GnarlyNormEllenberger

A few thoughts... - Naturally, everyone wants to make judgments on this matter, but the fact is that the general public will likely never know the whole story of everything that happened that came to this decision. It's frustrating, but it's the reality of the situation. Remember when Curt Miller resigned from IUWB? I'm not comparing the events that led to the resignation, but am pointing out that those reasons were never made public and probably never will be. - We know two things. 1) Glass cleared Wilson of medical improprieties or NCAA infractions, yet 2) Wilson chose to forgo a higher payout by resigning. Read between the lines here, folks. There's plenty there. - The level of ambiguity to which Fred Glass spoke during the press conference was high. "Philosophical differences" is as coded of a phrase as they come. I've used similar phrasings in the workplace myself. It had all the makings of an "I'll keep quiet, you keep quiet, have a nice life" situation. It seems obvious to me that this was done to protect both sides from further damage. Annoying, but it seems to be the reality of the whole thing. - Already starting to read stories and comments like "IU fires Wilson despite most success in decades" along with others like "Just as IU turns the corner, they take giant steps backwards." Those comments seem extremely short-sighted and don't look into the depth of the situation.

A few thoughts from my perspective... - Vehemently disagree with those who say McSwain looks disappointing. What I saw was a raw, but aggressive talent who is still learning the game (which is exactly what he was billed to be when we signed him.) Yes, the 1-9 shooting and 3 turnovers look bad. As Old Friend said above, he plays too fast and forced a few too many things last night. But his aggressiveness also paid off to the tune of 5 rebounds, 3 steals and a blocked shot in just 15 minutes. He has a valuable role on this team. Now, I would not want him shooting the ball any further than 8 feet from the hoop at this point. But this is where you utilize the Will Sheehey or Troy Williams technique and have him roam up and down the baseline for catch and dunks. He can do that. On the defensive end, he can bring a lot to the table as well. - The communication on defense was poor last night. Credit to UMass-Lowell because their offense looked sort of like a low-major version of us. But we simply weren't communicating well on the defensive end and that resulted in a bunch of open shots for them. It's correctable, but it needs corrected. That level of defensive play is how we started 5-3 last year. - We have so many weapons on offense, which makes us very difficult to guard. I'd like to see us make a more concerted effort to get to the free throw line as well as limit some of these cross-court passes in traffic, but I'm nit-picking at this point. - I continue to be flummoxed by officiating. Very little consistency on their calls. - Odds and ends...Destroyed them on the boards as we should have.... 23 assists is nice. 16 turnovers is still too many, but that's just the way we play under Crean and it is what it is... Slightly concerned about our free throw shooting percentage at this point... Good to see Davis and Green make some positive plays as it should continue to build confidence in their games... Robert Johnson's steady line of 16-5-5 was good to see... Blackmon continued to see he can score points in bunches.

A few quick thoughts on this one... - This was a game that was won with "heart", you know? Didn't necessarily play our best in multiple facets of the game, but our effort made up for it. I love what seems to be the mindset of this team. Seems to be picking up where they left off from last year and moving forward with it. - Hats off to Blackmon. Let's hope Big Game James keeps it up. Proud of that guy. - Bryant can be dominant. He got us started on the right foot. - Love, love, love Juwan Morgan. Had a nice stat line that still didn't accurately portray how much of an effect he had on the game. Talented and versatile. Love waht he brings to the table. - OG didn't even play to his potential. But it's coming... :) - Johnson and Newkirk both had moments of frustration, but they both made some huge plays and showed a lot of toughness and grit. - Great job by the freshmen. All of them made some BIG plays for us. Very impressed by their composure. - Jay Bilas was really talking up Crean and our program last night. That is great publicity. Enjoy it, folks. Great way to start the season. Don't put TOO much stock into this one as we have a LONG way to go, but I'm telling you... this team has potential to accomplish great things.

