mchenry34

1) we emphasize pushing the pace, which I believe in and support, but if we don't have a layup or wide open three in transition we pull the ball all the way out and restart the offense, giving away all the advantages that we have gained by putting the defense on their heels in in transition.   This does not make sense considering problem two.   2) we design our actions with only the end of them in mind. our players move (and go through the motions) just to get the ball to a particular person in a particular place with a particular match up. Crean says designs these actions to force the defense to move before we attack...but, haven't we forced that in transition, why give up that advantage just to try to regain it? Anyway, my problem is that we do not make reads within the action because we are just going through the motions until the desired end of the action is reached. we miss opportunities to take advantage of what the defense gives us throughout the action.   3) Because we are going through the motions just to get to the ending point of the action we are a terrible screening team. This is true on the ball and off the ball, but I think that it makes sense given Max Bielfeldt's comments last week that Beilein is a teacher and that crean relies on passion. The detail of setting the screen and then sealing to take advantage of how the defense guards the screen is lost and we rarely make the defense pay for hedging too hard on our shooters etc....   3.5) we do not make reads off of any screens...we go exactly where the play was written to go. We do not respond when he defender goes under the screen by flaring to the corner or curl the screen when the defender chases and the big doesn't show....we are awful at screening and reading screens. most people complain that we don't set enough screens off the ball. I disagree, we set enough screens but they are sloppy and poorly executed.

I do believe that we move more than we used to, but from what I see we run past each other rather than really screening and we ignore reads throughout the action just waiting for the isolation at the end of it. The only effective cutting we do consists of back cuts from the corner, or dive cuts from the top as we drive the baseline. You might be able to include weak side slides from block to block as we drive the lane, but that's it.   all of the stagger screens for zeisloft last year we incredibly ineffective. easy to guard and zero effort to take advantage of the way the defense guards the screen.

Yes, but the point I am making, which is just an educated guess, is that I think that Crean will be allowed to stay unless the roster implodes. The belief will be that things will be better next year with another year of strength for the freshmen (maybe even optimism that April becomes serviceable) and a couple of nice pieces added through recruiting.   I hope that if a move is made it is not a slow crumble but takes place swiftly so that we are not looking at Yogi and Troy going pro then months of trying to hold it together only to see it all fall apart in the early part of the summer when there is no way we can hire anyone...

My guess is that Crean is here for one more year if he can keep the current roster intact this spring....the buyout dropping off in July means that if he can keep the roster set until then (only losing one of Yogi or Troy and keeping all of the rest of the top 8 with two good recruits and Davis coming back) then they will be content to let it play out.   If the roster implodes again, Glass will know that the fan base will not be patient with another bad year the next year.   Problem with waiting is the limited options for replacements....my guess is that in such a case we swing and miss a couple times and then settle for Brad Brownwell which would be really underwhelming.   My HOPE in such a scenario (roster implodes, let Crean go late) is that we would assemble the best assistants who are former IU players --- Fife, Lewis, Cheaney, and maybe Coverdale or Guyton and bring in an older Head Coach like Crews who understands he is there for only two years and that it is a job audition for one of the assistants to prove they have what it takes or we are watching the rest of the country extremely closely for someone who is perfect for the job....Someone who will run the program with less turnover and emphasize BBIQ a bit more. I honestly think that IU's culture is perfect for getting kids in the 50-75 range or maybe 50-100 that are going to be three and four year players.   IU fans love to know their team, love a veteran team that plays the right way, and I think with IU's name you could take an approach like a Butler, or Wichita State but increase the talent just enough to make IU the premier program like that...ala Gonzaga who has basically no roster turnover.

We probably turn the ball over on the first possession in 3/4 of our games. Would be interesting to run that stat for the year and for Crean's tenure. It is ridiculous how often we turn the ball over on the first possession and for the first four minutes of the game.

