IndyHutch

I took a full time job back in the newspaper business sir -- still covering IU. Check out my original post above. Sent from my iPad using BtownBanners

Ok, here's the story from the horse's mouth. I certainly owe you guys that much. In May I found out about an opportunity that would allow me to get back in the newspaper business. CNHI, an Alabama-based newspaper group that owns 13 newspapers in Indiana was looking for an IU writer. Pretty sweet gig including full time travel in basketball season and some football travel, too. They did a national search and had 125 people apply. They interviewed 15, then narrowed it to 5 and then 3 and then June 23 they offered me the job. I accepted it on June 24 and started on July 5. I had told 41 from the beginning that if I ever took a full time job back in the business I'd have to quit Btownbanners. I gave him a head's up about halfway through the process. I also told him if I got the job I would try to help him find a content person. I've given him a good lede and we're waiting to see what happens next. My work is now syndicated in 13 Indiana newspapers including 9 dailies. They dailies are in Anderson, Terre Haute, Kokomo, Goshen, Logansport, Greensburg, Jeffersonville/New Albany, Lebanon and Washington. I was sorry to have to bail on you guys. I enjoyed being a part of this last year but the reality was I was doing it for free. When a paid opportunity came along again I opted to get back in the business. i may still stop by and weigh in at times (at least I would like to if it's ok. Thanks for making me feel welcome here last year. All the best, Hutch

Let me begin by saying this is speculation. Educated speculation, but speculation nonetheless. If there's one thing I've learned in my 18 years covering Indiana basketball it's that nothing is as simple as you would think it is. Players come and players go. Players that you think aren't transferring end up doing just that. Players that you're sure are definitely gone end up returning for another season. And so until we have heard a final decision I won't go to the bank with any of this. But it's late March and once you're eliminated from the NCAA Tournament this is the kind of topic that begins weighing on the minds of Hoosier Nation. Should I stay or should I go? Let's throw out some names and get some opinions. Please feel free to weigh in on any of these guys. If you think I'm wrong, say so. If you think I'm right, you can agree, too. But I'm hoping we get some good discussion going on this one. 1. TROY WILLIAMS Options: He could go to the NBA, go overseas, graduate from IU at the end of this semester and transfer to another school and play right away or return to Indiana for his final season of eligibility. What I think he'll do: My guess is that Troy will be looking to collect a paycheck. Whether that's in the NBA or overseas, I'm not sure. But I'm guessing he's gone. I think the least possible option would be to transfer to another school. I think if he decides to play his final year of eligibility he would do so at Indiana. That's just my feeling. Is he ready for the NBA? I don't think so but no one is asking me either. Something just tells me though that if he hears any positive feedback at all from NBA folks that he'll probably make himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Again, it's just an opinion. 2. THOMAS BRYANT Options: He go make himself eligible for the NBA Draft or he could return for his sophomore season at IU. What I think he'll do: I think Bryant comes back. I think he likes school and he sees that he can improve if he sticks around and puts in the effort that he would need to put in. If he has a big year as a sophomore I think he's probably gone, just like Cody Zeller did. I know that Bryant has gotten some love from some of the draft boards but I just think if he had one more solid season that he could do a lot for his draft stock. Will he listen to what all of the NBA people have to say? Absolutely. But I think he's a pretty smart young man and he'll look at next year and realize how much of a dominant force he could be on that team. 3. JAMES BLACKMON JR. Options: He could make himself eligible for the NBA Draft, transfer to another school and sit out a year, or return to Indiana. What I think he'll do: I've heard the transfer rumors and they just don't make sense to me. I think Blackmon Jr. really has two options: He either goes to the NBA or he returns for one more season at Indiana. And again, I think the highest percentage here has him returning to IU. I can't imagine a lot of NBA people telling him that he should come out after what transpired from an injury standpoint this season. But the transfer rumors just make no sense to me at all. The only way he would transfer would be if he opted to go the Division II route but why would you do that? I can't imagine him transferring to a D1 school and sitting out another year. It just makes absolutely no sense to me. I think he's back in an IU uniform next season. 4. OG ANUNOBY Options: Declare for the NBA Draft or return to IU for his sophomore season. What I think he'll do: I know people cringe just seeing his name here but OG has been getting some love. I think he'll be at Indiana next season though. He may even be there a few more years. I think with a few more years of seasoning, OG could be a dynamic player both at this level and the next one. Again, I'm sure he'll listen to whatever people are saying but my guess is that he'll be back and will be part of the starting rotation. 5. TIM PRILLER Options: Stay or go. What I think he'll do: The only reason I put him on here is because I was on a radio show in Indy on Monday and was asked about him by Jake Query on 1260 WNDE. My answer there was depending on who is returning and what the scholarship numbers situation is, I guess he could be a casualty. But I really don't know. I think a lot will depend on what players leave and what players decide to stay. Unless you see him contributing at some point to this IU basketball team other than being the Victory Cigar, though, I just question how you can continue to allow him to occupy a roster spot. So those are five players to think about. What do you think? Do you they stay or do they go?

