Stromboli

Nice summary and perspective. It's true that we should be thrilled already, and still have a very real shot at having the best class we've had in years. In Archie's FIRST class. Side note. Conceptually, it's easier for me to call Race a 2018 Recruit. That's when he'll play, and those are the guys he'll be graduating with. Some Hot Takes: Justin Smith will graduate with over 1200 points, and about 12 clutch plays/thunderous dunks that will become part of Hoosier Lore. Jerome Hunter will develop into a key cog on a team that sees a deep tourney run. In five years Kentucky will be begging us to do a home-home series.

Mods, let me know if I'm getting too far off topic here. I'd imagine most of us quelled our frustrations with Crean's Swan Song of 16'-17' by following the incredible story of Yogi's success in Dallas. It came just at the right time. Here's a video of how a smaller player can be effective. This is Yogi starting against the reigning champ Cavs, while on his first 10 day contract. The Mavs were bad, and the cynic would say Yogi, fresh from the D-League, got the start as part of an aggressive tank by Cuban. As in his Instagram post, Yogi said "Not Today!" and led the Mavs to a victory against Cleveland. Active hands, awareness, getting under Kyrie's skin. Taking the ball from LeBron. This highlight vid shows Yogi's defensive highlights in addition to his points/assists.

Posting only because it is pertinent to the topic. Yogi just posted this a few days ago. Edit: Man I love Yogi. I agree that he's the exception, not the rule. Otherwise there wouldn't be benches calling "baby in the post" when he's on the floor. Anyone who says height/length isn't a real advantage in basketball just isn't being real.

Guys I hate to be contrarian, but I have a different view of Juwan. As IU got to the point last year where it was clearly a lost season (at some point we're all going to go back and reflect on just how dark it got), Juwan seemed like the only guy on the floor trying. Seriously he behaved like he wanted to win when no one else did.

What do you have against our happiness? To be clear, he is a 2019 releasing a Top Ten? That's funny. 247 shows that the only visit that has occurred was from Archie in June. That may have coincided with a visit to Jerome. Looks like UNC offered the day before his Top Ten was released. UNC already has 2018 commitment from Coby White, an extremely talented PG that just moved up the rankings to around #25, so not much playing time there. OSU offered, but they're the hometown team and he may not be into that. Purdue probably nauseates him, so no issue there. Considering the entirely empirical evidence that our logo is the most prominent in the edit, his assumed bro Hunter committed, he's issuing Top Tens two years out, and certain roster holes that may exist, I'm concluding that Mr. Francis intends to reclassify (it's so hot right now) to 2018 and commit to IU, likely today so he can jump any other pending PG offers. This will cause the Second Commitment Bonanza of 2017, whereby Romeo and Moses get nervous about losing their spot, also committing within 24 hours. It's gonna be a good day, Boys.

With all due respect, the notion that length has nothing to do with defensive potential is just wrong. I suppose you can call it an assumption, but that doesn't mean it's not true. Its basketball. A good defender who is undersized is an anomoly. I can't even believe we're arguing this. NBA measures height, wingspan, and standing reach. All else being equal, give me the guy that appears to have the tools to play both ends. Teams know we will switch on defense. Having a 6' guy creates a ***** in the armor to be exploited.

First, let's remember that we come to love our players for the most part. Morgan was ranked around 110, and some of us feel he's going to be our best player this year. Hartman was like 205, and when he announced he was coming back there was some whacky chatter about what it meant for our success as a team. If we pull in Phinissee, he's going to get the same love, and may be an impactful player. I don't see us in the running for Garland. He's got his head in the clouds. Good for him, a young man with his prodigious talent can afford to think in those terms. But his interviews have him talking about "creating a super team" with other freshmen, as if maybe he hasn't realized the buzzsaw he's about to run into in college ball. He's always talking about working on his pick and roll game, because that's what they need in the NBA. The point is that he just doesn't seem dialed into his college choice. He doesn't care about candy stripes or any of that. Basically, I just don't see him being sold on IU. Out of Devoe, Akinjo, and RP, I don't have a strong preference. Each has attributes. If I had to pick, I'd say Devoe. I'm trying to view each player as 50% offensive and 50% defensive. And Devoe has the length to help us build a shutdown defense. Let's get our work done on defense. Again, no strong preference. Any will be welcomed.

And if he were, what are the chances we'd still be under CTC?

So it's hard not to like his production at Peach Jam, the best young players in the nation. He is higher on assists than anyone else we're offering (that's just a guess...). And 18.7 ppg at Peach Jam for the facilitator says something. I really try not to get caught up in comparisons like this, but his game is very Yogi-like. Fast, abrupt step-backs or drives to create just enough space to get a shot off. He even ran up the floor with the ball to the 3pt line and knocked one down, just like the Yogs. Do I want this guy? Well. I want a PG. Phinissee is pretty well accepted not to be a huge contributor for a few years. Akinjo is likely more day-one ready. I can't see that he is leaps and bounds ahead of Devoe, and Devoe seems to have the build for Archie's pack-line. If Akinjo were to commit, I'd be thrilled. Get him in here and start building this thing. Also, FYI, I saw in an interview it is pronounced "AkinYO."

