Old Friend

Wondering if you watched the game today? The defense was flat awful. And they had the ball first. Blaming the offense for the first half? Really? Seriously? The game plan was horrible. We adjusted well, but statistics can lie. Turned the defense around? We're 3-4 and we've been down 2 touchdowns in the first half to every decent we've played. Better numbers aside, he is not a good game planner. He is a good game manager and makes good adjustments, but seriously....watch the games. The offense has to help, and I said so. But Allen's defense came out and gave up 3 scoring drives in the first half when we didn't even challenge them. It's not quite as simple as you make it sound.

Wilson's mistake was not having a quarterback ready to replace Sudfeld. That's killing Indiana right now. Tom Allen is an excitable guy, clearly. Can he game plan? I'm not seeing it. He can adjust, but his preparation leave lots to be desired. Between the QB failures and weak defensive game plans, we find ourselves in a hole week after week. We were able to dig out against Michigan State. Wake? Nebraska? Northwestern? 3 very winnable games? We were not.

Really sick of being close. That we didn't have a QB ready to replace Sudfeld is ridiculous. Zander is not the answer. Not even close. He is a one trick pony and his trick is easily prepared for....heck, it didn't even work 5 times today. This team is very good. We're without a QB and we have lots of injuries to key people. (Linemen and Cobbs, mostly) The TV guys were all over the people Nebraska didn't have, and I wanted to ask him if he'd heard about IU's injury problems.

Right. The "true fan" argument. I have 3 boys playing football, and they all have basketball tryouts next weekend. I live in Indy. I'm not a true fan, I guess. God, how I hate that argument.

Could not disagree with you more on your first point. Play calling today was atrocious, and their DB's were far faster than our receivers. Lagow didn't have open guys. He has an NFL arm, and he's just fine for what Indiana needs. He is by far the best we have. Play calling limited him today....we played that game not to lose it. Maybe we had no choice against that team, but I think he's just fine.

Pathetic for a team that has been to two bowl games since the mid 1990's at a stadium you can't get to or get home from? Disagree.

Was the case prior to MSU, too. They had 46K for that game, and they will for Nebraska, too. These uniforms are SO much better than I thought they'd be when I saw the headline.

I was thrilled to see Indiana play 4 quarters and end the game by far the better team. I was a little disappointed with play calling and some of the personnel decisions in the 2nd and 3rd quarter, but at the end of the day, the players who needed to be difference makers late were difference makers. Thought the pass interference call on Fant was ridiculous. If a kid can't do that, defense has no chance. Nice win and nice start. Lagow is a great find. That Diamont even had a chance tells me one of two things : 1) Diamont really got better or 2) Anyone who said there was really a competition is full of crap. When we get everyone back from suspension, we're going to be a tough out. Really like the addition of Coach Allen.

And Indiana has had a bad defense for.....how long? You're making an awfully shaky assumption that our defense will magically be decent. Randle El was the best small, shifty quarterback in Big Ten history and perhaps in college football history and he could throw the ball. Zander can't. So....you're basically telling me Zander at QB is no big deal even if he's a weak passer because our defense is THAT much better than it was when Randle El was the quarterback, so this is a bowl team with Zander under center. Is that basically right? If so....I just have to shake my head and laugh at a pollyanna fan. Reality is sometimes difficult to swallow.

If Zander is our QB, we will not win 6 games. He is a novelty. Can't throw the ball downfield, which means teams can stack safeties. He is okay as a relief pitcher when teams don't prepare for him, but when they do? He's a bad option. And shame on the coaching staff. Sudfeld was a senior a year ago, and that was no secret. To go into this season even discussing Zander as our #1 QB is embarrassing. He IS tough. He IS fast. But we had one of those for 4 years under Cam Cameron, never went to a bowl game with him; and he COULD throw the ball. There's history here, folks. Zander is a million miles short of Antwaan Randle El. It's very easy to think this team is different and Zander will be just fine and the team will overcome his weaknesses. But.....he's not. It won't. To win in the Big Ten, you need quality QB play, which means you need a guy who can throw it; or you need dominance in other areas; and Indiana doesn't have that. Zander as the #1 QB is a horrible idea and an ominous sign for the football team. He is what he is....a small, quick QB with very limited skills. He's not going to be 6'4" with a Big Ten arm. I hate the idea of him under center.

I would really like to understand the lottery talk. He is currently projected at #38 in the second round. I know we're all famous here for over-inflating the ability of our players; but this is a kid who is still in need of a few NBA skills for a kid his size. Namely? He needs to dramatically improve his jump shot and ability to score with the ball. OG is a terrific talent, but he ain't close to lottery yet. Breathe, folks.

