Stromboli

Fun video Devonte posted. He's at the Lifetime Fitness Sky Club in Manhattan. CJ McCollum and J. Cole (rapper, dreds) are in there too. After toying with J. Cole for awhile, he starts shooting over that poor dude in blue. Awesome video

Let's get Drewfus in those huddles! Lol

Coach Clif is a huge asset to this program. Also love the personality Trayce is bringing.

Yeeeeaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!

Giggity

Go get another one and maybe we'll get Leal today, too!

I'll take a topless Chris Farley over Stuhoo and his Brony gif collection any day! Also:

Yeah, but we can't always count on an exhilarating run through the NIT to pad our stats! Aaaaand, looks like another non-con game was just announced, Troy University. #209 last year, but graduated most of their offense. Sooo, I'm up to 21-10. I'm just waiting for some scorching hot takes.

FWIW I dont see a deep run either. More just referring to my statement that it's more fun to remain hopeful and optimistic. Yeah the offense. It wasn't good. Easy to blame it on poor shooting despite open looks, but it went deeper than that. It looked like 5 uncoached players. Doesnt help the whole team got the yips.

Against my better judgment I'm weighing in here. Speaking of weighing, some of you are weighing down the board with negativity. Any reason you feel compelled to repeat yourselves? And if someone disagrees, why do you have to respond, restating your position? What's the endgame with the repetition? Pretty much everyone here can name the handful of posters that bring negativity. State of the program? Not good! It's pretty obvious, no? We haven't made the tournament in 3 years. We lost our two best players. We pay top ten money and get (barely) top 50 results. We can all see this. But we can also see that the program isn't dead. And a huge part of being a fan is sticking with your team in the bad. So what do we having going for us? 1. Archie WAS a big hire, and many had him pegged as the best available at the time. He turned down offers from other programs, and in a way legitimized us when he took the job. Obviously not a lot of success here yet. But let's not write him off. He has had several very good seasons as a head coach. He recruits well, and coaches the brand of defense that just carried UVa to a title. There is a very real chance that he pans out, and we have a coach for 20 years. I know that is what most of us are hoping for. Let's also give him credit for not being a goober. He has the attitude that we want, and it jives with us Hoosiers. 2. We've kept our noses clean. You guys comparing our recruiting to "the blue bloods" aren't being fair without making clear that you want to cheat. By and large, the teams recruiting well are cheating. Kansas cheats their faces off. Duke is basically a professional team not bound by any kind of collective bargaining agreement. Kentucky? Built a dynasty out of it. Even the non-blue blood teams that you guys compare us to are simply cheaters. Arizona, Maryland, Oregon, Oklahoma State, LSU, even Creighton. We have a program that has stayed out of that, even in the face of a very antsy fanbase. I'm happy about that, and cheer for success only if we do it cleanly. 3. Recruiting's been pretty good, y'all. Two straight McDAAs? Both Indiana Mr. Basketball's? Two straight years having the highest rated recruit in the BigTen? Have we forgotten already the Indiana recruiting drought we had prior to Archie? IU was programa non grata in Indiana. In his first two classes Arch landed Romeo Langford, Damezi Anderson, Rob Phinisee, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Armaan Franklin. Even circled back and picked up Joey Brunk. What more can you ask for from the in-state recruiting front? Keion Brooks? I mean, sure. I think we know enough now to see it wasn't the right fit. The LaLu/Kentucky thing really isn't our speed. It does seem like he was ours prior to the losing streak, but remember he wasn't ours. He never committed. Trayce did. So Kentucky was pretty much always there. As far as other recruits, I'd agree there are a couple misses of guys that would've been nice. DJ Carton, Harlond Beverly. But, that's going to happen. You can't expect to get everyone. I think Archie was in a tough spot for 2020. The fanbase would've erupted if he didn't offer Leal. So don't put him down for pursuing an "underwhelming" target. And Galloway is only underwhelming if you're kinda simple. Nothing underwhelming about Cross, Davis, Garcia, Steward, Love, Diarra, etc. Would you prefer he just gave offers to 10 of the top 20? 4. We have an awesome program in spite of our last 3 seasons (or 17...). Excellent attendance. Enormous amounts of coverage and fan involvement and forums. Third ranked by value. Excellent home court (if you don't agree fight me). Still the flagship program in Indiana. Still have half the total NCAA Championships of the BigTen. Still at least discussed in the blue blood conversation. We can be proud of being Indiana fans. 5. We do have hope. Yep, it requires you to put on your crimson colored glasses. Or, in other words, be a fan. How many NFL fanbases have hopes of a SuperBowl this year? Probably at least half. How many teams will win the SuperBowl? I think it's pretty low, like one. The hope is mostly what being a fan is about. Because, newsflash, all of this is entirely meaningless. Completely arbitrary. But we're investing time, attention, and money into it anyway. So be a fan and make it a positive experience. We have real depth at the 5. We have a McDAA freshman from just up the road coming in to play the 4, with depth there to back him up with Race and Justin. We may be getting to premier our best player in Jerome Hunter, who was the reigning Gold Jersey wearer when he went down. Devonte, Phinisee, and Al have a ton of minutes between them, and happen to be the best 3 shooters on the team last year (remove Phinisee's games when he couldn't see straight). Armaan might be the most talented guard on the roster. And Damezi might just be icing on the cake, if he finds his footing. That should be a top 5 roster. Squint a little harder and I'm pretty sure I see a deep tourney run. Big season coming up!

Game of Thrones. The last two seasons kind of wasted what they had built, but it's still the greatest show ever created. Just the scale of it was insane. Someone said Deadwood. Agree. Peak HBO. Firefly! The greatest series that never was. "My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle." Letterkenny. Anyone else watch this? It's a Canadian show that probably wasn't supposed to be anything, but it's kind of blown up. Definitely my favorite thing on TV now. If you start watching, just skip S1E3. You'll be quoting this show immediately. Pitter patter! And then reality TV, I'll take Alone.

