Stromboli

Rob doing work on Twitter too

I don't understand the Vandy hate. Get over it, you weirdos. Anyway, Romeo is McDonald's All American. Only one from Indiana. Garland and Shittu also made it.

#iubb showing love last night to Romeo Langford (@yeahyeah_22) with "Romeo" and "we want Romeo" chants yesterday during the Indiana-Northwestern game. https://t.co/uFkFWPomHS

Whoa!! I love the exposure for Butler. Who knows if Tucker pans out. He probably has as good a chance to succeed there as anywhere.

Coach Izzo went on a "whole rant" on Brandon Johns when called to inform him he was committing to Michigan, not the local MSU. Not at all surprising. Izzo has an ego like all of the top guys. http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/sports/2018/01/11/brandon-johns-east-lansing-michigan-wolverines-basketball/1018347001/ Looks like Michigan, OSU, IU are all reloading for the next few years. MSU will remain good. Wisconsin and Purdue likely to drop some. I'd love to see the B1G be strong again.

I thought there were solo pics of Romeo at the center court wall already, in addition to the pics with Darius. I may be wrong. Glad to see this place is revving back up on rumors! I mean it. This place is more fun when we're all losing it. Glad Romeo saw a win. Glad he heard the crowd chant his name. Glad he watched the William Tell. AH is a great place. I'm going to need a little more to go on before I get excited. I'd be more likely to believe Romeo will show up in Nashville/Kansas next for a game. Who knows. We'll see if the CB starts moving this week.

Good. I've said it 2-3 times, Hunter doesn't play like a SG. Way more comfortable in that in between. From what I can tell a big part of Archie's offense is "working the pairs" (2 pairs not with the ball) to find a mismatch. Jerome is that. Build of an NBA guy. Post moves in a lithe frame. Finds high percentage looks. I still think Damezi is a readymade SG. Romeo too, please. Can't wait to see these guys next year.

That was my reaction, too. Before the Minnesota game he was asked the same question, especially in light of De'Ron's injury. His response basically made it sound like Clifton was going to get more time, as it was "all hands on deck." As we all know, Justin got the start, Clifton didn't play. The fan base is definitely curious about seeing Clifton. I'm sure if he could help the team, he'd get some playing time. I'm guessing next time we see foul trouble in the front court, Clifton will come in just to absorb some minutes. We can all see how he looks then.

Do you stare at him like a weirdo every class? I probably would. What are his speeches like? Has he seemed very transferry recently? Is there a lot of east coast in his classwork?

I can't believe we're almost to April evaluations again. Is it expected that EYBL will continue to be at Grand Park?

Billy won't go to Louisville. That was the speculation when we all assumed Pitino would retire from UofL beloved by the fan base. Since BD and Pitino are tight, Donovan taking the torch from mentor Rick was the assumption. Not the case. It was a nasty divorce that isn't over. The Donovan to Louisville connection no longer exists. As far as Romeo to UofL. It is my understanding that the Langfords understand the optics of the Louisville situation. Hookers. Bribes. FBI. Why get embroiled in that? They won't.

Yogi is playing well. He is showing he belongs in the league. As good as he was for us, he's even better now.

Watford at 10. TJD at 28. Brooks at 36. No surprise to see Watford's big jump to top 10. His numbers this year have been dominant. TJD is getting way up there too, and he's a riser. I wonder where Brooks will end up when it's all over.

Darn tootin.

Well, seems that article could have talked more about basketball and less about his family dynamic. I get that it can be part of the story, but that was just the whole story. Seemed a little dirty-laundryish, especially when discussing the staggered ages of the other children. Trayce goes by Trayce Jackson on twitter, so he shows a preference for that if it is going to be either name (I see posters call him Trayce Davis from time to time). For what it's worth, I was seated about 10 feet from Dale Davis at the Forum Tip-Off. He was there to watch Trayce quietly. Watching Trayce play that day, he behaves like a coach out there. He understands the action and situations better, and communicates/barks at his teammates a lot. All constructive stuff. He wants to win. He willingly passes. The team didn't run many plays for him, even though he could have taken over the game at any point.

