Stromboli

Then maybe avert your gaze from this nugget. In case you didn't see it, Jerome was responding to rumors he wont be back:

RealIU returns.

From today. People in the comments interpreted it to mean hes coming back.

Alright alright alright

, he said with a sinister grin. He sipped his prune juice, adjusted himself, and remarked, "Yes, it's all starting to work nicely."

Hey Mamasa, looks good! I just planted garden boxes this year also. My boys are 4 and 1, and I'm working through a transition from old hobbies to new hobbies at home. Going to try gardening. Looks like you're doing the Square Foot Garden method by Mel Bartholomew? I'm trying it, right down to the vermiculite/peat moss/compost soil mixture. I finally got the last ones planted on Saturday, and now I'm afraid it's all going to freeze. This weekend, I missed most of the good EYBL action because I'd rather be at home elbow deep in manure-mixture than following IU recruiting. So there's that.

Good morning, dudes So I got to Grand Park for EYBL yesterday. I only spent a couple hours there, and missed a few of our targets like Nimari Burnett and RJ Davis. My biggest takeaway is that star-power was largely absent from the event this year. That's half because the coaches weren't allowed to be there, which makes the entire thing seem less like a show and more like watching scrimmages. And half because the players just aren't as exciting this year. There were no must-see players like there have been in the past. Even the pockets of NBA guys just standing around yucking it up were gone. (For all I know Friday/Saturday were better) I made sure I checked out the IU targets I knew about. By far Matt Cross was the most noteworthy. First the bad. The only thing I came away with was that he's in that tweener size like Justin Smith. He's a 6'7" "Power Forward" that doesn't really play from the perimeter or play back-to-the-basket. He cannot play 5 and shouldn't play 3, but doesn't have the length for a B1G 4. Afterwards I saw--as WayneFleek pointed out--his efficiency is pretty awful. Not a great look to take that many shots, with that many misses, and have a losing team. Otherwise, he was easily the best player on the floor. He plays heads-up ball, so he's affecting the game on every possession on both ends of the floor. Willingly fights in the lane. Definitely athletic; more of a smooth athleticism than plain explosive, but he moves like a basketball player. So in my view, the reason he was getting so many shots (and points) is because he was working for them. Every possession down, he'd fight his man and give the PG an easy pass to get it to him, and then he'd try to make a shot. The others 3 weren't moving much. It really seemed that he was trying to help his PG make a safe pass. Now, should he have tried to distribute more? I don't know, maybe. Or maybe the coach wanted him shooting. Anyway, he was the best player on the floor. As for the other guys I watched, nothing popped off the page. Jaden Ivey was probably my favorite other player to watch, unfortunately. I wasn't there long enough to come away with opinions I'd trust. It is fun to go to these things, though. You see a real slice of life, with these kids fighting to make the dream come true, as some pretty deranged parents/handlers scream from the sideline. But then between games, you see the kids shuffle along in slides and hoodies and realize just how young they are. Nothing like the braggadocio you'll see on social media or how some fans want to view them. They're just sleepy, insecure kids.

Sorry to hear that USPS. I'll be there at some point this weekend. The ITH article today had some new names. I'll try to peek at all of them.

Maaaaaan this place is chippy today. Edit: Even the usually even-keeled posters are pushing back. Nothing even going on right now.

Likely not. He just registered at HSN as Bedford1432. Four posts in 7 minutes. Stuhoo ran him off!!

Lol. Good catch. Even has the exact same "Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk" at the end of each post.

I don't know, you'll have to ask the gurus, I didn't speak with them. Just giving my opinion. And since it's maybe the only time I've made public a negative opinion on a recruit, and that same recruit is likely committing to our rivals, you bet your sweet bippy I'm going to recall that public negative opinion. What did you see about Morton that made you so salty about missing on him?

Guys, Archie went to watch this kid play last week with NY Ren. Morton was supposed to be the star 6'6" PG that would blossom in AAU this year after having an underwhelming year playing up last year. Instead Archie capped the weekend by offering his teammate; a better PG. Purdue didn't jump in with their fresh Sweet 16 banner and steal a kid on the rise. We won't know how the Leal/Galloway offers play in here. Did Archie get wind Morton wasn't interested, or did Morton get wind that Archie was moving in another direction? We do know that Archie offered Leal AND Galloway AND Davis before any notion Morton was announcing soon. Before I'm called a hypocrite/sour grapes whatever. December 6, 2018, I posted in this thread: I really haven't understood the hype. How many of you lamenting another Archie recruiting failure have actually watched the kid and determined that he's a difference maker? Well put. And I don't want to hate on Morton too much. D1 coaches think he's D1 capable. And the only bad thing about choosing Purdue is that you have to be a Boilermaker, otherwise I can't hate on their program either. I don't think this one would sting as much if we weren't in the midst of a slew of rejections.

