Stromboli

https://twitter.com/KUHoops/status/930608678096564224 Surprise, surprise, surprise. Billy Preston's basketball scholarship to Kansas came with a car.

Give it a rest, dude. Four straight posts alleging that anyone recruiting better than us must be cheating. Bryce Drew got lucky. He's got a decade long relationship with a kid who is top ten, and happens to live next door. That same kid is a connector (Malcolm Gladwell, anyone) and has been recruiting his buds to Vandy for a while. It's a specific set of circumstances that leads to a shot at a one-year recruiting bonanza. Drew may win this year, and he'll try to parlay that into future classes. Same token, IU has a shot a some good players right now: Romeo, Watford, Brooks, TJD. They're not flooding in from around the country, woo-ed by our dusty banners. We are lucky to have pre-existing connections to these kids, be they geographical or relationships with the staff. Nothing untoward. This board is great because by and large posters provide some value when they post. Try that.

Who cares, guys. Move on. Someone guessed that it was a slight at IU to start the push for Romeo. Put down IU as a way to increase Vandy's chances with Romeo. Makes sense. Getting mad now seems more like sour grapes.

I'm feeling good about this, dudes. I think HH did the job. He received so much love in Bloomington that it tempers whatever he thought he'd gain by staying home. I'll tell my story about Darius one more time. I got to watch Darius play in April at EYBL. I didn't know who he was or anything about him. Someone on here (Old Fart?) had provided a list of targets playing at the event, so I was just matching up jersey numbers to players as they came out on the court. Keion, Carey, Swider, King, Brooks, Watford, etc. I got to see a ton of guys, in addition to all the great players there that weren't IU targets. Before Garland's game I saw him and his team take the court. Darius was the last guy you'd assume was a star, or 5* recruit. Smallish, under-developed compared to what is around. Tucking in his undershirt and jersey, tying his shoes. Nothing noteworthy. Game starts, and he is immediately going 1.5 times the speed of anyone else on the court. Ball in his hands, and you see him setting up something in his mind 3/4 court away from the basket. He'd get down there and squirt through the defense in ways you've never seen, and sneak in passes no one would expect. His scoring is crafty, too. Floaters and pull-up stuff, creating himself space for a shot aside from driving to the hoop or spotting up for a 3. The guy was a star, and I got the feeling this was the last time I'd get to sit courtside to see him without paying hundreds for my seat. After the game he was back to being nothing but a nice kid. He took time to take pics with youngsters in the crowd and say hi to anyone in the crowd that asked. I came away from the weekend being most impressed with Darius. I assumed he'd be a UK or Duke commit. Obviously things have played out differently since then, and we find ourselves in a two horse race with his hometown Vandy. Dammit if that doesn't make me like him even more!! The pull for him to stay home is real. I like Nashville, Vandy as an institution, and generally will root for Coach Drew under different circumstances. On Instagram, Darius would post of him hanging out with a 1yr old little girl (assumed a sister or niece or cousin) pretty often, and it looked like he was just very happy with his family life. I get the feeling that Darius is a very nice kid. I think we get him, but I'll be okay if we don't. But daaaaang do I hope we do. Sidenote: Anyone know if it will be streamed?? Edit:Looks like A.J.Nigh got it

Suddenly the Taco Bell makes sense...

Guys I lost some hope with the Shittu news. But I've since read some pretty reassuring stuff, too. Today's "announcement" seems pretty innocuous. I'm still confident.

Go away

Watch this clip from a game two weeks ago. This may be the game he had that prevented him from attending HH. Anyway it's 10 minutes of gameplay, and you get to see a lot of what Jake is up to on both ends of the floor. From what I can see the other team is better coached, while Jake's team seems to be looking for highlight plays (Jake included). You can tell he's not a focal point of the offense on his team (that goes to Reddish). That said, I like him. He definitely sees himself as a rim-protector, and has some fire to him. I love that he seems to take a lot of pride in signing with Indiana. And I like that Archie was laser-focused on getting his commitment.

Guuuuys. The schizophrenia is just everyone enjoying this, being a fan. We don't need some voice of reason coming in to tell us it doesn't matter. We know that. It's as arbitrary as the games and sport themselves. When IU plays, do you watch the game, cheering for every made bucket and block? Of course. And if IU loses, did you still get to enjoy the ups and downs along the way? Of course. That's why we watch the games instead of just check the score on ESPN the next day. Guys engaging in the board and hanging on rumors and tweets and CB picks is just part of it. Also, Darius to IU. I've never been more sure of something in my life.

