Old Friend

Macro - best wishes to JBJ.  Here's hoping they find a minor tear and can simply repair his meniscus.  (I heard 10 minutes ago that's still an option)    Sucks for the kid.  I hope he recovers quickly, and comes back stronger.   Micro - it offers Crean an excuse.  Which also sucks.  "But Mr. Glass, we lost 15 points a game!"  "I know, but he can't guard anybody.  Aren't you in some ways better off without him?"   "No.  He's a warrior."

Here's the problem.  Tom Crean doesn't coach in such a way that maximizes his rosters.  He allows kids to showcase themselves, which is great for a player with aspirations of the NBA, but awful for a college basketball team.   Cases in point :  Yogi Ferrell has been allowed to take as many bad shots as he wants and turn the ball over as many times as he wants in order to put up whatever numbers he has.  True, Yogi's got a ton of assists, too, but he will graduate from Indiana as the all time leader in turnovers.  Many unforced, and many because he's being showy...with that stupid "freak move."     Troy Williams has been allowed to turn the ball over while being a primary ball handler more than any "4" in the country.     We don't really game plan to exploit weaknesses or accentuate positives.  We just do what we do and hope we make enough shots to win.  Doesn't matter how much SEAL training you do or how nice your sand pit is.  You have to have plans against good teams, and they can't all be the same.  You have to execute.  Playing OG more minutes at Williams' expense is not how Crean does things.  It might be helpful, and might lead to more wins, but it's never going to happen.  Bielfelt needs more minutes, too.  I'd play a lot more of he and Bryant together.  I'd play Johnson at the 1 more often, and allow Yogi to play some 2, but also play Johnson, Blackmon, and Zeisloft with Bryant/Hartman and Bielfelt/OG.  Taking two very selfish players off the floor.      But that's not Crean.  He wants to tell kids he sends players to the NBA, and it seems Crean won't sacrifice that statement for the sake of putting a smart team on the floor.   We've never run shooters off screens because I don't think Crean recruits kids who are truly interested in screening or doing things to get team mates open.  He has a roster full of kids who want their own numbers.   Save Hartman, I don't even think we have kids willing to do "little things" that help teams win.     The reasons Crean never wins big are in plain sight.  Here's hoping Glass sees them, too.

This is exactly it.  He doesn't adjust.  He doesn't game plan differently for different teams or styles.  He doesn't recruit kids with high basketball IQ.  He doesn't seem to mind turnovers or bad shots.  And his teams win when they make shots, lose when they don't.   A trained monkey could coach that way.     What I want is a coach who understands how to take advantage of what other teams don't do well and take away what they DO do well.  I want to see a brilliant game plan executed so Indiana wins games against good teams.  I want to see a priority placed on transition defense and pride in playing efficient smart basketball.   "Everything Crean wants" is frequently not good enough against good teams because he seemingly doesn't know how to plan or change what his team does.  They've played the same way for 8 years.  Whether they have the right roster or not.   

Liked the intensity.  We played with more purpose in the 2nd half.  Still no reason to trail Nebraska at halftime, and I think we tend to play down sometimes.  Too many unforced turnovers, and free throws are still a huge problem.   Progress and more positive than negative; but still a very imperfect team that will have a hard time beating teams that take away transition.

Question for the sake of discussion.  Based solely on his resume and what you've seen of his teams at Indiana, what makes you believe he can "turn this around?"   I think I know what you're trying to say here, which is supportive of the man but not the coach.  However, as admirable as that is, any "man" deserves support, but this coach - in my opinion - does not, and he has shown nothing in his career - again, in my opinion - which tells me he can succeed at a level Indiana fans expect; and he's a very poor "coach," meaning he doesn't make changes which allow Indiana the best chance for success against any given team.

You could very well be right, but The Big Ten is not very good and our schedule is really easy comparatively.  We could win 13 or we could win 9 or 10.  Neither would surprise me.   For the sake of the discussion..   Rutgers is 1 at Nebraska Wisconsin at home Illinois at home Northwestern at home Minnesota at home at Penn State Nebraska at home at illinois   Those are the ones I'd say we "should" win.That's 9.  We may be able to get 4 more.  Maybe. Or not.   

And this is the problem with our program.  This is fine at Kentucky.  That's who Kentucky is.  It is not fine at Indiana.  Not our culture, not our history, not our DNA.  We have a coach who enables this and allows 23 turnovers in a game against a bad team because he wants the players to showcase themselves.  We need our soul back....

