion for what he is going through now. Those comments from Dakich are not a good look from him.

Better win the home games because the road is no joke this year. The way good teams are getting beaten away from home in conference is shocking.

After all the drama of the past few days, it was great to see the guys playing hard and appearing to have fun. At the end of the day, these are still kids and at any given time they can seem off or moody for no apparent reason. Most of all, I'm happy for them and the staff. Enjoy it tonight and then on to the next one.

Would the NIT have still been in play?

Hopefully the effort will improve and we can all be proud of that. However, the talent level is what it is at this point though probably good enough to achieve reasonable goals for this year IF the effort is there. How did this program turn into a soap opera?

I'm all for evaluating how well kids play and their strengths and weaknesses. But, to say Green doesn't care or is selfish or whatever other negative trait people have been saying about him is a stretch at best. He's not my favorite player because I'm just not a fan of his style. He likely would have fared better in Crean's offense which was more free flowing. However, I'm not going to call him selfish or a cancer in the locker room. Remember not everyone expresses emotion in the same way. It's Miller's job to put him in the optimal position to be the best he can be in this offense. If he can't do what he's supposed to, then he should sit. But let's not attack his character.