Rutgers game thoughts... - We lost the turnover battle 4-1, but won a conference game. When was the last time we did that? I'll take the W. - Our running game was pedestrian, at best. I don't know if it's play-calling, O-Line or RB's but it wasn't overly effective against a team where it should have been very effective. This puts way too much pressure on Lagow (or our other QBs) and history shows that's not good. When our running game stalls, our offense loses rhythm and it forces our QB to make plays he can't make consistently. I believe our "scoring zone" struggles are heavily attributed to this issue. Our offensive coaches are going to have find more effective ways to get the ball in the end zone. - I wish we would try to find more effective ways to use Redding. He's a good RB, but I think he's been put into some tough situations this year. We finally found him in the flat for the clinching touchdown (a play that was open A LOT this afternoon.) - The kicking game has hit rock bottom. That unit is so much better than how they're playing. There's a lot of mental issues going on there. I'd like to think that they'll get it together soon because we're gonna need them during the home stretch. - Defense started poorly, but then dominated about half of the game. Helped that Rutgers is trying to break-in a young QB. But in all seriousness, the defense won this game. And we have said that a few times this year (which is nice.) - Receivers played well today. There were a number of fantastic catches. Paige, Jones and Westbrook were their usual selves, but we also saw some great catches from Hale, Timian and Patrick (sweet goodness, was that a catch!) - Need just one more win for bowl eligibility. It's hard to judge these remaining games because college football is fluid and things change every week. We CAN beat Penn State, but we'll have to play some inspired football and hope they come in over-confident. It kinda reminds me of how I felt pre-Nebraska. Michigan will be extremely difficult. We'll probably be favored vs. Purdue, but the Boilers have been competing lately and have enough to beat us should we come out flat.

Keep in mind that Clifton Moore and Jordan Tucker are cousins. So we have that going for us... which is nice.

A few late thoughts on the Maryland game... - Probably the best offensive game plan we have had all season. Really liked the Diamont/Big Bacon package. Not sure if I have ever seen a backup QB come in, call the play at the line of scrimmage and then line up as a tailback in the backfield. But it worked. Big Bacon looks more comfortable taking the direct snap as opposed to being a traditional RB at this point and he was able to find the gaps he wanted on the O-Line. And we were able to utilize Diamont's speed on the outside. Perhaps most important was the fact that we took the pressure off of Lagow, which was huge. I hope we're able to expand the Diamont/Big Bacon package and continue to use it throughout the year, but we'll have to continue to be more creative as teams will start to prepare for it. - The O-Line returned to form. And it allowed the running game to flourish. They opened up some massive holes for us to run through. And again, it took a lot of pressure off of Lagow. If we continue to bring forth that effort, our offense will be extremely potent once again. Good to see Redding have some success again, too. - WAYYYY too many missed tackles. I'm interested to look at the chart to see how many we actually had. Maryland's running game was pretty tricky to defend and they have a couple of good backs, but we just flat-out did a poor job of tackling as a whole. Defense still made a few crucial plays in the game, though. Still love the total improvement we've seen from that unit this season. - The personal foul/unsportsmanlike conduct penalties need to stop. They absolutely kill drives on offense and give up way too much yardage on defense. I understand that players are running high on emotion, but you have to be more disciplined than that. - Some others have mentioned this, but the decisions to kick the PAT/go for two were questionable, at best. We did the same thing last week at Northwestern. I think I read somewhere that Wilson goes by a probability chart for those decisions. I think he needs to just trust his intuition as a head football coach of a Big Ten school and quit referring to generic probability charts that may not accurately represent the flow of the game or how the team is playing. But that's my opinion and I'm not the coach. - Special teams play was not good. A botched PAT, a missed field goal and two kickoffs out of bounds. All in all, I am pleased with how we competed and fought hard to win the game. Maryland is much improved from last season. For bowl purposes, it was very important we win this one. And we did. Gives us back some confidence as a football team and provides us a little more wiggle room for the remainder of the season.

