WestCoast Hoosier

Troy Williams is what concerns me right now. Tom Crean described him as "a Swiss Army knife", meaning that he has a lot of tools. And he does! But a knife also has a handle And Troy Williams doesn't. A lot of tools without a handle equals a problem. Now, let me make it clear I'm not anti-Troy. I'm just thinking of ways to help him. If Troy gets a handle then his Swiss Army knife aspects - his athleticism, his leaping ability, his vision, etc. - will become unbelievable assets for his team AND him! If I'm Troy, I'm working 24/7 on improving my handle. But for now, good defensive teams know that they can stack the middle and swipe the ball. That mad dash driving stuff might've worked against lower-level teams with little defensive capability. But it didn't work against teams like Duke and it ain't working in the Big Ten. In my opinion, Crean needs to stop using that play. Until he does, it's easy. As soon as you see Troy Williams at the top of the key bouncing the ball, you just instruct all of your players "He's coming through on one of his drives. Get in the way and poke the ball loose." And for the other team, it's like found money.

I always think it’s most interesting, as an observer, to note things that are NOT commented on by the professional observers. In this case, that would be the following: 1. Everyone has been saying that the Hoosiers go the way that Troy Williams goes. If we have good Troy, we win. If we have bad Troy, we lose. But in this case, I think we had bad Troy, and we still won. That is, in my view, significant, and has been ignored by all the commentators that I have read. 2. Blackmon has been out for the last two games. As much as coach Crean has tried to say that he adds another dimension, we have won two games, on the road, without him. 3. This last one is more of a cumulative comment than one based purely on the last game, but it seems to me that the current Indiana offense is designed to rush things. Rushing things results in more errors. Thus it is almost by design that Indiana’s offense commits a large number of turnovers. In essence, the coaching staff is making a trade off between the benefits of rushing constantly and the negatives inherent therein. If you rush, all the time, of necessity, you are going to have more turnovers. But it can still be a net benefit. Of course, having said that, you always preferred to cut down on turnovers regardless of how fast you are playing. But it is somewhat inherent in the offensive strategy.

So sick of hearing about these kinds of issues with IU athletes, although, in fairness, really only the basketball and football players.   Do these guys need babysitters? Do they need to put leg monitors on them (illegal, of course, and suggested only facetiously)?   More realistically, how about designating some guys to be monitors? A scholarship for completing a season without issues? An "honor society" designation for those who come through the year clean?   An app?   Something? Anything?   I'm searching desperately for something that would work, be legal and keep these guys in line.   WestCoast Hoosier

I guess my point is, who cares? Until he makes a commitment, what's all the hubbub? And us, who follow all the stuff? We get what we deserve because we are the ones who make it all go. Our eyeballs on the page, our waiting with bated breath for some high school kid to make a decision, that's what drives the whole equation. If we collectively said, "yeah, who cares tell me when you commit." this stuff would all end. And all of that is setting aside the point that even when these guys commit, some of them (and it's a significant percentage these days) change anyway. Witness Trey Lyles. And even if they do actually enroll in school, about half of them don't last two years for one reason or another. Or you get a guy like Noah Vonleh who seemed to be a rumor, a fact and then gone before you could hardly get to know him. Do you feel any great loyalty to him? He played part of a year, seemed more focused on self than team and vamoosed. To my way of thinking, this kind of stuff is close to destroying the college game. And I say it with great sadness as a loyal IU alum. I mean when you see Cosch K taking a page out of Calipari's playbook and recruiting like Calipari, you know something is seriously wrong. It's like global warming, basketball style.

I saw the announcement that he has put IU into his top 10. I am so sick of hearing this kind of stuff. It reminds me of a little girl I knew in second grade who used to list of all her boyfriends in order. And the worst part is that this treats these guys like prima donnas --- and then that's exactly what they become. Am I the only one sick of this stuff? This is not a comment on Mr. Atkins per se, but rather, a comment on the process as it exists at this time. New member today, WestCoast Hoosier