Old Friend

See, I don't hear him trashing former players at all. I listen nearly every day at least for a little bit. Do you have examples of who he's trashed? I simply haven't heard that, and in fact go so far as to say he goes out of his way to credit former players, and was one who was big time in the camp to get Wittman or Smart interviews at Indiana. He was hard on Leary when he got involved in his criminal activity; and should have. But who else? Serious question.

1) I would bet anything I own he's happy to be divested of the Ball family. 2) I see some real vitriol toward Steve here and I don't get it. Dakich is known to frequently say no school eats its own like Indiana. He may be right.

He was never a serious candidate.

I don't think you can paint with this broad brush about referees/officials or whatever word you apply to them. They officiate, therefore, they are "officials." I've coached for 22 years. Most of them have been great to work with and talk to. Most have no ego. Most are there for the kids; and many officiate basketball, baseball, and football as well. Above there is a comment about this position being "inconsequential." Really? Okay then; other than first responders, "trauma surgeon," "teacher," "for "suicide prevention specialist;" what jobs ARE consequential? If not someone who's there entirely for the benefit of other people while having to listen to every disillusioned parent b!tch about his every move while making (after travel expenses) very little money; then who? Lawyers? Insurance agents? Accountants? Are there bad referees? Yep. Are a few on a power trip? I suppose. But...think back to the games when officials have become confrontational. When they've become animated (in a bad way) or had their radars up. Generally speaking, the game itself, the people around it, and yeah...parents have been the ones creating that environment. Think about a high school game. How many people involved in that game are there almost exclusively and specifically for the benefit of the kids playing in that game? The coaches are there most of the time for the kids, but also for their own jobs. They want to win, and the kids on that particular team are their tools that season. Parents have agendas. They just do. Officials? If you think their motivation is extra money, you're just not informed about what they make. ($75 for a football game and many drive 50 miles + and a Friday night starts for them at 5:30 when they arrive and ends about 10:00. Taking into account travel time and expenses, you can do the math) Making fun of the uniform they are required to wear? Really? And putting all of them into the same category? Really? Why single out the people HERE who referee and assume everyone ELSE doing that job is an incompetent boob on a power trip? When you walk into any room, there is someone in charge whose job it is to make sure whatever goes on in that room takes the shape and form it's supposed to. In a basketball gym, those people are the referees. Like it or not. If they reacted to every BS thing they heard (many profane and more of them highly personal), they'd be institutionalized. WAY too many people put themselves above the fray and sling insults at groups of people with no bearing or basis. You know why officiating seems to be getting worse? Same reasons politicians are getting worse. Who wants the job? What moron would walk into a gym and listen to Mrs. Johnson, who doesn't know the rules from Moby Dick scream personal insults for an hour and a half? How many of us here would do a job for little money when all the feedback we get is negative and people with agendas are playing vocal judge and jury for the entirety of the work day? I would encourage anyone who's b!tching about them without experience to give it a shot. Then come back here and vitriolically insult them. You either respect the position and their responsibility or you don't. If you don't, you're the problem. Not the solution. And no. I have never officiated a game of any kind save a little league baseball game 20 years ago.

If he returns, I think it'll be to work on his defense and jump shot with this being icing on the cake.

Incorrect. I was not aware of Adidas' backing of Kanye. But good guess. (My answer was Under Armour. Who do they back?)

I don't like big companies that make political statements through sports and entertainment. Nike is a behemoth and Indiana is no more important to them than any other school would be. Adidas has treated Indiana like a very important client for the entirety of their sponsorship of Indiana going back to the 1970's. Generally though, I watch and follow sports to get away from politics and "news." Nike does way too much political activism for my taste.

Under Armour. I want nothing to do with Nike.

Indiana 85 Illinois 71

Brian Evans didn't either. Depends on the quality of his shots.

I don't see it. He couldn't guard guys from Jacksonville. I know he had a decent outing against Penn State, but his feet are just...slow. I see a tall kid who doesn't move well. Maybe not yet, but he's 3/8ths of the way through his career..better start happening soon. He needs speed ladder work.

Agree on Forrester, not on Moore. Moore is one of the worst defenders I have ever seen.