One thing I will say (though I generally try to be a bit more level headed and understanding about our current performance) I really long for the days where we had seasons that didn't induce any panic and despair at all. I want a season where we don't even have to question whether the sky is falling or not...The last one that I can remember is 1994...Even in 2002 we lost a bunch of Big Ten games and then just got hot at the right time.   I will say that I believe a lot of good things are happening this season considering our roster, but that our current roster should never have happened either. We should never have been this imbalanced...Luke Fischer transferred because of the cancerous culture that Crean allowed to develop and perhaps the recruitment of Vonleh even contributed to that. He may not have the substance abuse reputation that others on the team had but I think that it is clear that he brought a "me first" mentality to the locker room last year.   So while the sky is not falling this year necessarily, it would be nice to not have to imagine the worst case scenarios going forward: like...what if yogi leaves, what if troy leaves, what if jbj leaves, or if none of that happens, what if it all happens the next year and the graduations of Hanner and Zeisloft are added to the list. In such a case I have no confidence in the current staffs ability to prop the sky up...and I am tired of have to imagine those scenarios.

The thing about Williams that will be remarkable if he becomes a high draft choice is that he literally hasn't hit a jump shot this year....   So much improvement at the foul line and handling the ball in tight spaces. I think that if he has one more year and a a couple more forwards on the roster he can continue to show his wing development and become a top ten pick.   Get everyone back and I can see it being a top ten team. Lose Williams and a couple others and it is top twenty five and hoping for hot shooting during the tournament.

I thought we did a lot of nice things...We have been limiting our defensive mistakes but playing softer on shooters because we have no protection in the lane and we have such trouble keeping people out of the lane. That led to Illinois getting looks with their feet set early.    Despite that, only really the 21-2 run was on us. Early in the game we got good looks and missed which gave them that early lead. The second mini run for Illinois was similar, but we righted the ship quickly.   The 21-2 run was full of bad shots by us and some of those defensive miscues...alot of that was communication. One time Hoetzel and Williams and Hartman were on the floor together and Illinois did a High low interchange and Troy was low and didn't call out the switch which led to an open three....Things like that gave them a few more open looks than would be best.   But, everyone contributed...   Ferrel has been doing exactly what he ought to as a point guard...I'd like to see him attack more during our droughts and take it on himself to make sure we are moving the ball in those times when shots aren't falling, but he has really taken care of the ball, hit some timely shots (still doesn't look that comfortable).   Blackmon is starting to get the mojo back and has picked his spots in driving a bit better.   Johnson was rock steady and has continued to improve in the little things.   Holt played really well and just missed an exclamation with the put back.   Hartman did all the little things and really negated Egwu (along with Holt)   Williams was good...mostly finisher rather than creator so I would rather give props to people setting him up, but his rebounding was great and much tougher than against PSU where he was pushed around a bit.   Zeisloft gave leadership and steady confidence when we needed big shots.   Robinson was a bit less fluid but I would have liked to have seen Crean and staff give him a chance on Nunn when he was hitting all those shots.   Some great sub choices including Hoetzel to exploit what Illinois was trying to do with Egwu defensively...put that fifth shooter on the floor and hit one immediately.   Wish we would be a bit more judicious in switching to the zone...left Nunn open late and it almost cost us.

What did Slessinger say to get that response to Crean?

In piecing things together from Nebraska sights and articles on the topic along with watching the tape and and hearing what Miles Said afterward...I firmly believe that what happened was Crean was complaining to the Refs about the way that the Nebraska team had followed through on a couple of fouls (one account says that Webster then said to him ....STFU Tom Crean) and with Miles starting to get in the mix on the conversation Crean told him to get his team to Shut up...   This makes perfect sense with all the talk that Nebraska had been directing toward the IU bench...   If Miles is so classy why does it not transfer over to his players?

not so sold that he said shut up...i am no expert on lip reading though...from what i saw it looked like crean was pretty calm throughout and pretty confident he was right, didn't have the same feel as that weirdness at michigan two years ago...timmy did not do himself any favors in this case. 