Gelon is a far better player than Priller. He (Gelon) has at least one Big Ten level skill. His Indiana All Star team mates all loved playing with him because he understands the game. Not everything needs to be measured in terms of production and numbers. Gelon will be fine, but if anyone's expecting greatness as a freshman, they need to re-evaluate,

I just love when people take things to the furthest extreme possible. Michael McRobbie spends nearly 100% of his time working on research grants. That's what he does. He's not into sports; and IU has had plenty of presidents who were. John Ryan and Herman B. Wells, to be specific, The IU administration made a conscious decision many years ago to go away from having a men's basketball coach or program that was - in their eyes - bigger than the University. Which was foolish because it wasn't, but it WAS the world's window into IU whether they liked it or not. McRobbie may or may not care about that, which is why I said "perhaps McRobbie," I don't know how he feels about the basketball program; but I do know his mission is for IU to be a top research university, if not THE top research University in the midwest if not the country. Whether or not he understands the role the basketball team plays in his ability to achieve that goal, I don't know. I DO know the BoT has played a major role in hiring presidents who were as clueless as they were apathetic. Myles Brand was a good hire from the academic side; awful for the athletic. Herbert is a clown and always was. He was hired for one reason and one reason only, and it's the same reason IU caved to Davis when he bitched about his contract.

This can do nothing but help. I've said forever that the former IU administration (and perhaps President McRobbie) have gotten what they wanted by hiring Mike Davis and allowing the program to fall as it did. Now? We have a guy on the BoT who gets it and understands why it's important for Indiana to be good at basketball. The men's basketball team is the window into IU for 98% of the world. Sports programs do that for universities....and IU Basketball is as high profile a program as exists in the country. Crean has made positive changes, and now the BoT is inclusive of at least one guy who will fight to keep the expectations high. I can't think of a reason not to love this.

Kid was all conference, all region, and the MVP of his regional post season tournament. I think he's got some upside, and probably some ability. Better than Hanner or so it would seem; and he has the ability to step out and shoot it. Perhaps he's Steve Hart? (A little bigger) Who knows? I still say Indiana is better without Williams. One man's opinion.

Once I stop laughing at the lunacy of this decision, I may reply with something thoughtful. Or not. This means he either hasn't been going to class or there's a girl involved. No chance this is a basketball decision. No. Chance.

Our turf now looks old and beat up. Paint looks awful. Very glad for a new field!

Indiana a far better team without him and a far better program without his mother,

Good for all involved. Always nice to feel like your team is stacked in April, 6 months before practice starts. We lose Yogi. He'll hurt. And losing Bielfelt will hurt, too. Zeisloft won't as much because honestly, we add Blackmon, Johnson, and Newkirk to the team as players who weren't available v UNC. Like a couple of our freshmen to be able to contribute also. Love that kids understand where they are. Proud of Crean and the players. And I think our football team has a chance, too.

Leaving Indiana for Vandrbilt is not a lateral move. It;s a downgrade by a large margin, and there's no way any coach makes this move willingly. Vanderbilt isn't much better than Northwestern; and you don't leave a top 10 job for a place like that. Were you serious?

I thought OG had already declared he was going to stay. Did I miss that? Williams going anywhere is a joke. He'd get absolutely mauled in the NBA right now because he can't shoot, and his upper body can't deal with big "3's." He's way too inconsistent on both ends; and I swear, every time a kid gets a breath of interest from the NBA, it seems people think he's automatically gone. I haven't even seen his name on the top 60 in NBA mock drafts. When you account for the fact that just 60 kids get drafted into the NBA and ~ 16-20 are foreign players; there's just no room for all of the "maybe" players to go. Williams is a mediocre college player who shows flashes of brilliance and equal flashes of ineptitude. Inconsistency and poor shooting do not mix well with the NBA. He'd do well to actually work on his game.

Question... Has anyone seen this kid? I have not.... Curious as to why a kid who can put up numbers like these in new York is a 3* player. What's he missing? JBJ was ranked higher and put up great high school numbers; but his defense is "bad." Not comparing, just making an observation. Is he a college ready guard? Saw above someone said he can be our 2 guard next season; but I'm always skeptical of freshmen and leery of high expectations unless they're McD's all Americans or have college ready bodies. It's a big leap from beating 16 year old high school kids to 22 year old college men.

Big Ten finishes : 5th 1st 8th 7th 1st Not consistent. Some decent things on the resume, but not consistent.

This has been mentioned many times. I've said it myself several times that Crean has gone past the sweet 16 exactly once in his career. Not good enough. This is part of the pattern of his doing just enough. I think everyone's on the same page. I think many are more optimistic and supportive now; but not totally sold. That's certainly where I am.

We should just start a new thread. He's not getting fired, and shouldn't. But...he has to know, as Glass does that now, people are really watching because the pattern is too obvious. He either starts now to change the pattern..which is "he cannot win consistently" or he doesn't; and if he does? He should be the coach here. If he doesn't? Drive a Brinks truck to Boston. He's earned another year at least, and I think he's earned a year where people just let him do his thing. He's clearly made changes, so let's see what next season brings and let's see what his recruits look like. If we're in the 2013-14 position a year from now? We can have a "Fire Crean" discussion. For now? The new thread should be "Crean's Fishbowl and Short Leash." Only because of his pattern.