That was just Knight being Knight for better or worse. Politically incorrect and not far from a character named Archie Bunker. Was it appropriate? No. Offensive to some? Yes. But so what? He was who he was, and the politically correct police were all over him because he had a foul and politically incorrect mouth. He stepped over the line sometimes; but it's real easy to sit in a glass house and judge/throw rocks at other people who are public figures. Most people would rather sit and judge than be judged. This comment made many people cringe; but by itself was just a very poor choice of words in the wrong forum. What most people don't know was the amount of money Knight subsequently donated to women's shelters in Monroe County following that statement.

What I thought I said was if you don't believe Indiana is a unique and special place (which means - to me - there's a certain way Indiana should do things), then the conversation isn't worth having because we'll see it from 2 completely different angles; and I don't feel the need to try to convince anyone how unique Indiana is if they don't already believe that. If you (or anyone else) believe Indiana is just like everyone else, nothing I say will convince you otherwise.

Problem though is Moore is perhaps the worst defender I have ever seen at this level. I was sitting on the Jax end of the court tonight, so I got IU on defense in the 2nd half. He was blown by almost every time his man had the ball. His feet looked like they were encased in lead. That Jax team was awful. Nothing more than a pad the bank account game for them, and an opportunity for us to work on some things. Jax changed defenses a few times and I wouldn't be one bit surprised if the coaches agreed on that prior to the game. Hard to really judge anyone by what we saw tonight.

He will also tell you he didn't do this alone. He talks all the time about the team defense that day. His assignment was "#23." Jordan was held 6 points below his average. Pretty good against that guy on that team in that spot in his final college game, Nit pick away, but Indiana significantly limited Jordan that night.

Ever sen Knight's college stats? Krysiewski's? Dean Smith's? Gerald Ford's? George Bush's? He was there. On the team, in the locker room, at practice. A good high school player who knows more about the IU program than anyone here by 10x. You're applying meaning to what he says...and in fact, he'll tell you he wasn't a great player at IU. I must hear a different show. I also don't know why I keep defending him except I see so much being presented as fact that just isn't.

Don't understand what point you're making. The University administration made a calculated a decision when Knight was fired to avoid big names and hiring a coach who would be, in their eyes, bigger than the University as they felt Knight had become. Down the road, another decision was made to avoid Knight's guys. That happened. Dakich doesn't like it. Many IU fans don't like that it happened that way. The program was a mess for almost 20 years in some part because of it and one could argue ridiculous progressive approaches to things. What conversation are you after?

Brad Stevens is a straw man argument. When Knight was fired, Mike Davis was given the job, and then extended for no apparent reason except the one we can't talk about. The program has only recently recovered. He couldn't wait to recruit Alabama. He couldn't wait to put names on jerseys and get rid of candy stripes. Had no clue where he was. When Mike Davis was at Indiana, take a look at the list of players in Indiana who weren't even recruited by Davis, let alone who didn't GO to Indiana. That list will make you ill. If you don't believe Indiana is a unique and special place, this discussion isn't even worth having. Davis was a disaster. Sampson equally so, as were the reasons he was hired (which is the same reason Davis was extended) and by whom. He had no love for Indiana or this program; and it very obviously suffered badly because of those two hires. Using your words, tell me you can see that. Then we hire Crean. A guy who'd had exactly one memorable season because of a hall of famer and two other NBA guys on the same roster. Guy recruited with a shotgun and offered 40-50 players every season (by contrast, Archie offers 10-12). Had no idea how to build a team and was said to be a "great recruiter" because he got 4-5 kids to say yes every year whether they fit or not. His recruiting budget was 10x what Wisconsin's was, and the players he recruited - by and large - were just players. Very few were recruited with purpose and fewer came to Indiana for the reason he said HE did. "Because it's Indiana." Again, if you don't think that has value, this is a pointless discussion. So....tell me why Dane Fife doesn't get a shot? Know who Brad Stevens said was the only coach to out-work him on the recruiting trail? Yep. Dane Fife. Why doesn't Keith Smart get a look back when we had an opening and he was in the business? Guy can coach the Golden State Warriors but can't get a sniff at Indiana? Talk to me about Randy Wittman. An all time great at IU and an NBA head coach for 10 seasons. Never interviewed for an Indiana opening; and we hire the dipsh*ts above? Really? All 3 of those guys would have been just fine and all 3 have been more than deserving of a shot. Limiting the list to just Coach K isn't reasonable. THAT's what Dakich doesn't like and I completely agree with him. He also says because of the points above, Indiana has become largely just like everyone else; and I agree with THAT, also. Indiana used to be special. Unique. When you keep it in the family, or at least have family members involved in the discussion, the program can remain special or what it once was. For 17 years, Indiana was mostly down and had lost most of its national luster. You can obviously have your own reasons why you believe that's true, and I have my reasons why I believe it. Mine just happen to align with Dakich's reasons.

