Old Friend

Yes. 5 billion people were cast that way. All 5 billion potential recruits were characterized the same way. Except Irena here. This woman? Sneaky quick. Range to 32'. SHE isn't characterized that way, but the OTHER 4,999,999,999 potential IU signees are all projects. Every damned one of them.

True only if you have no idea what you're looking at and can only judge based on past results.

How dense does someone have to be to believe one kid from Minnesota by himself defines the direction of a program so obviously headed in the right direction? You think if we don't get a 17 year old kid named Dawson Garcia to say "yes" to a scholarship offer from our favorite school things change? I don't see anywhere someone saying "it's good to miss out on him." And by the way, how many good high school players HAVE said yes who didn't pan out? Jeremy Hollowell? Remember the buzz about Clifton Moore? (another out of state big man who many - probably you - said was a really talented big man who would do well here) Hell, even great players - we got Noah Vonleh and Thomas Bryant and never did a thing with them. The inability to grasp a bigger picture, making a person both ignorant and narrow is no way to go through your (oops) life. I know you're just waiting for Indiana to fail so you can come back and remind us how smart you were...there can BE no other explanation. Your problem? There are many much smarter. You're just betting the Don't Pass line. Doesn't make you smarter. It just makes you "that guy" nobody wants to play with. You're alone at the table with 1-2 other guys. Enjoy your time drinking with them. Humbug!

Like I said about Damezi, his shot may not look great, but it's effective. He is shooting and frankly playing with a ton more confidence than he was, which is more important to me than style points. He isn't going to be counted on to take many, but he is now a threat from out there which will open things up for him and for everyone else. It's a small sample size to be sure, but he has doubled his % from last year so far. He had only made 10 in his career entering this season, and has already made 3. He doesn't need to do any more than he's already done to make that an effective shot for him, simply because it's now a threat.

Doesn't hurt that his dad was one of the best rebounders and interior defenders of his era, either.

Another stat I love..Assist/TO ratio through 4 games among our ball handlers. First of all, nobody has > 8 TO's yet. That's huge. Durham 9 assists 7 TO's (not good, but among ball handlers, this is the worst and I think will improve) Phinisee 16 assists 8 TO's Franklin 13 assists 6 TO's Green (granted only 1 game) 4 assists 1 TO And we're assisting on ~ 67% of all FG's. All of that is a HUGE improvement over a year ago, even against less than stellar competition.

Durham's bad-assery and improvement has been terrific to watch. Hunter's availability really helps. Phinsee will be good enough from out there, Damezi's shot looks awful, but it's effective (I'm really happy for that kid...he's completely different than he was last year in everything from stature to intensity to results to demeanor), and Franklin will be a threat, too. Nobody is yet at "you can't leave that guy!" status, but none are "don't have to guard him out there," either. Ironically enough, I'm more comfortable with ALL of the players mentioned above before I'm comfortable with Green right now. Until he's shaken the rust off, there are 5-6 guys who should be shooting it out there before he should. The most shocking to me is Smith!

I think it all boils down to whether or not he wants to or is comfortable with going farther away from home than Milwaukee. Indiana and Marquette are not at all similar programs or experiences. Marquette's home arena is the Fiserv Forum - same building as the Milwaukee Bucks. An NBA building in no way similar to Assembly Hall. Marquette is in a major city - Milwaukee. Not comparable at all to Bloomington. He is - in terms of school and experience - comparing apples to oranges. Marquette is a fine program; no disrespect; but this comparison doesn't appear necessarily to be one school or program vs. another. As was mentioned, yeah....they have Dwayne Wade, who is now retired. We have Oladipo, Gordon, Langford, Vonleh, Bryant, Zeller, etc. who can all give a more recent account of their experiences. To me, this is a logistics battle and nothing more.

Indiana 83 Princeton 60

And posters who deny it don't know what they're looking at.

Mods, feel free to move this to the game thread if needed, but this is the one remaining thorn in my side relative to Tom Allen. Talent is there or getting there. Effort is absolutely there. Depth is getting there. Execution and game plans are obviously improving. But....,this is huge. The mental and discipline sides really need to get cleaned up. Indiana is 89th of 130 in D1 football in terms of penalties per game Indiana is 120th of 130 in terms of penalty yards per penalty (WAY too many "big" and costly penalties; many of which are mental) Indiana is 112th of 130 in terms of penalty yards per GAME Indiana is 122nd of 130 in terms of 1st downs given up by penalty. Some IU blog dude on Twitter just argued that Indiana is one of the least penalized teams in the Big Ten, which verified for me that "journalists" know absolutely nothing and make up most of what they write. This is a pretty good resource if anyone's interested. https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/stat/penalties-per-game

Completely throwing a freshman under the bus. Blaming the kid for making a mistake. Good Lord..that was a coaching blunder and the kid should have never been in that position. Don't get cute. Go for it or kick it. Don't put a freshman or any kid in a position to make that mistake. That's on YOU, Coach. Own it. The blame game is a bad look.

If I could make that cartoon noise when a character shakes his head, I would.

Then what in the holy hell are you so upset about??

