Old Friend

You think I don't want IU to be "good at sports?" You think people are "okay with" the past several years? That's an elementary cop out on your part. You're better than that. If you want to root for any program, you have to be objective about that program. I grew up a Reds fan. I'm STILL a Reds fan. Do I want them to be good and go to the playoffs every year? Absolutely. Same with the Pacers. But economics are a reality for those teams just like the disadvantages for IU in football are a reality. Northwestern is in a division where they can compete year in and year out. Indiana is not. That's reality. Same reality Rutgers faces. Tom Allen's winning % so far at Indiana is .400. Do you know how many coaches have had a .400 record at Indiana since 1947? Two. Bill Mallory and Tom Allen. Know how many top 35 recruiting classes Indiana had before Tom Allen? One. Only...one. You can deny history all you want. You can pretend the division doesn't matter to recruiting, coaching hires, etc if you want. Doesn't make your reality different than reality. The basketball program is climbing out of mediocrity very quickly. I can see it even if you can't. Find me 18 months from now. You tell me to get mad, I'll tell you to give some credit to the guy who's built the overall IU Athletics program with huge restrictions on him. You guys can stay pissed all you'd like. Won't change what IU football is. What you two are really saying is you want Indiana to be good at football because every other argument is hypothetical if we're looking at "right now." I think you'll change your tune this winter. We'll see. Indiana football is what Indiana football is. Like I said, you can fight or deny that all you want to. But....blue bloods and college powers are what they are and have been for 100 years. Indiana is a middle of the pack team. In any other conference or division, they're in bowl games every year. In THIS one? They're not. 7-5 and the occasional 8-4 is as good as you're going to get on a consistent basis. If you want to die on the hill that says we can be consistently better, go for it. But it'll be a lonely death.

When exactly - in the 100+ year history of the program other than the late 1980's - has the football program been anything other than "hope for a bowl appearance?" You act like Indiana has fallen into that position, when the opposite is in fact true. The basketball program is on its way up and the NCAA appearance is a step, not a destination. Go root for a "real sports school" if that's where your head is. Take a step back from the b*tching wall and really take an objective look at where things are right now. I don't care where things have been. I've been as vocal as anyone about that. But right now...today; you're painting a much more dire picture than is reality. And yes, IU will get its a$$ kicked on Saturday. Doesn't change anything. Like I said earlier, anyone who thinks Indiana should consistently beat Ohio State has to also believe Rutgers should consistently beat Indiana or Michigan State or Wisconsin in basketball. Call me defeatist if you want to....but truth is what truth is.

I disagree on the basketball team; but even if this season's not what we all want, I think the program is in great shape and getting better. Time will indeed tell, and I'm more bullish on the future than some are. Football is what it is. We can want more, and if we were in Purdue's shoes I'd agree that were reasonable. In the East? I don't.

I'm not telling you I think Fred Glass has done a terrific job, but you're not being objective. The basketball situation was handled. First by Dakich getting rid of the criminals (and sorry to the haters, but that happened), then firing Crean. If you don't see the improvement on the court (late last season vs. early last season and the year prior) and in recruiting, again, I think you're being intellectually dishonest. Archie is entering year 2 with his own players, has signed back to back Indiana Mr. Basketball's, and his 2020 class is shaping up very nicely for a guy trying to build a program for long term success. You don't think adding Brunk, Franklin, Jackson-Davis, and a healthy Hunter will make things a whole hell of a lot better? You're saying "not yet," which means you're looking in the past. Open your eyes and look. Indiana is going to be very good, very deep, and won't have a weak link. Unlike last season when we had...3 or 4. Seriously....look. Football has depth for the first time since the 1980's. Recruiting classes are ranking in the 30's. When's the last time THAT happened? The problems with the football team are more scheduling than anything. Indiana starts almost every season 0-3, and I know you don't want to hear that, but it's accurate. You complain about the "Fred hires," but who DIDN'T he hire? Clarence Doninger didn't hire Urban Meyer. That was before the Big Ten divisions. Who will IU attract when the reasonable consistent ceiling in their own division is 4th? We could hire a big name or up and comer, but how long would they stay? Paying a coach $5 million doesn't change the fact that we're in the same division as 3 college football blue bloods. Saying we should be better than 6-6 or 7-5 every year is the same as saying Minnesota or Rutgers should win the Big Ten in basketball on a consistent basis. Everything you've given me is old news. Right now....at this moment...what are you pissed about? I don't want to hear about Kevin Wilson or Bill Lynch or 2014 or what we're on the verge of because that's hypothetical. We're also on the verge of being consistently really good. Right NOW, what is it? Hit me. The bigger problem is Michael McRobbie. This thread should be about him. Not Fred Glass.

