Double Down

Calipari will refuse to play in Indianapolis from now on.

UK vs Duke is like watching Operation Barbarossa. Duke has 91 with 11 1/2 min left. Watching Calipari with his cry face on all game has been enjoyable, though.

So glad to get back into hoops. Like drinking cold water in the middle of the Sahara Desert in the summer. We have a lot of horses. I really enjoy these guys. Haven't seen this much talent in Bloomington in a long time. They seems to play well together, too. Nice to see that they're working on all aspects of the game. Crean's early teams would just try to run these cupcakes out of the gym. Archie is in full development mode. The half-court needs work, but that's be expected with so many young players. They'll be fine, but they have some work to do. They'll get the reps. Overall, this team seems confident, yet humble. They seem like they're buying in to getting better. Leadership is there, too. I'm really excited about the Hoosiers!

This goes to show that the media doesn't really care about solving this problem. If so, how is there no story about Bowen, who was at the center of the scandal where an actual crime was committed? The source of the WaPo story was the coach who was fired and part of the investigation, where the actual crime, was committed. This is so laughable.

LOL....ssssshooooot. Yup, major brain fart on that one. Thanks!

What are the chances Devin Davis improves this year? Now that we have players on the perimeter that can keep teams from piling up on the block. I'm not sure either. Just thought I'd throw his name into the discussion. There's some potential there to have a nice bounce back year...

Wow! This is incredible! Romeo is an incredible player, but seems like an even better person. I can't wait to watch him play and root for him next year. Welcome to Bloomington, Romeo!!! Oh yeah, and Archie Miller for Emperor of the World in 2020. :D

Considering the entire Indiana University system (all campuses) operates on a $3.5 billion budget, it's safe to say, that's a typo. :) https://news.iu.edu/stories/2017/06/iu/releases/16-operating-budget.html

3 Billion? Man, that's a lot 'o cash. We could just buy every single college basketball team and make them all wear dresses.

There are a bunch of homers on a Kansas board? :) :O Look, all of us want Romeo. He's a definitely a game changer, perhaps a program changer. We'll all be looking at things from our own perspective probably reading way into things that are coming third, fourth and fifth hand. It doesn't matter what fans are saying. No one really knows. Of course people from Kansas are going to be dismissive of us. Truth be told, they're kind of got us on that one. Romeo wouldn't be coming to Indiana because of what we've done in the recent past, it'll be because he'll want to be a part of remaking our future. If he picks Kansas, he'll be another in a long line of guys who've had recent success there. I was 10 the last time we won the NC. I'm 41 now. Apr 30th it's all over and we can all move on. Either way, us Indiana fans will move forward (not backward). I have confidence that Archie is building the program in the right direction. Romeo will certainly speed things up, though! But we'll move forward either way.

Great thoughts everyone. I was on campus throughout this entire saga. Had some good friends close to the program. I graduated in Knight's last year. I think they did a really good job telling the story as they saw it. It is really a personal challenge to reconcile Bobby the basketball genius, with Bobby the human being. I actually thought the documentary was really thoughtful in saying that they went into the story with the intent of showing "kids these days are just a little too soft for RMK." But when they investigated further, there was way more to the story and it was pretty awful stuff. Bobby is a true bully. When his teams weren't winning, he became an even bigger bully. He used fear and intimidation with everyone around him. The sign of a true narcissist is someone who can't take any challenge at all to their "omniscience". I really really felt for Neil Reed. I was glad they told his story completely. Not just the stuff while he was playing there, but that RMK was petty enough to take a completely unnecessary and cheap shot at Neil and his dad long after he left the program, playing for a team that would never be any threat to IU. But what I thought was incredibly damning was that Jason Collier and Luke Recker BOTH refused to open their mouths when they could have. Many ex players gave anonymous statements. It was implied that these guys were terrified that Knight was going to ruin them publicly. Once you are outside of Bobby's control, he will do anything to try and ruin you. Perhaps even wishing you dead on ESPN radio. It sucks reconciling this. His teams played the best basketball I've ever watched. When Knight isn't being a bully, listening to him talk about basketball is like listening to Picasso talk about painting, or Marvin Gaye about writing music and singing. You just feel like sitting down, leaning forward and listening for hours and hours. It must be similar to the way Penn State fans have to reconcile JoePa in their minds. Obviously different situations, but rooting for a guy that you lionized for years, only to find out their flaws as they were exposed years later. For the record, I'd take Bobby Knight over JoePa any day of the week and twice on Sunday over what went down at PSU (like that even had to be said!). I've moved on from Knight. I know he'll never come back and I'm not even sure I want him back. But I'll look back fondly on the days when that tough old crank had guys playing some unbelievable basketball. Me thinks we might just have the best of both worlds moving forward with Archie, but time will tell on that one.

