Old Friend

I really have to laugh. Indiana has scored 46, 43, and 47 points in respective first halves, allowed 25, 33, and 40 (total of 136-98, so a 38 point differential); and we have people saying they think the problems in the 1st half are due to bad game plans. We led by 21 at halftime of game one and allowed 25 points. Were you complaining about a bad game plan, then? Other teams do scout Indiana. And other teams also have very good basketball players (unless you believe getting to the D1 level is easy). Here's a fact for you. Only ~ 1,020 high school players every season go on to play division 1 basketball. There are ~ 37,000 high schools in the US, which mean there are probably close to 155,000 high school senior basketball players. We're talking about < 1%, boys and girls. So if you think for one minute the kids playing at North Alabama or Portland State are bad players who can't execute and play well, you need to think again. This will be offensive to some, and I really don't care. Do you guys have any idea at all what you're talking about? I saw the Marquette game listed as an exception....so when WE make everything from the field (including the hated Evan Fitzner), it's a good game plan; but when we get a little lost on defense and leave shooters open; and THEY make shots...a couple of which were very well contested....it's a bad game plan? Regardless of whether we're scoring over a point a minute and shooting over 50% from the floor on the season and have taken 26 more FT's than opponents in 3 games..but had some turnover problems tonight along with a couple of blown defensive assignments.....and some are blaming game planning for a couple of closer-than-desired halftime scores? The reasons and depth of the problems (which are correctable and for the most part get corrected) seem to escape some guys in favor of the easiest possible answer, regardless of circumstances or bigger picture. "Blame the coach....we should have hired someone else. We suck. Archie isn't doing his job" Blah, blah....Good grief. For example, tonight, 3 starters are new to Indiana's program. Indiana started the game with its two point guards on the bench...one in sweats. NAU made some really tough shots, and good for them. Last season and the one before that, Indiana struggled to score because there was little depth, lots of injury, and players playing out of position. Sometimes, fellas? It's not all on the coach. Sometimes, sports just happen. Was Calipari's game plan a bad one tonight?? That's just WAY too simple. No wonder so many people think all of our coaches should be fired.

Read the last one. (and I can't believe you're this obsessed) There's not one thing in that which is incorrect. It's also from last season, and he's a little better this season. Is your skin so incredibly thin that you have to be told every time you think you might have scored a point? Do you want a cookie, ice cream, or both?? There is a reason he lost his starting job. And those things I wrote? They were true then and they're true now. He is a good backup quarterback. But Indiana was and is limited with him. Are you arguing against that or just fishing to feel better about yourself?? Grow. A. Pair. Edit : As for the middle one, I was clearly pissed after a game. Would you like me to go back and post the idiotic sh!t you've posted when you were upset with games? Good Lord, man. Get a life.

I have said all year he's a great backup QB and have given him credit several times. I also stood by the reasons he lost his starting job; and those things are still true. You can go back and read what I've written. Or..not.

This also isn't true. You jokers have absolutely no ability to comprehend what people write nor any objectivity. No wonder nobody takes you seriously.

How was I wrong about Peyton Ramsey? Everything I said about him is exactly true. I know how badly you want me to be wrong, but I'm not. And I haven't been.

Indiana 91 North Alabama 60

FIRE TOM ALLEN!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Gleas.... Define smaller for me, please. To me, it seems we play pretty well with TJD, Smith, Thompson, and minutes from Brunk. Davis looks to be an odd man out except against big teams; but we have at least 3 bigs (including Smith) who run and/or space the floor pretty well and another in Brunk who seems more than capable of 15-20 solid minutes every game. We out-rebounded PSU by 17 and dominated points in the paint. Their guards had 58 of their 74 points today. Just want to understand how you're defining "smaller."

Disagree. One more season and I agree. I think Indiana will make the tournament and it'll all be moot, but he's obviously trying to build for the long term; and I think he at the very least deserves the opportunity to build an experienced roster before he's judged. Some of you are in such a "win now" mode without taking into account the factors that go into that. Things are going in the right direction whether we get Garcia or not. Nothing ever hinges on one player; and it's exhausting every single season when some new kid is THE MUST HAVE! or it shows something much bigger is wrong. As with Tom Allen and the football program...take a breath and be patient. It's moving in a good direction.

PSU has a very quick point guard (who was the conference freshman of the year 2 years ago and preseason Big Sky 1st team, and preseason POY), and can make shots (made 7 three-pointers a game a year ago and made 8 today, plenty of which were contested. ) Also a team that can get to the FT line and make shots when they get there. If that's the 277th best team in the country, I'm Tom Cruise. Indiana controlled the game, led by 16 a couple of times; and we have people complaining that - in game 2 with a brand new team that's obviously growing and will get better - we didn't win by enough. Yes...there is a lot to improve, but damn, folks. Every minute won't be pretty. I don't think Kenpom means anything at this point in the season. And comparing Indiana to Duke is meaningless. Why??