A few more observations... particularly on the newcomers... - Impressed by Josh Newkirk. I think some people limited his potential because he was coming off an injury while only averaging 5 PPG at Pitt. But from what I saw, he was quick, athletic and could push the ball up the floor. I was especially pleased to see him drive through the lane and finish with an authoritative jam. While he's not a shooter like Hulls, Roth or Zeisloft, he's not Jeremiah Rivers or Stan Robinson, either. He'll be able to keep defenses honest at the very least. Couldn't tell much about his defense, but hopefully he's as hard-nosed as advertised from Pitt. - Devonte Green looked as impressive as I'd hoped he would. He just seems like a high-level competitor. Probably a better shooter than I gave him credit for. Looks like he'll be able to catch fire from time to time. Wouldn't surprise me if we're talking about him being one of our best players this time next year (and in a good way.) Like Newkirk, I couldn't tell much about his defense, but I'm hoping he can become the ball-hawk that his prep coach believes he can be. That may determine how many minutes he'll play this year. - The other newcomers all showed potential as well. It seemed like Curtis Jones was comfortable with the ball in his hands and made a couple of jumpers. How well he defends will likely determine his minutes this year. Grant Gelon seemed more comfortable than I expected, but visibly still has a ways to go. Has potential to become a specialist on down the road. I like De'Ron Davis, but it usually takes a few months for the big men to acclimate themselves to the college game from a conditioning and strength standpoint. But he's got good size and defensive potential and should be a nice replacement for us once Bryant leaves. Also, Zach McRoberts made a couple nice moves and hustle plays. Don't be surprised to see him get Ryan Burton minutes this year. - As for the returners... good to see Blackmon back out there, although he didn't really stand out to me. But you know what you're getting with him. He's an elite-level shooter/scorer who can put up points in a hurry. Johnson played a tad bit sloppy in the scrimmage, but seemed like a leader on the floor, which is something this team is going to need and I hope he can fill that role. But we know what he can give us. Bryant looks bigger, stronger and even more authoritative. Might be running the floor even better this year, too. Has the potential to be dominant in the post. Even Priller looked more comfortable in his limited moments. - Anunoby deserves his own bullet point. I truly don't mean to hype up this guy so much, but we just don't have too many players like him come through Bloomington. He's 6'8-230 and already has such a wide array of things he is capable of on the floor. He'll be able to guard pretty much any position on the floor. Tremendous length and is showing an even better understanding of how to use it. Not tremendously quick, but is able to cover a lot of ground in a hurry. Glides down the floor with ease. Strong. Extremely versatile. The game seems to move slow to him. Can absorb contact, re-adjust, and still make a play. Absolutely OOZING with potential to be a fantastic player. - Disappointed that Morgan and McSwain had to sit out the scrimmage. I still think Morgan is OG-lite and might be improved enough to rightfully earn a starting spot on this team. McSwain is an unknown at this point, so I was interested to see what he would bring to the table. -Overall thoughts... not sure we're as deep as some have said. I don't expect we'll see much of Hartman, Priller or Gelon this year. That brings us down to 10 scholarship guys. McSwain is too unknown to assume him commanding many minutes at this point (but that could change.) That brings us down to nine guys, meaning we don't have much room for the inevitable future injuries or player slumps (especially from the freshmen.) However, there's a lot of pure talent on this team. Even some ELITE-level talent. We've got size, athleticism, quickness and enough experience to do some serious damage this year on both sides of the ball. If we mesh together as a strong, cohesive unit... this team has Final Four potential. Just my opinion.

I'm usually not what I would consider to be a "sunshine-pumper", but I am very optimistic for the upcoming season. My reasons are as follows... - We have three elite-level players on the team. By "elite", I mean guys who could be an All-American at the end of the year and it wouldn't be surprising. Bryant looks to be be one of the five best post players in the nation, easily. He's bulked up even more at 6'10-255, has a high motor and is highly-effective scoring points in the paint. People criticize Blackmon for his defensive effort (and rightfully so) but he's an elite-level scorer who would probably average 20+ PPG on many Power-5 teams. Any improvement on the defensive side of things could elevate his game to All-American levels. But then there's Anunoby... and while I hardly ever leap such high praise on players who have played limited minutes/roles... OG is the real deal. He has the capability to excel at any facet of the game. At the very least, I think we'll see the college version of "3 and D". At best, he could be dominant at both ends of the floor... and make it look easy. - I really like Robert Johnson and Juwan Morgan, too. They're not at the level of the three mentioned above, but they're high-level players. It looks clear to me that Johnson is becoming one of the leaders on the team. He can handle the ball, shoot and play defense at an above-average level. He's a complete guard that brings a lot to the table. And if it wasn't for OG's meteoric rise, I think we'd be talking a whole lot more about Juwan Morgan. He's a tough-nosed, versatile forward who takes pride on defense. If he's truly bulked-up to the 6'8-230 that he's listed as, look for him to take a huge step forward in his development. - We've got an intriguing mix of newcomers. It's funny how much criticism Newkirk has received without even playing a single game for us, but at-worst, he'll be a good ball-handler in the rotation that provides quickness and defense. I think you'll see both our freshman guards find minutes. Jones can shoot it and stretch defenses. And it wouldn't surprise me if Green plays some big minutes this year. The guy is a major competitor and has about as complete of a game that you'll ever see from a "3-star" freshman. Personally, I don't expect major production from Davis this season, but I think you'll see him come along as the season progresses and fill his back-up role nicely. It's hard to gauge what we'll get from McSwain, but he's a high-upside JuCo guy who could be a major asset for us if he develops. In my personal opinion, we have the type of roster that COULD win the Big Ten again and make the Final Four. But we'll need for things to click for that to happen. We'll need for guys to fill-in specific roles and do their roles well (which was a big reason for our end of season success last season.) I think we have the potential to be a good defensive team if everyone truly buys into that side of the ball. I don't see as many "pure" shooters on this team as we had last year, but we've got enough guys to keep defenses honest and run our offense as we have been. We won't need a Yogi-level PG, but we need to have at least one player who is comfortable and effective in that role. We'll need to stay relatively healthy in order to prevent younger players from having to play more minutes than they're ready for (as the Hartman injury has already taken away some of our wiggle room in this regard.) In short, I believe this team is more than capable of adding onto one of our Big Ten Championship or Final Four banners (or even creating a Big Ten Tournament banner.) If we don't at least win some form of the Big Ten (regular season or tournament) OR make the Sweet 16, I'll be surprised and disappointed because I think we have the roster make-up to be a major player in the national landscape.