Interesting, indeed.   The reality?  I have - and I'm sure I'm not alone - reached the point of absolute apathy.  I don't care if Indiana wins or loses because either is okay with me right now.   I watch this team play, and I don't enjoy it.  I don't enjoy zero strategy.  Zero game plan.  Zero "anything different than any other time Indiana plays."   I don't enjoy listening to our coach try to sell.....whoever that we just beat a good team.  I don't enjoy his passive-aggressive defending of himself the way he has for 8 years.  He doesn't coach.  He installs a style, and it's good enough most of the time against bad teams, and not good enough most of the time against quality teams.   Been that way the entirety of his tenure at Indiana except when he had two top 5 NBA draft picks and several experienced role players on the roster.  Kind of like....Marquette.  (Okay, they only had one top 5, but also two additional NBA guys in the starting lineup)  Groundhog Day includes a repeat of a tenure at another university!!   I don't enjoy watching Yogi Ferrell - a senior - take bad shot after bad shot and play like turnovers AND bad shots don't matter.  A senior had 6 turnovers against the worst team in the Big Ten.  Our starting back court had 11.  When Ryan Burton has more points in a game than Thomas Bryant and Robert Johnson combined...that's a problem.  A sign of very bad things and a team disengaged.     We still absolutely suck at the free throw line.  65% ain't gonna' cut it.   Troy Williams had more turnovers than field goal attempts.  (7 to 6) And played 29 minutes with basically 3 other starters out of the game or not engaged in the game.  Whu...?  Why!?!  He was 2-5 from the FT line.  This is a kid who thinks he's a lottery pick?  He COULD be...which is really sad.  Where's the fight, Troy?  Where's the "I'm carrying this team" mentality.  7 turnovers in 29 minutes??  My God...   The worst part?  Our Big Ten schedule is so soft, we're STILL going to win 13 games and STILL going to make this coach look good.     Groundhog Day.  Yes, indeed.  Groundhog Day.  Nothing changes.  We win if we make shots, lose if we don't, and make bad teams look decent because we can't guard.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  This is what you get when you have a coach who's not a good x and o guy.  Who's not a game planner.  Who doesn't make adjustments.  Who never makes any real changes other than switching defenses every now and then.  (or sometimes too often)   This is not Groundhog Day.  This is what Indiana Basketball looks like.  We don't have a roster full of smart players.  We have a few, but mostly kids with athletic ability, some ball skills, and no real basketball IQ.  I was impressed with Morgan.  He knows where to be.  He seems to understand positioning.  He loses focus, but I think he gets it.  Bielfelt gets it.  Burton does.  But Williams?  No clue.  Yogi? No clue.   Bryant?  Out of position today more often than he was IN position.     Thank God (I guess) that team missed 10 layups.  We're 1-0 in the Big Ten.  I'm supposed to be happy, right?  I'm afraid Groundhog Day is here to stay as long as we have a coach who isn't a strategist.  When the system works, it works.  When it doesn't...it doesn't.  That was true in 2009 and it's true now.  Happy February 2nd.  

Good, God.  Nobody's buying anymore, Tom.  Just pathetic.

Wow.  In the limited time I've spent with him, this sounds like the same guy.  Great stuff.

I don't disagree with any of that.  And yes...I know everything you said is true.  The answer is a one man list...until it isn't.  I know that too, and I've said it a lot more than you have.  Glass' job is to look big picture and I too think he's done very well, but the other side to the coin is while I too am very happy with the job Glass is doing, Indiana does not compete on a level right now with the Michigan States, Penn States, Ohio States, etc.  And we can't count on football to generate the money....basketball has to.  Like T. Boone Pickens at Oklahoma State whose interest was the success of the football program, Indiana has plenty of alums who are willing to step up...and will if the basketball team gets to a better spot.     The comment was "more wins = more money."  My response was a simple one because it's an accurate one.   We do well now, but even if we meet our goals now, we do better if we win bigger.  I'm not faulting Glass for anything.  I also know he's had the money to buy Crean out for over a year.  If anything, he's too patient.  I also know Cindy Simon-Skjodt wants a big winner in the building with her name on it.  I know Mr. Shapiro (forget his name...friends with Herb Simon and owns Shapiro's Deli in Indy) backed off his yearly gifts recently, citing disappointment in the basketball program as a primary reason.  If the basketball program starts to win more consistently, the alumni will be more supportive financially.  YOU know that.

