pumpfake

I've suspected this for quite a while. It never has made sense to me how beholden some players are to certain brands and schools. Just too many instances of players making abrupt commitments to BIG name programs. As for our program, I recall Crean making vague comments about not playing certain 'games' in the recruiting process - I suspect he didn't go in for these shenanigans and was angry because we lost out to others that did.

Heck, if he needs a tie-breaker he look no further than the two courts. We have a beautiful and iconic setting while Vandy has that stupid layout with the benches behind the basket (honestly, who does that?) vbg

Obviously Trendon is a great prospect and it appears we are high on his list. I'm very impressed with the interview with Ernest - he and Mrs. Watford seem to have a really great family. The fact that Archie didn't come off as hyper (i.e. CTC), but rather laid back, is one reason I think our recruiting is seeing (and will continue to see) tremendous improvement.

^^^ Hmmmmm. I guess we'll know soon enough.

Well, that rumor about the girlfriend is sure to get the PU cluster chanting "Boiler Up" (iuPUi). LOL

I'd have to say that OSU got a solid coach and it's a good thing they have a big budget. They're still paying Matta for 2 or 3 years, Holtmann has a decent buyout and if they had to make a second run at him with a bigger check it's probably not chicken feed.

This is where I am on the issue. While you certainly don't want a mass exodus of players when a coaching change is made, just because the existing players are talented doesn't mean they are a good fit for the new system. Bryant has definite flaws and strengths and he's the one guy that could possibly retard the transition to CAM's style the most. Like "O" said, get the young guys some experience so they can improve and become proficient in playing the way Archie wants his team to - this should be the best thing for us long term.

I really liked the comment about having a post presence. I think Davis is going to give us that (much moreso than Bryant) - I just hope he can handle more minutes and stay out of foul trouble. I look forward to recruiting (successfully) another difference maker in the middle in 2018/2019.

100% agree. With the NCAA acting as the best feeder league for any professional sport, you'd think the NBA would be much more cooperative and coordinating. It's one of many reasons I have little respect for the NBA.

I don't know if it's much of a concern, but I wonder how often the evaluation suggestions may conflict with the role the college coach envisions. If a player is told to improve his dribble or drive to the basket and then tries to "showcase" his abilities to the detriment of the team. Like I said, maybe it doesn't happen like that, but I think we probably saw something like that with Vonleh. I would think that some of the kids that start their college careers with one eye already focused on the next level couldn't help but look at it as a way to show off their individual game.

I wonder how this might affect the stipulation in his contract (with IU) that he actively look for employment after termination? Kind of sets up a possible legal challenge. That is, unless the terms are defined in the contract (very possible).

While it does seem that way, I suspect we may be a bit hyper-aware of our own team and ignoring that other teams have injuries too. Back in the late 70's and early 80's we had a bunch of guys that had their careers hampered or eliminated by knee injuries (Grunwald, Oliphant, Pat Graham, etc.). We also had what seemed to be an extraordinarily high number of back injuries (Woodson as you are aware, Kitchel, and I believe there was another player) - but maybe that was just because it affected important players - just like we've recently seen with OG and Mo Creek. At least the surgical treatment are far more advanced today than they were back in the 80's.

And for an interesting bit of trivia the guy in the closet (Hollyfield) was played by the same actor that played Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite.

It's kind of funny, but I had to bite my tongue on more than one occasion when posters were criticizing JBJ (understandably so) and ignoring RJ. Both have had significant stretches of poor offensive play, poor decision making and lackluster defense. It's disappointing to see that neither has shown the improvement this past year we would have hoped for. It's been obvious to me that JBJ has never fully bought in - he's had one eye on going pro ever since he arrived. That hasn't been the case with Rojo, but he's seemed kind of disinterested the last few months. Buy in 100% and work hard and I want players to stay. If not, do yourself and the program a favor and move on.

If we end up with two or three recruits, the writing has to be on the wall for a few guys if they're hoping to get PT. I like the 9-10 man rotation far better than filling the roster and being perpetually oversigned.

I'm kind of surprised that Wittman and Woodson had any interest. Both would bring many things to the table (outstanding players, NBA players & coachIng), but neither one has ever been on a college staff. If they're interested in getting into college coaching, they should spend a year or two on the bench and out on the recruiting trail before honestly hoping to be considered as a HC (and why would they, really). This doesn't even touch the fact that Randy is 57 and Mike is a couple of years older - that's kind of old to begin a new career that's supposedly more demanding than the NBA.

I prefer to say long shot. He may have listened, but it would have been a huge accomplishment to get him or Stevens. There really is a pool of about 6 guys (the ones we debated about endlessly) that are currently the best options for anyone looking to hire a coach. Each in that group has pro's and con's but all are very good coaches and we got one of them (perhaps the one with the greatest upside). It would be practically impossible for ANY program to pry Calipari or Self away. All the other top tier coaches (perhaps except Few) are approaching the finish line and will be retiring soon. Between now and when that happens there could be a coach that rises to the top, but right now there's no guarantee that UNC, Duke, Louisville, or MSU will have a better pool to choose from than we did. From what I've seen of him, Archie Miller looks to have the demeanor, pedigree, and basketball smarts to develop into one hell of a coach for us.

It's not unusual at all for a new coach to start having success on the recruiting trail much sooner than on the court. CAM has been involved in recruiting for major programs in the past (OSU, AZ), so he's no neophyte. I fully expect him to start having recruiting victories fairly soon.

Not sure who CAM will want on his staff - but that's totally his decision. I hope he's licking his chops at having the resources and budget for recruiting that he'll now have at his disposal.

If that's true, I'd call it a lose/win. LOL

Very good point. Personally, I feel Marshall has proven himself more but has apparently proven be a difficult guy to have working for you (AD). Either one of those guys would be generating equal amounts of griping, I suspect. Maybe not from the same posters (although there are maybe a couple who would have complained no matter what). After the longshot of Billy D, I'm not sure any of the names mentioned would be consensus choices and each would come with question marks. We got a got a guy acknowledged to be on most everyone's list. I know many want to poo-poo 0708, but he said there were talks with BD and he turned down a lot of money (and that his wife was a large factor in him turning it down).

Wouldn't it have to be considerably better, considering their respective conferences?

CAM was at OSU and Arizona with his brother. It's my understanding that he helped (was lead recruiter?) at both places when they brought in high-level guys. If he can do that at IU, this will turn out pretty well I think.

Seems to be quite a few of these around here:

Well, that's that! Very solid choice, IMO. It would be interesting to hear the backstory to this process. Looking at a couple of rivals boards it's kind of funny, many are saying Donovan was a delusional choice while others are saying they were relieved because they thought we might hire him. One thing people need to understand and that is that there are only a handful of coaches that are currently 'elite' and none of them are going anywhere. If we did go for Donovan (or Stevens) that was swinging for the fences, albeit a long shot. There are 8 teams left in the dance at this time and how many are elite? How many are head and shoulders above Archie? We didn't "shock the world" or hit the proverbial 'grandslam', but I'd say we did pretty well. Now let's see how the new staff comes together and what happens with the roster - I'd expect a defection or two and that's OK. CAM needs his type of players and hopefully much more talented versions of them than what he's had at Dayton.