Stromboli

Yeah if that happened it’s not difficult to prove. Nobody has been able to do so yet. This is just the dumb/fun stuff that happens at the end of a high profile recruitment. Not saying we get him. The insiders on the IU side think we’re getting him, the insiders on the Purdue side think they’re getting him. For me, I’ve got to believe the opportunity to play with his friends at IU will win out.

I can assure you, I am.

Okay, okay. I take it back. Stuhoo is somewhat resentful and moody while providing little to no value. Better?

Welcome! Glad you’re here. Tons of good resources here. Old Fart Class of ‘66 is our resident hipster. Just turned 19, developed an algorithm to comb the entire World Wide Web for recruiting updates. USPS is an algorithm, I think. When I got here I thought he was a know-it-all. Some years later I realize he does, in fact, know it all. And Stuhoo is at least reliably upbeat while otherwise providing little to no value. Chris007 has proven several times to have access to info others don’t. And he’s a good dude, to boot.

Obligatory (from Grantland): Indiana got its first win in East Lansing since 1991 with a hard-fought 72-68 win over the Michigan State Spartans. Missed free throws down the stretch hurt the Spartans, as they went 2-for-6 from the stripe in the final two minutes of the game. “I could just feel [Indiana head coach] Tom Crean looking at me as I was at the line,” said MSU guard Gary Harris, who missed a chance to tie the game at the line after being fouled on a 3-pointer. Harris went on to explain, “I’m from Indiana and the guy recruited me hard, and I really wanted to go to IU, but then you see him smile, and it’s not a real full smile, it’s like a creepy half smile. And you start looking at his hairline, and the way it goes way back but he still gets all that volume in his hair, and you start realizing something ain’t right. And then you realize Tom Izzo looks kind of the same, and so does Calipari, and so does Pitino, and you start to wonder whether your trapped in some sort of nightmare, where all of the best college basketball coaches out there are the same guy. Or maybe avatars of the same demigod? And that maybe there is no free will, and you’ll always end up playing basketball for Tom Crean, or whatever it is that Tom Crean represents, assuming it’s supernatural, which I now do. So, yeah, I missed some big free throws, but I had a lot on my mind.”

Oh man I love these threads. Maybe the best part is that some things will happen this year that none of us will predict here. 1. 5-2. I'd expect a tough win or two, and a tough loss or two. Lots of moving pieces here, and waiting for the precocious new PG to get into his groove. 2. 13-7. I started at 12-8, and then decided to be a fan instead. We're due. We have got some players now, you guys. Assuming a couple new dependable stars emerge, we should be able to field a dangerous team. I expect the top of the conference to beat up on each other as always, and a few of the bottom teams to rack up a ton of losses. For the love, can Arch get the Purdue monkey off his back. 3. Uhh 4th. So ready for that not to be an optimistic projection. 4. Biggest positive surprise player. The thing is TJD could become a nation-wide star and it wouldn't be fair to call him a surprise. He was sensational last year for a freshman, and his trajectory suggests he'll be even better. Considering the fanfare that greeted Romeo, it's bizarre the modest expectations we have for young Khristian. But I mostly agree, we're keeping it reasonable here. I expect him to be a major talent upgrade, but not necessarily an immediate star. So who can qualify as a surprise star? Again, going with the emotional pick of Jerome Hunter. He was Archie's first major get, he showed faith in coming to the program. He has the chops to be a star. He's been through a lot, but hasn't seen his day in the sun yet. Justin's departure really opens up the minutes. After Jerome, I'll get Armaan in there. There's a higher ceiling there than the guards that have been getting minutes for us the past few years. Higher ceiling than Rob, Al, Devonte. He's somewhat the forgotten man right now, but don't be surprised if he becomes a real glue guy that turns out some big plays. 5. Biggest disappointment. Again, interesting to see Rob coming up here. I hate to say it, but his sophomore campaign was pretty so-so, and so I couldn't call a bad junior year a surprise disappointment. Also, I don't necessarily see it. He said recently he's the healthiest he's ever been. The dude is a very good on-ball defender, and he now has 2 years of major minutes guarding the B1G's starting PGs. I'm going with Leal/Galloway. Not that they won't play well, just that our down-home Indiana boys won't see the floor much. There are just too many wings in front of them, so these guys can sit and marinate. 6. A hot take. I've come to trust the things Archie says in his interviews. When we were all expecting Clifton Moore to be a lottery pick, Archie put that to rest before we saw him play, we just didn't want to listen. When Archie tells us before a season that we're a team that will live on 2s and free throws, that is exactly what happens. And so when Archie sneaks in that he expects small ball line-ups with Geronimo at the 4, I'm going to say that Geronimo has separated himself somewhat. Prediction: Geronimo plays 6th most minutes on the team, but his efficiency numbers suggest he's top 3. 7. Extra pickles. Archie is enjoying overwhelming approval and support amongst underwhelming results. I'm 100% behind him as well. But, objectively, he's shepherded us through a very rough stretch. I think we all trust him, though. We have got some major pieces, here. I'm hoping to see some individual skillsets improve, more utilization of the simple trickery that flat out works. Better use of screens. Better transition play with Lander. Fewer ill-advised shots (Green, Smith...). Simply better shooting percentages. Better use of the deep bench. You add this stuff up, mix in some luck, and it's time for this program to enjoy some success. I think there are enough anecdotes out there for us to believe the locker room will be vastly improved. I can see this team buying in and getting on a roll.