I'm not sure I agree with this. He is still complimentary of Crean much of the time. I listen at least 3x/week and I hear that consistently. I know he goes back to both football and basketball games and has sent at least one of his kids to school there. He also talks frequently about the places in Bloomington and how great they are. He has distanced himself from Bob Knight and has every reason to do that, but from IU? No. I don't agree with that. He believes as I do that Indiana should have done a better job keeping things in house, but that's pretty common and I wouldn't single him out for it.

That's your opinion. Personally? I think he's an asset and an ambassador. That's my opinion. He was who he was long before anyone knew Donald Trump was a politician, so we can dismiss that political context (Not everyone sees things as you do. So what if it sounds "Trumpy? Why post your political views here?). He tells it like it is from his perspective; and I promise neither he nor his bosses care if you like that style. If I'm one of that "select few," good for me, and I'll wear that badge. Serious question. Do you understand how radio works...I mean the business side? Do you think Jim Rome is Jim Rome off the air? Rush Limbaugh? Howard Stern? Skip Bayless? Colin Cowherd? Are all radio hosts "phony?" Sorry, Mike..that simply shows a bias on your part; not that Dakich is a phony. His show..and ALL shows (they are called "shows" for a reason) are entertainment; and as I said before...his show is highly rated and people listen. They don't have to like. Dakich is to radio as columnists are to newspaper. He's not a reporter. His job is to entertain, talk from experience, and give his listeners something different than they get elsewhere. And he does just that. So many say they hate Joe Buck, or others. But they don't turn it off. Same here. And if you're embarrassed to have him associated with IU and want to be distant from him, how did you feel about Mike Davis? Rick Greenspan? Adam Herbert? Kelvin Sampson? Gerry DiNardo? Michael McNeely? How do you feel about Mark Cuban, who has said more than his fair share of stupid stuff? What has he been wrong about specifically? I'll give you the Alford take; but I also promise he had a source he trusted. The Brohm thing was described above, and I believe based on what I know, that WAS a done deal at one time until Brohm found out what a mess Louisville really is right now. He's been right a lot. Way more than you give him credit for. He's not a friend of mine, but I do know for sure he's a HUGE Indiana fan, and while he may go overboard to avoid showing his bias; he's not at all someone from whom we should distance ourselves. In my opinion.

This. Look, he is a radio host. He is paid and expected to move the needle. You don't do that by being stale and just like everyone else. He's abrasive on purpose. His personality off air couldn't be more different than his personality on air. He's ADD for sure. Constantly moving and thinking; which is good for radio. Better for commentary. All of you who hate him? You still listen to him. Why? because he gives it to you straight. Whether you agree with him or like him or not is immaterial to him; and his show is highly rated....because you listen. Why do you think WFNI wanted him? As it relates to his doing games, he knows basketball. Better than any of us here and better than 99.8% of the country. His style? Take it or leave it. But I learn from him all the time. Nobody has to like him; and everyone's wrong sometimes. Take the Brohm thing for example. When he gave his take? I'm damned sure his source believed 100% Brohm was gone and Brohm himself said he changed his mind a few times. So at the time? Report was accurate. Like many things, the story changed. I do love all of the theories about how he has it in for IU, hates IU, etc. Nothing further from the truth.

Given what's happened today, I truly don't care about this anymore, but this is the link I used. And I had calculated MPG x games Indiana had played, forgetting he had been out. Mea culpa. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/devonte-green-1.html

This just plain sucks. There is no other way for me to express my feelings. I'm a writer. I wrote for my school paper in high school, did some work for the Indiana Daily Student at IU, had a sports blog for 3 years, and published a book 3 years ago. In 2004, I had an opportunity (because I am/was adopted and my wife and I had adopted a child at the time, and another later that year) to be the keynote speaker at a golf outing at Old Oakland Country Club benefitting the Indianapolis Children's Bureau. The guy who introduced me? Terry Hutchens. He knew of my history at IU, and we spent a decent amount of time talking and getting to know one another. He could not have been kinder to me. A truly decent man and a great supporter of Indiana University Athletics. I am genuinely sad today. Damn.

And on this, I agree with him 100%