Support from alumni.

He missed over 1/3 of the season with injury, and seemed to play just 2-3 plays in a row most of the time when he was healthy.  I remember many times wondering why he was raising his hand and taking himself out of games for a couple of plays. I don't see him as a durable guy at all.  "Football injury" or not.  

Howard says he wants to go to the NFL draft, but given the amount of injuries this season, who's going to take a chance on a brittle 250 pound back?  I was disappointed in his inability to stay healthy.  Indiana wins at least 2 more games if he's on the field.

I fail to understand why in overtime, we think we need to trick people.  A reverse? Really?   We've run the ball well all night.  When we were patient, we threw it even better.  And then, we run a reverse on 2nd down.    We drop a TD pass.  We fumble a punt when we've held them to a 3 and out.  We give them a 1st down with an offsides penalty.  We allow 4 huge plays for TD's; one following a declined penalty which would have put them in 1st and 20 deep in their own end.  Gave them at least 28 of their points.  At LEAST.   This was classic "we let them hang around."   Indiana was by and large the better football team.  Take away the big plays and Indiana dominates in just about every way it can.  Indiana shoots itself in the foot a-la Rutgers and loses a game to a very inferior opponent.  671 yards of total offense.  that's 2/5ths of a mile.     I would staunchly disagree with anyone saying Wilson needs to go.  Our recruits are far better.  Our team is solid...and a good college football team much of the time.  We have holes and we struggle with big plays, along with "success."  We don't handle success well (see : fumbled punt return after a GREAT 3 and out, etc)   Everything within this program is getting better.  Our depth showed tonight, as a few young kids scored and played well.    But we had no business losing that game.  Indiana needs to find ways to win, and tonight, we found ways to lose.  Coaching was not good late; but getting rid of Wilson is not the answer.  And we never should have been in position for the kick to matter.

May your in laws go to bed early.   Merry Christmas.   14 year old Scotch is perfect this evening.

I saw your headline and kept waiting for "Is it me you're looking for?"

I think I agree with this.  Purdue has had better years and better teams offensively, but this team is pretty boring.  They don't move well, don't shoot well, and seem almost obsessed with the low block; which Butler used to their disadvantage.  Every time Purdue threw it down there, Butler ran a kid immediately to double, and Purdue's bigs rarely go their feet in position to do what they do.  Just a solid plan that took Purdue completely away from their comfort zone.   I'm not in love with Indiana's offense, either because if teams get back and are able to guard the perimeter early in possessions, we struggle to get quality shots sometimes.  We space better than Purdue does, but we also make more mistakes and take more bad shots.  Fine line....but yeah, I like how they guard.  Butler, too.

Good post.  Indiana fans who grew up with Knight's teams loved the style and expectations as much as the laundry.  The "go cheer for Purdue" and "you're not a real fan" comments are laughable at best.  Purdue plays and recruits the way many Indiana fans appreciate, and Butler absolutely does.   The way Crean coaches might as well be in the MEAC or Mountain West.  We're just able to get better talent, but "good basketball" is not what he coaches.

Indeed.   We need two things :   1)  An administration that understands WHY Butler is so good.  They recruit smart players who are willing to play as a unit, and that means they don't always go after the numbers guys...the spotlight guys.  Their coaches game plan and their teams execute.   And they understand the program is bigger than they are.   2)  A cultural overhaul.  A win against ND, just as Sterling said, is not some great accomplishment.  At Indiana, we expect to win games like that routinely.  It is not a surprise when it happens, and it should not be celebrated beyond the normal "nice win...good job.  Who's next?"    A coach who thinks fake effort is an accomplishment.  Who speaks in such platitudes, his own fan base calls BS on a regular basis.  Indiana needs great coaches, great, committed team players, and an administration which understands the value of a consistently successful men's basketball program.   We have none of that at the moment.  What we DO have is a coach and small group of fans that believe you can throw darts, stockpile relatively high profile players who have ability with the ball, and somehow form a successful team.   The recruitment of Gelon, while individually not a huge deal, shows me that on some level, somebody might be willing to make some minor changes.  Major ones are needed, but at least it's a step.   Indiana wins when we make jump shots.  Butler wins because they game plan, they execute, and they do so consistently.   I know which brand I'd rather watch.

