hoosierbgh

Adds to the enjoyment doesn't it?

Props to Coach Woody for not giving up on Rob and Rob for not giving up on himself. Even more for Rob having the courage to demand the ball and Coach to call his number on the last two plays. If Rob can build on this game then this could very well be the turning point for the season and give even more weight to Woody's decision. Seeing Rob's smile and swagger in this game was worth the price of admission, the win was just a really nice bonus. X also deserves a ton of credit for last night. He single handedly kept IU in the game early. He kept his composure, played under control, and provided solid defense. Although his play has been frustrating at times, he competes, and competes more consistently than anyone else on the team, even including Galloway. IMO, I can live with the frustration as long as he continues to compete at the level he has been but I love the competitiveness combined with the control far more. Galloway, to me, epitomizes what IU basketball used to be all about and should be again. He wasn't the highest rated recruit nor will he be an NBA All Star but he competes, he plays smart, fills any role needed, and most importantly, lifts his team and teammates with his play. As the Assembly Call said last night, "Galloway is the type of player that has been missing from the IU side of this rivalry for so long." Race has been getting more and more credit but he probably still doesn't get as much credit as he deserves. His stats are often not gaudy but he is always a solid, steady leader for this team. He helped hold the team together last night without TJD and was the vocal captain IU needed on defense last night. This defense is not only for real, it is being played at such a high level at times that it completely dominates the games. It makes defense not only fun but is getting to the point it is must watch. Watching the Purdue players pee their panties on offense during stretches of the first half was definitely one of the highlights of the season so far. If last night didn't blow Miro Little away, then nothing IU could do would. I'm certain there will be letdowns to come yet this season but for one night, us older IU fans got a taste of IU basketball again and the younger ones got their first taste of what IU can and should be again. I, for one, have hope that their will be more nights like last night to come.

Stewart on Ivery is not a matchup that is ever going to work out any better than it did last night for Stewart. He gave the effort that's about all you can ask in that situation. There's nothing wrong with recognizing that. As for Kopp, he was a major part of Stefanovic having a terrible stat line. He made some good digs into the post on Edey as well.

He was likely recruited for both Purdue and Illinois.

The better get those fenced or Edey will never be able to catch one.

I think you're giving Purdue's genetic engineers too much credit. Little known 7 footers with some basketball skill apparently have an unhealthy attraction to livestock. Purdue just provides the livestock.

I don't think anyone (at least under 80) is remembering the 60's and 70's as the good ol' days of Basketball, wistfully or otherwise.

Congrats, it sounds like you're well on your way! I have it on good authority if you watch one or two more you'll be a fully experienced coach yourself. Perhaps you should have offered to share your knowledge with that poor unfortunate coach instead. He probably just felt intimidated and reacted poorly.

Does Dakich count as a fan? We tried that once and he wasn't nearly as infallible from the bench as he later became in the booth. I'd say decision making is what separates fans from coaches and just another coach from great coaches but agree that everything you mention plays a part.

Sure, relationships and connections to players are why AAU and high school coaches are hired. It's not new. How many have coaching careers that last a minute longer than their connections? And yes, the can be taught coaching, taught not learning it from simply watching games, but how many end up making it to a head coaching position? How many that do last very long? Absolutely, we value entertainment but if schools could provide similar entertainment by paying John Q Game Watcher significantly less than the millions paid to the Coach K's or the Calipari's of the world, they'd do so in a heartbeat.

Knowing the likelihood of a particular play being run in different situations is easy. Guessing correctly and countering it on a regular basis is a bit more challenging. Then there's countering the counter and getting the players to execute. Of course coaches are not flawless. The only ones who think they are flawless are fans who've never actually been tested. I've heard more than one commentator note that they are undefeated after leaving the coaching ranks and entering the commentators booth. It's probably the most astute observation many of them have ever made. Knowing what should be done is the easy part, getting a team to do it is a bit more difficult.