I'm all for looking at things with a critical eye, but you guys saying we should have trashed Assembly Hall are nuts. All but maybe 5 programs in the country wish they had an arena steeped in history and environment like ours. It is a total asset to our program. And now with a plush locker room. Edit to add: Remember they guys aren't living in Assembly Hall. The fans' access to restrooms at halftime won't sway a recruit, or get a player to close out faster. Improvements should come to their day-to-day stuff. Easy access to training (tubs, massage, rehab, etc) at times convenient to a college student. High quality meals and frankly eating environment can add a lot to the experience. Feed them well. Little stuff like modern practice clothes and warm-ups they can wear and like. Sound systems around their living areas, TVs to watch games and gaming. Again, high quality food in these areas. Bathrooms that aren't awkward. Study halls that give the college experience. Comfortable travel, ideally done smoothly so kids aren't sitting on a hot bus breathing exhaust for 45 minutes before they leave. Film rooms that are modern and encourage them to learn it. I think Archie realizes most of this, and hopefully addressing it with Glass. Anyone with input would be appreciated.

I just love this holiday

What about according to Cincy's twitter page?

Yeah, I'm curious... How big is Van Zyl's parents' house? And what were his middle school cross country times? This stuff matters.

Looks like we need to make a few things clear: 1. Bribery is accepted. Even encouraged. PM me for details. 2. I'm just looking for a reason to ban Old Fart and his blathering. I'll do it for half price. 3. Chris007 is appointed Master of Whisperers. USPS will be referred to as Grand Maester Parcel. 4. Alaska can stay. Alaska, let me know if you had any trouble finding my Venmo. 5. There is now an Official Food of BTOWNBANNERS (the "OFBTB"). Any derogatory statement pertaining to the OFBTB will be a bannable offense. Incidentally, the stromboli is the OFBTB, as recently appointed by at least one mod. -Mgmt

Alright, maggots! Time to shape up, 'cause this pizza sandwich just got deputized!

jbell, appreciate the information, but it is inconistent with what else is out there. IndyKev from HSN is a Cutter of some sort and gives reports of what he encounters in town. On June 7 he posted: "I saw DeRon walking yesterday ( counldnt get photo ). Appears to have lost a lot of weight, including his Kilroy Sports gut he was carrying around. He looked really good. We need a big season from him. I hope we finally get one in his last." And then on June 12 he posted this: "Update. I just talked with DeRon. Down 20 pounds. Dude looks skinny to last year DeRon. He said he is working hard to get it off and wants his last year to be a great one. The kid looked impressive. Best body I've seen him have here, in any year." As others have noted we've got plenty of pictures, and De'Ron is looking good. I hope everyone remembers that when Archie got here, De'Ron was the guy he seemed most jazzed about (and Devonte after that). I have no doubt the staff is excited about Joey. Having both guys playing well just helps this team immensely. Would love to see the sophomores make some strides this year. The only reason this roster has holes is because we don't trust the sophomores yet. For me, the most fun "what-ifs" come from Jerome and Damezi. I'd love to know what Damezi is doing this year to get up to speed.

Nah. You all have access to the Summerball Talent Rating and Observation Metric (the S.T.R.O.M.), which accurately predicted both the rise of Cross and the fall of Morton.

I think it's roster mismanagement if you don't have two big bigs to cycle in. At least 6'10". It has very little to do with offense, but everything to do with defense. You can still score if you have 5 guards. But if the other team has a big, you have to have the guys to defend him. By its nature the defenders in the lane pick up fouls, and so you really need two of them. I've mentioned before that Archie really got hamstrung this year by playing Juwan at the 5, and then having his best player on the bench for huge periods of time. Positionless as a term gets tossed around far more than as a true strategy. I think a better way of saying it is that you want versatile players. Of course everyone wants the 6'9" players that can pass, drive, shoot the 3, and defend 1-5. Duh? There just aren't many of them. Rob Phinisee wouldn't excel on a "positionless" team, but if Rob Phinisee wants to commit to you and take on the traditional PG role, then by golly you let him. You scheme around the talents of your players. For the advanced analytics guys, the NBA has prioritized running data to see which players complement each other, and then basing lineups on that. I think it's called the Net Rating. This is the origin of the GSW "death lineup." Also, you guys may remember a couple years back, Yogi teamed up with Dirk to form the unlikely most efficient (although seldom used) lineup in the NBA. Archie has made glancing comments in the past about seeing how guys play with each other to determine lineups, and so it's possible that he's keeping this data himself. The "PG/SG/SF/PF/C" terminology is hokey and dated, but I think we all know what it means. Just as easy to use the 1-5 designation and get your point across. It's just a quick way of communicating a player's attributes. Another interesting take is the guy that used his company's mapping algorithms and determined there are 13 positions. The article itself hasn't gained much traction, but it's just another way of saying that what you really want are good basketball players, rather than pigeon-holed traditional roles. https://www.wired.com/2012/04/analytics-basketball/

Trayce is a big kid. Archie said at the winery thing that arriving last week he measured at 6'9 3/4" in shoes, 245. That weight is carried in the "center of power" too. In case you cant tell, that's Trayce next to Dale Davis, who banged against the best of them. Also, it shouldn't go unnoticed how Trayce has interacted with Indiana fans. Hes 100% behind the program. Recruits all those other guys (unsuccessfully) on social media. Now posts pics of he and Armaan saying "best friend." And with 1/10th the fanfare of Romeo. To me he's an A+ on how he's handled it so far. Armaan seems like a great kid too.

He chimed in...