Hardwood83

If he was a couple inches taller he could be a poor-man's Ben Wallace.

I'm not too worried about IU. I doubt there was much going on- other then maybe KJ, but mostly because that was old enough that predates the FBI probe.

Me too. The main takeaway from all of this is pretty much what was already known- if you are consistently signing top-level guys you are dirty. It's a broad generalization, sure, but seems pretty clear there is/was a "going rate" for these guys. Certainly other factors come into play, but kinda come down to: 1) Elite players get paid 2) Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, UNC, Mich St et al are consistently getting elite players. 3) Prima fascia = those schools are dirty.

Well it's pretty obvious that he'd.....uh, well they have......I mean it could lead to.....Ok, I got nothing. Being the big fish in a small pond is alluring to some. In Romeo's position, where he projects as a lottery pick, going to Vandy makes 0 basketball sense. Absolutely none. It would have to be personal. I don't see the attraction to Vanderbilt, but I might not technically be "objective."

I don't disagree, but looking at just next season, Al is better then nothing. IF Romeo does the right thing and IF this Sanford rumor is true, then AD is looking at 3min a game. But if not, then we only have 2 scholarship guards beside him. As much as I want to believe Hunter is a SG, I'm not sold on that yet. I guess what I'm saying is: I hope the roster improves so much for next year that Al moving on is obviously mutually beneficial. Seems like a great kid and I hope the best for him.

I agree. DD is way too slow to defend anyone on the perimeter. Doesn't mean he can be on the floor, just limited athletically. I like what can bring offensively though. He showed early on (against good teams) that he can score consistently in the post. That is a hugely valuable asset. His numbers dropped, but I largely blame the guards for not feeding him or giving him the ball late/out of position. My DD off-season checklist: Lateral quickness drills. Post moves. Free-throws. No reason he can't play 23/min a game and be a 12pt/7 Reb guy.

Agreed- that was just good basketball regardless of the opponent. I don't claim to know what's important to Romeo, but if he goes to Vandy then quality of play isn't top of the list.

It's like choosing between cancer or Alzheimer's- they are both miserable.

Right, seems more like this is a response to an understanding that Romeo not coming.

Interesting

If you bet me in November that O$U and Nebraska would both be top 4 in the conference into the second week of February I would have put my house against it. One of the many reasons I don't bet on sports!

Has Holtman shown he can recruit at an elite level? Seems to me there are some coaches that can really recruit, some coaches that can really teach and a very few that can do both. They are household names. I'm confident Holtman can coach, but I'm not sure he's an elite recruiter....at least I hope not! Will be interesting to see how he does in a couple yrs with his own guys. Even next year without Bates and Tate might be a wake-up call. He's B1G CoY IMO, but I'm skeptical he'll maintain this level of success.

As my young daughter told me once "I can't be patient forever!" So is the consensus that he announces at the McD game? A line-up of: PG Green or Phinisee, SG Langford, SF McRoberts or Smith, PF Morgan & C Davis with a young but decent bench may not be top 10 material, but I think it is top 3 in next year's still weak B1G. Definitely a NCAA team.

I agree. Hate to admit it, but he does (normally) get his Mercenaries to buy in, play hard and defend. But he's nothing special as far as coaching. They out-talent 90% of the teams they play, out-hustle a few others and lose when it matters most. Blue tears are the most delicious tears!!

IU has a real opportunity to regain a spot as the one of the top few teams in the league. Obviously improving is the most important factor, but the other teams make a huge difference too. We know Purdue will flame out in the tourney, lose all those seniors and return to their natural state of mediocrity for 3-5yrs. It will take Painter that long to build another Monster in his lab and recruit another crew of try-hards that can improve just enough to over-achieve by their 5th year. Rinse and repeat. Wisconsin appears to be on a downward trend and it's about time. I hate them. Northwestern woke up after last year and realized they always will be Northwestern. Ohio State concerns me, but remains to be seen if Holtman can recruit and win with his own players. The final piece is for Michigan St to go away too. Izzo is that entire program. I'd love to see him and his Indiana talent poaching ride off into the sunset.

Completely agree. UNC's sham was much worse than Louisville, Miami, SMU, etc. It invalidates their mission as an educational institution. They are nothing more then one of these fly by night prep "schools" that exist to sponge off the athletes. For the NCAA to reward that was despicable.

Certainly not without a major leap. Green has the ability (skills & moxie) but just can't seem to help himself from show-boating. His highlight play to complete foolishness ratio runs pretty close to 1:1. Loved his bounce pass to JM late, but some of those forced shots were brutal. If he "gets it" he could be an above average to very good B1G player......I have my doubts if he will though. Durham, I'm going hope makes a Soph leap. He has some tools too, but appears to have regressed a bit as the season goes on. Without a Romeo commitment and/or some completely unforeseen event (Grad transfer) they HAVE to be ready next year for major minutes.

Agree- those are the 3 that IU SHOULD have won. Few others coulda, but those 3 hurt. Imagine 15-5/6-2? Only losses to @Seton Hall, Duke, @Louisville, @Mich & @MSU. In this year's B1G that would be good for a bid, most likely.

So he's an arrogant, whiny, cheap-shot artist %$#@ that wants to play for a rat-faced bastard of a coach? Huh.

After Donovan (Yes, I admit to being susceptible to the hype!) Bennett was my choice for a coach. He gets the most out of his players for certain.

Immediate transfer eligibility will create complete chaos, imo. It's crazy now, I can only imagine the shenanigans that will occur without any restraints. Might as well let players change teams during halftime if they'd like, maybe even mid-possession. Everything goes!

Agreed. If Newkirk consistently shows up the rest of the season IU will be very tough. 8-12pts, solid perimeter D and no idiotic turnovers, in other words, what you would expect from a 5th yr PG.

I don't think so. For one thing Davis is effective when the guards GIVE HIM THE FREAKING BALL instead of just looking at him and reversing it. Also, I wonder if this injury has been progressing? He's has looked even slower then usual for a while. He's not Tim Duncan for sure, but I think he's above average and can be an important contributor. Also, as of now he's the only Center IU will have next year!

Curious who you do think will play guard next year? Phinisee, Green and Durham are the only guard's as of now. Are you expecting Hunter &/or Anderson will pick up minutes at SG?

I wouldn't expect Juwan to leave early for the NBA. He very well might get paid to play in a couple yrs, but I don't expect it in the NBA. If he was to leave IU would really be in tough shape. I like the incoming class, but not a lot of instant impact guys. The grad transfer route is a nice option, but preferably for a complementary piece, not a primary scorer (Starting SG). Best case scenario: Juwan is B1G POY, Green figures it out, Romeo does the right thing and Davis gets a little fire. IU wins the B1G and makes a tourney run for the ages. More realistic The returning guys learn to consistently play defense at a high-level and the new guys are as advertised and IU makes progress in a still weak conference. Starting 5: Phinisee, Green, Smith, Morgan, Davis. Rotation: Durham, Hunter, Thompson, Grad Transfer.