OKHOOSIER

When do we find out the B4A matchups? Some juicy potential games there. Wife is already trying to weasel a vacation out of me with the allure of tropical basketball lol.

It is a good article but does not really shed any light that wasn't known or could be inferred. Those two were dweebs and embarrassing. Mike Woodson has an ego and really rich friends. Water is wet. My only real takeaway from this is now I really want to know how much money these two goobers were generating. With billionaires involved, anything under 7 figures probably does not move the needle for IUBB anymore. The insinuation here is they were already small potatoes and that is the real reason behind it, instead of HH being critical of Woody. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. If they toed whatever line is required and never criticized Woody I have an extremely hard time believing IUBB would start telling them we do not want or need your money. Access to the program could be quantified and adjusted. Notice that this was strictly related to IUBB. This was not the Athletic Department saying we do not want or need your money. I am not a regular listener of their show so if the criticism was over the top and unwarranted someone feel free to enlighten me, but even the article posits that much of the criticism was warranted. Whatever, time to win basketball games.

Pretty much exactly my thoughts. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if we win the B1G and make a deep run. But the reality is Woody is a career .460 coach in the NBA and it isn’t a small sample size. Thats across nearly 700 games as a head coach. Good for 138th all time in winning percentage. He is 68th all time in games coached. He went 12-8 in a crappy B1G with the player who should have been NPOY and a lottery pick guard. It’s hard to be excited about him coaching the roster no matter how talented it may seem on paper.

Without serious changes to his system, 25 is the ceiling. I’m amazed sometimes that people refuse to simply believe their eyeballs and Mike Woodson’s words. He is not changing. We will see 20+ minutes a game with Ballo and Malik on the floor together standing on either block. If he didn’t stretch out the offense with KW he certainly isn’t doing it with Malik. Maybe the guard play will be so improved that the offense evolves naturally, but again, I put more credence on Mike Woodsons words. It’s not his job to get people shots. His defense is antiquated and confusing. I hope I’m wrong, but I am fairly certain we are going to see some head scratching losses and an early exit from the tourney. This job is a hobby for Mike Woodson, and he’s apparently got all the top cover he needs to keep it. It’s a sad state of affairs, but it is what it is.

I, for one, did not have the PR miracle and Scottie Scheffler; criminal mastermind on my summer of ‘24 bingo card. What a ride.

Figured after seeing the article and listening to the podcast it was time to dust off the old BTB machine. Hope everyone is having a splendid summer. Pleasantries out of the way, I have a couple thoughts: 1. Fire Mike Woodson. 2. HH is a terrible podcast and I care not for them losing their access. 3. Nothing Eric portrayed from Woody hasn't been said in this thread either by conjecture, or straight from Woody’s mouth. This is who he is, it’s why he’s Mike Woodson, former NBA head coach. It is sad to know that all the hypothesizing we did in March that Dolson might actually be a neutered figurehead when it comes to basketball, but it is not at all surprising. Anywho, who is excited for Woody to experiment with Ballo and MR on the floor at the same time? That was some exciting news coming out of Hubers. Been wanting to test out using two bigs for a while.

Me to my brain: *Do not say Goode News, do not say Goode News.* Brain: THIS IS GOODE NEWS

To me, it screams "I want to start, and I am in the portal to make that happen." But I would love to have him if he was willing to come off the bench here.

I think relationships still matter quite a bit, it is not solely money (although if we can buy a FF or NC I could not care less how it happens). KC and Rice are good friends and grew up playing AAU together, and had preexisting relationships with Coach Ya. That tells me they do not both commit here if money was the sole reason. It is the coaches job to make sure they are getting the guys with character and mindset they want for the team, and thus far I believe they are doing that. Woody for all his faults has made it clear that NIL demands are basically a non-starter for him when recruiting.

Yea this died for me a long time ago, guys can learn to love the university once they are here. Pay them and get them in the door. I don't love the current iteration of college sports, but it is here to stay so I want IU swimming in the deep end with the schools you mentioned.

Six?! Nate Oats is hoarding all the wings lol

The catch and shoot numbers for KC are certainly exciting since paired with Gallo and Rice he won't have to be creating his own shot as much as at Stanford. I watched some tape and their offense was horrendous (Silva transferred before the season so I think they were thin at PG). He was forced into the dribbling into long twos we all hate due to how stagnant it was. Hopefully surrounded by other ball handlers we can really see him blossom.

They both shot 32% on the season. 35 is simply an attainable target number. If I had said 40+ someone would have come in with a comment about ridiculous expectations. I am not parsing out game by game numbers, if the three of them average 35 or more on the season, we are going to win a bunch of basketball games.

I have baseline expectations every year and I think they apply here with all the unknowns. 23ish wins, in the hunt for the B1G, Saturday or Sunday in the BTT and a competent showing in the tournament. Personnel changes can alter that up or down, but that is my basic belief the standard should be based on my experience as a childhood IU fan, then student, and as alumni. Most of my life IU has been mediocre, I am used to it so it is hard for me to project or expect a SS or deeper run no matter who we have on the roster. That said, I do have a couple of 24-25 specific things I expect based on the current state of the program: 1. Exactly Zero losses of 20+ and I would prefer zero of 15+. Getting pantsed by every ranked team on the schedule is unacceptable to me. 2. MM, Rice and KC to push their 3pt averages closer to 35% as Sophomores. If that happens (or better) this team could be special-- additional shooter portal ads notwithstanding. 3. BTT champion. It has to happen sooner or later, and the B1G is as down as ever IMO we can get it done this year. 4. Woody has to make the second weekend. You cannot spend 6 Million on roster construction and lay an egg in March. His job depends on it. I have no interest in hearing excuses about new pieces and gelling and whatever other coach speak by the time B1G play starts. Everyone is turning over large numbers of their roster, yes we are on the high end, but I simply do not care. The staff is paid to construct the roster and get it to work, and that is what I expect them to do.

I think the number of guys transferring for the purpose of winning at all costs is pretty small. Landing someone like Goode is a really nice piece if we do. The portal is weird thing where money isn’t the only thing, so I think getting guys willing to take these roles is going to be touch and go.