GnarlyNormEllenberger

Really hope our guys are hyped up and prepared for this one. Illinois isn't good, but they're good enough to beat us should we come unprepared or play uninspired.   We're within reach of a Big Ten Title. That's goal #1 for every season at IU. I hope the guys understand the importance of these last three games. Play them well and there's a good chance this roster will be immortalized by adding a "2016" on the Big Ten championship banner.

Baseline, baseline and more baseline. He's very efficient in that area. Stay around the paint for rebounds and put-backs. He's solid in that aspect, too.   His role doesn't need expanded more than that. He doesn't need to ever stray further than 10-12 feet away from the hoop. He's had plenty of opportunities to show consistency with his drives to the basket, but can never take advantage of it on a regular basis. Way too inconsistent and our team suffers. Same with his jump shot. It's too inconsistent to be relied upon and when we have Troy as our #2/#3 option, we go as he goes. I'd rather Yogi, Bryant, Johnson, Hartman, Zeisloft, Bielfeldt or OG shoot a jump shot before I would want Troy to do it.   If he was a great defender, you could almost live with such an inconsistent offensive game (see Raphael Davis at Purdue.) But those same inconsistencies persist on that side of the ball as well.   When Troy looks good, he looks GOOD. But when he looks bad... it looks ugly. And with Troy being a top option on our team, it's like we're rolling the dice each game to be successful. And we'll never be more than an 8-seed playing (gambling) like that. I'd diminish his offensive role and determine his minutes by how he defends.

A few things I'd like to see tonight...   - Play Uthoff tight on defense. Stay on him. We'll probably have to run all of Hartman, Williams, OG and Morgan on him throughout the game. None of them could shut him down alone, anyway. But do not let him get within 10-12 feet of the basket without bringing some help defense. Force him to give up the ball. Get it out of his hands. And start that at the beginning of the game. Don't let him get hot and then try and play "catch up" on defense against him the rest of the game. We tried guarding Hayes (Wisconsin) and Taylor (PSU) that way and it didn't work. And we lost. Help defense on Uthoff. All game. Which leads me to another point...   - Make the other guys beat us. Don't get me wrong, the other can definitely beat us. Particularly Jok. But Uthoff stirs the drink. Force Uhl to hit shots. Force Gesell to hit shots. Force Woodbury to settle for 12-15 foot jump shots. When Iowa lost to Maryland, Uthoff had a bad game. There's a correlation, there. Don't worry about giving Clemmons wide-open 3's. He's only a 32% shooter from out there, I'd roll the dice. Make guys like Baer, Ellingson and Wagner feel like they need to shoot the ball. Again, those three are not bad players at all. But for a big game on a big stage at Assembly Hall late in February... let's just say I don't know if they're ripe for a big game tonight.   - Limit turnovers. If we turn the ball over 14+ times tonight, we lose. Guarantee it.   - Need great play out of guys like Johnson, Zeisloft, Bielfeldt and Hartman. Particularly Hartman. We need him badly on both ends of the floor to make an impact in this one. And it wouldn't hurt if Johnson could regain some of his shooting prowess, either. But if 3/4 of those guys have a good game this evening, I'd say chances are very high that we come out with a W.   - Don't use this game as an NBA audition. Make the smart play. Make the right pass. Stay focused. Have confidence, but play within yourself.       Now watch... we'll hold Uthoff to single digits but lose by 20. And then I'll probably give up posting for awhile, haha!

