Stromboli

Does.... Does this mean we like him again?

Getting the state HS scoring record was always going to be difficult. Romeo was already behind pace to get there. And now with missing games it's looking really unlikely. Romeo is an incredible talent. If anything this just reaffirms what an incredible high school career Damon Bailey had to achieve what he did. Romeo retweeted some Darius Garland stuff this week. I haven't seen him retweeting anything from Damezi or Rob. Does this mean anything? I don't know. Garland was talking with Al Durham days/weeks before his decision. I think a lot of us are concerned with the abysmal start we've had under Archie. The good news? We've got minutes to give. In fact, the somewhat promising SG we had on the roster just transferred, removing pretty much all competition at the position next year. Also, Vanderbilt is having an historically bad season as well. Year 2 of the Drew era, and there are articles about Vandy having their worst start in 72 years. Drew isn't some wunderkind coaching prodigy. The IU struggles aren't going to kill us on this. What about Kansas? I'm not sure. Not as much playing time, but excellent support (heh) and exposure. They've protected their brand and there's some pride in just being a Kansas commit--something IU has squandered. We're still in it. I agree with the people that say he won't change the program. And I agree with the people that say he would be a huge get that would really help us as long as he's here.

Totally. That's where Juwan is finding his bread and butter this year, and it obviously helps tremendously. From every interview with Jake, it seems like he's more than happy to play that role. The guy is plugged in, too, and may help us get a few more top recruits.

We're dopes if we don't make a run at Trendon. He keeps producing. I got to see Trendon play last April. He shares a ton of mannerisms with his brother. His playing style is more explosive. What's funny is right after a play, he returns right back to the sloped shoulders, kinda lackadaisical attitude Christian had.

I'm with you. I try to keep my negative opinions to myself, but he's been less than impressive both times I've seen him. Disappears, looks lost at times. Compared to TJD or Phinisee or Langford? Not close. I support him for the Indiana thing, but I think he's twitterpated by the celebrity coaches.

Whoa. Man I'm excited about Rob coming. I'm no talent expert, but to my eyes Rob is the best recruit we have coming in. It's hard to tell but he is very much built for B1G play. When you see him play he pops just the same as the other star recruits. And man is he on a tear this year.

Just watched Archie's post-game interview on ITH. Some notes. - He's still talking about Fort Wayne. Good. Kinda questioned the pride/leadership of guys, especially the upper classmen. - When asked how he's going to keep this team primed for sustained effort, said something along the lines of "I think I'm just going to be a raving lunatic every day." And "going to have a lot of headaches over the next couple months." - The team will be off until 12/26 I've been quiet after the IPFW loss, but I can tell you that I'd give Archie about a C- so far. And some of these comments are very close to throwing players under the bus. Let's not forget he called them "soft" early on. Not really great leadership. I also think that we're watching Coach Miller grow up. That sounds condescending, but I don't mean it that way. I'm basically his age and so in ways I understand some of the struggles he's making as he transitions. I don't think he's finished becoming what he will be. I think he'll learn more tricks of connecting and teaching, perhaps being more fluid with his adjustments, and will get to a place where his players enjoy playing for him. Honestly, right now I don't think the team is having a ton of fun. In grading Archie low, don't interpret that to mean I'm questioning the hire. I hope he's our coach for 25 years.

It looks like we're putting our perimeter defenders out there a little more. More like normal man defense. Can anyone smarter confirm?

Who's ready for the next huge embarrassing failure?? Go Hoosiers!

Yogi's line is incredible! There are some guys with big contracts that don't have a game like that.

Hey boys, that was awesome. Archie needed that win, and he really wasn't hiding how bad he wanted it. Man that felt good. Against Notre Dame, like deja vu all over again. Juwan. Man. Our team has a star, and it couldn't be a more likable guy.

I think Mr. Bailey7878 was employing sarcasm. Which he hates doing. <----- Also sarcasm.

I think the on court difference of 2018 IU with Romeo compared to 2018 IU without Romeo is tremendous. Having him on the court will impact everyone positively. He'd be our best scorer and defender. He'd bring an outside shot that we don't have. He'd bring highlight plays that energize the crowd and demoralize the opposing team. He'd give new dynamics and options to game plans. He is already playing levels above everyone else. As others have noted, there is not 4 inches difference between Romeo and Keion. Romeo is pretty big/physical, and can play above the rim. He's played a ton of AAU ball, and now has international experience. He's been coached by a ton of good coaches already. He'll have already spent 2 full seasons being the guy that gets double teamed all the time, and so he knows how to use that as an advantage, creating for others. The "must get" language rubs me wrong. But Romeo would make a very big impact on what IU can do.