It's clearly a question on the minds of most Indiana basketball fans now that the 2015-16 season has come to an end. Of the players with eligibility remaining, who will be in an Indiana uniform come the fall of 2016? Here is my take. Let me begin by saying this is speculation. Educated speculation, but speculation nonetheless. If there's one thing I've learned in my 18 years covering Indiana basketball it's that nothing is as simple as you would think it is. Players come and players go. Players that you think aren't transferring end up doing just that. Players that you're sure are definitely gone end up returning for another season. And so until we have heard a final decision I won't go to the bank with any of this. But it's late March and once you're eliminated from the NCAA Tournament this is the kind of topic that begins weighing on the minds of Hoosier Nation. Should I stay or should I go? Let's throw out some names and get some opinions. Please feel free to weigh in on any of these guys. If you think I'm wrong, say so. If you think I'm right, you can agree, too. But I'm hoping we get some good discussion going on this one. 1. TROY WILLIAMS Options: He could go to the NBA, go overseas, graduate from IU at the end of this semester and transfer to another school and play right away or return to Indiana for his final season of eligibility. What I think he'll do: My guess is that Troy will be looking to collect a paycheck. Whether that's in the NBA or overseas, I'm not sure. But I'm guessing he's gone. I think the least possible option would be to transfer to another school. I think if he decides to play his final year of eligibility he would do so at Indiana. That's just my feeling. Is he ready for the NBA? I don't think so but no one is asking me either. Something just tells me though that if he hears any positive feedback at all from NBA folks that he'll probably make himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Again, it's just an opinion. 2. THOMAS BRYANT Options: He could make himself eligible for the NBA Draft or he could return for his sophomore season at IU. What I think he'll do: I think Bryant comes back. I think he likes school and he sees that he can improve if he sticks around and puts in the effort that he would need to put in. If he has a big year as a sophomore I think he's probably gone, just like Cody Zeller did. I know that Bryant has gotten some love from some of the draft boards but I just think if he had one more solid season that he could do a lot for his draft stock. Will he listen to what all of the NBA people have to say? Absolutely. But I think he's a pretty smart young man and he'll look at next year and realize how much of a dominant force he could be on that team. 3. JAMES BLACKMON JR. Options: He could make himself eligible for the NBA Draft, transfer to another school and sit out a year, or return to Indiana. What I think he'll do: I've heard the transfer rumors and they just don't make sense to me. I think Blackmon Jr. really has two options: He either goes to the NBA or he returns for one more season at Indiana. And again, I think the highest percentage here has him returning to IU. I can't imagine a lot of NBA people telling him that he should come out after what transpired from an injury standpoint this season. But the transfer rumors just make no sense to me at all. The only way he would transfer would be if he opted to go the Division II route but why would you do that? I can't imagine him transferring to a D1 school and sitting out another year. It just makes absolutely no sense to me. I think he's back in an IU uniform next season. 4. OG ANUNOBY Options: Declare for the NBA Draft or return to IU for his sophomore season. What I think he'll do: I know people cringe just seeing his name here but OG has been getting some love. I think he'll be at Indiana next season though. He may even be there a few more years. I think with a few more years of seasoning, OG could be a dynamic player both at this level and the next one. Again, I'm sure he'll listen to whatever people are saying but my guess is that he'll be back and will be part of the starting rotation. 5. TIM PRILLER Options: Stay or go. What I think he'll do: The only reason I put him on here is because I was on a radio show in Indy on Monday and was asked about him by Jake Query on 1260 WNDE. My answer there was depending on who is returning and what the scholarship numbers situation is, I guess he could be a casualty. But I really don't know. I think a lot will depend on what players leave and what players decide to stay. Unless you see him contributing at some point to this IU basketball team other than being the Victory Cigar, though, I just question how you can continue to allow him to occupy a roster spot. So those are five players to think about. What do you think? Do you they stay or do they go? View full article