A few thoughts...   - I knew this game was coming. I didn't know if it was going to be against Illinois, Northwestern or Minnesota at home, but I knew we'd mail one in. Particularly on defense. I am quite surprised we won the game after the under 4:00 timeout.   - 2nd Half defense was absolutely horrendous. We consistently played over the screens while leaving the lane wide open. we were allowing our center to be taken from outside the lane by a couple of offensively-limited project bigs. And we let up lay-up after lay-up. Over and over again. The whole second half. By Nate Mason and Kevin Dorsey. Who? extremely poor scheme and extremely poor effort in the second half. Very, very disappointed with that.   - Our transition defense was every bit as poor, too. We have one player (whose name I will omit to protect the guilty) who simply puts very little effort into transition defense. And he's got so much potential. His box score makes it look like he was okay today, but I thought he was completely ineffcient today. But he's not the only one. How many times where we caught jogging back on defense. GET BACK!!! GET IN FRONT OF YOUR MAN!!!   - Offensively, we've started a new play where we make some nice drives to the lane, then proceed to pass it to someone who is defended well. And the movement stalls. And the offense stalls. we also reverted back to some old habits of standing around for 8-10 seconds before even starting a play. That's definitely not our strength and is a recipe for disaster.   - We shot poorly from 3. But that wasn't why we almost lost. Bad shooting games happen. They just do. They weren't falling today. If we had played even "okay" second half defense, we would have won by at least 12-15 points.   - Bryant had a good offensive game. Played strong today. He established his position well. Corrected a few mistakes as the game progressed. I like his 8 rebounds, too. Defensively, he still needs to continue moving his feet. Footwork, in genral. Not quick enough to be an elite defender at this level. But with work, that can improve.   - Amazing we only had 11 turnovers today. It felt like double that amount.   - Minnesota out-hustled us so much in the second half. Up until the 2:00 mark, at least. Very disappointing that happened to us at home.   - Wanna know one reason why OG doesn't start? OG isn't comfortable driving the lane on a consistent basis. He passed up multiple opportunities today. Going to have to improve on that.   - But they won. And that's the most important stat of all. A loss could have absolutely destroyed this season. Perception-wise, it would have eliminated all the hype IU had earned starting out 7-0. But they won. 8-1 through nine games is good with the schedule as it is. I'll take it.   - There are so many ups and downs during the Big Ten season for every team. Very interested to see how we respond on Tuesday. February basketball begins.

Nigel Hayes was getting the calls. That was ultimately the difference in this game. Plain and simple. My reasoning follows...   Did IU deserve to win? No, not really. Pick any of the reason listed in this thread. The offense went stagnant. Too much isolation. We were extremely careless with the ball, particularly at times in the game when we could have made a big run. Several of our guys didn't really show up. We waited WAYYYYY too long in the game to bring help defense on Hayes and Happ and allowed them to successfully run iso after iso on us. So no, we didn't really deserve to win.   But guys, Wisconsin didn't look good, either. Their offense now consists of running iso's. That's about it. Hayes and Happ. That was it. Over and over again. Yet they still turned the ball over (more than any other Wisconsin team in recent memory.) Save for a couple of possessions late in the game, they were not a force on the boards. To put it simple, they didn't really play well. So what was the difference?   Starting at about the 10 minute mark of the second half, Hayes drew fouls the majority of the time he touched the ball. Were we fouling him? Yes, at times. Especially on drives to the basket. I'm not disputing that. But the ticky-tack, non-shooting, touch fouls 15 feet away from the hoop? Some games they are called, some games they are not. But they were in the bonus, so they got free throws. And that was the story. THAT COMPLETELY CHANGED THE GAME. They got AT LEAST 8 points on free throws from those "nickel-dimers." Had Hayes been forced to take a jumper instead of being bailed out from touch fouls, we might have stolen this one.   Yesterday, people were asking me what my predictions were for the game. I told them Wisconsin would shoot at least 30 free throws.   But that's all my opinion. On to the next game.

Anyone else see the irony that Mr. Albers is telling others to "educate themselves" because they "don't get it"?   Also, I'm sure IU Media Relations will allow him plenty of contact with the team after his comments on Priller.   Humility, folks. It's a dying trait.

A couple of things to keep in mind about the linked article...   1) The writer is using statistics as the basis of why Bryant will leave. Almost exclusively. Nowhere does he mention about Bryant's lateral quickness, positioning, strength, mid-range game, timing, stamina, etc. There are more things that scouts look at besides points per game and field goal percentage.   2) I don't see any credentials about the writer other than "staff writer." I'm curious if he's any closer to the program than your average BTown Banners member.   I don't know if Bryant is one-and-done or not, but I'm not sure I buy the reasoning in the article.

