nerdvana

Jordan Hulls will henceforth be referred to as Basketball Player Hulls.

I suppose I could live with it if it were, in fact, entertaining. Listening to a wannabe philosopher who seemed largely uninterested in the game doesn't do much for me. The "highlight" was when he asked the play-by-play guy to name his top three waterfalls.

I truly believe that Yogi almost single-handedly extended Tom Crean's coaching tenure at IU. His talent and leadership were really something to watch. He, Jared Jeffries, and possibly Steve Alford, have had the most individual impact of any players in my lifetime.

I'm pretty sure I would have gotten tossed too if I were Kent State's coach. It certainly didn't seem like the runner went out of his way to barrel him over. I can only assume that the runner being called out had something to due with Cross' mitt flying off and the umpire saw something that I couldn't see from the camera angle. Of course, I know that collisions at home plate have been a point of emphasis in recent years, so I'm not sure what the current NCAA rules are.

Yeah, I think IU's defense right now is much worse than their stats would indicate. It would seem, from an outside perspective, that Mercer doesn't put the same value on defense that you and I would like. I get that you can't win if you don't score, but if IU's defense doesn't improve they're going to let a lot of winnable games get away this year.

I was talking to a returning position player a few weeks ago and had a pretty interesting conversation. It's probably not worth starting a new topic, but thought I'd share a bit for those following IU baseball. Trying to recall what he told me, but the main points were Mercer's coaching philosophy is more of a "professional baseball" approach that Lemonis. He said that there isn't much emphasis on bunting and "small ball" in general. Essentially, from what I gathered, hitters are looking to drive the ball regardless of count and situation (with some exceptions, I'm sure). Overall, there's a lot more BP, weight lifting, and emphasis on nutrition and conditioning. He said that team chemistry is good right now and that the new coaching staff has been well received by the players. Of course, it's hard to keep everybody happy during the season, so I'm sure some things will change in that regard. But, it sounds like so far, so good from his standpoint.

I won't be shocked if Glass offers the job to current pitching coach Kyle Bunn. Not the sexiest hire on the planet, but he has a really strong baseball pedigree and brings continuity to a team with a fair amount of talent returning.

To me, just the fact that I was able to sit through a double-digit loss speaks volumes. The game was far from perfect and seeing the reality that is IU's team this year stings a bit, but I just remind myself that IU's games were darn near unwatchable the latter half of last season. Lord knows how much I DO NOT miss the offense burning the first fifteen seconds of shot clock running a three man weave 27 feet from the hoop.

I think that Lemonis is trying to drum up some interest from the fan base by bringing in more kids from the area.

Is the game still under rain delay? I live a few miles away from the field and it's barely raining here.

Certainly not disagreeing with you, but I think you're underestimating the role of charisma in coaching and player development. I'm not a super connected guy by any means, but I coached travel baseball for several years and had the pleasure of talking to Tracy Smith and attending his clinics. I can't tell you how impressed I was with how the kids responded to him. Some coaches just have that effect on others (I know I didn't LOL). In all fairness, by the time that Chris Lemonis came on board, I was dealing mainly with Shawn Roof, but I just got a much different vibe from the program. Tracy Smith was the type of guy that kids truly wanted to work hard for. Lemonis seems to be more the "work hard or else" no-nonsense type of coach. He's not a bad guy...just a much, much different coach that Tracy Smith. I hope this post doesn't come across as negative. Overall, I'm thrilled with the commitment IU has made to its baseball program and I certainly am 100% behind Chris Lemonis.

I'm not really sold on Lemonis yet. I guess the main problem I have is that he's just such a departure from Tracy Smith. I don't want to get into too much, but Tracy Smith was not only a great coach, but he was super charismatic. I really think that helped him build the program. I'm still willing to give Lemonis a chance as a coach, but I just can't see him selling the program the way Smith did.

I agree. I'd have some respect for Jon Crispin's point of view if it were remotely his own, but he's really just recycling the stuff he's heard from the major sports news pundits. It's always the same "Tom Crean did this and accomplished that, but apparently that's not good for IU's delusional fan base." Tom Crean's "ceiling" didn't get him fired, his "floor" did. I agree that our fan base (as well as every other major program) has a small, but very outspoken group of idiots, but most IU fans I knew really just grew tired of the product on the court. All the turnovers, defensive lapses, and weak half court offense was the problem. The fact that Tom Crean had no idea how to address these problems is what got him fired.

Consider yourself lucky. :)

Well, now I want Billy Donovan AND lemon meringue pie. Thanks a lot!