brtjohns

Only the passing of a few people I've never met in person struck me as hard as this one. CCG always fought for what was fair and just in the hoosier fan community, and it was evident he lived for IU sports. An online buddy going way back, he was someone you could trust and always fun to talk to because he never left any room for doubt on how he felt. Wish I hadn't deleted all of our fun, insightful, helpful PM conversations now. Most memorable to me is how CCG, HoosierLyss and I kinda teamed up to bolster HSN on the social and content fronts, which made its merger with 247 happen. His legacy certainly isnt limited to that though; his machine-like work ethic for sharing all kinds of updates from the social world was instrumental in building the comprehensive vast, vibrant hoosier fan community. I second the call for the recruiting section headline or something like that be renamed in his honor. No doubt Gary will continue to bleed crimson in his next life. One thing he believed in and would probably want someone to highlight is to post as if the student athlete you're talking about is reading it. He knew athletes on the (probably not limited to) basketball, soccer and wrestling teams are registered users on BTB, and surely more browse unregistered. Please put yourself in their shoes before you say or insinuate something disrespectful.

insight into mercer's coaching philosophy

Terry is a gracious man. In the summer of 2015 when I was trying to expand my portfolio for the writing & editing profession, Terry welcomed me as a soccer content contributor for this site. He met me for lunch (which he insisted on paying for), we talked about how he envisioned the role and content ideas, and shortly after he showed me the ropes as we attended an iums practice. Essentially with his endorsement, I got the opportunity to interview Coach Yeagley and a few players, a first for me. When I moved on, he told me not to hesitate in using him as a reference (I didn't even ask), which I did for an editorial job later that year and got it. Terry didn't have to do any of that. I was incredibly grateful, and certainly still am, that a prolific five-time Indiana sportswriter of the year would be so generous to me. Wishing the smoothest recovery for Terry and his family.

full game, while it's still available anyway:

probably my favorite game from jbj in his hoosier career thus far. tonight he showed that he's maturing as a team player. as we hear from crean often, good players positively impact the game when they're not scoring as usual. jbj was active on defense, didnt carelessly drive into trees, 5-6 ft, and grabbed some huge rebounds. led the team in rebounds actually. we're now 19-2 in games vs ranked teams at home since 2011-12: 2016-17: #3 unc (W) 2015-16: #4 iowa (W), #17 purwho (W), #14 maryland (W) 2014-15: #22 smu (W), #22 osu (W), #13 maryland (W) 2013-14: #4 msu (L), #3 wisconsin (W), #10 michigan (W), #20 iowa (W), #22 osu (W) 2012-13: #14 unc (W), #8 minnesota (W), #13 msu (W), #1 michigan (W), #14 osu (L) 2011-12: #1 puke (W), #2 osu (W), #16 michigan (W), #5 msu (W)

a few more thoughts after scanning this thread: -hoosieraloha, kb0, stuhoo and magnanimous affirmed why they're some of my favorite posters, and i agree completely in scheduling one or two of these games every year. they are infinitely more beneficial in the short and long term than the grand valley states, alcorn states and libertys at home. starting last season, i dont even care to tune in to all of the cupcake home games. really, whats the point? even if we won last night by 15, i still wouldnt call this kind of game a cupcake. -if there's anything to like about these post loss threads, it's that they continually feed my ignore list which shapes a better btb reading experience. -if the tremont waters miss didnt already sting like a ferocious b, it should now. pinson and harris hurt a lot too, but in my book thats crean's biggest recruiting miss since he's been here. newkirk and probably green is our look at point guard for the next two years. i really like green, but it's hard to tell right now how steady of a point he'll be. newkirk has been inconsistent at best -- flashes of productivity clouded by too many wtf moments. still early in the season though; he'll improve. but waters was the elite all-around, multi-year, immediate high-impact point we could've really used. we'll be alright. beat unc and last night will feel like a mere speedbump.