I'm not exactly FOR as big of a contract that is 6-years and 2.5 million, but I'm not necessarily against it, either. Here are a few of my thoughts...   1) Lynch did not have this program going in the right direction. We were fading fast and Wilson had to pretty much scrap it when he got here and start from scratch. He's built it on his own, HIS way. And he's done alright. We're competitive. And that's what most said they wanted five years ago.   2) Wilson's teams have an identity. High-tempo, fast-paced, high-scoring offense. That's right, IU Football has an identity. And it's not that we stink. Is our defense still atrocious more often than not? Yes. And that needs addressed for further improvement. But at least we have SOMETHING to hang our hats on. For so many years, we pretty much had nothing.   3) People say "we're only beating bad teams." But at least we're not the worst in the Big Ten anymore. We've won multiple Big Ten games in 3 of his 5 years here. Guys, that means something. In the nine years prior to Wilson (2002-2010) we only won multiple conference games in 2 of those 9 years. The rest of those years were 1-7 records. I know this standard is not very high, but we're making strides.   4) We're beating Purdue. Yes, they have stunk lately. But you know what? Save for a handful of years in the Tiller era, Purdue has never been the powerhouse program some of their fans think they have been. Yet we have always struggled to beat them. From 1997 to 2006, we won the bucket once. ONCE. Out of ten tries. Now we have beaten them three times in a row. We're becoming a better football program than they are and that means something for leverage in this state.   5) If you don't want to provide Wilson that money/contract, then who do we get? We see coordinators from OSU and Michigan getting Big Ten jobs at that price. That's the caliber of coach we might be in the running for. Is that what we want? Would they have come here (a historically bad program) instead? Would they be better than Wilson? Would a fresh start with them equal more success than with the continuity that Wilson brings? It would be a shot in the dark at best, and everyone here knows it.   (EDIT: I also understand the thought-process of not giving Wilson as many years of an extension, or not as big of a raise.Those are valid points. But honestly, I think the perception is that, had we not given this amount of an extension, the perception is that IU is still not invested in football. And in some ways, it would only be a step up from what Illinois is doing with Bill Cubit.)   Let me clearly state I am not a HUGE Wilson fan. I'm really not. And I have my reasons, many of them have nothing to do with football games. But as far as being the Head Coach of Indiana University, I think he's doing alright. He's grown as a head coach and that's clearly apparent. We're competitive. We're fighting (save the Rutgers game 4th quarter.) Our program is slowly and steadily improving. And Wilson clearly takes pride in it and cares for it.   Glass is obviously hoping for a similar situation here like David Cutcliffe has done at Duke. I think there are some similarities and it's reasonable to believe Wilson has us on track to achieve similar successful results. Therefore, this contract extension is reasonable in my eyes.

A few additional thoughts (although most have already been covered)...   1) Help-defense in the first-half. Absolutely magnificent. Particularly the efforts by guys like Yogi and Johnson. They did a wonderful job of sliding over as a "half defender" of sorts and disrupting the offensive player's move toward the basket. Deflecting the ball and just causing general disruption. I don't know how many times we did that in the first half, but it was a sizable number. We had wonderful timing and knew where we had to be at the right time. Just a phenomenal effort in that regard. Great scouting and great execution.   2) We valued the ball better. Played smarter than we have. Still made a handful of silly mistakes, mostly in the second half, but it's like we made a genuine effort to hold on to the ball this game. Impressive, considering that Ohio State's defense was supposed to be one of the best in the conference.   3) We killed them on the boards. Absolutely smoked them.   4) Troy Williams with the bounce-back game. When he plays well, we're hard to beat. He played well yesterday. Aggressive, but generally intelligent. Had a pretty good nose for the ball. Much better than his extremely disappointing efforts we have seen in the first three conference games.   5) Bryant came to play. Especially on the offensive end. Very aggressive. Hit the boards hard. Was tough down low. Everything we need him to be. Of course, he still needs work on his positioning on both ends of the floor, but you definitely see improvement. Also fought through some fatigue, which was encouraging.   6) I continue to love OG's play. He's making some really good plays and it honestly looks somewhat easy to him. Missed a few shots, but you can tell his confidence is growing. Making plays on offense and defense.   7) Thought Johnson played better today. Looked more confident out there and played with purpose. Six assists to one turnover. Made several great defensive plays. Hit some shots, like we need him to.   8) We made Ohio State look BAD, especially in the first half. For as many big and lengthy players that they have, there is absolutely no way they should ever be out-rebounded by 19 by anyone. Tate, Bates-Diop, Thompson, Loving. None of them looked good yesterday. If they're relying on a freshman Jaquan Lyle to lead their team, they won't win too many more ball games.