I don't know. Maybe. There's just something about Bryant and his relationship with these players and this coach that make me think he'll stay. Didn't feel that way about Vonleh for example. This one is different. Could be wrong though.

It's all good. My oldest son went to Wabash so we hear a long of farm animal humor in those circles, too.

Wow, it didn't take long for this post to go in a different direction.

There's no question about this one. Crean has gotten a lot of criticism over the years for over signing but this is exactly why sometimes you do. Otherwise when decisions are made, you're the one left standing out in the cold.

See this fits more into what I was being told. Now Boo could also be giving people the impression that Troy is leaving, too. Let me just say that if a report came out 10 minutes from now with quotes from Troy or a press release from IU saying that he was testing the waters, I certainly wouldn't be surprised.

There will always be a new candidate to be a victory cigar.

What happens is that people will start getting in his ear and before you know it it sounds like a real possibility to a kid. I think one of the advantages here is that OG is pretty even keeled and I think he gets it. I don't know ultimately how long he'll be here but I would expect him to be back for his sophomore season for sure.

I don't agree with this at all. I'm not trying to give the impression he's a finished product either but I think he has grown exponentially at Indiana myself.

That is something we love sight of sometimes. It's also something that early on people weren't saying a lot with Crean. They were saying that players came to IU and never got better. I think you can make a pretty strong argument with some recent examples that this is really not the case. I think you're seeing a high level of improvement.

Since when does reasoning have anything to do with these decisions?

And that's where I come out, too, and I wonder if decides to collect a paycheck

Not to mention with the ladies.

I'm sure that's the way it will play out.