As always, thanks for the information you have. I view this as a good thing. The plan has always been to take the visits, and he wasn't going to deviate. We know that he would have preferred to have open campuses/tours etc. Looks like he is no longer going to wait to see if restrictions are lifted. Perhaps he wants to check these boxes so he can take his visits and ideally be closer to making his decision. I like this far better than waiting on the off chance he can go and get the 5* treatment later, while we wait. Props to Trey for being diligent here. My Hoosier fan side thinks that the recent offers and recruiting activity are at least some incentive for him to claim his spot. Here's hoping. Add in the excellent weekend playing with Logan, his recent comments praising Lander. Trey would be another excellent player. We haven't had recruiting like this in so long. Really impressive work by the staff. I think Crean showed us that us being Indiana alone isn't draw enough.

Harmon's reaction to news is that it won't change interest in Indiana. Nice to hear, but of course it can just be saying the right things: https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/report-indiana-assistant-coach-bruiser-flint-will-join-longtime-friend-john-calipari-at-kentucky/ Look, if Archie wanted him on his staff, then it is a loss. On one hand it stinks that UK can poach a coach from us. On the other hand, that at least speaks somewhat to the quality that Flint would bring. From what I've seen and come to understand, Bruiser was pretty crucial in communicating with some of the families of recruits and players. I've even seen quotes from parents that they feel better having Bruiser there with their kids. And yes, much of this is absolutely because he is a black man. Archie, I'm sure, is keeping this in mind as he considers his next hire. It matters. (Good souls I hope I didn't just spark a nasty discussion here.) Also, can we agree the name alone is irreplaceable? Bruiser Flint? Are you kidding me? Coolest name ever.

You’re a beacon of hope in these dark times!!! Good to hear from you bud.

Relevant https://www.insidethehall.com/2020/06/17/romeo-loves-iu-romeo-langfords-journey-through-indiana-to-nba-dream/

Not quite the question, but I think the 2016 B1G Champion team gets very little appreciation. It's weird since they were our last good, successful team. I hear about the '13 team and the Syracuse zone and Zeller, Oladipo, etc, non-stop. The '16 Team could get red hot. Yogi is maybe my favorite player all time. The guys really seemed to like each other. Attitude and maturity and fire at the same time. And yeah, they won the B1G that year at 15-3. Also, Yogi. 5* PG from Indiana, played 4 years, played on the '13 and '16 teams. All-Time Assists leader. 6th in Scoring?! Check out some of the guys he's in front of. You know the rest of the B1G was sick of that guy. Also I didn't remember Coverdale getting so many steals. Top Ten? Same team, I always think of Newton and Jeffries playing together, and how well it worked. Linky: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Hoosiers_men's_basketball_statistical_leaders

Izzo in shambles!!

This is the kid from Hamilton Heights, right? The entire community rallied around this kid, and he brought it. Tough story, but inspiring too. I went to Noblesville, but Cicero was really my stomping grounds. This is just another retelling of the Indiana basketball story. Kid lifted his entire community.

No reason not to. I hope the best for him. Justin (and Al) have likely entered that rare position of being four-year players for us. In my opinion, they’ve earned our support because of it. They’ll both still have some down moments this year, just as they have in the past. But at this point they deserve maybe a higher level of gratitude from the fan base. I felt the same about DeRon and Devonte last year. To come this far, they’ve been through a lot with this team and program. I’d prefer at this point not to focus on any of their low points and instead appreciate that they’ve stuck with it for their entire eligibility. I’m no scout but it doesn’t take much insight to know that Justin hasn’t yet shown that he can produce at an NBA level. If he can demonstrate some 3pt range, nose for the ball, nose for being in the right place to take a pass, make the pass that creates a higher percentage shot, and maybe assert himself a bit more in his senior year, then maybe? Basically become a star. Maybe you guys remember Carlisle talking about demonstrating you have an NBA skill. The comments were made in reference to Yogi in that awesome 4 game breakout he had. Yogi has limitations (mostly height), so for him to see a roster he needed to demonstrate that he could offer an NBA skill. He did that and has had a decent little NBA run. What NBA skill can Justin demonstrate? Defense helps, but he’s not an OG level defender. He won’t be a star. Maybe he can demonstrate he complements TJD out there? I really don’t know.