Boy I sure hope we can beat Penn State. Big game!! Barf.

Excellent! That article does a great job showing what is happening here. Otherwise he's just a link on btownbanners for me. But this kid is quite a bit more than that. He's a phenom. Wait until the hype machine gets past Romeo and settles on him. Stuhoo, you're right on with the Jimmy Chitwood reference. In other words, he's just playing the lead in the same story of Indiana Basketball that we all love. I'll be cheering for him. Does anyone know what kind of connections we may have to Luke's family or his coach?

I don't think any team has it in the bag. I think Romeo is getting exactly the kind of information he wanted when he decided to put off his commitment. For Vandy, he has learned that Garland and Shittu will be there; Garland got suspended for some behavioral stuff; Shittu will be coming off a torn ACL; and that the team sucks and Drew isn't working any miracles. For Indiana, he's watching what our 4 commits are doing this year; seeing that we've stayed clean through the FBI stuff; learned that we have a gaping hole in the SG position; and that Archie's first year has ups and downs. For Kansas, he's seeing continued murky waters with the Preston situation; some lower than expected results; and watching how the other players/commits are doing this year to gauge what kind of minutes he'll get next year. All of this is valuable, and I think it is being utilized by the Langfords in the decision making process. He's seeing love from Indiana fans every day, all over the place. He knows that it could be a good year here. I don't get the impression that he really wants to go to Indiana. He's not popping up to campus on a regular basis like he used to with Louisville. But he was here for HH, and he watched the Duke game. He knows that we've got something good here. As a fan, I'm calling it 33% to Kansas, 33% to Vandy, and 34% to Indiana. In other words, more likely than not he doesn't come here, but we're still in the best spot.