Holt played well, but I don't think you take Hanner off the court tonight...Now, if you play Holt and Hanner it could work against a zone...but they would struggle against a man to man unless they did only their double high post ball screen stuff.   Miles was mad because Crean told him to shut up after Nebraska's third or fourth hard foul...I hate how Crean can get prickly and get into it with people, but I feel like he was sticking up for his team when Miles had very clearly been asking for some pretty physical play from his team   I know the media loves Miles but he is actually Crean turned up to 11 in some of his idiosyncrasies...Lots of talking to the other team, lots of gesturing, and he takes shots at other coaches and teams in a lot of subtle ways...   His bleach teeth veneer as nice guy is gonna get really thin if they keep losing...He won't seem so clever to be tweeting at halftime...   Imagine if Crean was tweeting at half time for IU? he would have for sale signs in his yard very quickly.

pretty good adjustment defensively and out of the pick and roll...   Tim Miles did his amazing adjustment of going 2-3 (he bragged about it last year during the post game interview and it annoyed me to know end because it was such an obvious move against us last year) and we countered with a little bit of a curve ball and they only handled it well one time with a flair screen for pitchford (which is exactly what to do...use the guy not being guarded as a screener)   It wasn't perfect but it was gutsy...which I think very highly of...if you can be skilled and gutsy you can get things done.

I would say that Jackson being on the sideline goes a long way to dispel the disgruntled employee ideas that have been thrown around. Either he was perfectly happy, or it is a good move by crean to have him come to a game after the announcement was made that he was leaving.

my guess is that he has been told to calm the gunslinging when coming in straight off the bench, especially in big games. I have been happy with his rebounding and I think that he is pretty savvy getting in the lane. Can be a nice piece moving forward.

I don't see them posting the position if it is Jackson without there having been any news or announcements.

I thought the assistant strength coach left during the off season, maybe that is the position that is being referred to.

Fair enough...I guess I just don't have that much hope that hiring someone new will unite the fan base and help us to avoid this problem. Perhaps I am being too pessimistic, but I have only seen IU hire Davis, Sampson, and Crean in basketball, and only seen them hire Cameron, Dinardo, Hoepner, Lynch, and Wilson in football. The only hires among those that turned out with any success were then also fired or in the case of Crean on the hot seat.    Perhaps Stevens could do it...but I don't think he would come.   The only other possibility I see of uniting the fan base is a group of alumni...Fife as head coach, Lewis, Cheaney, and maybe Bailey as main assistants, and a guy like Guyton or Mike Roberts as the assistant that stays on campus. That group will have been around a lot of good coaching in there time in basketball.   OR I think if Crean did somehow get full support again he would have better success.

shucks, My point is, Crean is very nearly on par with Williams when it comes to coaching ability...as a coach, when I watch the teams play the Williams does not have schemes or set plays that take advantage of any particular strength of his team, he even seems to have the same solution that Crean does when things are not going well, which is to speed up.  The results being quite different is actually a part of the point that I am making...Williams did not earn the support he got, it was handed to him. Truth is he has NCAA violations to his name and is apparently willing to look the other way academically in a way that I cannot imagine Crean doing. Program Momentum is a very real part of an equation for success. It is possible to have a talented coach who is a decent recruiter etc...who has lost momentum for some reason or another and loses his job because of it.   If fans can be part of the solution as I believe they were in rebuilding, they can be part of the problem of a stalled out program as well...which is what I believe we are looking at right now. A good (not great coach) who has made a few mistakes  (I think the the 2012 and 2013 classes show that he compromised on character a bit because he believed that he had the culture in place to take care of those issues, also reaching on scholarships a couple times that handcuffed him in the spring and with some very important recruits in state, and taking a couple of kids too early which boxed him in, possibly a couple of moments where he needed to ditch the coach speak and take responsibility himself)...that led to his program stalling out with the fans who have made it hard to recover.