A few thoughts...   1) His playing style reminds me a lot of Yogi. Especially his pull-up jump shot. Not as quick and strong as Yogi. And he probably focuses more on the three-point shot than Yogi does. But I definitely see similarities.   2) It's always good to hear the words "tenacious defender" when describing a player. Or at least it's good to hear he has the potential to be one. And I love hearing that he WANTS to be a lock-down defender. We absolutely must have guards who can stop dribble penetration. For many guys, effort is half the battle.   3) I'm curious if his ranking has something to do with his size. I haven't done too much research on him, but I really haven't seen many major weaknesses that he must improve upon. Therefore, that leads me to believe that his size has held him back from being ranked higher and being recruited more heavily.   4) I like that his brother is in the NBA. Never heard anything negative about Danny's attitude while he was at UNC. They may have a different style of play, but I would bet that he has a similar attitude as his brother. And to my knowledge, that's a good thing. The whole situation kinda reminds me a little of Joe and Jordan Crawford, to be honest. Hopefully Devonte is more engaged and interested in being a Hoosier than what Jordan was.   5) I have a good feeling about this. I think he'll have a good career. He's one of those guys that, had he chosen to go somewhere else, you would hear about him in a few years and might be showing up on some All-American lists. Like, had he chosen Iona, you could see him in the NCAA Tournament dropping 25 on somebody in a first-round upset in a couple of years. He'd be someone that power conference schools would salivate over as a grad transfer. Just a gut feeling.

I didn't really think we'd be better with Johnson instead of Blackmon, but I'll take a stab at it...   Johnson is a better defender, straight up. Not saying he's great, but he's a capable defender and isn't looked at as a defensive liability in the way that Blackmon is. While Johnson struggled mightily on offense against Wisconsin, he still played adequate defense. And he caused that tip/steal at the end that pretty much sealed the game for us. A game-winning play. I'm not sure we would have held Wisconsin to 58 points had Blackmon played major minutes in Johnson's stead.   That being said, Blackmon is a very good offensive player. Among the Big Ten's best on that side of the ball. Johnson is what I would categorize as a "good" offensive player. He's more than solid (and better than what he's shown in the last three games), but not at the level of Blackmon. Clearly. Don't believe Blackmon has ever had a slump quite the way Johnson has right now. So the argument could definitely be made that we would have scored more points with Blackmon in the lineup. And it's a good argument.   Therefore, I'd say it's assumed that we played better D because Johnson is a better defender and held them to 58 points, but only scored 59 ourselves because Johnson isn't the offensive player that Blackmon is. Stating the obvious, I suppose.   I guess the question is... does Johnson's defense hold the opponent to less points in a game than what Blackmon would have scored to make up for his (Blackmon's) defensive shortcomings? Therein lies the answer. Personally, I feel we're a better team with Blackmon, but there were certainly occasions in which his defense was a major liability and should have been benched in favor of a better defender, such as Johnson. But we still need both of them to maximize our team's potential. Of course, we can't have that now. Just my two cents.

A few positive thoughts since we won...   - Defensive effort. About time. Some of it had to do with who played extended minutes.   - I truly believe the players are doing what the coaches tell them to do. The drives into a crowded lane by Yogi, Troy and Johnson? I truly believe they're being told to force it. Just my opinion, but I'm gonna side with the kids there. They're trying.   - OG is a special player. Deserves increased minutes. He's proving his worth. He might end up being more of the Troy-player that we hoped for here ina  couple of season. I really think he's going to be very good.   -Morgan didn't score a single point last night, but played a heck of a game. Great effort. Fouled out, but made things hard on Nigel Hayes. So did OG, for that matter. I've said it before, but Morgan is one of the few players on the team that actually takes pride in playing defense. Because of that, he deserves minutes.   - Great deflection by Johnson at the end of the game. Play of the game in my book. Redeemed himself after another disappointing game, overall.   - If we had some effective half-court offense, we could be difficult to beat. And I wish we 'd slow things down a bit and do exactly that. I believe it would allow Morgan and OG to be more effective like they were last night. We'll see if it happens, though.   -Good to beat Wisconsin, even if this is their worst team in at least a decade.