I chose the physical activities example precisely because it is an easy analogy for most to understand. However, seeing something and believing you can do it with no actual experience isn't any less delusional simply because one activity requires physical abilities and other activities requires different lacked abilities. Whether the observed activity is playing high level basketball or coaching it, thinking that one can learn to do it at a high level simply by watching it and studying it only serves to illustrate how little understanding they actually have. Again there is a huge difference between memorizing basketball plays and actually understanding the game. Were it that easy coaches wouldn't make the big bucks and anyone that had the interest would be a fool not to pursue it. It's not all that hard to claim knowledge, especially when there is no consequence for being wrong, and no one keeping score. Actually implementing that knowledge is more problematic. However, in most cases that's not what we're even talking about here. What we're talking about is people making the same predictions every game, then pounding their chests when they get it correct on occasion and either completely ignoring it when they're wrong or claiming the team won despite the predicted issues. Someone as infallible as claimed should be making bank gambling on the games if not coaching themselves. Of course infallibility is easy when it is untested.

There's a whole lot more to coaching than simply watching games or even understanding the X's and O's. One might as well suggest that simply watching Lebron play allows them to duplicate his performance. They not only don't know what they don't know, they don't even have an inkling that there may even be something they don't know. Many would be coaches don't seem to grasp that the outcome of even the best called play is subject to events out of the coach's control. They mistake rote memorization or knowing WWBKD for actual coaching ability, never actually considering there are a multitude of factors they didn't even consider. It is easy to convince one's self that they are a great coach with the benefit of hindsight and no repercussions for being wrong. While relationship's and knowing your players is certainly part of it, there is far more to it than that. There's feel for the game. There's decision making. There's knowledge of the opposing coach and team as well as the officiating crew. And many other small but important things. We all want IU to not only get back to the tournament consistently but to also be a threat for a deep run in the tournament. Some can appreciate the process to get there, enjoy the improvement of a flawed team, and know that there will be ups and downs along the way. Some cling to unreasonable expectations and entitled attitudes. Others await every setback, just for the chance to b**** and moan.

There's a variety of reasons for people losing their minds after a loss. For most, it is simply a matter of venting frustration. Though there are certainly better ways to do it, Twitter and message boards make it all too easy and is largely harmless. Some are entitled and pitch a fit when they don't get what they want. Others simply like to b**** and moan. Some of these are simply "half empty" types, others adopt the attitude as a coping mechanism to deal with the bad seasons and still others are "cool kids" who think criticizing everything makes them cool. Then there are those who think that they are coaches, they always know the one correct play, can always recruit the best players, and can also motivate and coach less talented players to be far better than they are. Nevermind that they've either never actually done it or weren't nearly as successful as they like to think they were if they have. Lastly, there are those that simply lack perspective, who apparently haven't watched enough basketball to know that stuff happens sometimes, that no team plays perfect every game. All of those will be back fully into the fold if the team puts it together like you and I think they will... at least until the next loss.

Thank you as well! I too enjoyed the conversation and I would suggest we do that before every game day if it helps IU to have more games like last night!

You do realize that you just did what you accuse those surrounding Bloomington of doing, right?

I wish Settles did more IU games. I think he does a good job and he always shows a lot of respect for Indiana basketball, both IU and high school ball.

They do have a significant advantage though, all they have to do is promise Williams a basket of fries if he scores and then he does whatever it takes.

This boogeyman was even more imaginary than most. Purdue is very good this year but they were never going undefeated. They'll still crap the bed in March too.

IMO, it is rarely the calls that are made that make the most difference, it is what is not called. In this game the refs were generally poor all the way around but not typical BIG level bad from what I saw. Still, would it have killed them called a travel on one of Buddy Boeheim's hop, skip, jump, stumble, and slide moves to the basket or one of the multitude of illegal screens poorly disguised as a roll after the pick? I wonder how the SEC feels about Jimmy Dykes cheating on them with the Boeheims and the ACC?

That's pretty much what I expected as soon as I found out Jimmy Dykes was doing the game. I'd rather watch Bardo do a game than Dykes, despite the legitimate complaints with Bardo.

Yes, of course, but then there is the opposing defense working to take away those preferred open shots.

I'm far from the biggest Dakich fan but it's not like the bar is currently set very high for the mayor of Indy. For better or worse, we would always know where to find him at least.

He is certainly capable of doing a great job breaking down things. Unfortunately, he rarely let the mere basketball game at hand interrupt whatever he wanted to talk about.

That's not insane, that's just Indiana.