pumpfake

Wait, what? By that logic wouldn't the entire tournament be one evaluation? Sets up some interesting scenarios (doesn't it ?). One coach shows up at Seymour next week, another doesn't, then the following week both show up in Indy. Hmmmmm, will it turn into trench warfare?

My guess is all of those teams will have a down period. UNC began a downward spiral when Guthridge took over for Dean Smith, then Dougherty, and then they were able to pursuade alumnus Roy Williams to take over.

No announcement until early/mid April, yet most of us will still check this thread multiple times a day until then.

Since it is being discussed, I have to say I took note of some of the behavior by TJD. Kind of seemed a bit whiny/bitchy to me. There really was quite a contrast in the on-court demeanor between him and Romeo. He's only like 16 or 17, so I'm sure he'll have time to mature before the end of his high school days. There's no doubt the kid has the physical skills, talent, and potential. One thing I saw was how his FT shot was really flat, almost line-drive like. As I recall, didn't his dad have a similar shot? I hope TJD can improve and be better from the line that DD was.

Yea, I thought I was in a time warp. They said that and then in the night game had him back in fourth place (well after halftime). If those numbers Rabjohns posted are correct, it appears Damon Bailey's record is safe.

If it weren't for Romeo, in many other years Robert would be a strong candidate for Mr. Basketball. -Mr. Obvious

I think I saw something like $8.9 million. Wowee.

Langford stayed within the team framework and mostly took what was available. He had 3 team mates that contributed. Overall it was a good game between two well coached teams. I did feel that Romeo got a couple of calls in the second half, but the officiating was quite good as a whole. The idea that Davis, Smith, and Thompson were there just to watch a good basketball game is kind of silly to me. Of course they were there to make a statement.

Agree. Archie knows Romeo's game and wants him to come to IU. Showing up at a game serves no purpose other than to reaffirm interest and hopefully see a good game. No doubt CAM and the staff are in frequent enough contact that RL knows he's wanted. Throw in the fact that IU only has two contacts left and it would almost be a waste to go to the game tonight. I can only imagine the hand wringing if we were out of visits and Vanderbilt and KU then scheduled practice or in-home visits with Romeo. As mentioned earlier, IHSAATV will be streaming the game, as well as 3 or 4 other games. There is a Roku app among other platforms.

And how! One thing that is really encouraging is the fact that Archie was a PG, and not one that relied on superior size or athleticism. He knows we need a point, he knows what qualities it takes to play the point, and how to develop one. Now he has HIS guy in Robert P. Add in the fact that RP can get points, rebound and distribute and I fully expect that PG will be a position of strength instead of weakness.

Good info. I was curious how it worked with games/tournaments with multiple recruits. It would seem that visits at games are mostly symbolic. A practice visit would be more personal, and the in-home even moreso. It'll be interesting to see how Arch handles it.

Yes. I'd like to believe he can at least be an upgraded Freddie - he doesn't have to be a first option or dominant to be a contributor. Jake F will take some time to acclimate, maybe only getting sparse minutes as a freshman.

It was another season of reality defying expectations. Going in we hoped/expected to see leadership and some consistency from the seniors - that really didn't pan out. Davis was going to be our main guy, but wasn't very impressive prior to the injury and then was lost for much of the season. Juwan Morgan stepped up and did things we weren't anticipating. Sadly, often with little help. Depending on who you were, the freshmen started the season unspectacularly, but Smith and Durham showed some sparks of talent over the last month of the season. I think Archie and staff put the early emphasis on team defense and it took a while to develop. By the end of the season it was markedly improved, but still far from what they strive for. The offense seemed to become more disciplined (low bar) through the season, but didn't show it consistently. Over all, I have no doubt the staff couldn't really get an accurate lay of the land with the roster until they'd seen them in action. They did what they could, IMO pretty good job of coaching. Our talent deficit just made fielding a good offense all but impossible. That said, Archie should have a full grip on what he has coming back, what needs to be done, and should be settled in. Now it's time to start getting it done.

