Old Friend

Morbid curiosity. I don't post much anymore...where do we disagree?

Theory.... College basketball is bleeding. Not dying, but in need of care. There is more of a personal connection to players- by and large - with basketball than there is with football. I understand there's the occasional Fernando Mendoza, but I'm not talking about him or the anomaly. Basketball players are visible and people know who they are. People knew Anthony Leal even though he never did anything. They wouldn't know Amare Farrell if they were in line behind him at a Starbucks and that guy just won a national title. People knew Luke Jiminez, for the love of God. With 13 kids on each team, many very visible; yearly roster turnover doesn't allow that connection; nor does a roster full of kids who leave trying to get paid and have no loyalty and especially regional loyalty. That was critical to fans' love of teams and now that it's missing..... the sport suffers. Ratings don't, but the sport does. With people having to search for games on various streaming services many don't have, which also means announcers are unfamiliar and don't know the teams or players very well....the sport suffers. Broadcasting has become sterile. More like reporting, less like a column and entertainment or local news. The NCAA Tournament will always be huge because it's an incredible event, people gamble $billions on it; but we have already had a point shaving scandal; college basketball already has a ton of 1 and done players who are the best players IN college basketball....and the sport suffers. Are people tuning in now to watch a Washington vs Rutgers game on Peacock? That would be out-drawn by a shake weight commercial. Blue bloods still draw on TV; mediocre draws only to gamblers. And there are a TON of those. My point? We connect with people...not laundry. We would all have been over the moon had IU won a title with Kevin Wilson or Bill Lynch. But no one will ever convince me it wasn't 10000x better because we did it with Curt Cignetti. Darian DeVries is not a draw. His team is not a draw. I don't think college basketball is much of an emotional draw anymore unless your team is top 10. Purdue is good again, and here in Indianapolis, they're discussed far less than the Indiana Fever...whose season doesn't even start for 3 1/2 months. Indiana is boring, vanilla, and a victim of "the times." Football is a weekly event. A huge production with big games highlighted every Saturday...but only once a week. College basketball is diluted. GameDay Saturday, Big Monday! Power Thursday..etc. You can find 200+ games on TV every week and people watch (and they are definitely watching) for different reasons than they used to. Indiana can BE a huge brand again, but they have to win. If they don't, there are plenty of other things to do and now we have the transfer portal, spring football, etc. I fear the thing that finally DOES kill IU's basketball brand will be Indiana Football. That reality needs to be rectified in a hurry. We don't HAVE 4 years w Darian DeVries.

Michigan 95 Indiana 71 And DeVries' seat gets VERY hot very quickly

I'm not on the "fire him" bus yet, however I got crucified here for saying I wanted McCollum.... He is ready for the Big stage. DeVries so far looks and sounds completely like he's be more comfortable coaching at Wheeling West Side High School. Today, he said his team is "fatigued." They have played 3 games in 3 weeks. And they're "fatigued." He also said they're not buying into his offense. HUGE problem. His son is incredibly lazy and generally careless; he successfully recruited not one single "physical" player or anyone with upper body strength. We have no size. We appear to have no idea how to get a good shot when needed and settle for bad ones. I mean 20 for 52 on your home floor is embarrassing. Woodson was awful, and I am very glad he's gone. But this is almost worse because he said the right things and now just looks baffled.

He's a good one. Our offense next year is stacked

Sounds like a law firm we need. Ndukwe and Ndukwe

This happens to be one of my favorite subjects. I was very young in 1975. I do remember exactly where I was when Indiana lost to Kentucky, and I sort of knew what it meant. The following year, the morning after Indiana won the title, I cried...saying my private goodbye to the seniors on that team who had become my heroes. By the time Indiana became "THAT" good, the expectations were there. And Indiana had won a title just 23 years prior. (to put that in perspective, it has been 1 season longer than that since IU last went to the final four. That thought blows me away) Winning was not "expected" before Bob Knight's arrival; however it was not as foreign as it has been to football. Then? He did arrive. And.... Assembly Hall by 1976 had a "feel." A smell. A sound. Certainly through the 1970's and 1980's, winning was a habit and every song the band played was predictable and familiar. The banners swayed from side to side, then hung on what amounted to a clothes line. Winning was expected, as was being in the Big Ten championship conversation. When Indiana was REALLY good, we all knew it and it wasn't ever unexpected. Winning it was a time or two, but we only had ~ 48 hours to absorb it once we made the final game. During the NCAA tournament, to win it, a team plays 6 games over 18 days or 2 1/2 weeks. Football? 3 games in 44 days (6 weeks). Lots more time between games to pontificate and anticipate. Add to it the uniqueness and unexpected nature of this over the last 25 months; AND the transfer portal at the same time, my personal opinion is this is FAR more exciting if only because it's so unbelievable. Maybe it's just more surreal with football now. More "drastic" in contrast to "what was," and definitely more immediate. More absolute. More obvious.

Indiana 76 Iowa 71

Not exactly something I want to win, so a VERY reluctant curtsey. Darian DeVries needs to figure out...quickly that he needs players who can play and win in the Big Ten and that he isn't in the Missouri Valley anymore. We need.....and do not have "dudes." Or size. Or strength. We look so good sometimes. Others....yyeeeeessshh

Miami makes too many mistakes holding just a 19-13 edge in turnovers and they average 7 penalties a game for 57 yards. By contrast, Indiana's TO margin is 32-9; and they average 3.5 penalties for 25 yards. Indiana is not going to revert to the mean. Miami is going to have to play their best...and with added hype and the "out of the locker room" enthusiasm, they're just not a great bet to keep it up for 4 quarters. We all know Indiana is terrific against the run...allowing just 3.0 YPC. Miami only runs it for 4.1 YPC (IU 5.2), so they're not explosive and Carson Beck does tend to throw it to the other team more than Mendoza does. Miami's defense is legit....no doubt. If Indiana can move the ball and the chains....and keep Mendoza clean most of the night, we'll win comfortably. Miami isn't exactly known for their discipline and I'll take Indiana over 4 quarters against anyone. I predicted 42-13 for the good guys.

Indiana 42 Miami 13

MSU 81 IU 66

He's ranked that high because of his body and his athletic ability. He does not have great ball skills, but he is an NBA athlete and a very capable rebounder and not a bad passer. He is very raw however, and definitely needs some coaching. He doesn't score much unless he dunks it, but he does understand when to cut and he doesn't hesitate once he's there. A project for sure.

NU 78 IU 71

Indiana 35 OU 13