Purdue fans are truly a pathetic lot.  I'd tell them to act like they've been there before, but they haven't.

Agree.  This is a "bigger picture" issue.  No, it's not a big deal if the SC coach sits on the bench, and by itself it's kinda' dumb, but that's not the point.  It's that he's completely over the top animated and vocal.  We ALL root for the kids and he has a vested interest; but on the team bench is simply not the place for his antics because it makes Indiana look cheap.  We expect to do great things on the floor, don't we?   We have to have professionalism on the bench.  We have to set an example rather than act like a kid.  Don't we act like we've been there before?  Don't we worry about minor celebrations behind closed doors once the game is over and we can talk about what we've really accomplished?  He clearly loves the kids and loves when they do well.  And that's GREAT!  It's terrific to have allies.  But tone it down or sit behind the bench with the fans.

#1 A lot of the damage is his own.  Not sure what he can do, here. #3 is so accurate, it's comical.  Absolutely.   #4 Tom Crean and Chuck Pagano share this, and it's laughable.   #5  Can't do it.  Can't undersell.  Expectations at Indiana are what they are.  Every year. #7, Yeah....this is right.  I don't care one bit if you're doing Navy Seal training or wearing the newest air-flow gas mask running hills or how loud and obnoxious he is.  This is a basketball team, and you're judged by wins and losses; not what you do in a new sand pit outside the building. #8   YES!!!!!!!!!!!  Culture.  Expectations.  Do your damned homework on who you bring in here.

You can look up the rosters as easily as I can, right?  I think my number's low, but I don't need to do the work again.  I already did before I posted that.  Look it up.  I'm not degrading others' opinions.  I just don't agree with them, and people who are a lot more educated on it than I am don't either.     I have very little to stand on?  Really?  Check out Knight's record.  He didn't leave Indiana, Ohio, or Illinois for his first 17 years, and then finally got Hillman from California before Smart and Garrett.  That's fact.  He then got Haston from Tennessee and Fife from Michigan, but both were great fits for Indiana, as was Moye from Georgia - he was a poster child for the right kind of kid..look up his commitment press conference.  Knight did his homework.  He did NOT on Eggers, Mandeville, Reed, etc.  He let his assistants - including Dakich - do that so he could go hunt and fish with D. Wayne Lukas and Tony LaRussa, and it bit him badly.  He got back involved in the late 1990's and built the roster that eventually went to the Final Four.  Again, that's what happened.  Not an opinion.   Here's the problem.  You tell me I degrade others' opinion, but then you give me the line of my having nothing to stand on.  Yeah....I do.  It's called history.  We won multiple Big Ten and national titles with Knight never getting on a plane to do a recruiting visit.   The argument is made all the time that "things have changed and we need to be national now."  Really?  Why?  Where's YOUR leg to stand on?  Why do we need to be national?   What if we'd been able to recruit Gordon Heyward, Matt Howard, and Shelvin Mack?   What if we'd had Hummel? Harangody?  Trevon Blueitt?  Luke of Tyler Zeller?  Sean May?  Conley and Oden?   Bryant McIntosh?  PJ Thompson?  Zak Irvin?  Stuart Douglass?  On and on and on and on and on.  Look who we recruited instead.  Start with Jessean Gray-Ashley, and Ben Allen...then move to Stanford Robinson and Max Hoetzel.  Do we need Thomas Bryant if we can get, for example, Swanigan?  Do we need Hoezel if we can get McIntosh?  It all has to fit, but there's more smart, able talent around here per capita than anywhere in the country, and it's not close.  Giving you evidence is not degrading your opinion.  It's supporting my argument.      Seriously...do your homework like I have, and look up the kids from within 200 miles of Bloomington who have, in the last 20 years, to be great college players.  Stop with the easy references like Hartman.   We all know he's a role player.  It's not like he's the sole answer to my point.  Of course you need top talent, but you also have to have kids who understand the game, and the way it needs to be played at Indiana for fans to buy in.  You've been paying attention the last 16 years, right?  What has the diluted local focus done for Indiana?  Where's your evidence it's worked?  The list above is the tip of the iceberg.  

You're right.   Which is why Crean needs to do a better job vetting the kids he signs.