If Davis can come back, and raise his play (stay out of foul trouble!), it would help Morgan immeasurably. Heck, it'd help everyone on the court with him. Being able to rotate Morgan, Davis, Smith, and hopefully Thompson would go a long way to improving the team.

To young Mr. Langford: If it's shots you want - we've got 'em. If it's PT you want - we have plenty to offer. Plenty of exposure, outstanding fan support, and great coaching are waiting for you in one of the most lovely campuses (campi?) in America. Come on up and be all that you can be (apologies to the U.S. Army). Seriously though, a close look at how our team played will show that there would be great opportunity for any incoming freshman to get shots and make plays. We didn't have much in the way of good shooting, but the offense got shots, and without stellar PG play. With RP coming in, that area should be improved.

If I may, I'd add one more thing about free throws. We shot in the high 80%'s last night with lots of attempts, so going forward there's no excuse for terrible shooting from the line. They proved they can shoot 'em - it's not bad form or coaching.

That Green pass exemplified how we played for the last 30 minutes of that game. Not only was it a weak pass, but then he just stood there. Rob Johnson played pretty strong defense through most of the season, but was always (and stayed true to form) a very inconsistent shooter. I know Hartman was coming off an injury and then got dinged up several times, but I remember in the OSU game hearing Don Fisher say "I really wish he'd hit one of those" and as he was saying it I thought he was going to say "I really wish he'd stop taking those". For over a month his shot was gone and he continued shooting every time the opportunity presented itself, at least McRoberts knows he's not a great shooter and shows some restraint. This brings me to one of the biggest issues with our offense: no reliable shooters. Knight used to talk about making sure your best shooters were getting the most shots. We didn't have any "best" shooters, and coupled with the ingrained CTC philosophy we started the year with an every man for himself shot selection approach. That improved noticeably as the season progressed, but there was simply no player that was reliable enough to be getting the most shots - we had to rely on somebody having a temporary hot hand. Also, as we came down to the end of the season, as others have mentioned, I thought it looked like Morgan was a bit worn down. Maybe it was just that opponents had seen him once and made adjustments to their defense. He seems to have a more reserved demeanor, but I'd like to see a little more fire. As Tim Garl stated above, we were far inferior to Rutgers in the intensity department. I'd like to see Archie find a player with a similar personality to his own, that refuses to lose and fires up the rest of the team. Finally, the talk of whether to put Morgan back in or not reminded me of something I've heard Erick Suhr bring up several times: Don't foul early. Being limited in playing time because of early fouls handicaps both the player and team throughout the game.

No. Especially anything Chicago sports related. (no offense)

Losing out on RL and having Juwan bail would be a serious shot to the gut.

Yeah, I don't really give a rat's patootie about the rest of the tournament(s) after we've flamed out. Growing weary of waiting for that big breakthrough. What makes it doubly depressing is that for me, it's no more sports til football season - almost six months of nothing but speculating and begging for a recruiting "win". In retrospect, I sure am glad I saw the Bob Knight comments about Archie this morning - particularly the part about patience.

In a game in which your season is on the line, I sure would have liked to see a lot more intensity from the players. Rutgers guys had it and we looked like we were scrimmaging. That is what disappointed me as much as anything. At least we were outstanding from the stripe tonight. Other than that, it was a pretty bad performance.

Can't say that I'm shocked that ESPN could have gotten it all wrong. I'm not passing judgement about any of this without any facts (that's right ESPN, FACTS). Anyway, thanks for posting this.

The following a legend issue is a big one, IMO. Very rarely is the first or even second successor to a "legendary" coach successful enough to last more than a couple of seasons. It looks like we'll be seeing this at UL, maybe MSU, and eventually at NC and Duke. As to Fife, I'm probably in the minority and hold an unpopular opinion about him. It still sticks in my craw that he was one of the most vocal about demanding that Mike Davis be made the permanent (not interim) coach in that first post-RMK season.

It appears the consensus is that Izzo is destined to become Wuzzo. Will Fife get or want the job?

No kidding. As I recall, word was out about how disastrous the visit was that same day or the next - I don't know how that info got around so fast, but we were totally eliminated by the time the visit was over.