I heard something! Very similar to what the other guy posted. I went to Southport this weekend, sat by some other IU fans that were there for the show. One guy (who works for the University, but not in athletics), is family friends with people very much in the NA basketball world, including the high school team and AAU. He said there is basically an understanding among that crowd that Romeo is coming to IU. I know, I know. Another 3rd hand account of someone that doesn't know anything. It's possible that there's nothing to know, you know? I don't get the impression that Romeo is a huge IU fan, but he may decide nonetheless that it is the best opportunity for him. Fine, right? Maybe by the time he leaves he'd be a proud Hoosier. Tim Langford has called this a "business decision" many times. Romeo stays late to sign autographs. Romeo is hanging onto his recruitment for a looong time, and giving interviews along the way. It very well may be the case that Romeo is playing the long game here, and he is just increasing the value of his name. To be clear, I respect this a ton, and would never expect someone not to do this. If this is the case, then maybe that bodes well for IU, maybe not. A little bit about Romeo's play on Saturday. I think it is going under-appreciated that he has a nasty streak to him. Part of his brand is that he is cool-headed, never showing a great deal of emotion. But if you were to watch he and Keion grappling at the game, Romeo is not shying away from contact or anything. This will sound too simple, but it's that same cool, competitive streak Jordan had. He went straight at the best player on the other team. I swear, Romeo was there to embarrass Keion and get under his skin. Did anyone else notice the games those two were playing? Like walking into his path coming out of a timeout, little hand games for position that went beyond the norm. And yes, I was watching Romeo the whole game, like a total creep. Aside from that, Romeo is just better than the other players on the court. He does a ton of things that don't show up on stat sheets. He was tasked with doing the jump ball, guarding the tallest guy/best player, a ton of point duties, all while drawing doubles. Among all of this he scores 42 points and shuts down the opposing team's star. He deflected passes, and cuts off passing lanes. He sees what's happening out there and anticipates it. A few times when Keion would be trying to time a burst to an open spot, Romeo timed it too, like he was expecting it, and took a more direct route to meet him there. Weird little things like one-handed rebounds that he collects and going straight into a running dribble to create transition opportunities, or offensive rebounds that he just deflects straight to an open teammate instead of coming down with the ball and then passing. Anyway, I really enjoyed watching him play. He's handling the enormous pressure of all of this very well. An IU commitment would be awesome.

Guys the technicals were nothing. Jerome doesn't have an attitude or anything. No one understood the first tech, and the second one was just an over eager ref. Don't worry about it. Neither Damezi nor Jerome were crazy impressive.

Yep, TJD is very good. His moves are already smooth and explosive. Excellent shot blocker. They don't pass to him much, and he'll pass back out willingly. Dale Davis is about 10 feet from me watching. Edit: Also Trayce is talking to his teammates constantly, putting them in position on offense and defense.

I'm going to try to sneak down there. There's no way I can get away with being gone all afternoon (newborn, steady stream of in-laws to entertain). Maybe I'll try to catch the second half with TJD, all of Phinisee, and then a little bit of Hunter/Anderson before I leave. As much as I'd love to watch Romeo, I don't think I can swing it. It's not by chance that I want to see Phinisee the most. To me, he's the guy I know the least about, and I just can't get a feel for what kind of player he is. Everyone that watches him play swears that he's under-ranked/under-recruited, and is always levels above the other guys on the floor. I'd love to see some of that. Maybe I'll see some of you there! I'll be the sausage and marinara sub wearing a dark green jacket with a hood.

