IU - Kaulie

That’s why you play Bates.

He was not running the floor at all to start the game.

IU 72 Arizona 74

I know most teams do it but I hate fouling at the end. If your winning don’t extend the game. So many things can happen. I’m happy Rutgers lost. Not that I dislike them but they are a sleeper in the BIG if they can steal a few road wins. Should have had that one.

IU 74 NEB 63

Still selling Kopp short with the if we had better options talk but whatever. He’s fine at his position on both ends. Race is not playing well but I don’t think he should be replaced with Reneau. Reneau has typical growing pains as a freshman and can’t stay on the court. Plus I like the energy he brings off the bench. I think the difference between us being a very good team and an elite team is Bates. I think we know what we are getting from certain players most nights but Bates is the X factor.

Since you insist on making me do it for some reason there you go. All I said of Bates was that I had higher expectations and outside of 1 game he has really struggled. Now yourself and a couple others like to make these little snide comments about Kopp every chance you get. It’s getting old.

Again, I’m not going to go back through the threads and quote your remarks. The criticism he receives on here by a select few is unfair in my opinion. He is fine at his position we don’t need anyone to replace him. I love Trey Galloway as much as anyone (although some of that is for different reasons) but his value is what he brings off the bench. Their were even calls by some for Geronimo to start at his spot this year. No thanks. The holes on this team are not with Kopp and his starting or his minutes or whatever. Our bench outside of Gallo and Reneau have to play better or we need to give the other two freshman some meaningful minutes in their place. Geronimo has shown flashes and always plays hard and that’s fine for a bench player. I always thought the Oladipo talk was absurd. Bates is a little different. Outside of 1 game he has really struggled. He made two awful plays against UNC and when he came in tonight we were making our run and he came in and the player he was guarding went off. Woodson couldn’t get him out fast enough. My expectations for him were higher coming in but it hasn’t happened. At this point I would like to see Gunn get some meaningful minutes and see what he’s got.

I will 100% agree with you that he is the best we have at that position and it’s not even close. I just think he takes a lot of unfair criticism on here from a few posters (not directed at you) and that’s really a shame for those that can’t see the value he brings.

I don’t have the time to go back into threads and quote your remarks but let’s not act like you don’t like to call him out. Each game is played differently. He’s going to have games where he scores and he’s going to have games he doesn’t. His value in those games is just being on the court and what that opens up for the team. I strongly disagree about his defense. He is so active with his hands and is almost always in the right position. His defense is seriously undervalued. I can agree about rebounding if you want to nitpick. He is not rebounder. TJD is not a jump shooter. So what? He should be starting and I think his minutes are about right. If anything he should get a few more minutes. Kopp is fine and his twos looked pretty good today. I’m really going to miss him when he’s gone.

Kopp is shooting over 50% from 3 through 8 games. I hate it when some posters like Southside and Aloha trash him every chance they get but whatever. Even when he’s not getting shots he’s creating space and opening up driving lanes. That’s exactly what’s happened in a few games this year and those same posters are here still trashing him in game threads. I’m going to miss him when he’s gone for sure. My take on this game is simple. Flush it and move on to the next one.

IU 68 Rutger 63

IU 78 UNC 75

IU 92 Jackson 62

IU 87 Little Rock 59

It’s fine. You keep trashing him. I will keep defending him. He should be playing big minutes because he is our best option at the position without question. Without looking at stats through 4 games I would guess he is averaging close to 10 points per game while shooting around 50% from the field including around 50% from the three point line. Not to mention a big bucket and 2 big free throws in the Xavier game. That’s all we need him to be for this team. I swear some fans aren’t happy because he is labeled a shooter if he doesn’t make every single one of them. It’s crazy the hate he gets on here. He still offers tough perimeter defense and gets a lot of deflections and digs and is almost always in the right position.

Let’s just sub in Banks for Geronimo and let the frosh run things.

Not a fan of the lineups out there right now especially Bates and Geronimo together. Where is Galloway?

IU 82 Miami 62

I disagree. I’m in the camp that doesn't get the Kopp hate. I have never really understood it. He is by far our best option at the position. He knocked down the baseline jumper after he put it on the floor in the first half. He made a huge three and free throws in crunch time. His defense is very underrated. He continues to get his hands on a lot of balls and is usually in the right place. I noticed in the first half he had a couple of digs and deflections that caused them to get hung up. He also forced a turnover because he was in the right place and they turned it over because he was basically just in the way. His perimeter defense is tough and underrated and he is always talking out there. He will get beat off the dribble by elite athletes so I’m not saying he’s perfect. I just think a lot of the criticism he receives on here is unfair. I want Kopp playing a lot of minutes on this team.

I think you are spot on. Freemantle had a couple of dunks and stared our guys down but they were just calling it on us. The nature of this is just way too subjective. Just let the kids play.

He seems like a really good kid that’s a good athlete for sure. He can hit the outside jumper and that’s nice. He has a long way to go in terms of basketball skills and I don’t know if he will ever get there or not. I mean dribbling and catching/holding onto the ball is an adventure. If you compare his basketball skills to Reneau you can see the difference. I don’t know where he fits on this team. He can’t play the three that’s for certain. Race and TJD are going to play a ton and Reneau needs as many minutes as possible. That leaves little minutes for Geronimo. I like how Woodson handled his minutes tonight. He got in the game in the first half played 5 minutes and didn’t play well so he didn’t play again. I suspect he will get another chance Sunday night and if he plays well he might see a few more minutes but if not he won’t play. I do think he will have games where he will contribute but he will also have games like tonight. His biggest opportunity to play will be if those three guys are in significant foul trouble. I think a lot of fans are still waiting for him to ‘arrive’ but chasing his athleticism is fools gold. He is an athlete that lacks some serious basketball skills. I don’t like the comparison to X. X makes some boneheaded plays for sure but he is a very highly skilled basketball player. Geronimo is not. A lot of fans I think see the athlete he is and just assume certain things. I mean their has even been talk on here in the past comparing his trajectory to Oladipo and that’s just not who he is.

I disagree with some things here so maybe we were watching a different game. It was a great game and I loved the toughness and fight we showed in a tough environment against a quality team. I think maybe Coach Woodson heard me at halftime. Geronimo and Bates played…..well let’s just say they were not good. I liked that he shortened the rotation in the 2nd half. I’m all for having depth but it must be quality depth. Those two got in early but just did not play well. I don’t know the path for Geronimo to get minutes. Race and Reneau are going to play a ton. No way he should cut into Galloways minutes. Again I like depth and if I’m Coach Woodson I don’t know how long I go to Geronimo and Bates before I either shorten the bench like he did in the 2nd half or give those minutes to Banks and Gunn to see what they got. Hopefully they just had bad nights and will play better Sunday.

Simply yes. Bates was equally as bad.

Miller Time!