Assumptions: Everyone is back but Clifton. No grad transfers. This is based entirely on a brief shot to the bench during the Minnesota game (see below) where everyone was happy for a Justin Smith play except Clifton, who looked less than thrilled. Even De'Ron looked happy about it. Devonte may have questions, and may love the East Coast, but he hasn't played his way into a better opportunity, I think he likes the prospect of playing big games, and I think probably has a connection with Coach Miller and IU. Total guesses. Making guesses at the roster starts with a giant hole where there should be a competent shooting/scoring guard. Someone that plays on the perimeter, is a threat to score in a number of ways (except post play), and will never be expected to guard the opposing team's post player. In our case, a perimeter guy that can provide some offense. We just lost Curtis, who was our best bet to fill this role. RoJo leaving will be a huge loss that we are not equipped to handle. If Romeo comes, then this is an easy fix. He'll slide into this spot and succeed. If not, then who will? I know there is discussion that Jerome will play shooting guard. Maybe someday he will. If you've watched his game, he does not play like a shooting guard. He plays like a 3/4. Sometimes facing the basket, sometimes pure post play. A little bit of 3 pt shooting. In my view, he's not a guard yet. Damezi, on the other hand, very much plays like a long SG. Better shooter than anyone we have. He helps on defense, but won't be a "big." And you watch him time his sprints to an open spot, or squirting out behind the 3pt line in transition or after an offensive rebound for a dagger 3, and he plays like a good SG. And at 6'6" he's got the length Coach is looking for defense, and some quick slashes to the basket. If he earns CAM's trust, I can see Damezi filling in some minutes at the SG spot. Otherwise, I think it will be a mix of players with undefined skill sets like Al and Zach, who still bring hard defense and dependability to the floor. For point guard, we have to use Phinisee. Expectation for me is that he averages about 5-5-5. That may seem low on points, but for a contributing non-star freshman PG, that's fine. I got to see Rob play. On videos he looks small and maybe not built for the next level. In person, he is much more robust. I think Coach called him sturdy in an interview. He's wider/stronger/taller that the other kids on the floor. On his way down the floor he is absolutely trying to set something up for his team. I think he'll be fine, and frankly I think Archie will be ride-or-die with him because we need it. Then Green and Al can spell him when needed. If he proves to be reliable, you know he's going to be a fan favorite. Slightly undersized PG from Indiana? That's the stuff. The "3" spot (we'll call it a wing) is wide open. Zach is proving that he needs to be on the floor. Justin may continue to do the same. For Justin, I said last year I think he's going to be finishing his IU career with some great numbers that stack up well on the leader boards. His temperament is just rock solid. And he wants to dunk on every body. Jerome will fit here nicely as more of a gadget wing. Get him out there to make some plays and find a mismatch. Too big for a guard to guard, too shifty for a big. I haven't gotten the sense that Jerome will be a day-1 contributor. We will have one "5;" De'Ron. There's been a lot of negative talk towards De'Ron recently, but I'm a big fan. "Duuuuhhh, but he don't hustle hard enough." Right. Few 6'10" guys can go full bore. Frankly there are just very, very few athletes in existence that can play this position, and that we have one is important. Coach Flint likes to quote Calipari, in that if you don't have a post presence, then your team is a fraud. Juwan is an excellent inside player and doesn't back down from anyone, but he's not a 5 and shouldn't be expected to play that. In my view, even if De'Ron returns and averages 20 minutes and 7.5 points a game, having him is a very important piece. Not to mention we don't have anyone else that can play a 5 on the team or coming in. I reeeeeally hope we get TJD in '19, who seems ready to lead a team playing as a very mobile 5. Lastly, the 4 (no, I'm not very good at going in order). Lord willing, Juwan will return. This is his team this year, and it will be his team next year. I've heard him say that he talks with OG all the time, and OG urges him non-stop to "get to the league." OG is having a blast. Juwan has had more valleys than peaks in the first 2.5 years. But man, I hope Archie can sell him on staying to have a full 4 year career, enjoy the full experience, the senior speech, make a last run, all of it. If he comes back, then he's our 4. Race, Justin, and maaaaaybe Forrester can get some time here. Tl;dr Starting 5: 1. Rob Phinisee 2. Damezi Anderson (or Romeo) 3. Justin Smith 4. Juwan Morgan 5. De'Ron Davis First man off the bench is always McBob, who will get starter's minutes. Al gets 10 min/game. Devonte gets 7. We'll usually have 4 guys on the floor at 6'6" or taller. Juwan gets his dog points. Justin averages 11 pts a game of mostly dunks and free throws. The team has De'Ron on the floor 50% of the time, the rest of it a faster line-up. And we all watch with bated breath to see if a couple of freshmen can provide an upgrade to our backcourt.

Buying pies, no less. I guess now that he's not playing, the diet is off. That pic looks like diabeetus.

Uhh. Only four? So a senior will find some eligibility? We'll lose McSwain, Priller, Newkirk, Johnson, Collin, and Curtis. There's 6 already. I know hating on players is fun right now, but I hope we keep our guys. Once you're on my team, I cheer for your improvement, not replacement. Hard for me to distinguish between cheering for the team and cheering for the players. Obviously if you're a jerk that's different. We need DeRon to stay. Even if his numbers aren't meeting fan expectations, he brings an inside presence that really helps the team, and can't be found easily. Getting a true 6'10" post is tough. We need to keep faith in our freshmen. You can't on one hand want to be a team that builds with 4 year guys, and simultaneously expect young players to be big contributors. We're going to need guidance for recruits coming in, and these guys will provide that. Through these losses all of these guys are gaining experience and hopefully toughness. I think Justin and Clifton will both benefit from better PG play.

Let's hope for good things for this team tonight. If anything made sense we'd win this game easily. Even if Wisconsin is playing walk-ons, a win up there would be awesome.

Green plays like trash more often than not. Get Smith back out there. Moore should get 5+ minutes too.