I'd be careful not to over-analyze any of those new comments from Wilkes. I fully understand this is a recruiting message board and we, as fans, like to speculate and discuss where a recruit may be leaning. That's definitely valid and I encourage further participation as such. But honestly, is there really anything in this new IndyStar article that is different than anything he has said in prior interviews? He likes all three schools. There are positives and negatives with each. It will be a hard decision for him. That sounds like basic recruit-speak to me. And from a guy who seems to like being recruited. I know we were hoping that some of the rumblings of an impending Hoosier commit were true (and they still might be) but the fact of the matter is that we still stand as good of a chance as any other school at this point.

Late to the party once-again, but what else is new... here's a few of my thoughts... - A win vs. Michigan State is very good for the program. All we ever hear about is how daunting the Big Ten East is and how it will be difficult for us to be competitive. Well, we just knocked off one of the big boys. And we very nearly knocked off Ohio State and Michigan last year. We're competing with the best, whether the drive-by sports media acknowledges it or not (more on that in a minute.) - RBB89 said it above, but I wish people would cut Lagow a bit of slack. No, he's not all-conference and he has plenty to improve upon. But have you looked at the QB play elsewhere around the league? You've got JT Barrett, Wilton Speight, Tommy Armstrong... but then who? Lagow is right there in the middle of the pack. Which is where we said he needed to be for us to have some success this year. Yes, he needs to cut down his interceptions and find ways to get TDs when in the red zone. But the guy has thrown some really nice passes in his four games as a Hoosier and led us to victory over a ranked opponent. He deserves some slack. And some appreciation for what he HAS done. - The O-Line adapted much better to the absence of Feeney and Camiel in this game. 156 yards rushing isn't fantastic, but it was solid against a pretty stout MSU D-Line. Much better effort than last week. Plus, they didn't allow a sack. Kudos to Cronk and Knight at the Tackle positions. If we can just get Feeney back, I think we'll be rolling once again... - The defense was all kinds of solid. From my perspective, they played with more purpose and fight than what we saw in the Wake Forest game. Only allowed 438 yards total. Not bad. I was disappointed that they couldn't hold MSU off at the end of regulation, but they more than made up for it in overtime. Those two sacks pretty much won the game for us. - Tyler Natee. Really like what he brings to the table. Fits more of the Jordan Howard style of running... interested to see how his role develops in the coming weeks. I'd like to see him as our RB2 at the moment. - Really annoyed at how some conference media members, and even some IU media guys, reacted to the victory. Saying things like "IU 24, MSU 21. Yes, you read that correctly." As mentioned above, we've been competitive for awhile now. Don't be a wise guy. Is it an upset? Yes. But we were only a touchdown underdog. It's not unbelievable. Act like a credible journalist who gets paid to do that for a living. - Odds and ends... Ricky Jones has really busted out of his slump and become a productive senior leader on the field... Luke Timian made a spectacular catch late in the game and is quietly becoming another offensive threat for us... Devine Redding finally busted loose on a run and finished with 100 yards, which was a nice outing in the end... Tegray Scales had 14 tackles (1.5 for loss) which is exactly what we need for us to keep moving forward on defense... Michigan State is going to lose some more games this year. They're not bad, but they look a lot more like a 7-5 or 8-4 team than one that is ranked...