There’s a simple reason why Indiana was eliminated from the 2016 NCAA Tournament by top-seeded North Carolina Friday night in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center. The Hoosiers lost to the better team. You can flip this one any way you choose, but in the end that should be your conclusion. In 18 years covering IU basketball, I've seen a lot of seasons end where you were convinced that wasn't the case. Friday night, that's exactly what happened though: IU lost to a better team. This wasn’t 2013 when Indiana was a No. 1 seed and lost to a No. 4 in Syracuse because it couldn’t solve the zone defense. This wasn't a team that lost to Cleveland State or Richmond or Kent State or a host of other opponents where IU was heavily favored. This was a No. 5 seeded Indiana team that beat a good Kentucky team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen and then simply went up against a red hot North Carolina team. A North Carolina team that when it reached the Sweet Sixteen was considered a co-favorite with Kansas to take home the national title. Indiana didn’t play poorly Friday night. North Carolina just played better. Sure, we all would have liked to have seen a contribution from Nick Zeisloft. We all would have liked to have seen Troy Williams play in the first half like he did in the second. We all would have liked to have seen what Indiana could have done had Robert Johnson been cleared to play. We would have liked to have seen what would have happened if North Carolina wasn't in the bonus in the second half before the first media timeout. We all would have liked to have seen Indiana come charging out of the second half locker room and quickly get the deficit into single digits and get back into the game. But none of that was to be because North Carolina is a really good basketball team. If the Tar Heels play the way they did Friday night against IU, I think they win the national championship. They were that good Friday night. What I don’t get is the people I’ve encountered in message board threads and Twitter today who are taking Tom Crean to task for the way the season ended. They somehow want to place all the blame there for the fact that North Carolina couldn’t miss from the field and was too much for IU inside. A buddy of mine sent me a text after Indiana beat Kentucky and asked me if I thought that victory would silence the Crean haters at least for this season? I gave him my standard, canned answer on that topic: I told him it would silence the critics until Indiana’s next loss. That’s simply the nature of the beast with IU basketball fans. But here’s my take there: I think this was Tom Crean’s best coaching job at Indiana. Hands down. If we go back to the way this team looked through the first eight games, how it played in Maui and how it looked against Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and then fast forward to IU winning the outright Big Ten title by two full games, I don’t know how you could reach any other conclusion. This wasn't a GREAT Indiana basketball team. It was a good Indiana team that played its roles really well. And Crean and his staff are responsible for getting players to accept those roles. Crean got people to buy in. Players did a great job in embracing their roles. And they days of IU playing a turnstile type of defense came to an end. And because of that, this was a fun team to watch. A team that never gave up and had three wins in games where it trailed by 10 points or more. It was a team that got IU fans excited about Indiana basketball again. A few hours before the game, I was across the street from the Wells Fargo Center and saw a crowd of more than 1,000 IU fans packed to a sports bar called McFadden's for the Big Red Warmup. It was a madhouse. People were excited. People believed that IU could do the improbable and knock off the No. 1 seed in the East. They believed in Indiana basketball and that was fun to see. But I think that's because Crean and his staff got this team to a place that few would have expected them to be, especially after that 5-3 start to the season. It was a team filled with the kinds of kids you wanted wearing the IU basketball uniform. It was the kind of team that you truly felt had a chance to win every game they played. That’s also why Friday night was disappointing. Because you got the feeling that Indiana was playing its best basketball at the absolute best possible time. You didn’t feel like the team had run out of gas like you did in the last few years with Bob Knight at the helm, or more recently, perhaps how you felt in 2013. This team had confidence, energy, focus and a cast of characters that you wanted to root for. Players like O.G. Anunoby, Thomas Bryant, Juwan Morgan, Collin Hartman, Yogi Ferrell, Max Bielfeldt, Nick Zeisloft, Robert Johnson and Troy Williams were players who endeared themselves to IU fans everywhere. In the end, however, the Hoosiers went up against a better team. And that’s the reality, plain and simple, coming out of Friday night’s 101-86 loss to North Carolina. Indiana lost to the better team.