Buddy I wish!! Would have been great to see you. I’d have had at least my oldest son with me, too. Yesterday I turned off Minecraft and Avengers long enough for us to rewatch the Nebraska game again. Real excited to watch TJD’s sophomore season. Too bad we won’t get that experience watching the 2021 guys from AAU up to college ball. Take care bud. I just went to the Post Office to ship my sister a birthday care package. Everyone was really strict about social distancing, yelled at anyone trying to disobey the 10 capacity inside rule. I’d say 80% wore masks. Appreciate you guys keeping things going.

Brass... take a breather. I can guarantee cthomas wasn’t advocating for the death of your many employees. You should be able to admit there are competing interests at play. That’s how discussion and resolution works best. It’s fine to tell everyone where your line has been drawn between interests. Which you’ve done. Your point is well taken that a flippant attitude by an individual increases risk to everyone.

Yeah and remember part of the strategy here is to not necessarily limit all cases, but to avoid the spike that over-taxes healthcare facilities. So, tens of thousands of intermingling fans is something very different than 100 essential personnel for the game to get played. Is the risk worth it? Basically entertainment over public safety? I don’t know. It’s a line-drawing problem. There is value to each. I think there’s legitimate argument and room for differences here as we all decide where we think the line should be drawn. Basketball games are, on the whole, not a huge percentage of human contact taking place. A little silly to take away that interaction, which provides enormous benefit, while there are restaurants and engagement parties and church services and globogyms carrying on without interruption.

The pessimist in me sees us getting flummoxed by some gimmick defense. The fan in me wants these guys to play like they want to prove they don’t belong in a Wednesday game. Use whatever tshirt slogan you want, it’s time to win. This is how legacies get built. I don’t want to count on some anomaly like suddenly hitting 42% from 3. We are what we are at this point. So let’s be our best version of that. Play hard, throw our depth inside at them. Wear them down until they want to quit. I really don’t care about the BTT, but it doesn’t change that these are games, and therefore I want these guys to fight to win them. Then carry that to the NCAA. GO HOOSIERS!!

You like this so much, you posted it in two threads? Your shtick is known. You have eyes only for Luke Brown, so you’re throwing shade at the FAR more talented Lander, who has committed to IU. We know you’re not an IU fan. There is no concern. Lander, in fact, has already played with Leal and Galloway (also far more talented than Brown), they enjoy playing together so much they’ve brought their talents to Bloomington. Leal and Galloway wanted Lander to play with them. Why would you not focus on that evidence that Lander is, in fact, a good teammate, instead of making this tenuous and speculative argument regarding Furst instead? It’s because you have an agenda. Anyway, thanks for posting outside of the Luke Brown thread.

Does anyone else feel robbed of the excruciating weeks/months of build-up, false reports, pandering by Rabjohns, hedging, videos, and hot takes? What a letdown, man. Of course I kid. What incredible news. And a total turnaround from just two weeks ago. My own gut here was that Lander was a Louisville lean. And I really wasn’t thrilled with the other PG prospects we were looking at. Hard to imagine that this could have gone better. I truly don’t have a feel for who this kid is, but the nature of his announcement, his commitment to play with his friends, and his apparent disregard of the moneybag programs has sure helped build a positive picture of him. And don’t look now, but Archie is assembling himself a roster. If we can put a plus player at 3-4 positions on the court, we’ll see some success. Man this is great news!!

He needed something nice to take out Sasha Obama? Word is they’re a thing.

My favorite was the 34 point run we made at Michigan. I had access to that game at one point, but the video was taken down.

In an overtime game with only 8 players, Keion got 7 minutes. After his supposed breakout game when Cal got ejected. In his 7 minutes he posted zeros across the stat line. You have to wonder if the 7 minutes was Cal’s revenge for that tweet someone from Keion’s camp posted. Looks like he’s getting pushed out. Maybe some of you remember Jahmius Ramsey. He was part of a trio Archie pursued with Kira Lewis and Tre Mann. When I watched him at EYBL I wasn’t real impressed, although he has largely proven me wrong. I think he ended up as the highest ranked recruit ever to go to TT? Anyway not a great game from him either. Look how many minutes those Kentucky kids are playing.

Seems pretty obvious. Cassius threw his face right into Al’s hand to try to get the call smh Who guessed Al would turn into our enforcer? Also you guys may know, Brunk had a reputation in the Big East as a dirty/rough player. In the B1G he’s like a finesse guy.