Indiana 94 PSU 57

Depends on what the original diagnosis was. Briuse? Strain? If something like hairline fracture or anything like a separation, I agree. If it was already torn/cracked and they didn't pick it up via MRI or other testing, it wouldn't have mattered and would have bothered him until he suffered whatever injury he did or had surgery.

I just heard from someone I trust (or "trust enough") that the injury that's now got him out is the same one he suffered from for a couple of weeks. It was always a collarbone/clavicle thing. He tried to play through it and obviously couldn't. Perhaps finished the job last week, but it had been hurting for a little while.

It baffles me....less with him, but still....how someone can reasonably and with a straight face, ask if we're supposed to wait and see before talking about anything positive, and inferring everything sucks until it doesn't. It's like he has the inability to learn from the "Fire Tom Allen" debacle. The "Fire Fred Glass" garbage from the last few years is just as bad. The best food doesn't cook in a microwave. Life tip from an old friend.

I'm way too ignorant and stubborn to avoid feeding the bear. I'm nothing if not proactive. But your point is well taken. =)

You could try looking at it from a different perspective that's not negative and critical. If you understand sports and how college programs are built, it's really not that difficult. There is one set of facts. Your perspective on those facts can be different; but the facts don't change. You almost always look at what's happened in the past and extrapolate those facts into what should drive future decisions or mindsets without taking into consideration what's really happened or happening. For example : Archie's team missed the post season in year one. Fact. And understood. But....that team also lost Deron Davis to an achilles injury, Hartman to a back injury, and played the season basically with a healthy Juwon Morgan as its only experienced post player. Another fact, Josh McRoberts was 5th on that team in minutes played. We relied on...Josh McRoberts. Another fact. Archie didn't have a single of his own recruits play even a minute that season. Another fact, Archie's philosophy is 180* different than Tom Crean's, and every player who played that season was recruited to play an offense first system, and Archie asked them to be defense first. In Archie's second season, Green lost 7 games with injury. Phinisee, who started really well, lost a month with a concussion (I know he only missed 3 games, but he wasn't right for at least a month). Race Thompson was out pretty much all season. Langford battled different injuries to his hand and his back (allegedly) all season. We had no depth, having Clifton Moore, Jake Forrester, McBob again, a slow and obviously unhealthy Davis, Damezi Anderson who wasn't yet ready, and Evan Fitzner. Check me if I'm wrong; but that's 9 of 14 players on last season's team that either missed time with injury, were incumbered by injury, or weren't ready or good enough to play last season. Archie jettisoned Moore and Forrester...good move. He has recruited 2 straight Indiana Mr. Basketball's..and likely has a 3rd straight already in the fold next season along with one of the fastest rising stars in high school in Geronimo; an athlete like we haven't seen since Oladipo. The current team got much better defensively a year ago toward the end of the season. Right now, there is no dead weight on the team as there has been for 2 seasons. The kids all (except poor Davis) look faster, bigger, and more confident and it doesn't take an expert to see how they played last night vs. how they have looked in year's 1 and 2. Recruiting is very solid if we agree Indiana needs to become experienced and stay that way. If you're an "I need my satisfaction RIGHT NOW!!!" guy, Indiana's not for you. They're not building it that way...regardless of what parameter you place on how YOU will define success this season. But...if you can see the forest through the trees, you'll easily see the trend is upward and by next season, I think you'll have your national contender. But..you have to be a little patient, and that's obviously very difficult for you. We could talk about stuff like that....but that would require a very different thought process from your typical "fire everyone because we aren't winning and everyone who's not winning to my standard sucks" mentality. In one man's opinion? You haven't yet earned the right to expect people to blindly trust your assessments of the state of IU sports, Still want to fire Tom Allen? Earlier this season when we lost to MSU, you wouldn't get off that hill. Sometimes, things need to play out, but you have to be able to see what's coming and what's happening...getting OFF of what happened and using THAT as the barometer for everything.

As I have said, he will surprise. His points will come, but he is a very capable basketball player. His length will be a problem for a lot of guards, and he's unselfish. People will really like him, I believe.

Is he even on the bench?

Justin Smith looks like he wants to play in the NBA soon. Completely different player.

8-1-1 so far

I'm sayin'!! I know a few people like to disagree with me, but I've been pretty consistent in my feelings for what's happening within this basketball program. The future is pretty damned positive.

That's because he is very, very slow. We're sort of seeing next year's team now and I'm ecstatic. Next season could be special....and I still say this season may be way better than some think.

That will keep us in a lot of games and travels well. Quickness meets length meets effort meets depth. That's a recipe.

Seriously...get a hand up!!

No...you're interpreting that because you have an almost unimaginable bias and inability to grasp the reality of the two. Indiana is limited with Ramsey, and that's not arguable with anyone except you. Ramsey's dad was all over Twitter defending him a year ago, but magically disappeared when he lost the job. I've never seen you two knuckleheads in the same place....hhmmmm...