Agree 100%.   It's tough, because I think another year of hard work and effort could result in a better draft position. But I'm sure there are many things at play here with his decision. And if it's time, then it's time. 

Saw this one from start to finish. A few thoughts (and it's not the most optimistic so if you're not in the mood for a more critical review of this game then I would skip reading this post) :   1) This team takes on the personality of their coach. They try to do what he tells them to do. I honestly believe that. Keep that in mind as you continue reading the following points.   2) 23 turnovers against the "vaunted" Rutgers defense. But see, this is what happens when you are being told to play FASTER and keep PUSHING the ball. Turnovers are accepted to an extent because we have to play a certain style. Forget the fact that our decision-making is sometimes suspect or we don't have an abundance of great ball-handlers. We just need to force Troy into turning into a point-forward of sorts because... well... that's what we want him to be. Doesn't matter if he actually fits that role, we're gonna have him do it anyway. 7 turnovers? No problem. Keep telling him to drive into traffic. He's athletic and has NBA potential. So the 7 TOs must be a mirage.   3) Heck of a game by Bielfeldt. 18 points and 14 boards. He's a decent fundamental player but sticks out like a bright light in that regard on a team that is lacking in that area. He knew he was better and smarter than his opponents today and played like it. Good effort. I don't see him being able to do that against any other Big Ten foe, but maybe he'll surprise me.   4) After Bryant picked up his second foul, we kept trying to force him into tough situations. And he fouled out in 6 minutes. That was not needed today because Bielfeldt was giving good minutes today along with Anunoby and Morgan. They were more than holding their own. But we kept forcing Bryant in situations where we didn't need him. He should have sat on the bench for the rest of the first half with two fouls and learned from his mistakes. Didn't happen. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. But there was no point re-inserting him later in the first half. None whatsoever.   5) Scouting. How many times did Rutgers shoot a step-back jumper? Constantly. Yes, I know that's a tough shot to make. And I know it's harder to defend. But Rutgers kept hitting them and it was like we were just content with that. Didn't make too many adjustments. Almost like when Brandon Ingram went off against us. It's like... forget what is actually happening, we're just gonna stick with our original gameplan. Admittedly, it's not like we were getting beat on back-cuts on anything like that, but still.   6) Once again, I really like OG Anunoby. Kid has the tools to be a really good player for us. Love the Morgan steal and dunk. I mentioned a week or so ago that he's a guy who actually wants to play defense. You saw it, there. Also, good for Ryan Burton. Nice to see his efforts paying off.That kid has deserved a scholarship the past couple of years over a few other guys.   7) Very disappointed in Johnson's game. He needs to get his head out of his rear and pick it up because he's a MUCH better player than he showed today and has MUCH more potential.   8) No reason we can't start 7-0 in the conference. Talent-wise, that should be our record. But I would be quite surprised if we were even 5-2 because quite frankly, we're just not that good. I see us at 4-3 through seven games.