I'm not really holding out hope here. But for guys like Old Friend and others that want to vilify kids, this at least shows that they're wanting to win at IU at the same time they're working towards individual goals. Article from Memphis newspaper: Indiana made a big impression when Quinones and his family traveled to Bloomington for his official visit. He called it his favorite visit of the ones he’s taken with his family during the process. Relationships with coach Archie Miller and strength coach Clif Marshall were enhanced on the official visit. They emphasized family and bringing a championship back to Indiana. “It was different," Quinones said of the time in Bloomington. “At that visit I feel like I bonded with the returning players better than at any of the other visits. Jerome Hunter, De’Ron Davis and Devonte Green and all those guys just want to bring Indiana back to where it used to be. Hanging banners and stuff like that.” https://dailymemphian.com/section/sports/article/4907/Quinones-decision-could-impact-the-rest-of-Penny-Hardaways-recruiting

There have been a few of us going against the grain on Morton the whole time. I never saw why the fanbase had so much hype for this kid. Like Stuhoo just pointed out, the kid really doesn't produce in AAU. He's outshined by everyone else out there. If anything, his assists stick out, but that will happen when you're kicking to a kid hitting 67% from 3 (RJ Davis). There's no doubt he's a D1 level player. Lots of coaches want him. And props to Purdue for getting the early commitment. They have earned it. Painter is on a real hot streak the past few seasons. Honestly at some point the recruiting will have to catch up with their success. Archie is a whale hunter. He's going after impact players. Get 2 impact guys a year, and you'll eventually have a very talented team. Outside of Romeo, we're definitely having a rough go with getting some top guards. Let's stay on it. Two impact recruits a year builds a good team.

A post so nice you made it thrice!

Yeah it's interesting that he's dialed down to IU and Memphis. Why do that if you've known for weeks where you're going? It was presumed Memphis for months before his IU visit. I dont want to read too much into quotes. In the recent one, he says Coach Marshall will get him prepared. Last week to Memphis radio he said that he and the other Memphis recruits will dominate. He did legitimately like the guys at IU. I love that Devonte was there as a fellow New Yorker. Jerome and Les seem to have hit off, and they would be in effectively the same class. Trayce is a MAA five star tweeting at him. We've got a major hole at SG. And he's getting recruited over at Memphis. And we have the dubious honor of being the most prestigious program recruiting him. Lester grew up with Precious Achiuwa. He wants to get to the NBA. He wants to be a part of what's cool at Memphis. Penny has been on him. I get the appeal, and wont be surprised if he picks Memphis. FWIW I think the decision is made and he has the edit being made already. Some IG shots. First is by an edit guy showing the Lester video in the works. The other is just Lester and Jerome tagging each other on stuff.

So this was posted on a Memphis basketball forum, reads like it was first hand information: Quinones loved his visit to Indiana and said they definitely moved up for him. loved the coaches, players, campus and how rabid they are about basketball there. players there made him know they want to play with him. will be an interesting decision. tells me there is definitely no Memphis lock even though if i was guessing now it's between us and Indiana. Lester said he's locked in to Indiana, LSU, Maryland, Memphis for his decision. On Lester's twitter, 9 of the last 11 tweets have been IU related, with the other two not dealing with recruitment.

The guys liking it:

Isn't Lester Quinones scheduled to visit Bloomington starting tomorrow? Maybe he's getting a commitment in before Lester leaves. (Yes, I know this reasoning works for UNC, also, since they're trying to get Keeling)

Fight me

From today:

Anthony Harris (V.Tech decommit) is taking an official to IU starting tomorrow. Rivals says its between UNC and us. There was a time when Harris and TJD were sending things on Instagram talking about playing together. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Guys the reinstatement of Wade at LSU is likely just legal posturing. I get it, it's the SEC and so I might be wrong. But my guess is they can't fire him now because the investigation isn't done, and they don't want to pay the buyout. They'll wait for the evidence then fire him with cause. Look at the wording of the statement. I'd guess that the Watfords know this. And I doubt they'd commit anywhere they don't know who the coach will be, as it sounds like development for the next level will be big. Are we sure that Trendon won't get the offer even if Hurt commits to Duke? ESPN has made Duke the biggest thing going. Even on the bench at Duke Trendon would get more recognition than at some of these other schools. It does appear we're not out of it. As I think about it, for next year we could pair either TJD or Watford with De'Ron and hopefully Brunk, and each of the four could get 20 minutes a game. And then there could be times when we play TJD and Watford, and that would be pretty darned effective, too. Side thought, we lost a couple games this year because Juwan was on the bench with foul trouble. Putting him in to guard the 5 was a pretty crappy solution, because it just took our best player off the floor. I get it, there weren't really better solutions on the bench. I really like the idea of having Brunk and De'Ron to soak up the fouls guarding the post.