An interesting possibility for next years team is to be able to ring post match ups that work in our favor. With a lineup of Davis, Williams, and Perea (or insert Hartman in there) you could use the swing or flex or simply down screen or back cut to get favorable match ups into the post. It looks more and more like Williams and Davis and Hartman will have to be guarded out to the three point line. If Perea can prove that he has to be guarded out to 17 our spacing will be incredible with all the other shooters on the floor. That means we will be able to pick which guy to post and take advantage of that each game for a stretch or two (ala Wisconsin).   To me it looks like Davis has been working on guard skills and the ability to score it from 15-20 feet out.

when we win, the same five people have a conversation on here for about a week, and when we lose a different five people have a conversation on here...   a great deal of program momentum is self fulfilling prophesy...the fan base can help create momentum in one direction or another.   I do not think that Roy Williams is a good coach but he has had a ton of success. This can largely be attributed to the fact that he generally has had support at Kansas and at UNC. Now he may be losing that support at UNC, it will be interesting to see how the flaws he has always had will now be focused on going forward.   I think the same can be said about Crean, but for whatever reason our fan base has always assumed we have a birthright on basketball knowledge and I firmly believe that we have undercut our own coaches twice now. Neither Davis or Crean is an amazing coach, but both have some real strengths that have gotten swallowed up by fan criticism.   If we are going to criticize coaching can we do better than blanket statements and ad hominem attacks?    Last year he played too many people, this year it is too few. Last year people felt like players didn't have to earn their time on the floor. This year we assume that a freshmen guy on the end of the bench was the obvious answer to stopping a senior Five Star center who wasn't actually the reason that Georgetown won.   GT won because we let DSR get hot and because we missed quick shots during their first run in the second half and because we turned it over down the stretch. Josh Smith was a factor but GT did not need to be close enough for it to have mattered. Zeisloft, Hartman, Perea, Robinson, and Holt gave us nothing...if they even give us half their average contribution we win the game by 10 or 12 easily.

the problem for jbj going forward will be people taking him into the post. In the last game it happened twice and he gave almost no resistance. He will need to improve his on the ball defense so that he can guard the smallest quickest players in order that they can't take him in the post. Imagine him against Wisconsin? there is no one for him to guard...we will have to play zone the whole game.

I actually believe that Stan helps us quite a bit Defensively. He rebounds fairly well and stays in front of the ball way better than anyone else that we have. There are times that he gets caught a step late on screens or switches, but he is light years ahead of Troy in that. Generally, if you want a bucket, just set a cross lane screen on Troy with Perea's man and it will be a layup....need a three just set a pin screen on troy and reverse the ball and it will be wide open.

Interested in seeing what kind of time Stan gets. I actually think that he is an important player when we have a lead because he is by far our best on the ball defender and he can slow the opposition from getting easy straight line buckets. The balance there is that he will need to show more patience and buy into his role on offense. If he buys in to his role I think that he is immediately as important as Colin Hartman off the bench though he lacks the size.   Robinson can guard bigger players in the post a bit and no one keeps him out of the lane, he just doesn't make good decisions in the lane right now. Likely because he thinks he needs to score to get back on the floor. He needs to be Bobby Wilkerson instead and just defend like mad and take what is given to him offensively.   I also think that Troy needs to show more patience offensively. On the break he often gets us in to some trouble, he turns three on one breaks into high contested shots off of no pass too often. If you watch the first half of the PITT game it shows up quite a bit, he is trying to do too much...I always said when I was coaching "never get tired of doing it right", making the easy pass to one of our shooters on the wing or passing it ahead to the ball handler furthers up the floor may not be sexy but it will win a lot of games

The most interesting part of the discussion is about Michigan as a team this year. I would personally take Belein in a heartbeat. But, I don't think that Michigan is that good. They will be able to space the floor fairly well with four guards who are threats, but with a good game plan I think that you can force Walton to try to beat you on his own and if you have one superior on the ball defender Michigan would be beaten. I think if you control the "rails" as they say and make the game in to Walton having to create everything and not help off the shooters then you have a really good chance of controlling the game.   This actually tends to be the biggest adjustment Crean makes, not helping off of shooters and not helping off of weak side bigs on the dribble drive. We will probably see it against Michigan again this year.   They don't have a real post player and are limited on slashers and people who can create their own shots.   That being said, they remind me a lot of IU with maybe less depth and athleticism. Perhaps Belein makes up for that a little bit.