Just had a chance to watch this. A few thoughts...   - It still amazes me how poorly the Knight firing was handled. Doninger seemed surprised that most players wanted to leave after that? His solution was co-head coaches? Really? The whole administration became so smug and big-headed after we had a little bit of success. Hearing what each of Brand, Clapacs and Doninger had to say.... I am very, very happy that they are no longer a part of this university. They truly believed they handled the situation in such a wonderful manner and that IU basketball was better for it when the reality of the situation is that we have never truly recovered from it. No wonder so many former players distanced themselves from IU during that time.   - Mike Davis was a nice guy, but he was nowhere near ready for the IU job. Both from a PR standpoint and from an X's and O's standpoint. And he all but admitted it during the documentary. He did admit he had no idea what he was stepping into. Yet, once again, the administration thought he was clearly the right guy. Hindsight is 20/20, but good grief.   - Dane Fife understands IU basketball. If he ever becomes the IU head coach, I don't think it's a bad hire. He GETS it. Just listen to him talk a little bit.   - I'll admit, I don't think I ever gave Jared Jeffries enough credit for how good of a player that he was. Part of it was because I was a fan of his at Bloomington North, so I'm sure I was overly-critical of him at IU with watching him from before . But he was an extremely talented player that could do a whole lot. Glad he was a Hoosier.   - It was a little hard to see Coverdale during the interview. I hope he is healthy. But he was such an important player during that run. Fearless and tough. One of several leaders on that team.

A couple of things I liked from last night...   Johnson and Morgan seem to actually take pride on defense. Neither are GREAT defenders at this point, but they seem to care and put their full effort into that side of the ball. Both of them really disrupted several Kennesaw State possessions. It's like they WANTED to defend.   If our Top 3 took that same attitude, I think you'd see a much better defense.

Adding my two cents... culture is a big factor. However, it is my opinion that culture is something that must be instilled by the leaders on the team and/or the guys who are on the floor the most getting playing time. I'll use an example...   I think Hartman, Zeisloft and Bielfeldt are all good "fits" for the program. That is one Indiana guy and two Illinois guys (whether you think that matters is up to you, but I think it plays somewhat of a role.) They seem to take pride in the program. They know that a 20-10 season is not something that is a cause for celebration at Indiana. They know that Indiana has great tradition because of the excellence that was built before them. If you listen to them speak in public, you can tell they care about the program. They know it means something larger than the 2015-16 team itself. They keep their noses clean and are great representatives off the court. I think that's a large reason why you saw two of those three represent IU at Big Ten Media Day. In my opinion, those three embody and take pride being a Hoosier more so than any other scholarship player on the team. It's clear that they actually have somewhat of an understanding as to what it really means to be a basketball player at Indiana.   But on the court, they're the 6th, 7th and 8th men. They're all athletically-limited. And to be honest, they can only do so much. And because of that, they can only supply a supporting role. They can't instill the culture in a supporting role. And if we're looking at our #6-8 guys as the "leaders" who actually embody the identity of a Hoosier, that doesn't speak highly of the first five guys.   In my opinion, it comes down to this... we need our #1-5 guys to really embody that IU spirit. They're the ones who set the culture. On the court, that means committing yourself to being a great help defender. It means never giving up on plays. It means always getting your butt in someone's mid-section for a block-out. It means forgoing the highlight play for the easy bucket. It means making that smart, crisp bounce pass. It means sacrificing one's personal stats and highlights for the betterment of the team. Off the court, it means keeping your nose clean. Staying out of the headlines unless your reading to grade school kids or visiting the sick at Riley Children's Hospital. It means getting good grades. It means dealing with the rabid fan-base that can be very, very annoying and cruel at times with a straight-face and letting it slide off your back. Is that a monumental task? You bet it is.   But that's why Indiana Basketball is so special. That's why it's a privilege to play here. That's why you are revered by fans for decades when you do it right. There's a reason that the university throws out the phrase "A Tradition of Excellence."   Crean's successful teams at IU had leaders who really, REALLY cared about Indiana University and its basketball program. And they proved it with how they conducted themselves on and off the court. They supplied the culture. As slow or nonathletic as Jordan Hulls may have been, you never heard Dakich say he "couldn't guard a chair." And the culture was a big reason behind that.   But again, this is just my opinion.