Late to the party again, but here's a few additional thoughts... - When I heard just before kickoff that BOTH Feeney and Camiel were out, I was afraid we would struggle running the ball. They are our two best lineman and missing them was a big factor in the game. Wake Forest's D-Line actually played us pretty tough last year in Winston-Salem. This year, our O-Line got very little push, which severely hurt our running game. And this put way too much pressure on... - Lagow. I think we relied on him too much because our running game stalled. You could tell he felt the pressure and forced a number of throws that simply weren't there. Way too many throws into double-coverage. To his credit, he made a number of nice throws and connected on several passes that were extremely impressive. But you cannot throw 5 interceptions and win a game. You just can't. Even if you throw for 500 yards. - So then who should be our QB? Lagow. Why? Because he moves the ball down the field. And that's something that Diamont had never shown he can do on a consistent basis. If Lagow has another game with five picks, then maybe we can look at other alternatives because you absolutely cannot do that again. But for now, the Lagow offense still looks much smoother than the Diamont offense. If you need to sit Lagow for a bit, I'd rather throw Cameron out there. - Our defense didn't play well. If you didn't see the game, Wake Forest ran a "dink and dunk" offense that nickel and dimed their way down the field. They were absolutely nothing special and you can tell why they struggle on that side of the ball. Sure, we held them to 352 yards of total offense, but they controlled tempo. They ran the QB option hand-off over and over again and we never seemed to disrupt them in the backfield. We gave up a critical touchdown late in the first half that really gave them momentum going into halftime. We had zero takeaways and what few big plays the defense made were generally rendered inept due to penalties that broke our backs. - Penalties... Indiana 9 for 84 yards. That's exactly what a bad offense (Wake Forest) needed to score just enough points to win the game. - Total Yards... Indiana 611, Wake Forest 352. We nearly doubled them up in yards, but lost the game. Why? Turnovers. Indiana 5, Wake Forest 0. Remember when we went to Oregon in 2004 with Gerry DiNardo and somehow came out with a victory? The box score looked a lot like that. - Odds and Ends... most yards thrown by an IU QB in a single game... probably the most interceptions thrown by an IU QB in a single game... Ricky Jones finally broke out of his slump with a monster game of 208 yards... Westbrook continued to be solid with 129 yards and 2 TDs... we've had two kicks blocked in three games which shows we have some major work to do in regards to blocking on special teams... saw the Tyler Natee package for the first time, we'll see where that goes... still struggling to score points when we break into scoring territory and it burned us in this one. CONCLUSION: It's college football, folks. This happens. Who would have thought Wisconsin would defeat Michigan State 30-6 in East Lansing? Or that Duke would win at Notre Dame? Or that Les Miles would be fired four games into the season? For us, our game was winnable, so losing it was a missed opportunity. You already have people who have given up on the team, which is disappointing to say the least. But there are still a number of winnable games left on the schedule, so a bowl game is still within reach. But the Hoosiers lost room for error this past weekend. They need to play much more inspired football or else we may be be looking at a 2-4 record going up to Evanston on October 22nd.

For those who haven't seen this... https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/predictions-where-will-the-2017-four-stars-land-part-i- This is from today (09/22/16) There are four, non-Hoosier writers that still predict Waters to IU. Maybe they have old information compared to UK people. Or maybe their information still points Waters to IU. He may very well commit to UK, but there's enough chatter out there to say we've still got a great shot with him.

No doubt. Wilkes says he has been visiting IU since the 4th grade (which just happens to be around the time Crean became the coach at IU.) I'd be surprised if he is as familiar with another coaching staff or school any better than he is with IU. So I think his visit comes down to... does he like us or not? Straight up. Because I really don't believe there's much else for him to know at this point... he either "feels" us, or he doesn't. My opinion? IU is at the center of this recruitment. And I think it's obvious that opposing coaches know this. So he either comes to IU, or he's talked out of it and then it could be anyone's game, i.e Illinois, UCLA, Xavier, etc. I have no inside information. Just reading the tea leaves.