I can hear it now from our rivals and the rest of the college basketball world: So that’s why the hoosiers don’t schedule nonconference true road games. Can’t really respond. They wanted it more, simple as that. It was evident in nearly every play in regulation tonight. What a win for the mastodons. Biggest win in their program’s history? Despite bleeding crimson, thought it was an awesome scene after the game. Gotta love college basketball. Beat Kansas in Hawaii, then lose to IPFW up the road 11 days later. No worries at this point in the season. We always win some as the underdog and lose some as the favorite. Essentially every team does. Hopefully this was OG’s worst game as a hoosier by a longshot. No defending it – that was an utterly pathetic performance. I lost count of how many plays he quit on. I’ve never seen him and hope to never see him again play so lethargically. Makes you wonder if he’s battling an illness. Green is a really promising player. McRoberts was a helluva spark plug tonight. He put on a clinic on defense. Him playing the last 10 or so minutes plus much of overtime is yet another reminder that it’s not about who starts but who finishes. The latter is more important. Kudos to coach for a great coaching move in going to the 2-3 zone to throw a wrench into their plans and halt momentum. Also kudos for keeping OG on the bench for the rest of the game after two completely uninspired stretches of play. Blackmon needs to learn how to be a playmaker, not just a scorer. As has been the theme for much of his career, he missed an easy assist on a majority of his drives. Needs to keep his head up and be determined to make a play, not be so focused on getting around his man to get a bucket. Tunnel vision. Their big man #45 had his way with Bryant tonight. Hopefully it serves as lesson to Bryant that he needs to combine his energy with creativity in the post. Can’t rely on your length and just expect fouls to be called. edit: really, really big fan of their coach after hearing that interview.

what a victory for this ridiculously versatile, 'positionless' team crean has crafted. after blowing 2 opportunities to close out the game and with bryant fouled out, i didnt think there was any way this young team would win the game in overtime vs a great, experienced kansas side with frank mason on fire. but jbj kept making shot after shot (man, did we miss the sloppy janitor last year), jmo kept making hustle play after hustle play, and the freshman--my god. first 'real' college game, the biggest game of their lives, vs kansas on espn, and they knock down pressure-packed 3s and free throws to put the game away like seniors. missed free throws throughout the game by our veterans had me pulling my hair out, then the freshman step up to show them how it's done and ice the game. love it. major kudos to crean and staff for having the team ready to play. perpaps most exciting about tonight is with rojo and newkirk not having a great game and og still raw offensively at this point, that certainly isnt the best this team can and will play come conference and dancin time. to air out one critique: we need to post-up og more. just because his shot is improved doesnt mean he should hang out on the perimeter looking for it. his biggest strength is using his freakish athleticism and lower body to bully opponents at the rim. he can draw a foul or get an easy lay-in any time he wants down there. needed this after the calamity in columbus tonight. and if wasnt excited enough... wow

since obviously we'll miss the second half because iubb takes priority, you can rewatch the full game at fullmatchesandshows.com. definitely need an adblocker, and i'm not sure adblock plus still works there. i use ublock origin and it's fine. watch games on there frequently. they post full games in mls, bundesliga, premier league, la liga, champions league, world cup, euros, copa, etc within 24 hours. games are archived so you can search for an old game. a couple days ago i rewatched the usmnt-paraguay game from june, for example. it only goes back to beginning of 2015 though; i guess thats when the site was created. green has made a compelling argument not only to get a spot but start. wonder if he's supplanted bedoya in klinsmann's eyes, and wonder if jones will start over kjlestan, both start, or jones comes off the bench since he's only played two low-minute games since coming back from injury. he turned 35 yesterday; the hex might be his swan song.

couldnt write a better script for a ballgame. the sport of baseball cant deliver a better product. this game has instant classic written all over it. it will be referenced and talked about for the rest of our lifetimes and beyond. i'm still stunned that maddon pulled hendricks. guy was dealin, and with a comfortable lead. buck just made a great point though. when you have an elite closer on the mound, somewhat fatigued or not, with a 3-run lead and 4 outs to go, gotta love your chances. any manager would go for that. glad ross smacked a dinger in his final game. now big schuma needs to go ahead and establish himself as a legend by doing the same.

assuming no cancellations, i predict 32-23 before the btt, which would be a solid season with this tough a schedule and give us a shot at the ncaat. probably less than a fifth of the schedule is cupcakes. the first 7 games are brutal vs zaga, duke, oregon st, fl atlantic. they all finished top 30 in rpi last season. then the last 4 vs louisville and an away series in columbus is a tough but great opportunity for final touches to the resume. both iubb and iubase get to go to hawaii this year. i doubt that hurt their recruiting.