Curious, because I have respected your opinions and knowledge of the game since you were on Scout...   You really believe that guys like Sean Miller, Archie Miller or Chris Mack would be much of a step up from Crean? I know that Sean Miller can recruit and has a nice record at Arizona, but I've never looked at him and thought "there's a good, in-game coach" or "he's got his team prepared" (although it's hard to quantify that sort of thing.) His brother at Dayton has a small sample size and I have the same concerns about him as I do his brother. Mack capitalized off of Sean Miller's success at Xavier, but ever since then he's got a resume that is similar to Crean's. Not saying that none of these guys could have success here, but I think there's every bit as good of a chance we see Crean-like results.   As you said, it's a one man list. No doubt. He'd bring sustained success here. Conference championships. Conference contender nearly every year. Probably a banner or two. I am confident of those predictions and I don't normally make predictions like that. But A LOT of things would have to fall our way for that to happen as we all know.   Personally, I'd love to get an "in-game" coach. The ol' X's and O's type. In my opinion, IU basketball is still an elite brand. I think you could hire a chimpanzee and it would still bring in Top 25 recruiting classes. Also, fans will show up to watch a good, fundamental, hard-working product. We don't need a cheerleader or PR man to lead us. (The big heads just scream gimmick to me.) IU basketball still sells itself, enough. Therefore, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if a bright mind from a smaller school would ever be looked at. Your Bob McKillop idea isn't necessarily a bad one in my eyes. There may be a few others like him worth a look. Not necessarily sexy, but know how to coach a basketball team.   But I also believe that some IU guys should at least be considered. As we have found out, there's a big difference between SAYING they understand what Indiana Basketball is all about and actually abiding by those standards. No, I don't have anyone in mind, but I have a hard time believing that someone like Dane Fife couldn't at least have had as much success with us as we've had in the last few years.

This was the first game in a long time where I completely forgot to listen to the game or check the score. I seriously can't remember the last time I did that. I never used to miss one... even the cupcakes. This season just has the same feel as Davis' and Sampson's last years.   But thanks to those who are posting their thoughts on this game in the thread. The scoring numbers for Yogi and rebounds for Troy were crazy. Not sure how much it means long-term, though.

Slightly surprised at this because of his nagging injuries this year. Figured he might be able to improve his draft stock a bit if he returned. But high-level RBs rarely seem to stick around for their senior season these days, it seems. So I can't blame him. The shelf-life of a RB is only so long, at least as far as the NFL is concerned.   But best of luck to him in the NFL. We were extremely fortunate to have him on the team this year. The cards actually fell our way for once with landing him! He brought a powerful running game to our offense that we haven't seen in many years.   I'll always remember how he and our O-line absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage against Michigan. Smash-mouth football and there was nothing Michigan could do about it. Such a bruiser! Not as fast as Tevin, but if we needed 3 yards, you knew there was a great chance Howard was going to get it for us. Extremely reliable. He will be missed.

Remember the culture problems Crean spoke of when he arrived here? I'm afraid there might be more of that on the team currently than what we (or Crean himself) would care to admit or want to believe.   And if there's a culture problem on the team (whether it be players, coaches or whomever), I'm not sure that can be solved mid-season. At least not solved and still win ball games.

What I always thought IU Basketball's standards to be...   1) Represent the university with the utmost respect and class at the highest level. We claim to be a "world class" university. With such a visible representation of the university being the basketball team, we have to be one of the most respected programs in college basketball. Don't talk about it, just DO it,   2) Make NCAA Tournament every year. This is the academic equivalent of simply passing a class. The BARE minimum.   3) Down years consist of a 6th-8th place Big Ten finish. They should not happen much more than once every 4-5 years as the program should be stable enough to reload and compete at the highest level most years. We are located in the middle of a wonderful recruiting ground (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois) that produces a couple dozen Top 100 level players every year. Recruiting should never be a problem.   4) Be at least a Big Ten championship contender most years. Top 4 in the conference should be expected most years. The university spends too much money on this program to expect any less.   5) Championships ARE attainable at IU. Especially Big Ten championships. If we go multiple years without truly contending for one, something is wrong.   A few more thoughts...   - Old Friend has been saying this for years, but apathy is setting in. It really is. There are so many "used to be" IU fans out there. And they're not just Knight loyalists. They want something to be proud of. Something they can relate to. We've had that momentarily over the last twenty years or so, but never consistently. My guess is that it will take some really BOLD moves for IU basketball to ever advance past it's current state of relevance. In the mean time, I'm afraid we're slowly drifting away into just another program.   Just my opinion.