Okay....so you're complaining that we're late? That what we have....which in many ways is far beyond what other schools offer...happened on a different timeline than you wanted? I asked what...right now....he was pissed at. You're complaining about the past. A dollar short? In what way are we a dollar short? Again, you're b*tching about the past. Our football stadium is what it is, but it's damned nice and in a great setting. Assembly Hall hasn't been replaced because you can't build that kind of arena now, and it's one of the best home court advantages in college sports. That's not going away and it shouldn't. Cook Hall is a terrific facility, but doesn't NEED to be anything other than what it is. So what if it wasn't one of the first? (Again, I asked about "right now") In the last decade, we've upgraded football, basketball, baseball, softball, swimming, golf, wrestling, and volleyball, and probably others I can't think of right now...all with a president who takes money from athletics and gives it to the general fund. Indiana is a leader in facilities now whether you acknowledge it or not. Have you seen the new locker rooms for football and basketball? Have you any idea of the technology available there? Or the resources? Our baseball stadium is one of the top 2 or 3 in the Big Ten. IU also is a leader in revenue. Indiana University Sports Properties is (I think) still top 5 in the country...speaking of leaders. Football is what it is as well. If you think Indiana is going to consistently beat Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State, I invite you to look at the last 100+ years of history. You're dreaming if you believe that. Reality sucks sometimes. This is one of those times. IU's football team/program has a ceiling. You don't want to hear that, but as long as the divisions are what they are....it's true. We haven't beaten Ohio State since 1988 and Michigan since 1987. There's a reason. So...if you want a new coach, who's coming to Indiana with a ceiling of 4th in their own division except for that anomaly we see once every 30 years? Sometimes...you accept who you are. Just truth. Basketball is very much on the upswing for both genders (and I know we care about men's basketball....just saying). Soccer remains one of the best programs in the country. What do you people want? I get the past mistakes....but b*tching about the past is a fool's errand. So tell me what exactly....right now...you're pissed about.

Well this is interesting... https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2019/09/09/indiana-sports-gambling-iu-hoosiers-basketball-player-joe-hillman-linked-gambling-ring/2265952001/

Okay, so what is it...right now.. you're pissed about? If you don't see the almost universal upgrade of IU Athletics on and off the field/court, you're intellectually dishonest. And then of course...there's this. Speaking of standards. Although I'm pretty sure this isn't what you meant.

But it took a long time to get there. =)

I've got a lot of money that says he has a mentor about 65 miles northeast who'll spend a lot of time with him.

Indiana 38 EIU 17

Rankings mean....absolutely nothing to me. Players fit systems or they don't. Measurables only tell you so much. Lots of really good basketball teams weren't raked highly when it comes to recruiting classes. How many of those highly ranked classes stay together 3-4 years like this one looks likely to?

This is just beautiful to me.

I think I really like this whole story.

In many cases, I agree with you, and Indiana's had some success with it to be sure. But...I'd rather develop our own seniors. I think, based solely on what I see that Archie is starting to build depth and experience. And I love it,

I was hoping he would. Victor might see something he likes (or maybe something familiar) in that kid.

Define...."tremendous upside." This kid is just now on the upward growth curve and gaining confidence. LOVE this get. Now some size and another PG in 2020/2021 and onward.

Everybody has blamed ME for this....

If Westbrook makes that catch in the 3rd quarter, we score 25 in the second half. 50's enough anywhere. Tennessee and Purdue would trade places with Indiana in a heartbeat. This offense is very obviously more wide open than a year ago

Penix made one bad mistake. Other INT, a receiver tripped. Another deep TD flat dropped, or 18 would have been 25. As it stands, he accounted for 393 yards of offense against a team that obviously wanted to take away the run. In his first game as a starter, and redshirt freshman coming off an injury? I have no idea why people would be as negative as they have been. Penix can do a whole lot more than Ramsey can. Thus, the team can go a lot farther with him, as long as he matures and grows into the role. One game (which could have been much better from a numbers standpoint) does not a season make.

All that needs to happen here? Kid needs to spend 5 minutes with Victor Oladipo and this deal's closed.

Basically, I see nothing that can't be fixed. Sky's not falling yet.

That just makes me...sad? Laugh? Sick? I can't decide. That looks like a sign some guy made for a CYO game aside from the "have a drink" reference. I think that's for kids WAY younger than 12. Come on, Fred. Be better.

Interesting question. Looking over the roster, I'm having a hard time finding minutes for Anderson and maybe for Thompson. Last season, we had a pretty clear bottom...guys who wouldn't play. If Hunter's healthy and can play a normal season, he'll take minutes from Durham, Franklin, Thompson, and Smith. Smith's a kid who'd better get it figured out this season, or he'll be outside looking in, too. We only have 11 players, but I love our depth and our size. I think he and everyone are being careful with words about Hunter because he's not in the clear until....he is. Thanks for that terrific synopsis above. A couple of takeaways... I agree with him about Brunk. That was a fantastic add. Said so at the time and believe it even more now. He has a personality IU fans will absolutely love. Nice to hear about Green. I saw some of that late last season, and I'm glad he substantiated what I thought I saw. I love and have always loved Phinisee. I know Archie didn't recruit him so may not have known what he was getting, but I still say by the time that kid graduates, he'll be high on many fans' "favorites" list. I wish he hadn't had the concussion last season. I'm sold on the guy. Not because of anything he said tonight or anything in his background. I am sold specifically because he's no BS and because I saw him learn a year ago. I saw a difference in the way his kids played (Green in particular), which means they bought in; I see a difference in recruiting; and I saw kids leave who weren't going to succeed here. Overall, I'm a buyer.

His deeper throws have a hump in them. That's truth. Verified to me by 2 different media members who attended practice within the last 2 weeks. He was last in the NCAA top 50 in YPA last season. You aren't last in that category (with plenty of yards) unless your specialty is short throws w YAC. There is NO proof that Ramsey can make the longer throws with consistency. Love you...but disagree on this topic and have for 2 years.

Don Fischer said today James reminds him of Anthony Thompson. That's not some guy using those words. That's Don Fisher. I'm excited to see that kid...because I KNOW what Cole Gest was, and he was a b*tch to bring down and absolutely brought it every play. The RB position might be damned good.