For the third time in five seasons, the Indiana basketball season ended in the Sweet Sixteen. Some feel the season was a success while others were disappointed with the finish. Here's my take. There’s a simple reason why Indiana was eliminated from the 2016 NCAA Tournament by top-seeded North Carolina Friday night in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center. The Hoosiers lost to the better team. You can flip this one any way you choose, but in the end that should be your conclusion. In 18 years covering IU basketball, I've seen a lot of seasons end where you were convinced that wasn't the case. Friday night, that's exactly what happened though: IU lost to a better team. This wasn’t 2013 when Indiana was a No. 1 seed and lost to a No. 4 in Syracuse because it couldn’t solve the zone defense. This wasn't a team that lost to Cleveland State or Richmond or Kent State or a host of other opponents where IU was heavily favored. This was a No. 5 seeded Indiana team that beat a good Kentucky team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen and then simply went up against a red hot North Carolina team. A North Carolina team that when it reached the Sweet Sixteen was considered a co-favorite with Kansas to take home the national title. Indiana didn’t play poorly Friday night. North Carolina just played better. Sure, we all would have liked to have seen a contribution from Nick Zeisloft. We all would have liked to have seen Troy Williams play in the first half like he did in the second. We all would have liked to have seen what Indiana could have done had Robert Johnson been cleared to play. We would have liked to have seen what would have happened if North Carolina wasn't in the bonus in the second half before the first media timeout. We all would have liked to have seen Indiana come charging out of the second half locker room and quickly get the deficit into single digits and get back into the game. But none of that was to be because North Carolina is a really good basketball team. If the Tar Heels play the way they did Friday night against IU, I think they win the national championship. They were that good Friday night. What I don’t get is the people I’ve encountered in message board threads and Twitter today who are taking Tom Crean to task for the way the season ended. They somehow want to place all the blame there for the fact that North Carolina couldn’t miss from the field and was too much for IU inside. A buddy of mine sent me a text after Indiana beat Kentucky and asked me if I thought that victory would silence the Crean haters at least for this season? I gave him my standard, canned answer on that topic: I told him it would silence the critics until Indiana’s next loss. That’s simply the nature of the beast with IU basketball fans. But here’s my take there: I think this was Tom Crean’s best coaching job at Indiana. Hands down. If we go back to the way this team looked through the first eight games, how it played in Maui and how it looked against Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and then fast forward to IU winning the outright Big Ten title by two full games, I don’t know how you could reach any other conclusion. This wasn't a GREAT Indiana basketball team. It was a good Indiana team that played its roles really well. And Crean and his staff are responsible for getting players to accept those roles. Crean got people to buy in. Players did a great job in embracing their roles. And the days of IU playing a turnstile type of defense came to an end. And because of that, this was a fun team to watch. A team that never gave up and had three wins in games where it trailed by 10 points or more. It was a team that got IU fans excited about Indiana basketball again. A few hours before the game, I was across the street from the Wells Fargo Center and saw a crowd of more than 1,000 IU fans packed in a sports bar called McFadden's for the Big Red Warmup. It was a madhouse. People were excited. People believed that IU could do the improbable and knock off the No. 1 seed in the East. They believed in Indiana basketball and that was fun to see. But I think that's because Crean and his staff got this team to a place that few would have expected them to be, especially after that 5-3 start to the season. It was a team filled with the kinds of kids you wanted wearing the IU basketball uniform. It was the kind of team that you truly felt had a chance to win every game they played. That’s also why Friday night was disappointing. Because you got the feeling that Indiana was playing its best basketball at the absolute best possible time. You didn’t feel like the team had run out of gas like you did in the last few years with Bob Knight at the helm, or more recently, perhaps how you felt in 2013. This team had confidence, energy, focus and a cast of characters that you wanted to root for. Players like O.G. Anunoby, Thomas Bryant, Juwan Morgan, Collin Hartman, Yogi Ferrell, Max Bielfeldt, Nick Zeisloft, Robert Johnson and Troy Williams were players who endeared themselves to IU fans everywhere. In the end, however, the Hoosiers went up against a better team. And that’s the reality, plain and simple, coming out of Friday night’s 101-86 loss to North Carolina. Indiana lost to the better team. View full article

The truth is that there's a lot of people who are saying a lot of things right now. I think it's still pretty early in the process before we know if someone is going or staying. Somebody could say they're going to test the waters without hiring an agent, too. I think that's what Swanigan said he was doing. And all it takes is for one person to go on Twitter and say he has a source that says so and so is definitely gone and it can get a lot of people fired up. So I just think we should all proceed carefully here.

I think a lot of people feel the way you do. I think a lot of people are wondering how much of the current team comes back and what some of the decisions are going to do for this team moving forward. I'll be posting a story about that within an hour or two and we can share some opinions on that.

Welcome to Btownbanners. Like I told someone else, I really believe that losing to North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen is better from a perception standpoint with some IU fans than losing to either Wisconsin or Notre Dame in the Elite Eight because both would have been worse seeds and both would have been teams IU had already beaten this season.

I'm sure he's going to explore his options but kind of like Cody Zeller, while I think he could go out and be a top 15-20 pick this year, I think if he waits he moves into the top 10. That is if he can build on the season that he just had.

I have to think that when Kentucky cut it to two (before Bryant hit those two free throws with 10.4 seconds to play) that you were screaming a little bit and perhaps pacing. If I had been watching it as a fan, and not from my seat on press row, I'm guessing those would have been my reactions.

That relationship between Crean and his players, and they for him, has been a constant in his 8 seasons at IU. I know CTC pretty well and that much I know to be accurate. I think you saw it a little more this year because of how a lot of these guys wore their emotions on their sleeves. I also agree with you about player development. We really saw players get better -- even Yogi -- and that was impressive. It''s a lot more fun to follow IU basketball when there are kids on the floor that you are truly hoping succeed.