You know how media is. The "underdog" isn't the story until they are. Indiana is not the story for ESPN or ABC, and you nailed it with your quotes around 'neutral.' They weren't overly critical of Indiana...they were simply looking to promote a team that might benefit the ESPN mother ship. Having said that? It wasn't difficult to focus on the negative because mental breakdowns cost Indiana that game. Mental breakdowns continue to cost Indiana games. The punt after their 1st drive? Took the ball away from us and gave them a touchdown. Dumbest fake punt attempt since Chuck Pagano? Gave them another touchdown. Dropped TD pass by Hale takes 4 points off the board. Even with the obvious things that held our offense back today, we still should have won the game. Of all the complaints people have had about Tom Allen, the one thing his team needs to clean up is the maddening consistency of mental errors; but the program is absolutely on the right track. We get those dudes in Bloomington next fall. Indiana's talent is right there with almost anyone. The depth isn't there quite yet; but Indiana is a good football team. Mental midgetry holds us back as much as anything.

I tried to tell you, fellas. Lots of people coming around to things a little late around here.... Time to raise the game a little!! =)

You should be bugged by it. If there's one thing about Tom Allen I think we can all agree on, it's that his team makes consistent mental errors that cost them. Whether it's a play like that or a personal foul for a late hit or something else; his teams have largely been undisciplined and do things like THAT which cost them wins. A completely ridiculous mental error a team like Indiana simply can't have. Great answer....yes. But we SHOULD be up 7-0. Don't apologize for being right!

Agree. The results will come. "Get old and stay old," and a couple guys won't even give us the chance to get old.

You are beyond hope. You are Veruca Salt. Before...when I said it's not that you don't know anything? I was wrong.

Okay.....we're getting somewhere. I've been coaching at the high school and AAU level for 22 years. It's very possible, and I acknowledge I watch and see things differently than some fans do, but I disagree with you on progress....and here's what I mean. 1) DeVonte Green. I have been very hard on that kid. Late last season? His decision making and shot selection, and frankly his fundamentals improved dramatically. 2) We lost Langford for the NIT and still played pretty well, winning 2 games in that tournament. Defense was better, effort was better, and I saw better continuity. I see the same thing now...only better. We were still WAY under-sized, and had few shooters. Both of those problems have either been corrected or are being corrected. Progress 3) In today's Amazon Prime, at your door tomorrow, 30 minutes or less, need it right now, speed is everything society, it's very easy to expect results to reflect progress. But..it's not that simple. They eventually do and they have to; but facts are facts. Indiana's roster, through no fault of Archie's, was limited. A new coach walking in the door doesn't automatically mean "results." Sometimes, that takes a while. Couple of you wanted Tom Allen fired because you didn't like his credentials. You didn't like the results that happened last year and couldn't see the progress....until....oh. Yeah. Go Tom Allen! 4) Archie Miller has landed 2 straight Indiana Mr. Basketball's and likely has a 3rd in Leal already in the fold. His recruiting has made Indiana longer, faster, deeper, more balanced, and more athletic. Does that translate yet into a national contender? No; but that would be unrealistic. Next season? Not so much. Again..the journey. Progress is in the journey, not always the results. 5) Your standards are your standards. Mine? I want Indiana to be in the conversation for Big Ten champion every season. That happens? The rest will take care of itself. I think we're a year away from that being reality; but I also think this team is much better than people think and will end up making you happier than I think you believe you'll be. My real point? Look at what's being built. Look at HOW it's being built. Look on the floor and tell me you see the same kind of team you saw last season or the year prior. If you can, I'd say you're being intellectually dishonest. Give it ENOUGH time. If it doesn't develop, Archie will be held accountable. If it does, you'll be pleased. We're not stuck. IU Basketball is in good hands. It's just not Amazon Prime.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah........ You really aren't able to process reality are you? You're hung up on Archie's first game as IU's coach and games 2 years ago with a team full of kids he didn't recruit?? The absolute pathetic mature of that is consistent comedy. Do yourself a favor and look up Dr. Adler. You could really benefit. (Hint : get out of the past and what made you unhappy. You'll live a happier life. You know nothing. We all know nothing. The past is the past. We memorize those facts. The future is a blank canvas...there's no story there. In the here and now, things are different. You can't see them. You're stuck. Get unstuck. Now...go read.)

It's not that I think you don't know anything. I think you fail to understand there is more to the story than I think you see most of the time, and other perspectives show and tell different things. The first 2 teams I remember went 63-1 over 2 seasons and won an NCAA title. So....if you think I don't want IU basketball to be good, you are outside your mind. All I'm telling you is I think your immediate satisfaction expectations are unrealistic. I don't think you can see past the nose on your face sometimes, which makes you negative, and you haven't yet shown an interest in seeing the good in the journey because you're only interested in the good in the results. When those kids of yours become teenagers, your perspective will be very different than it is now. A wise person once told me the beauty of a rose is only half the magic. I grew up with the 1975 and 1976 teams. Let that sink in before you assume you're the only one that wants IU to be good.

Penn State 34 Indiana 17

Indiana 84 Troy 68

Same 3-4 guys...in every thread. Regardless of topic, regardless of sport.