hoosierbgh

At only 7-1, this kid probably is one of their guard targets.

If you think Edey slamming into a stationary, vertical defender and then getting a foul call on the defender is a proper application of the rule, then it's no wonder you're whining about charges.. The verticality rule is missed more often than not and occurs far ,more frequently than charges.

Yes, it ultimately comes down to the quality of the refs. Eliminating charges and focusing even more on an more subjective call doesn't make a lot of sense. The refs already do a worse job getting the verticality rules correct than charges as it is. Worse, verticality comes into play far more often than charges, nearly every closely defended shot that isn't taken from the 3 point arc is likely to involve a verticality judgement. I doubt Edey would average half the points that he did if BIG refs could get the verticality call correct. Without a major change in the way he plays, he would be lucky to play 15 minutes in a game without fouling out were that rule called correctly.

I'm not sure why anyone is wasting even a second arguing about this. It should be pretty obvious to anyone who has watched college bball in the last decade exactly what will happen. During the first two months of the season the refs will hyper focus on the rule change to the point that it slows down the game and repeatedly stops momentum. Despite this hyper focus, the refs will still get the call wrong more often than not. Then just in time for conference season, the refs will conveniently forget the rule change ever occurred. Regardless of the time of the season, Edey will be allowed to bulldoze defenders out of his way, grab and hold the defenders arms and push opponents with superior rebounding position in the back. In short, even if there was a good chance that the rule changes would improve the game, the refs won't call it consistently and will soon forget about the rule change.

I agree on Sparks and Reneau on offense but Ware at the 5 on defense would be a waste of talent much of the time, IMO. Better to have either Sparks or Reneau with better lower body strength and a lower center of gravity to push opposing 5s farther from the basket and make use of Ware's length and athleticism to come in from the weak side to block shots. There may be times that Ware needs to play more in the post to challenge teams that are good at driving the ball but most of the time his tools should allow him to cover from the arc to the post and vice versa.

I think Sparks will play more than a lot of people do but the only way it will impact Ware is if Sparks pushes Reneau into more minutes at the 4. Ware is not primarily a post player and probably won't be competing with Sparks for minutes at the 5 spot.

Stand Pat and Watchthe Otherteam Makethrees are Archie's favorite players.

Somebody has to be in the Top 10 even in a down year. Neither Gonzaga nor Duke were as good as they normally are last season. Duke was solidly in bubble territory mid way through the conference season. They were also a better team at the end of the season than when Purdue beat them. Gonzaga improved as well. Purdue's biggest problem wasn't that their guards were freshman it was that their guards are extremely limited. That won't change this season. Their second biggest problem was that Edey was never going to get away with the BS in the tournament that he got away with during the conference and pre-conference seasons. They're a one trick pony whose one trick can easily be mitigated by officials. That hasn't changed either. If Purdue ends the season in the top 5, that says more about the season than it does about Purdue.

If he commits, I'd be happy to have him. If there's one thing we can be confident in, it is that Woody is not going to promise starts, playing time or otherwise blow smoke. A commitment would indicate he's at least open to coaching and competing for playing time. The kid definitely has some tools. If he is willing to accept coaching and works hard, he could be a dynamic player capable of making things happen on the court. My biggest concern would be his lack of strength, if he can improve any in that area and learn how to use the strength he has better, he could be a matchup nightmare for opposing teams.

The one bad loss doesn't invalidate their squad but their squad was never as good as it was hyped to be either. They got a tremendous amount of hype mileage out of beating subpar Gonzaga and Duke teams early and then were gifted a Charmin soft first half of the conference schedule. Worse for them, I don't really see that they addressed their glaring weaknesses in the offseason.

I don't see the square peg, round hole comment. If anything I think Reneau is the Yin to Ware's Yang. They both have things that they do well to complement each other but can be somewhat interchangeable depending on what is needed in a particular game. As of now, Ware is better on the perimeter and Reneau is better in the post. I think Ware spends more time at the 4 and Reneau more at the 5 on offense. Defensively, Reneau is almost certainly going to be guarding the opponents 5, unless Ware adds a lot of strength. Even if Ware has the strength, having him come from the weak side for blocks and using his length and athleticism to cover ground is a more effective use of his talents than pinning him in the post against the bruisers in the BIG.

It also seemed longer for Cardinal because he looked like he was 30 as a freshman and in his mid 40's by the time he graduated.

I like Ian Eagle, Jim Jackson, Benetti. There were some younger/newer guys that I thought were good during the tournament this year that have the shown the potential to be elevated to the favorite category but only time will tell. Hummel is good when he isn't whining but he has a tendency to whine at times. Still better than many though. Settles is always entertaining. It is a lot easier to name my least favorites, Burke, Dykes, and Walton are easily the bottom three and in that order.

We have two back to the baskets bigs on the entire roster and Reneau is versatile enough to spend some time out of the post. It is a stretch to think that both of those players will spend much time at all on the floor together but if they do, Reneau won't likely be playing in the post. Beyond the post and backup post, we have 3 tall guys that can play out on the perimeter to varying degrees.

Most people who are just starting a career or still in training(kind of like college basketball players) do.

Too much drama for them!

He's too quick to play SG at Purdue.

It'll probably be: "Come to Michigan and you can be a great decoy on last second plays"!

I see those terms exactly opposite, shooters make shots and scorers score their points no matter how many shots it takes. That said, I prefer scorers that can shoot.

I started to say that the Wooden Award probably shouldn't be named after the biggest cheater and fraud ever involved in the game either but it does kind of make sense if you think of it as an award for the player most worthy of some Sam Gilbert cash.

IMO, his ability to challenge shots both on the perimeter and in the post "moves the needle" regardless of his offensive production.

IMO, that sounds like a great plan in abstract but you start adding names to those lineups and it can quickly illustrate why that strategy is not always as good as it sounds. For example, if there was a game where both JHS and TJD started sluggishly and the opponent started really hot, are you really going to leave your only real PG and your AA post on the bench to start the 2nd half because the subs were able to cut into the early lead?

I grew up in the area so I don't doubt that you can find people that will espouse that but they are wrong. I don't doubt that it added elements to his game but to say playing pick up ball was what made him into the legend he became is patently absurd. A better argument could be made that going to ISU and carrying a whole team did more for him than playing with other talented players would have but that is still a big stretch.

It's plausible that the kid really liked what he saw at IU(enough to get people at IU excited) but wants to take the last visit to be sure. Afterall, his first school choice didn't work out, which makes it even more critical to get it correct this time. It is not very plausible at all that he committed verbally and is still taking the last visit.

NIL shopping or bidding war brewing?