There's a ton of really cool people on this board, so this is more of a comment outloud to myself in witness of everyone here vs telling you fine folks what to do. The day Romeo puts on the hat of his school of choice will be the day it is all over for good. If he puts on the IU hat, I'll cheer like crazy. If he goes elsewhere, I'll drop it immediately. Romeo is a great kid. Seems like his dad is solid, too. In the world of treacherous BS vendors, they stand in stark contrast. It would be a bummer not to root for this kid in the Cream and Crimson, but I'll be rooting for this kid in life. He really stands out in a great way, regardless if he plays for my favorite team or not. Here's to hoping for good results, so I don't need to muster the zen strength of 23-himalayan monks to get over it!

Has Justin Albers seen Billy Donovan's wife looking for houses in Louisville yet?

BD was my number 1, but I'm really happy with Archie. The more this sinks in, the more I dig into it, the better I like it. I think he's going to get us there. Funny, my first reaction was relief, "Thank God it wasn't Steve Alford." The Big Ten is ripe for the taking. Welcome to Bloomington, Archie! Can't wait to see what you do with the keys to this Ferrari.

Guy is a Kentucky grad who covers the Thunder. Fair to say, I don't think anyone knows what is happening. But if we hire a coach without even contacting Donovan....wow, Glass. Just wow.

Rick's just shocked that you can convince someone to come work/play for you without using hookers.

No. Terry Hutchens is trying to figure out what's up. But he thinks the timeline is dubious.

If Justin is lying, I'm thinking the scene in Full Metal Jacket with pillow cases and soap bars is in order. I want BD badly. I just can't believe Justin though. He was reporting Alford working on a deal IU a little over a week ago. He has no scruples.

There's defending your family, then there is throwing a tantrum at people who can't and won't fight back. The three millionaires need to be graceful, walk away, and go about their business.

Well, that happened. Billy Donovan looks great in red.

That buyout is more than his annual salary. The fear, as far as IU is concerned, is that Crean could just lay low for a year while he gets crazy paid and then finds a job the year after.

All speculation on my part, but since no one asked, here ya go: If Crean was getting an extension, it would have been announced by now. Instead, he has a $4 mil buyout clause that drops to $1 mil on Jul 1st. Firstly, kill whoever wrote up this contract. Secondly, I'm sure they have lawyers neck deep in Tom's contract finding a way for him to let go before Jul 1st. This may take a few days. I know I know...I'm just as fed up. Just trying to guess as to what the delay is.

Let's break down the Alford thing. Sans Brad Stevens or Billy Donovan, you have a bunch of names that you look to that have unknowns. NOW, perhaps, one of these guys has the potential to be a legend. We don't know. But the way I see it, it is all about what we assume is the potential "upside" of each name. So, Miller 1 and Miller 2, Marshall, Collins, Bennett....and Alford. I don't want to break each person down individually, but the prior 4 candidates are all "up and coming." They're all succeeding and are in an upward trajectory for the most part. So, it is fair to think, "Wow, with Indiana's in state talent, facilities, budget, fanbase, this person could really do something special." With Alford, we have a guy who has a looooong coaching track record that goes back to 1991. It's up and down. At Iowa, he was there for 8 years, never made it out of the 2nd round and only finished above .500 in conference 3 times. He was .477 in the B1G. Not good. But, he turns it around at New Mexico in a lower conference. At UCLA, he's had a mixed record. Alford is more of Tom Crean. A pretty good coach that can show flashes here and there. But never able to make the consistent progress a top level program that competes for championships needs to have. I'd rather risk a chance on the up-and-comers with more unknowns, but more potential upside, than a guy that has been around for over a quarter-century without a single visit to the Final Four or beyond.

Crean doesn't have to have a job to land somewhere else for him not to be the coach at Indiana. I'm almost certain that Crean will NOT leave on his own. Indiana University has no obligation to worry about what happens to Crean on Day +1, beyond what is contractually obligated to do. This is the fork in the road. Either Crean gets an extension or he is fired. If he gets an extension, Glass is officially responsible for everything that happens on and off the court afterward. Personally, I think he's going to let him go, but I have no information or sources beyond what I read 'round these here internets. I think Crean ends up on ESPN next year talking about how great Lorenzo Romar's preparation and shoot around skills are.

Justin Albers is already starting rumors that Rob Johnson wants to transfer on Twitter.