A few thoughts on this... - Don't like the Tim Priller comparison at all. Priller had offers from schools like Incarnate Word. Moore has offers from schools like Ole Miss, Temple and Northwestern (not too different than Anunoby's offer list.) There's a BIG difference there. - I know he has a list of "final" schools, but don't be surprised if a few more Power 5 schools don't offer him before long. There have been a number of recruits we have been after who have seen an increase in their recruitment after we offered. I'm thinking about guys like Andrew Platek who eventually committed to UNC. - Brian Snow says he might be one of the rare "sleepers" in this class. That is from an unbiased national recruiting analyst, not a Hoosier fan. - Limited reports claim he's a good shooter. The Watford comparison has been mentioned. That is the type of player Crean not only covets, but has success with. - Juwan Morgan was about 205 lbs. when he came here. Anunoby was about 215 lbs. Now they're up to 230 lbs. and 235 lbs. in only ONE year of IU's weight training program. How would your perception of Clifton Moore be if, within a year, he's 6'10-225? All of the sudden, he's got perfect size for a "4." (I understand that such dramatic weight gains are not guaranteed, but we have seen enough success stories in that regard under Crean to believe that such is a possibility.) I certainly empathize with those of you who are upset that we have spent so much time on some highly ranked recruits only to be denied in the end. That is frustrating and it shows that Crean has missed on plenty of guys. As a fan-base, we would be a whole lot more certain of future success with Top 50 ranked recruits. And we're going to need guys like Tremont Waters and Kris Wilkes in this class to stay near the top of the conference. I certainly won't argue with that But as it has been mentioned before, some of Crean's biggest success stories at IU have been recruiting guys who quickly "blow up" out of nowhere. Hulls, Oladipo, Sheehey, Anunoby, Morgan. Crean can take a guy like Moore and turn him into a good Big Ten basketball player whereas many other coaches cannot (and I consider myself a Crean critic, mind you.) So if Moore is a part of a class that includes Waters, Wilkes and Durham, color me satisfied. Tim Priller and Jeremiah April were late spring signees who only had low-major offers. That was a good indicator they would not excel on the court at IU. However, I would guarantee you that if Clifton Moore would still be available by this time in April, he'd have a bevy of Power 5 offers. He's already got more than Priller and April ever did. Just my opinion.

A couple of days late, but I figure I'll still add my two cents... -Let's start with the defense. 3 takeaways. Only gave up 371 yards of offense. One TD allowed. Very good numbers for a traditionally bad defense. As a whole, this defense has only allowed two TDs in two games. I don't care that it was against FIU and Ball State. I'm very pleased with the overall effort of this unit. I'm not saying we're a great defense, but we're no longer "bad." Still need to get more consistent pressure on the QB and clean up a few things here and there. But I'm impressed with the overall improvement. Guys like Scales, Ball, Fant and Crawford are good Big Ten players that could play for anyone in the conference. -I thought Lagow looked better this game. Had a nice stat line. Probably would have had better numbers, but I think that Wilson/Johns called a vanilla game in the second half which limited what Lagow could do. He still needs more in-game reps to develop chemistry with receivers, but he's going to be fine as our QB. I liked how he and Paige connected quite a bit early in the game. Good to see Westbrook breaking out as a big-play threat. It would be nice if Ricky Jones could get going again, especially since we may be without Cobbs for the long haul. -Disappointed in our O-Line play against Ball State. Not that they played poorly, but they weren't dominant like I thought they could be. Gave up 3 sacks. Camiel killed us with a personal foul on that first drive. A couple of guys (LT?) got beat repeatedly which put Lagow under more pressure. Then again, I didn't realize Feeney left the game in the first half, so I suppose that made a difference. As long as we get him back soon, I think we'll be fine. Just didn't play our best here, in my opinion. -Punting game. I like Gideon's leg, but that blocked punt was a long time coming. They almost got to him a couple more times earlier in the game. We just can't have that in a close game later in the year. But, it's fixable. -A couple more odds and ends... Played really good football for 2.5 quarters. Good to see Oakes back in good form. That 49-yarder with the crazy wind before halftime was impressive... I'm becoming more impressed with our backup RBs. Majette and Williams both looked legit. Interested to see where Patrick fits once he returns from injury... Danny Friend is a good TE. Hope he stays healthy. Good blocker and can also catch a pass... I'd like to see us cut down the number of penalties, but it's still early in the season... I'm also curious to see how much of the playbook Wilson has revealed. I'm guessing (and hoping) not much... We only have 5 offensive TDs in two games, so we can certainly improve on that number.

Holy cow. Our own Bob Sanders.

A few thoughts.. - Defense recorded 2 TDs and a safety. Only 331 yards and 13 points allowed. GREAT start for this team. I loved the variety of looks we gave them and always seemed to keep them off-balance for most of the night. There were still a handful of plays that will definitely need to be brought to the attention of a few players during the film session, but this was a great confidence builder. Really like how guys like Fant and Scales are becoming "impact" players. Marcelino Ball is going to be a really good player. Also, props to the D-Line. A lot of new guys out there and they held their own. - Lagow was... okay. But I'm honestly not too worried. His stat line was nearly identical to Sudfeld vs. FIU last season. Threw a couple of dicey passes, but a number of pretty darts as well. Loved seeing him scamper into the end zone in the 4th quarter. I thought he needed that from a confidence standpoint. Just need to continue to work on timing with the rest of the offense and continue to gain chemistry with the receivers. I'm anxious to see how he progresses this year. I think Wilson/Johns will turn him into a good Big Ten QB. - Very impressed with how much Redding has improved in a year's time. We've got another strong RB this year. Not quite as impressed with the reserves (I felt the O-Line did most of the work for them) but they were solid. - Depth. You want proof as to how Wilson has built up the program? Depth. We wore them down and took over. This is what will keep us in games and give us a shot against the best teams in our conference this year.

