hoosierbgh

It depends a bit on where the whitetail is from and what it has been eating but I'd generally agree.

I can't really fault AI for making that conclusion about a Purdue player... that kind of thing does tend to happen when family trees do not fork.

UTRGV may not even qualify as a dot on the basketball map but it's not a bad area to spend a year or two for a young guy and DOBO is a nice promotion.

If only there was something other than (alleged) NIL dollars spent and (often questionable) player rankings to evaluate an assemblage of portal players... Lost in the near constant tedium of the endless discussion of IU's severely flawed roster is any serious discussion of players that would have definitely made a significant difference for IU. Many of the players suggested when IU was trying to fill the roster were either pure fantasy, bigger question marks than who we ended up with, or more of a balm for fans' sense of desperation than real solutions. Many of those so touted almost certainly knew where they were going before they ever entered the portal as well. When I look at the rankings of the top portal players for this season, I don't see a lot of surefire stars as in years past. Some will turn into stars, as some always do, but many of those will be surprises.

Rim protection, at least in the form of tall guys blocking shots, often looks far better to us fans than it provides actual value to the team. Best case scenario is that the team grossly overpays for a skilled big that is talented at blocking shots. Worst case scenario is that a team grossly overpays for big that is constantly out of position, giving up rebounds and easy buckets while chasing after blocked shots. IF, this team can play good perimeter defense, at least marginally competent post defense, and rebound, then they will be fine. The rebounding worries me the most.

There's plenty of videos of tourists getting trampled by bison in Yellowstone, it should be easy enough to take one of those and paste the opposing coach's face on the Darwin Award recipient.

His cousin Harry is still in the portal. He's a bit more raw, a bit less vocal and his guardian, Mr. Henderson, is looking for a big payday.

Leal certainly makes for a good Rorschach Test. Some look at his career and see an average to above player that was used poorly. Others have a much firmer connection to reality. All joking aside, I can't recall any other IU player that was so acclaimed by so many and has generated so much debate with so little apparent accomplishment to base it on. Every year it seems fans have a player or two we misunderstand, its been kind of nice to have Leal as one we misunderstand in a positive way for once.

Can't be, it has too many teeth remaining to be affiliated with Kentucky.

If he can hold up guarding the 5 spot in the BIG without picking up a ton of fouls, he has the potential to be a heck of a weapon on offense IMO.

Bailey may play the 5 on defense but he's not a traditional 5 on offense and will likely be used more like a big slasher/wing.

The days of really skilled bigs at IU are likely in the past for the foreseeable future. The 5's role in this offense are to 1. defend, 2. rebound, 3. set screens, and 4. catch the ball and dunk it on rare occasions. Being able to make any kind of post move is largely irrelevant. Opurum doesn't appear to be as stiff and lumbering as a lot of inexperienced kids his size. He also has a good frame, good timing on blocks, and appears to be able to catch the ball. He probably won't contribute much his first year but is worth a shot as a backup on the bench and a developmental piece.

I think there's a little Charlie Brown in most of us where IU basketball is concerned... and for good reason. Still, there's not much value in assuming failure, there will be plenty of time for negativity if the ball gets pulled out from in front of us again.

I think there are relatively few that are negative for the sake of being negative, although those few do really stand out. Unfortunately, there are more that are simply desperate for attention and have found that being outraged and throwing tantrums is a reliable way to get it. Still others use negativity as a defense mechanism. Sustained winning will eventually cure a lot of the problems. Until then, no news is bad news, good news is not good enough news, and bad news will be the end of the world.

And when they are found by the coach, fans will still b**** until the kids actually show out, if they ever do. Even ignoring the reward vs. effort expended component of things its damned if you do, damned if you don't for coaches. It makes a lot more sense for coaches to pursue kids after they show out at lower levels, than to simply pursue hidden players in the hope that they will someday show out.