No hate for Vandy. Nashville has been one of my favorite spots for the last decade. If I don't stay in the Union Station hotel, then I'm somewhere close to campus just to be around it. Regardless of how this comes out, I have high regard for Darius. (Hoosier Guy, you're our only hope.)

Huh. Let's hope the Vandy Insider graduated from the Gregg Doyel School of Investigative Journalism.

Game over. No doubt in my mind. Mom and Dad Garland are using this decision making process as a teaching tool for young Darius. Maybe also just to be sure that they didn't push him towards IU with dad's own preference. I'm very confident now. Edit: Lol. This sentiment has not aged well. Fuuuuuuuudge.

Big Burglar Brand. Like a Ball in a China shop. LiAngelo Ball Season Stats: Minutes played: 0 Steals: 1 (Edit: These were all stolen from Reddit)

I can't help but notice that 3/4 of our 2018 verbals have stated they intend to sign today. Phinisee is the lone hold-out. Pretty clear that Archie is recruiting over him, and RP may at least wait until word from Garland comes out. It's not like RP was a reach; he has some very high offers. UVA sticks out, in addition to the B1G teams. I think Phinisee is overlooked. The guy is usually the best player on the floor. I seem to recall his stats from some July tourney were excellent; something like 43% on 3s, no turnovers, and some point totals in the high 20s. A great video of Robert. I read all the time that he works to get his teammates involved, but few videos (I haven't seen him play yet) actually show that. This video does! Also, it's great reading that he's usually the best player on the floor. Guards are so important. I get it, only 5 guys on the floor and they're all crucial. But a good guard is a true force multiplier. Maybe the late Robert Baratheon can explain it better.

I like it when he throws the basketball into the air and then it goes through the hoop.

Anchor Down is what the Vanderbilt Commodores say.

I agree that we need to take every game seriously. And I rarely talk in hyperbole or absolutes. ...but we ABSOLUTELY need to handle Indiana State. Just compare programs, resources, players, coaches' salaries, etc; and this should not be competitive. Losing to a team like ISU should be humiliating, just as losing to IPFW was last year. Their best player is Brenton Scott, who looks exactly like his brother, but apparently doesn't play quite as well. Brenton, as far as I can tell, is the highest recruit they have on the team, coming in at 247 Composite 298 in 2013. This is not the case of OG or Vic. No one is looking for this guy to be drafted. 2014, no ranked recruits. 2015, one ranked recruit, Bronson Kessinger, 247 Composite #373. 2016, one ranked recruit, Jordan Barnes, #420. 2017, no ranked recruits. Do you want to know how they field a team? You go to their website, click the "Recruits" button, and fill out this one page Prospect Questionnaire. http://www.gosycamores.com/documents/2016/10/21/MBBProspects.pdf I'm all for tempering expectations for the season a bit. I'll agree that our guys need to "learn the system," but let's call a spade a spade; 5 of our players should be able to beat their 5 players 10 times out of 10. We've got 10 guys that could be their best player. We've got facilities, a coaching staff being paid top 10 in the country, and very talented players. This should hardly be a test. So, I suppose, what I'd like to see is some of the new coach's demeanor rubbing off on his players, and the guys walk out there and handle their business. Shut them down, put teams on blast that playing Indiana will not be fun.

Are we micro-analyzing? Because Darius liked this pic of Archie.

Check out the video of Archie previewing UIndy. Someone asked about Newkirk, and Archie started talking about how things will be better when Al gets back. Sounds like Al is in line for a lot if playing time. Start watching at the 5:00 for the Newkirk/Al comments.

Yep, nice school. Lots of happy alums from there. I'll admit, I didn't know/consider that they were Division II. So I saw your list of accomplishments and it gave me a minute of pause. How the heck did I not know about all the NCAA success? Nevermind!! D-2. I can't wait to watch the game. Just a little tidbit for everyone discussing starting line-ups... Please refer to Archie's comments on the radio show. (I didn't listen, just got the recap from ITH.) Basically Archie isn't a fan of announcing the starting line-up. Instead he preferred, at Dayton, to announce starters in the huddle before the game. I don't think he considers starting as important as which players get minutes as the game goes. Also, the point of this stuff isn't necessarily to play our absolute best. He's still learning the team, and so line-ups are more experiments than anything. My hopes: - Justin Smith gets an alley-oop or put-back jam. Clifton gets 3 blocks. Al gets another ice bath. - RoJo finds his shot. Yeesh. - We start identifying patterns on offense and defense. Somebody posted a video of Archie's offensive system recently, showing how the point guard shows the other 4 what they're going to do based on his first basketball move: Flip, Spin, Through. Really interesting. You could absolutely see the PGs doing that against Marian. Video posted below. Watch for some of this Sunday. He talks about "working the pairs." So one ball handler, the other four split into pairs with screens, movement. I think we'll still be a mess during the non-conference games, but it will clean up. - No injuries. Please.