It was Freddie's birthday. Maybe even his 21st. It's not terrible for these guys to be visible humans on campus. I want them to have an enriching experience in Bloomington, in addition to playing good basketball. I'll cut him some slack on the bars thing on his birthday. I saw Freddie at the end of the game, too. Juwan was chest-to-chest holding him back from something, saying something to him to calm him down. I doubt it had anything to do with playing time, as that just wouldn't be the kind of reaction that would make sense. You think he was going after Coach? Nah. I could hazard a guess, like one of the Iowa guys said something. Freddie and Curt are pretty tight, as they are always tagging each other as they listen to music together. Maybe it had something to do with that, like someone said something about Curt leaving the team or something. Notes on the game: - Al is ready to play. Still using his minutes to be productive. He takes well-timed shots, makes safe plays. And just seems like a good teammate. - Juwan has secured his position as my favorite player on the team right now. The dude is a star. Crazy how good his recruiting class was. ....Er, oops. I forgot we were Crean-hating. Disregard. - Agree with the comments about RoJo's shot. Not jumping straight up, kinda jumping to the side with a little leg kick to look fancy, but not working. - Newkirk seems dialed in. He's not going to be Yogi out there. He's going to do the things he can do. He's the quickest guy on the team, and hits a seam to the basket fast. I think he's doing better with Al there to take some of the pressure off him at times. - Green. I don't know how to feel about this guy. Admittedly I didn't like his game last year. It's hard to ignore him this year. There are times when he'll single-handedly carry the team, bring us out of a funk. He can be unpredictable enough that teams don't really know what to do with him. I'm coming around to like him, and I think Archie's use of minutes and the bench are good for him. - Justin and Clifton aren't ready. Justin is closer, and he's trying to be a good teammate out there. He needs a few more shots to fall, and a little more confidence in what to do on defense. I think he'll get there, and will provide some insane highlights. Clifton got a couple minutes there at the end. There was one time when he tried to get position under the basket, and the Iowa player just stuck a hip in him and moved him out of the way for the rebound. And then he took that 12 foot jumper, which just wasn't what Coach is looking for. - Collin is great. No real comments to add. Deron has miscues and FT misses, but he's a huge part of what we can put out on the court. So Archie gets his first Big Ten win. It's hard not to look at the team he inherited, and some of the early season ups and downs, and not compare to OSU. Huge win for the Buckeyes over the same Michigan team that handled us easily. They are cobbled together, and starting Musa Jallow, the same guy that Archie reportedly had no interest in. I'm not looking into it beyond just making the comparison. I'll be preaching patience on this for a looooong time. To be a Blue Blood you only need 3 National Championships. One every 25 years will do it. I'll let Archie develop into his role just as the players can. Good win.

I'm with you. I support our guys. Garland isn't coming. We don't have an oversign problem so we don't need to speculate anymore.

I don't know why I check this thread.

Just FYI, I'm not getting into a back-and-forth internet fight here. Make your point if you wish. The Draft Express attention Clifton received wasn't for his talent now. It's because he has the build that everyone wants. Thrives in the small ball, can switch and guard multiple positions, spread the floor. 3 point shots are up because they work. Traditional use of back-to-the-basket centers is down. Let the kid develop. He was never a player expected to contribute his freshman year.

Clifton isn't in the same bucket as Priller or Gelon. Clifton had better national acclaim (rankings) than Green, Morgan, or Collin, and those guys are leading the team right now. Were they reaches too? Some of our favorite IU players are because Crean would "reach," so I'm really not down with the hate. Just because Clifton hasn't panned out YET doesn't mean much. We knew he was skinny/under-developed when he came here. He's already filling out. I understand that he shows flashes in practice at times. He did not play a high level of ball in high school, and he's not ready to contribute. Also, a 6'10" kid better from the perimeter is what everyone wants right now. Not sure how that's a knock. Get him in there where he's not afraid to bump around and he can contribute.

Clifton Less

Thanks as always, Old Fart. Good to note also that Vic was playing against one of his former teams. The dude just belongs in Indiana. Also a fun interview with Lance, where you can hear Vic singing in the shower, really funny. When Yogi got picked up by the Mavs and went on his streak last year, I pretty much became a Mavericks fan. Mavsmoneyball.com is a website that has some great articles, including one from this weekend. You all probably know, even after Yogi was one of the top 5 performing rookies in the league last year (getting pretty much ignored in the process), Dallas recruited over him with their #9 pick, getting Dennis Smith, Jr., and Mavs fans have hailed DSJ as the savior of the program. The rub is that the team plays better with Yogi on the floor, and someone found out that the Mavs--a 5 win team--can field a team of 5 that just smashes everybody. Worth a read! https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/2017/11/27/16702944/dallas-mavericks-most-effective-lineup-dirk-nowitzki-rick-carlisle