Sota Hoosier

I'll be thur. Planning to tailgate before the game. I have 0 tailgating gear so will probably be standing around a case or two of brews. Big game. Could be the start of a winning streak leading up to the Michigan game.

We haven't had much discussion about Green's potential to develop into that backup PG role next year. I've always thought his ceiling was pretty high and he was under-rated as far as recruiting goes. Would have liked to have Waters but understand why he didn't pick IU and we'll be fine. Just need Wilkes and/or Preston.

Jerry Meyer to Georgetown....Bye bye TW.

247 is saying his announcement is at 12pm EST. Not sure if that's a mistake but their countdown indicates it is at 12pm EST.

Waters reminds me much more of Ulis than Yogi. Love his game. Signing him could lead to some elite swingman and bigs giving IU a serious look in the future and can help with Wilkes/Preston immediately.

He's been going down to IU since the 4th grade, has been up and down the campus, and has been to multiple HH's in the past. Additionally, him being out of town this weekend for something unrelated different is a completely legit thing. I haven't followed Albers much but I know of his reputation. I'd have to think he would be wildly confident in his sources to write a response article to an "Insider" article from ESPN saying UCLA is the leader. We have to remind ourselves that Kris was just at an IU practice and football game 72 hours ago and has tweeted IU stuff multiple times. I still feel mildly confident he will be in candy stripes.

I really, really want Wilkes but not for the reason of needing top in-state talent to go to Indiana. My want for Wilkes is driven by the need for us to stay relevant on the national stage and continually be competing for B1G Championships and having a chance to make a tourney run every year. We had it last year, we have it this year, and that needs to continue. IU should never have a year where they are not consistently ranked in the top 25 so missing on Wilkes may put that in jeopardy. Then again, if we land a Bamba or Richards that may change that. I believe the staff has done all they can to this point and that there's a good shot he goes to IU. Just will have to see how it all shakes out from here.

This has been a weird game

Welp I guess they are going both ways now....

(Shoots Gun) -----------> (Hits Foot)

Yeah, I get that too. As an 18 year old looking to be loved kid I could see the "wow" factor going a long way in addition to what you stated. I don't see why Crean/the staff would consider having him guard the post - doesn't play into his game at all. I'm sure he'll get a lot of interaction with the teammates as well over the next few days. The team seems very tight-knit so that should play well into what he's looking for as teammates.

Wonder if Crean brings back some NBA guys for this. Since Wilkes already knows so much about IU we need a serious "wow" factor to put him over the top. I could see Calbert coming along as well. Big weekend.

http://indiana.247sports.com/Season/2017-Basketball/Targets

I feel like we are in a good spot with Waters and it will just come down to who he really wants to play for in the end. The UK machine is certainly appealing and Cali is pitching hard but a guy doing homework on his OV does not in any way sounds like a UK guy. Wondering why an elite big like Bamba or Richards wouldn't take a serious look at IU (maybe they are, who knows) considering the recent successes of Zeller, Vonleh, and Bryant. That said we could end up with a serviceable guy like Moore, Gak, etc to pair with Davis. Moore is now a 4 star on 247.

Was about to say this exactly. I'm sure we have told Wilkes many, many times how important he is and that he would be "the guy" and Wilkes knows that about himself as well. Smith is a 3/4 for year player while Wilkes is 1/2 year max and would start from day one. I don't think this would play much into Wilkes decision and I'm sure Tommy Boy is smart enough to explain this. Not too worried about it but definitely excited about the prospect of getting Smith. Hoping all works out tonight.

I've never seen a team shoot themselves in the foot so many times in one game.

