hoosierbgh

IMO, TJD's lack of fouls was due in part to BC Mega not going inside as much as they should have. Don't get me wrong, TJD seemed to do a good job of maintaining verticality but when Mega did go to the post, their players usually just used their length to turn and shoot over him. They also seemed to post up against other players more than against TJD, especially in the second game. Hard to tell much about the defense when Mega's offense seemed to be mostly drive and kick out with little movement off the ball. The guards got beat a few times but most of the time the rotation was either good enough to stop the layup or more often the BC Mega guards kicked the ball out almost immediately every time they were challenged. IU got into the passing lanes pretty well and were disruptive on defense, deflecting and stealing several passes. Long story shorter, BC Mega just didn't attack the rim like most good Big teams would on offense IMO. Defensively, they blocked several shots and altered many more. It was nice to see IU play through that. Past teams likely would have folded but this team just kept attacking.

I agree also. They looked like they have some pieces but weren't playing their hardest to me. There wasn't a lot of movement from them on offense, especially in the second game, which made them a lot easier to guard. Still, there were a lot of positives on the IU side. The aggressiveness of Kopp, Bates, and especially Johnson were good signs. I was pleasantly surprised by Stewart's effort on defense and even though the shots weren't falling for these two games, the potential is clearly there. I liked how he was able to get shots almost any time he wanted. My biggest positive takeaway is how IU responded to the length and physicality on the interior.

Good for the new president, hopefully the powers that be don't interfere with her decisions. I wouldn't bet on that though.

It's more accurate to say that it makes everyone look bad I think. I'm far from a Gard fan and went into it biased against him but after listening to part of the recorded conversation my main thoughts were: 1. Recording then leaking the conversation was pure chicken excrement. 2. I wouldn't want any of the players I listened to (again, I didn't listen to all of them) being involved in a program I was a fan of or in my employ. 3. Gard sounds about as I would expect him to behind the scenes based on the players' comments. I won't go so far as to say his days are numbered but he probably better get real serious about winning a lot of games real soon.

Fixed it for you. Seriously though, it kind of feels like there is about to be a sea change in college basketball with Williams and K retiring, Boeheim and Izzo getting close, and now Calipari talking about bolting back to the NBA. It couldn't be much better timing for Beard at Texas and hopefully Woodson here.

I'll go with 6, because he very well could have gone to Purdue's campus... such a visit would have had no bearing on a list of the top 5 most scenic campuses in the BIG.

While it is always fascinating to read opinions on exactly what Coach Woodson is going to do and how he is going to do it, I doubt even Coach knows that yet for certain. He certainly knows what he wants to do but so much of what he is able to do will depend on the development of every player on the roster. Right now he has options, which is great but there are also a lot variables and moving pieces. I think or hope at least, that for the first time in quite awhile we have a coach that is flexible enough to do what will make IU the most successful it can be instead of rigidly sticking to the same plan despite glaring flaws in that plan or lacking critical components to execute it effectively.

I would like to see UK back on the schedule but not so much that I want to see IU bend over backward to accommodate them yet again. If the series resumes it should be on mutually agreeable terms, not with whatever terms UK demands. I also don't think Calipari is willing to schedule IU under almost any terms

Until Calipari is gone it isn't going to happen nor should it.

I'm trying to figure out who JaMarcus Ellis's disciples were and why they were allowed on the court.

Yes, it is kind of odd to think with that kind of height in players that can fit the needs of the spot to varying degrees, Woody would use lineups that don't take advantage of it for significant amounts of time. People are too hyper focused on 3 point shooting percentage to the exclusion of everything else. Defense and rebounding are just as important, possibly even more so in this position considering IU can have at least two and most likely 3 other very good shooters on the floor at the same time. IF, Race develops a respectable 3 point shot, then he'll likely see a good amount of time at the 4 since, unlike the other options, he is a proven rebounder and defender. He doesn't have to be a great 3 point shooter, merely good enough to keep opposing defenses honest. Geronimo may end up being the best option of the bunch and eventually end up taking on more of the minutes but he has plenty to work on as well. Ultimately, it will come down to which of the players improves their deficiencies the most and fits in with the other players on the court the best.