If Waters is considered a consolation prize, then we have entered one heck of a sweepstakes... This kid is a really good player.

Just a few thoughts... I am disappointed that we aren't having as much luck with our in-state recruiting for this class, but I can't necessarily say that I am discouraged. Personally, I am not convinced that guys like Williams and Scruggs are much better than some of the other guys we're recruiting. Don't get me wrong... Williams (247 composite ranking: 32) and Scruggs (247 composite ranking: 31) are very good and I would be happy to have them as Hoosiers. But those two guys seem to get that extra talent boost in the minds of Indiana fans because they are from Indiana. But in reality, I think some of the out-of-state guys may be every bit as "good" from a talent perspective and from a "fit" perspective. They're just not from Indiana, so perhaps we don't realize how "good" they are. Let's look at a few other guys we're recruiting... Tremont Waters (247 composite ranking: 40). Yes, he's small and that is a legitimate concern. But that also means we may be able to have more seasons with him on the team instead of leaving early for the draft, i.e. a good college player but not an NBA player. That will build continuity and could sustain success. He's also a natural, true point guard who is reported to possess a great attitude. (I like Scruggs a lot, but I have always been a bit concerned with the notion that he would suddenly become a good point guard after being a "2".) Also, Waters has offers from fellow college basketball blue bloods, so you know other big-time schools see something in him, despite his size. Justin Smith (247 composite ranking: 67). Here's a guy who is being recruited by a number of notable programs form the region like Illinois, Wisconsin and Xavier while also possessing a Stanford offer which speaks volumes to me for reasons outside of basketball. By all accounts, he seems like another good kid who would seem to fit-in with the team from a personality standpoint and would also fit-in with the type of player Crean covets at the "3". Jordan Tucker (247 composite ranking: 37). This guy is similarly ranked to Williams, Scruggs and Waters. He's just on the outside of the cusp of being a McDonalds-AA type of recruit and like Justin Smith, seems to fit the mold of the Crean "3". He's the type of guy from out east who always seems to wind up at Syracuse or UConn or Villanova and becomes one of their top options by the time he's a sophomore. I could see him making a similar on-court impact as Troy Williams or Christian Watford did for us. Solid player as a freshman, but becomes one of our best players by his sophomore or junior year. I'll stop there, but that's enough information to prove my point. Say we picked up those three guys in addition to Al Durham. We have a Top 20 class with staying power. That class may not win a national championship for us by itself, but they would be great players to convince guys from the 2018 and 2019 classes like Romeo Langford, Darius Garland and Trendon Watford that we are just a "superstar" away from one. Of course, I'd like to add a post player to the 2017 class as well (the De'Ron Davis situation makes me uneasy.) But after Crean pulled off Bryant a couple years back, I'll give him the spring to see if he can work his magic again.

Thanks for sharing what you hear/know, hoosierpap. I'm definitely interested in seeing how this class shakes out for the Hoosiers. On one hand, I am disappointed that all of the effort Crean put into the "big 4" of Indiana has yet to yield any better results than what we have seen. I know that IU isn't exactly in the same category as UK, Duke, etc. as far as the recruits' perception goes, but still. We've had some success. Two conference championships and three Sweet Sixteens in five years. I was hoping that those results would have greater meaning to the home-state kids, but evidently it's not as big of a factor. It is what it is because the landscape of recruiting has changed so much over the years. I mean, Crean has been on those guys for a long time and had them all down on campus multiple times. I don't think there's much more Crean can do, to be honest. (Whether that in of itself is the problem is in the eye of the beholder, I guess.) That being said, I'm not sold that we miss on all of them. It seems like Scruggs may be among the closest to making a decision. The "winds" may favor Xavier and their immediate playing time. But that would just be a BOLD choice in my opinion. And it may very well happen. But IU has offered him the chance to be a PG at his "home" school and IU plays on a more national stage which offers more exposure. To turn that down would really be a statement with how much trust he has in Xavier. As for Wilkes, it sounds like he will be making a spring decision. Personally, I believe that any "crystal ball prediction" at this moment is pointless. We're in it with him, but the race is far from over. We've put a lot of time in Williams, too. I may not think we have QUITE as good of a shot with him as I do with Scruggs and Wilkes, but we're in it. Hey, if something happens with Louisville and Michigan State, I think we'll be in great shape. Jackson... I'm not confident on. He's more of a Hoosier transplant and I don't think IU is even considered a home state school for him. This is not to say we shouldn't recruit him, but you might as well put in as much effort with Bamba or Richards or somebody, you know? I consider Jackson more of a "national recruit." But we'll be fine if none of the state kids want to come here. The media will grab a hold of it and make a big story, but I have a feeling we'll still end up with some fine players who want to play here. Guys like Tremont Waters and Jordan Tucker are very intriguing talents. Top 50 types who can make an impact early on but are likely to stick around for a few years as opposed to being one-and-dones. If their attitudes are good, they can be great program-builders. They would be good for consistency purposes. Some of the other guys like Justin Smith, David Beatty and Luka Garza may not be as highly-ranked, but they are still sought-after recruits who would be nice additions to the team and keep us near the top of the conference. As mentioned before in this thread, don't fret if the media says we're not the "front-runner" for any of these guys, yet. As hoosierpap said, the dominoes will fall. Things happen and it changes the recruiting landscape. In the last few years, we have seen players like Thomas Bryant and Troy Williams fall into our laps because of this. Don't be surprised if we grab a "domino" recruit or two in this class. Just my opinion.

