mchenry34

The deal is, our two best scorers didn't score well, but we did. We controlled (absolutely controlled) all but five minutes of this game, and got better on the boards as the game went on.   We were better in the second half than the first.   We took care of the ball.   We were up by over 20 without shooting particularly well.   We didn't finish that great around the rim and still dominated points in the paint.   We played four freshmen tonight and each of them made positive contributions.   We played 3 sophomore and each made positive contributions.   Our zone attack was good.   Our half court defense was much improved though still not great and still had lapses in transition.   If we have a long way to go it is still less far  to go than last week...

What I am saying is, tradition is the only area we have an advantage...name recognition is just as good for them, they are on national television just as much...we have the advantage in tradition but that is about it.

maybe it is worse than you thought, or maybe Dixon is not as good as I think, but I just see no way IU comes out of this with an already established coach that will give us everything that we want...we need to remember that the best hire our school ever made was an up and comer from a low major (or at best mid major) program. Hardly anyone wants to risk their career to come to a pressure cooker like IU where it takes a .750 winning percentage to get any credibility with the fan base.

This is the one we needed, but I think he went to Georgia in part so that he wouldn't be stuck in the post. Ironically, he is guarding the post for Georgia...and quite well from what I have seen. We would be immeasurably better with him.

Dixon would never come here...He is a top 15-20 coach in the nation and he is not moving here. IU is only a step up in terms of tradition, nothing more.

I am 33 years old and have never seen IU make a decent hire in the two biggest sports...the only one that might count is Hoepner. The only other decent hire total is Tracy Smith...they have screwed up Football multiple times, Basketball Multiple times, and Soccer. I have absolutely zero hope they can get it right...   I don't believe Brad Stevens will come...I don't think they will be able to get any established coach at all actually.   The only hope I see is to convince a group of younger IU alums to pool their knowledge as a hard working staff that could really recruit the midwest...a staff of Cheaney, Fife, Lewis, Guyton, and maybe Mike Roberts or someone to stay on campus would likely have a shot at being pretty good. They would have coached under the likes of Knight, Stevens, Izzo, and Crews and would have NBA experience, recruiting experience, game prep experience etc...   I don't believe it has to be an IU guy but I don't think anyone else would come. 

My feeling is that we left about ten or twelve points on the board by not finishing well and/or turning it over just before having a chance at a really good look...beyond that, offensively I thought we simply didn't cut with purpose tonight...we cut when we think that we will get a good look out of it, but not when it is about getting the next guy open because we cut through to open up the defense...   I also thought we were about ten points bad on defense, a few times we were caught between while switching defenses to the zone or hybrid late in the shot clock which led to really easy opportunities for them...Texas Southern shot better than I expected and probably better than they usually do.   also, ridiculous to get out rebounded against a low D1   so, if we have those points in each direction we feel like we played really well and are ready for thursday. The small things will mean so much for this team going forward....

It will be tough to not foul in the post if it is called the way it often was last night. Burton was called for merely holding his position when the MVSU post player lowered his shoulder into him.   I felt like out post players were patient with the ball and mostly strong with it last night. Not sure if they have changed their routine in practice by working with the post players with their back to the basket more (from what I hear Vonleh and Zeller worked facing the rim and attacking more) but I thought Hanner had a very coordinated and well executed post move in the first half, and actually April had a move in the second half that was well done as well. A right handed half hook in the lane.   I honestly never felt that our talented post players in the past ever really developed a post move.   That being said, if our post players simply prove adept at reacting to the dribble drive they ought to get a lot of good opportunities as we will be able to get in the lane against anyone if we move the ball...In fact, I think that we will be able to get in the lane without a ball screen if we move the ball well enough.

hard for a team to have true swag when sponsored by Russel athletic (MVSU is)...I also personally really appreciate it when a team simply plays the game and demonstrates that they are simply better and leave the score and atmosphere of the game to do the talking...

I have to say that I was surprised by Max's movement. I thought that he looked more athletic than in the highlights I have seen in the past. His charge in the first half is indicative of the fine line this team faces though. We will be able to get in the lane I think, but will we be able to make the extra pass with the right timing and strength that leads to an easier finish?   I have never felt like we did this with much consistency under Crean. I'd like to see us move Hanner to the weak side post against teams with better shot blockers and then attack the shot blocker off the dribble and either create foul trouble or drop it for Hanner. As much as I don't like the way UK does things I am impressed with their ability to find their athletic posts around the rim for the finish. The five foot alley oop passes the throw are really effective and I think that Yogi and Johnson can become pretty adept at it this year with Hanner and maybe Holt or Troy when we are really small.

much improved in this first half. Of course it is just exhibition, but the weak side movement and cutting to the middle shows improvement and movement not used in past years by IU under crean. Ball movement has also been great in half court vs. zone (needs to be better in man to man).

Turnovers were frustrating, but a lot of them were on the break and are the easiest type to clean up. Getting hurt on the offensive boards is a bit more concerning. Troy will help a bit on that, but beyond him there is not much help on the way.   Off the ball movement in our man to man offense left a lot to be desired but some obvious improvements are available starting with the back door cut. We had only one back door cut, Hoetzel in the second half.   We will stay in games just through shooting and the ability to get to the rim. Will need to work hard on creating momentum defensively because when we are on our heels we have a hard time getting stops.

When it is man to man defense though we have really struggled to move the ball because there is no off the ball movement to open up the natural reversal pass. The only ball movement comes from breaking our man down off the dribble and forcing help. That can be effective for us, but teams with more length will just stay home on our shooters and never help, just banking on their length to make it hard for us to finish at the rim even if we can get by. Just like when Lebron guards a point guard, or like when Christian used to guard quick point guards who had trouble shooting.   We will need at least a weak side interchange to open up some ball reversal...something as simple as an away screen can make a big difference for us...or like Crean likes to do, first guy back cuts, second guy fills and creates ball movement. So far, none of that is happening though Hoetzel did have a back cut in the second half.

no one has been as blatantly annoying in all my years of reading Indiana Message Boards...

never heard a coach blame leadership before? how about your beloved coach knight's son, patrick...and I quote "the worst group of seniors I have ever been around". Coaches talk about lack of leadership all the time....your agenda has you grasping at very thin straws...

VicOladipo @VicOladipo     All of these comments about @TomCrean not being a leader and having no discipline is crazy. Us former players wouldn't come back as often as We do if that was the case @TomCrean is a great coach and human being. The players currently there just need to get there priorities right and realize they are playing for something way bigger than themselves

You shouldn't speak so boldly...you are wrong. Vic posted an extended tweet calling the idea that Crean couldn't lead ridiculous and saying that Crean was a great coach that he owed a lot too.  Hulls was interviewed and went to great lengths to say that he thought Crean was a great coach and great leader for the program....   Jones, Zeller, Elston all said that the players had failed the expectations of the program.