I'd never watched his highlights until now......whoa

At Illinois most recently I believe. I hope Crean and staff are aware of the quotes and take them seriously. This last part I guess is somewhat encouraging???? It is of note that there is almost a month long break between Wilkes' visit to Indiana and those he has scheduled with Xavier (Oct. 28) and UConn (Nov. 3). Wilkes knows that the schools he has already visited will really turn things up during that break and when asked if he could commit before taking all five visits he said that he hadn't yet decided if he would end up taking all five visits. With his decision looming, Wilkes has locked in on a few key areas and he's looking forward to signing early. “I think what I’ve learned is to know that players are going to be there," said Wilkes. "That’s a key thing. That and the coaching and as long and everybody keeps things like they show me when I go on visits then I will like it and if they don’t I won’t. It’s just getting to know them all better as coaches. I’m all about relationships.”

Interesting comments from Wilkes on Indiana here..... https://indiana.rivals.com/news/five-star-wilkes-updates-visit-process

Feel like Blackmon could be the dark horse this year. A ton of attention around TB and OG and Blackmon could fill up the stat sheets from deep a few games. This is assuming he doesn't have a let down after the knee injury but given he performed so well in the offseason drills it doesn't seem to be hindering him much. This kid can flat out score when he's 100%. Here's to hoping he's not too much of a liability on D that he loses playing time........

Right. I remember seeing an article on ESPN I think that described Giannis Antetokounmpo's measurements and other than height I'm pretty confident OG would measure around the same as him (article link: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/14927328/milwaukee-bucks-f-giannis-antetokounmpo-nba-most-exceptional-body). The point being that body/potential can sometimes trump college stats when looking at draft status. My feeling is that Kris wants to stay closer to home based on what I've read. I could see how LA would be very appealing as an 18 year old kid and can't blame him for considering it but IU's current program and player development certainly is in a better state than UCLA's (pronounced UCK-LUH). The whole thing seems pretty up in the air at this point but I like where we sit for now.

I think the hype around OG being a possible lottery pick or mid-first round pick has to do with the bits and pieces he showed last year combined with his physical gifts. There were simply things he did last year that hardly anyone in the country could do (the steals/dunks/blocks on Jamal Murray/etc.). Add his megatron-like build and another off-season to work plus a higher level of confidence and we are looking a truly unique and potentially special player. Back to Wilkes....I feel pretty confident with this one. Xavier is a head-scratcher but still like our position. The prospect of Wilkes and OG playing together is just peachy to me...lesssdoit!

Do we back off crashing the O-boards so hard this game to get back on D? The rebounding game will be huge in general but getting back on D will be crucial as well.   Double in the post and make them make outside shots?   If we're making threes and have a similar performance on the boards and TOs as we had against UK, should be a great game and a winnable one for these Hoosiers.   We're winning games in multiple ways....that's a dangerous team come late March.

It might be asking a lot of us as a 5 five seed to make it to the final four but doesn't that beg the question of why are we a 5 seed in the first place? The teams the last few years haven't shown up late in the season and while this team did rattle of 5 Big Ten wins to close out the regular season, they looked flat and almost disinterested against Michigan in the BTT which led us to a 5 seed and Kentucky looming. The expectations need to remain the same if we want this program to be keep its already slipping elite status. I don't care if it's Kentucky in the way or any other team for that matter. Simply beating them and getting to the Sweet 16 and losing after that doesn't make it a successful season in my book. It simply is what it is - a sweet 16 team and maintains the ceiling of what has been accomplished two times over the previous 4 years. Yes, the Big Ten title matters and is an accomplishment in its own. So the regular season was a success. But that portion of the year is over and the "new season" has already started on the wrong note. Final Four is success to me for IU.

I was starting to actually feel confident about this team after the 5 game winning streak. I didn't think we would throttle Michigan but thought we would show up and win. Why did it come to this?!?! I'm now almost expecting a first weekend exit. I will be happy with a final four bid BUT if we don't make it past the sweet 16, there needs to be some serious consideration of a change. There aren't a ton of great candidates out there other than BS, but it has to be debated. I honestly don't really care about Big Ten titles other than them being a nice thing to brag about. Those are quickly forgotten when you don't show up late in March.