I have similar thoughts. But then again, I felt the same about Yogi at this time last year and he surprised me by leading the team to a conference championship.

Assuming we can get quality opponents in our ACC and Big East crossovers (likely), there will be plenty of opportunities for quality wins. I just hope we try our hardest to avoid scheduling many RPI 250+ teams with the remainder of the schedule. I understand that the Athletic Department has to have a certain number of home games, but those teams can really lower our SOS if we're not careful.

Pretty much agree with you, Terry. If Troy is scheduled to graduate this summer, I would say it is likely that he leaves. What is sad is that his NBA stock pretty much stayed the same this year... and that's not good when you're already on the fringe of even being drafted to begin with. I think an off-season of work with shooting, ball-handling, control and defending (especially off of screens) could do wonders for him. If he could improve those aspects of his game and return next year, you could see a First-Team All Big Ten player. And I think he'd be a sure draft pick in 2017. But I think his plan all along has been to leave after this season. Definitely agree on Bryant. The guy seems like a competitor. It's obvious he really enjoys being a Hoosier. That picture of him and Crean after the UNC game proves that. I could see him coming back with a vengeance next year and tearing up the Big Ten and making another run in the tournament. He knows he has that capability.Then I could see him being a Lottery Pick in 2017 as opposed to a late first rounder in 2016. I really can't understand why Blackmon would do anything other than return to IU next year. I'd be shocked if OG left, too. I think he's really going to improve and be a force on the defensive end next year. If Williams leaves, OG is more than capable of filling that role in his own way. Somewhat surprised you included Priller because that's taboo for many. But I think it's valid. I always hear people say that "no team uses their 13th scholarship player anyway." That may be true, but you'd like to see that spot occupied for the future. Maybe even for a project player that needs a couple of years of seasoning, but could contribute in the rotation by their Junior or Senior years. Having players like that help soften the blow when players leave early for the NBA. You have guys who are familiar with the program. Wisconsin has done a wonderful job of this over the years with guys like Duje Dukan, Jared Berggren, Keaton Nankivil, etc.

Good article, Terry. A few additional final analysis/thoughts... - IU was projected to be a Top 15 team preseason. They took a major nosedive at the start of the year, but fought hard to earn that ranking in the end. - I am very surprised with how successful they became post-Duke. I was highly disappointed in this team before then (I was quite grumpy during Thanksgiving, haha!) but was very proud of how they regrouped from that point forward. - Was this season a success? That's in the eye of the beholder. Personally, I don't think one can deny that there were successes. Indiana Basketball is judged by championships and the boys brought one home from Iowa City. We'll get to add to our Big Ten Championship banner and that is meaningful. Years down the road the road, no one will say "yeah, but they had an easy conference schedule in 2016." - IU was dealt a very difficult hand in the NCAA Tournament. Everyone knew that our success in the tournament would be determined by match-ups and we didn't have much go our way in that regard. Still, IU made it out of that first weekend by defeating a favored Kentucky squad in the second round. They fought. They made a little run. - This year was needed to stabilize the program. Consistent success on a yearly basis will be the next barrier to overcome.

Just a quick note, I believe we went past the quarterfinals in 2013. We were the 1 seed and beat Illinois in the first game, then lost to Wisconsin in the semifinals.   But still, our success in this tournament is lacking. Point stays the same.