I'm sure most other students would gladly accept the transfer restrictions if they were given scholarships and the tutors that athletes get. Athletes are treated differently because they are different, with greater benefits come greater requirements.

I could not agree more and wish I could like this more than once! Adding shooters is a much needed and long over due improvement but that is not all Coach Woodson is doing. So far he has added XJ, an intense competitor with a good work ethic, Bates, also an intense competitor with a strong work ethic, and now Kopp, who also competes and is willing to work hard. I'm liking the other trends I see developing in addition to adding shooters. Woody is building a team with players that fill roles and will push other players, not just collecting shooters or assembling talent.

IMO, that is preferable to the leaving multiple scholarships unfilled for no intelligent reason phase we were in with Archie. Transfers have been the rule not the exception in college basketball for a long time, now that there is no requirement for kids to sit out a year after the first transfer its going to happen even more frequently. Crean was, perhaps, a little too aggressive for his time at IU but it looks like that is going to be closer to the norm going forward.

If you look hard enough you can find a few comments to support most narratives... that doesn't mean it's an accurate picture though. Verdel Jones used to get worse comments than that after playing a decent game that IU won. Same with several other players that I could name. If anything it is kind of interesting that a young player that made the jump that Franklin did this past season, didn't get more comments, positive or negative, than he did.

Leal and especially Galloway are the kind of guys that not only push more talented players in practice but do the little things that help a team win games and make deep tournament runs. At this stage in their careers they are not starters on a really good team but they are good options as the 3rd and 4th players off of the bench, which they'll likely be. Writing them off after one season with a bad coach is beyond silly in my opinion.

I'll add this, our focus seems to be entirely on some combination of getting better shooters or improving the shooting of those we already have which will certainly help but so will improving the teams rebounding. A team full 30-35% shooters can do a lot of damage if they rebound the misses at a high rate and improvements in rebounding will help win games when even a great shooting team has a bad night. Everyone is enamored with Baylor's 3 point shooting but the offensive rebounding performance was just important.

So far in limited trials the potion has only produced a player with a bum shoulder, Moye's height, Newton's aloofness, and Evan's foot speed. That's not exactly what I intended but work continues.

If we are making our grocery list of players we want regardless of reality then I want an Evans/Newton hybrid with some Moye fire thrown in as another big and a clone of Cheaney on the wing. All joking aside, the team can always use more talent and anyone that Woody thinks will fit and is interested in playing at IU is a welcome addition, IMO.

Certainly the best roster a new coach has had at IU since Sampson. Maybe I'm greedy but I get the feeling it is going to get even better, possibly with another addition but certainly with player improvement.

Franklin has probably been the closet but that is still a huge stretch. There is always some idiot saying something dumb to be found on social media but this year the majority of fans have wanted most/all the players back but still wished them well whatever they ultimately decided.

Of course there is a reason, Painter wants a raise. He probably has his people starting those rumors.

There are a lot of beautiful places in this country including California and many of them offer tons of outdoor activity equal to or better than skiing, skateboard parks (really?), or surfing. Most of those places do not feel the need to tax and regulate the ever living crap out of everything, do not suffer frequent electrical blackouts, water shortages, and tolerate people crapping on the sidewalks.

If Franklin leaves that would make 1 in 4 that Woody failed to recruit back, so your contention is what, that a 75% success rate in recruiting is failure or that the one lost outweighs the three won? Either way it kind of sounds like you've taken the position that Woody can't recruit and are grasping at straws for evidence to support it.

Florida gets laughed at for its weirdos. California celebrates theirs. "Florida man" would not be an outlier and garner little attention in Cali.