Magnanimous

I never understood why we've been pinning our hopes on him to be competitive next year. I have no faith whatsoever about relying on a freshmen PG. Have K and Cal done it successfully once or twice? Yes. But of all the positions on the floor, an upperclassmen at the point is most vital. Green and Phinisee will suffice. Romeo on the other hand is a scorer who can rely on veteran players to help set him up, on top of him doing his own thing on the court. IMO he has always been a more critical target to competing next season. Garland would have been nice, but I've been completely indifferent about his and any other 5* PG's recruitment, and that will likely remain going forward, especially if they're perceived to be one-and-done.

Love Archie's response at the 2:15 mark about moral victories. Not a cliche response, but very sincere and honest.

Archie's not a public speaker, but I'm more concerned with what he's saying in practice, recruiting, and during the games. Whatever it is, its resonating with the players.

Allen never had the opportunity to be picked up as a HC elsewhere, but I do think he would have ended up the DC at a top 10 program within the next few years if he never got promoted here.

No. It sounds like the Tennessee reporters pulled a Pitino on that one.

And just like that, Purdue is without a coach again.

But for a program like us, you're right back to square one after they leave and/or you become a perennial stepping-stone program or a place for failed coaches to land. How has Rutgers fared after Schiano left?

Not sure why people were shocked a season like this was a possibility. I think it would have gone the same if Wilson was still here. Wilson did a great job in changing the culture of the program (no more baseball players in the secondary), but he really fell short in his QB recruiting, especially given his background. The only reason we even got Sudfeld was because Rich Rodriguez went to Arizona. Wilson couldn't hold onto Kiel or Stevens, had no replacement lined up for Sudfeld, and it didn't appear the next name player was coming here anytime soon. Allen had to work with what he had, which was an inconsistent JUCO and a RS freshman. IU has always been able to score. They were able to do it with Bill Lynch as a coach and they'll be able to do it again. What this program has been lacking for decades was any semblance of defense. It was and remains imperative that IU maintains the progress the program has made on the defensive side of the ball the last two years for any long term progress to gain traction. Allen also is perfect in the sense that if he succeeds, he's likely here for the long haul. People bashed Glass for not conducting an extensive coaching search, but what little gains Purdue and Minnesota made this year are likely futile given both of those young coaches are by all accounts using their respective programs as stepping stones. Brohm was already approached for the Tennessee job, and in all likelihood will be out of West Lafayette within a few years max. Purdue fans even expect this. The only guy I think an argument can be made for that Glass should have taken a look at is Charlie String, but given his success at USF this season, I think he'll have a big name job again very soon. People need to see the big picture when evaluating Coach Allen. He's going to take his lumps getting things going, and this year's schedule did him no favors, but IU needs to stick with a coach for a little while for once if we're ever going to get out of the conference cellar. Allen provides stability and defensive competency, and this fan base shouldn't be demanding more at this point. Could we have lured in a splashier hire after Wilson? Most likely, but given the talent level and division we play in, this other coach would have had similar results his first several seasons and would have hit the road in a few anyway.

FWIW, espn only has Duke wth a 55% chance to win.

If there was ever a game to forgive, it's opening night with a new coach/system.

It's great to see these guys start to click and buy into the system. This team should be a slow rise throughout the season. Will be exciting when Archie can add depth, length, and scoring to this team in the coming years. If this team protects the ball and plays together on both ends of the court, this has all the makings of a team that can make some noise this year. Not sold on a tourney birth by any means, but if they were to somehow get in the dance this season, I could see a little bit of a run. It's nice to finally have a coach in Bloomington again.

That's never a good sign, but I'd be more worried if it was a P5 school.

Any update on the delay?

Kevin Wilson isn't walking through that door

Lighting is on the horizon

Pretty empty. Today is the first day of Thanksgiving break so the student section is bare.

Give me an upperclassmen PG over a 5* freshmen any day of the week. This team needs scorers, not ball handlers, and a scoring PG ala Iverson couldn't be a worse fit for Archie's system. To be honest, I haven't followed this kid's game at all, because until they commit they're not a part of this team, so whether he's a scoring PG or a distributor, not beat up over this like some of you are. It's nice to be in the conversation with these kids, but I can't seem to recall too many teams winning championships with freshmen PGs. We didn't lose a game changer if he was only going to be here one season.

A few thoughts.... 1) It's comforting to know this program will never not know how to break a 2-3 zone. This system looks very promising, and should elevate this program back towards the top when the right players come here. You can tell Miller knows what he is doing. 2) There will be a number of hurdles throughout the season, but the one that will hurt the most is the lack of a go-to guy to take over when the game is tight. He's just not on this roster right now. 3) Other than Davis and Moore, this team has no size. It'll be interesting to watch this offense function once Coach Miller gets his big boy wings in Bloomington. 4) Having said all that, it's not like the guys on this team have forgotten how to play basketball, and I think once they get a feel for this system some of what's lacking from our upperclassmen may start to come back to them. I think this team is going to trend up for most of the year, but where that destination is only time will tell.

Good defense, flowing half court offense, taking care of the ball. Just need to get some scorers on this roster, but I'm liking the system that's being implemented thus far.

Timeline?

I'm not getting the game here and haven't heard anything in the paper or online. Is Ramsey hurt?

is Ramsey hurt? Thought he played fine against Maryland.

Nick Saban lost to Louisiana-Monroe in his first season at Alabama. I didn't even watch the game tonight (other commitments), but am completely unfazed about this result, and I was as big a Crean critic as any for losing games like this. Rome wasn't built in a day. We have a coach whose philosophy is on par with what makes a program great. These are his players now, but he's trying to make his approach work with what he was left with. In all honesty, I'm not sure we win this game with Crean coaching either. This team is a collection of role players who are now being forced to implement this coach's philosophy. These kids don't know how to win. In many ways, they don't know how to play basketball. I still think we pull some shockers in the non-con. I can just tell from Archie's demeanor, he's going to run their ***** into the ground (figuratively). He is as prideful a coach as there is, understands what IU basketball stands for,, and is personally insulted by the performance his team put on the floor tonight. I would also not be surprised to see at least one player dismissed from the team at some point this year, not for character issues, but for not buying into what it takes to build a program based on fundamentals.

I can tell from Archie's demeanor, these guys are going to not only be crying, but puking up three days worth of meals when this crap is over. Very in-house hardass. It'll take some time, but these wrinkles will need to be smoothed out. These upperclassmen aren't getting it, and they're going to be sitting behind several freshmen next year. No excuses for this, but he's coaching a Crean team right now, and not sure if things would have been much different if Crean was retained.

Should make for some good razzing when we host them Feb 3rd.