Duuuuude don't ruin it by reading this thread! This show is too awesome. SPOILERS The whole Bran character has been snoozeville for me ever since he took his tumble from the tower. Just the most boring storyline and I really hope the whole darn story doesn't get solved through some dumb magic. His lines this last episode were the moooooost boring. Dani has kinda turned into a beach. Her whole insistence that Jon Snow bend the knee based on her richard-head father's claim sucks. And yeah she's getting worked right now in the battles, too. That incestuous wench Cersei is on a scorched earth tear. Weirdly little Samwell at the Citadel is the one really keeping things going for the good guys. I'd prefer to see him get the victories over Red Woman (please like 2 more topless scenes before she dies) or dumb Bran. Check out the Ozzy Reviews guy's episode reviews, they're actually pretty good.

As a guy that looked around this season as the Hoosiers did their nose dive, this site is far and away the best option. I joined because I like the membership, information, and generally respectful and lighthearted discussion. It does seem like all of a sudden things got chippy in the last 2 weeks.

Can we get that phrase censored on here? I would hate for my kid to see it. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using BtownBanners mobile app

Archie lurrrrves Dariuses.

I'm a huge fan of Henry, and really thought he could contribute on the floor. And it's not like just Damezi "took his spot," IU has 5 brand new guys at the 6'7" to 6'10" range. I agree that Damezi fills a role here that we need. This team is bereft of scorers. Now we've got a few wings that like crashing in, but no one that fills that niche that Damezi does. And it's super rare to get a shooter that also possesses this kind of length on the defensive end. He's a great piece to the team. And finally, kind of the silver lining to the Plight of Aaron Henry... His story may well serve as a reminder to other recruits that if CAM offers, you may want to jump on it. It's not all bad that in this story, we're seen as the hard-to-get offer.

I don't know if this is the same issue, but when viewing on my Android device, it shows I'm banned. Obviously I'm not banned when using the site on my computer. Also I think I've been playing nice!

Let's say we get Hinton and no one else. A couple years down the road we've got: 6'6" Hinton (PG) 6'7" Hunter (SG per reports) 6'7" Smith (SF/Wing) 6'8" Race Thompson (PF) 6'10" Clifton Moore Hooooooly Stromboli. Race would likely play man on opposing big, letting the help defense of a packline let Clifton and Smith go swatting away any attempts. The long arms of Hinton and Hunter would obstruct the opposing guards from getting anywhere or any shots getting launched. It's going to be fun to put 50% of our attention on defense, and judge players based on their abilities on both ends. EDIT: Ha Hoosierfan2017 beat me to it. I'm sure we're all thinking it.

RRRRRAAAAAWWWWWRRRRR!!!!

Soooooo first off, let's back off the judgy comments about Clifton. It's rude to speak that way. He's one of our guys now, and so let's get behind him and show support. Next.... The kid is 18, and 6'10". He's got a gift, and we'll be fortunate to watch him grow into his potential. Don't think NBA guys aren't licking their chops at his measurements. They're prototypical. That wingspan is nuts. I can't wait to watch Clif, Al, and Justin grow as basketball players.

You could try to convince me that Matthew Hurt isn't Kyle Guy, but I wouldn't believe you.

In that video it looks like he scored the last 8 points for his team in a tight game. Four times in a row he took it to the basket and scored to win the game. Strommy likey. Strommy want wingy!

It's official. I want Aaron Henry. For some reason I haven't paid much attention to him. But then I just read the recent article about him where he talks about wanting to play for IU, and that goes a long way. In the same way Al Durham found his way into our favor through his loyalty, Aaron Henry comes off the same way. Also, I love that he's a local kid being forged in the fire of Indiana Basketball, at a stalwart like Ben Davis, no less. It's pretty old school to have one of our local heroes come play for us like this. And finally, the dude can play basketball! Inside moves, steals, perimeter game (over 40% from 3fg, and lots of slick drives like a true wing), and a major communicator out there. Excellent size. He's not a super splashy name, but he has a polished game and a good attitude. I hope Archie extends the offer, and Aaron Henry comes to play in Bloomigton.

I want ALL the Dariuseses.

Guys, it's still June and you're talking about throwing away what makes us special as some knee jerk reaction. Other schools would kill to have the tradition we have. Games at Assembly Hall are very special, and should be cherished. ALL great sports teams have tradition and history. Cubs. Notre Dame football. Indiana Hoosiers. Do you know who else doesn't have any 2018 commitments? Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas. We're Blue Bloods. I think Archie understands this, and will act accordingly.

That's such an indictment of Crean's shortcomings. I feel like Crean gets a lot of unwarranted hate for recruiting on here. He put together some great rosters, and his successes outweighed the misses. Look at our 2015-2016 roster, and we had 4 NBA guys on the Court, even after the 5* McD All-American (Blackmon) went down. And that was boosted by more 4* talent like Robert Johnson (247 Comp. #47) and Juwan Morgan (#109). We easily had the talent to look at UNC, MSU, KU, UK, etc, and not be intimidated by the quality of recruits. And yet, it meant very little in the end. That last year's roster crumbled, while the Flyers played consistently solid basketball, is the simple explanation for how we arrived here. Stuhoo is wise to remind everyone that this year will be the most talented bunch that CAM has ever coached. He has recruited at a high level before when he was with OSU and Arizona. We are hearing from a lot of highly ranked guys who have had good interactions. Let's be patient and see where this goes.

Is it possible this is an 8th grader? Looks like Reis Thomas (of Brownsburg) has a little brother, Pierce, who is already 6'4" and is excelling in both basketball and track & field. Apparently an IU track coach went to watch him do long jump (he's a phenom). And a recent IndyStar article says he has basketball interest from Purdue and Notre Dame. He says he wants to do basketball and long jump in college. It does not appear that his brother, Reis, is a D1 level recruit.