A few thoughts...   - First off, we got the win. That means more than anything else. Had to get it and we got it.   - Defensively... I just...I can't... it's disappointing. Guys, Maryland threw a bunch of backups and inexperienced players on the field and still put up nearly 500 yards. That's not good. Yes, the second half was better, but it's like what happens when opposing defenses see Diamont on the field. You know they don't feel comfortable throwing it. We had things fall our way for the defense from a Maryland personnel standpoint. That Cockerill kid was something like their 4th string QB. He was uncomfortable, just like the QB was for Wake Forest. They're not good players right now. You've got to really look hard to find how our defense is any better than our normal dismal state. Had they had anything resembling decent QB play, this would have been a different ball game.   - However, the offense got it together and Sudfeld did a wonderful job leading the team back to victory. 5 total TDs. Very composed. Played like a senior who knows his time as a Hoosier is coming to a close. Spirited effort. Not only did we come back, we stepped on their throats and buried them. Great job.   - Good for Andre Booker. I felt he was robbed of a great catch last week was a bogus offensive PI call. But he nabbed a couple today.   - Redding isn't in the same league as Howard, that's clear. (And I am puzzled why we continue to hand him the ball on 3rd & 8 or run him up the middle so often.) But, I think he's slowly improving. He filled in admirably this afternoon. If he can continue to be patient and wait for his blocks (something Howard excels at) he has potential to be a play-maker. He has what it takes to be our #1 RB against Purdue. And we'll need his best effort.   - Cobbs had his best game from a statistical standpoint. Showed good effort on several plays. And he has the potential to be a very good receiver. But he is going to have to be more consistent in catching the ball. Going to have to be more focused. He probably would have had over 250 yards and a TD if he would have been more sure-handed. Still, he's blossoming as a player and will be vital to our success next week and beyond. Good game today, though. He still dominated.   - I hope Howard and Feeney are able to play next week. I'm wanting to say Feeney came back out? Regardless, they're two of our top three best players. For 3rd & 2 situations, these guys are vital.   - It all comes down to Purdue. So much to play for next week. Boilers. Bucket. Bowl. Anything less than our most inspired and determined effort of the season will be a disappointment.

QB scouting isn't exactly my line of work, but Lagow looks solid. Reminds me of Sudfeld in his first couple of years as a Hoosier. Similar build, too. Seems like a Wilson-type of QB. I could see coach molding him into a guy who can rack up some numbers. Keep putting points on the board.   I'll gladly take him for next year. It will give guys like King and Ramsey a couple more years to refine their game (assuming they'll be patient and stick with us.)

We can beat Michigan. I think a big key for either team to win this game will be playing inspired and determined football.   As far as Michigan goes, they're the better team on paper and that's clear. Like Iowa, they're not spectacular, but are very solid in all aspects of the game, especially on the defensive side of the ball. With Michigan State's loss last week at Nebraska, the Wolverines find themselves still in the hunt for a Big Ten title, but several dominoes have to fall. My hope is that they think this is the "gimme" game left on their schedule with a trip to Penn State looming and Ohio State to close out the regular season. If they come into this one looking ahead, that could really bode well for the Hoosiers. The unfortunate stat is that Michigan has played REALLY well in six of their nine games where they have dominated the competition. Considering their two losses were to Utah and Michigan State, it proves they are still a very good football team. Their squeaker game at Minnesota is the one that makes me believe we still have a shot at these guys.   As for our Hoosiers, what more can be said? We're just going to have to WANT it more than Michigan. I thought we would come out on fire against Iowa and play inspired, determined football and just take it to them... but that didn't happen. I thought that sense of urgency and desire would take over and we would get the victory. We competed, we played with them. But we didn't play better than them. This sounds very silly and obvious but we just have to play BETTER than Michigan. Straight up. We have to create turnovers. We have to take care of the ball. We have to make plays when we get the opportunity but stay grounded and steady and play smart football. We played with Ohio State. We played with Michigan State. We played with Iowa. Now is the the time to play BETTER than Michigan.   I won't predict a victory like I did last week vs. Iowa. But I still have hope because I truly believe we're a significantly better football team than our 0-5 record suggests.