bigrod

Last time I ate at Taco Bell, I was on my way home from being out of town, and was too hungry to wait, so I stopped about an hour from home. Unfortunately, I needed to be about 40 minutes from home.

I don't think Crean was a great coach, but he would do well with IU's resources in this NIL era. He needed lots of talent to win, but at least he mostly knew how to utilize it. His problem was he didn't put the time into planning and building a sustainable program. He was always looking for the next best thing, like fart in a skillet.

I can only speak for myself, but in my opinion, this has to be a hard sell to the type of players DD is looking to recruit: players who want to win. This is a total roster reconstruction. Lots of these players want to be one of the final pieces of an already successful roster. Honestly, I'll be pretty happy with a record similar to this past season if we are seeing players who want to be here and play like they care about winning, and a coach who puts them in the best position to do that. We don't have to be elite in the next couple years, but it would be nice to see a team that makes you want to cheer for them, and is leaving it all on the court, win or lose. Its almost never as bad as some make it out to be, and probably rarely as good as others want it to be. Enjoy the journey. Hopefully, in a couple years, we all look back at this time and laugh about how terrible we thought it was. And if not, get some therapy ;)

100% doubt. That's funny... All of this is hear say, no? I mean they don't have to report it to any public source.

We could use another Rod up in these parts! Just not a big one.

I'm not a proponent of the people who claim our fan base is the issue, but wow, spend a little time on the board and it makes you wonder.

We won the last two off seasons, and this is what we have to show for it. I don't mind letting this play out.

So, we're like the dude who pulls up to the corner in a new Ferrari, but the chicks he's hitting on are wondering what he's trying compensate for.

Maybe we've made the strange decision to target players who value other things besides money.

That was my next question. Anyone think Woody would have been there?

I thought Norton wasn't going to recruit.

I don't think you bring someone in and say, you'll be on the bench. You say, you'll be given every opportunity to play, based on your ability to help the team.

Personally, I am more optimistic for the future of IU basketball, even with virtually no team, than I was after last off-season with Woody's cooking. I think we finally have a basketball coach.

I get it, but most on here were ready to hand us the Big Ten trophy after last off season. Personally, I'm not getting too hung up on stars. Seems like DD has a plan and knows what he's looking for, instead of just stars after their names. 80+% of the roster will likely be portal players next year. While it's a necessity next season, it's not a good long term plan, and from what I've seen and heard, not what DD wants either. IMO, you want to get dudes, but dudes that fit with the team culture that he is looking to establish. I'd rather give up a few wins next year if it means building for long-term success.

Mike?