You're probably right. Rogue operator from Quantico named Blade or Ethan. Huge UNC fan. Risks it all for better recruits. Good call. (Y'all should listen to Stuhoo on this one.)

Seriously. Like a funeral in here. One guy said it's down to IU and Vandy. Great! That shows me these are two young men not afraid to forge their own path. I seriously have come to respect both of these guys for the way they have handled all of this. And dang, somebody was going to be the second option for Romeo. Are you really more upset to hear it is down to IU and Vandy, instead of IU and Kansas? Good for Bryce Drew, regardless of the outcome. He's one of Indiana's own. He's working on building something. I'm going to say that I think this is good news. I'm going to speculate that Romeo and Darius have talked, and Romeo is sympathetic to Darius wanting to let Vandy down gently. So they're throwing them the attention. I think Hoosier Hysteria was meaningful for these guys. It was a beautiful weekend. The fan base was awesome. The place was electric. Truly no disrespect to Vandy, but I'm feeling better about this.

Tim Langford clearly doesn't feel like divulging information or giving anyone a scoop. Good for him. I'm sure this entire ordeal has been taxing on the family. Rick Pitino's downfall probably wasn't fun for them. Having an ogre like Bill Self walk into their home and give a hard sell probably wasn't great for them. Knowing that Romeo is going campus to campus with some kids they don't know probably isn't fun. Calls from pushy reporters trying to make a name for themselves isn't fun, especially when words get misconstrued to make a splashy headline. That answer, to me, says, "no comment." There's nothing they felt like sharing. I don't think we have anything but inferences and Hoosier Guy's gut to go on here. Sometimes I look at this stuff and think it feels like Romeo is looking for every excuse not to go to Indiana. I mean, we're RIGHT HERE, man! He's not popping in for unofficials or anything. But, that's the same for everyone, except maybe U of L when they were in it. Then my better judgment takes over. Like a little Hoosier Guy angel sitting on my shoulder, whispering reassurances to me between Taco Bell farts. - Archie is wildly popular. People just like him. He's got the pedigree, the attitude, and the smarts. He comes prepared, and wows them all, ESPECIALLY when families are in play. He's proven he can coach, and in his short time he's proven he can recruit. He's got Indiana Top 100 players falling over each other to commit. He's got ESPN doing a timely puff piece on him today. - Hoosier Hysteria was awesome. Romeo saw plenty of flash during his recruiting, but no place can match what happened at Assembly Hall. It impressed the whole family. - Proximity. This is just luck. Pitino went and got himself fired. Calipari did something wrong in Italy. We're next, and we're not chopped liver. It has always been a factor that the Langfords want to be close. - Darius Garland. That picture they took at the old center court logo. Sure, there's the blurry pic of Romeo playing in the UNC 23 jersey. But he didn't really stand there for that, sanction it, look at the camera, etc. When he and Darius were here, they put those uniforms on and posed for the pic side-by-side. Romeo has been rubbing elbows with a ton of 5* guys. Neither he nor Darius have done something like this elsewhere. Then you figure in that their families are somewhat close by now, having attended these OVs together, and seem to wavelength in this whole experience. Better yet, with each player being interested in Indiana, it's like a legitimacy is created, giving the program the chutzpah to recruit the best just by virtue of having another similarly talented player this interested. I try to read into the fact that they told Archie that he doesn't need to visit (hat tip to Yogi's Picnic Basket for all the information, by the way). This one really gets me. It could be interpreted good or bad, but I think it's good. I think it indicates that they're comfortable with Archie, and that they're tired of this process. No more coaches. No more visits, please. It's also why I can see that this thing may be wrapping up. My prediction? They've had enough, they've heard enough. They buy into what Archie is selling. We get a commitment, and Romeo spends his senior year traveling to Indiana gyms being cheered by Indiana fans on both sides of the bleachers.