i rarely chime in recruit threads. for me anyway, missing on waters would cause anguish. instant impact, excellent all-around floor generals like him lead conference title and final four runs ... with the major plus that he's already mature, highly intelligent, guaranteed not to create problems/distractions. his game reminds me so much of chris paul, without the douchiness and recurring bag-tagging. he tops my recuit wish list. immerse yourself in the basketball capital of the world and become the next great hoosier guard, tremont! buckner, thomas, alford, guyton, oladipo, yogi, waters.

save some crow for me. might need to prepare them in tiny portions considering how many of us are due some. i didnt think he had the composure or defense reliability to warrant a roster spot in the nba. memphis coach obviously thinks he can hold his own, giving him increasing opportunity to earn that spot. williams has played 26.8 mpg in 5 memphis games, team-high minutes in 2 of the last 3, and registered a +/- of +10 or higher in 3 of 5. he's playing as well or better than all of his direct competition in ennis, stephens, harrison and selden, but would certainly benefit from another plus game wednesday.

i dont disagree with the general tone of this thread, especially the frustrations about the offense. it's clearly true that we havent had a premiere striker since zavaleta, and it does kinda feel like indiana soccer is gravitating toward becoming something like ucla basketball. like a parent and their kid though, we're biased and tougher on our program than others. we're also spoiled by one of the greatest eras of dominance in the history of college sports. "we have been caught or past by Notre Dame, Louisville and Akron in the region." the notre dame-indiana rivalry has met every year since 2001, and it's notable that nd won the last two matches. however, the 18 games they've played in that span is basically even at nd 9:8 iu, which includes nd 1:2 iu in the ncaa tournament. since 2004, iu's first year without jerry yeagley at the helm, the two programs' postseason success looks like this: quarterfinals-- nd 3, iu 3... college cups-- nd 1, iu 2... national championships-- nd 1, iu 2. notre dame's national championship in 2013 is also their only college cup appearance in program history. meanwhile, indiana is 28-10-2 in the all-time series record and has 18 college cups and 8 national championships. so i disagree that they've passed us in any way, and i certainly disagree with the notion some iums fans have that notre dame has suddenly made us their *****. in regard to akron and louisville, here is their postseason success since 2004: quarterfinals-- akron 4, lville 3... college cups-- akron 3, lville 1... national championships-- akron 1, lville 0. louisville and indiana have met every year except one since 1999, which is as far back as iuhoosiers.com schedules will go. the 17-game record in that span is lville 4:12 iu, which includes lville 0:1 iu in the ncaat. so louisville isnt quite on our level, but akron is definitely on our level in the 21st century. akron and indiana have met 8 times since 2003. the record is akron 5:2 iu, including akron 1:0 iu in the ncaat, and they've won the last 4. zips have our number. it's fine to argue that perhaps college soccer's most prestigious program should have a better postseason record in the last decade, that it seems like we're declining, that we're no longer elite. without doing the research, just keep in mind that as the the sport of soccer has become more and more popular in this country, college soccer has steadily become more and more competitive since the godfather's reign. lets be honest, a lot of his games were like barcelona vs indy eleven. i expect iums to contend for a b1g title and get to the ncaat every year, play one of the most brutal schedules in the country, and prove to be a tough out by avoiding letdowns and upsets in the ncaat. we've consistently done that for the most part, 2014 being the standout year we didnt. how are we defining 'elite'? because i doubt (again, without doing research) you're going to find more than a handful of programs in the country that have a better resume in the last decade. akron could be one of them. i'd bet that if you talk to college soccer experts and coaches nationwide, the general opinion would be that indiana is either still elite or on the edge of it.

just rewatched uk-iu watshot game, and my biggest takeaway this time around was i hope og becomes michael kidd gilchrist with a respectable shot this year. mkg had never come to mind when trying to think of a player comparison to og, so it was an ah-ha moment realizing how similar of players they are/can be. he was the meerkats' best player that game. i apologize for poisoning this thread with uk talk when it wasnt really called for. i hope solace is found via my avatar.