Lebowski

I think the one aspect missing, or I probably should describe as lacked (Ramsey was just too young and injured to get it going), from last year's QB core was the 'R' in an offense that runs RPO. He adds the R to the core because he's proven with experience. He also adds depth to the bunch. If one gets injured there's a next man up with field experience situation here. This overall is a good thing for the team. The Dude abides.

Not that it really matters but I can see IUFB start out 4-1 (home games against Virginia, Ball State and MSU; road games against FIU and Rutgers). After that they have winnable home games against Iowa, Maryland and Purdue. That's 7. And a road game against Minnesota is in the reach. I think this year's success will really depend on two keys; the running game and the running defense. If they can get some 3rd and long situations on D and hold on to the ball on O they have a really good shot at winning a lot more games then we are accustom to seeing. Call me a homer but I have a really good feeling about this season. I could be wrong because we are talking about IUFB here but the glass is half full for me.

I have a good feeling about this. Just the guy CTA is wanting to run the offense. Can't wait to see Coach Ballou and Dr. Rhea get a hold of this guy to step up his RPO! Welcome to Btown QB Dawkins!

What's worse is that Izzo's a small piece to the puzzle of this apparent massive epidemic in East Lansing.

Thanks for sharing. Honestly, I don't have any sympathy for the staff. At some point 'they' have to look in the mirror and look into the eyes of the person looking back at them.

Who's 'they'?

Bummer. Makes sense though. I was thinking he would end up somewhere close to Gary. Northwestern got a good kid. Best of luck to him.

Landing someone like Taylor will help the team on multiple fronts. He's a 3pt shooter and 86 percent from the charity stripe. He's got a lot of really good schools pursuing him. I'm not sure he'll end up at IU but that would be a quality get if he ends up in Btown.

I know, right. I believe Cheaney, Lowery, and Brownell were teammates in like 88 or something like that. It's been awhile. I can't remember. What's even crazier is that I think they didn't win a sectional. McCarty and Ragland both were able to get it done though.

If the rumors are true then it might not be that Cal didn't want the job but UE isn't willing to pony up the cash? So many different variables involved with stuff like this. I really think this is a good job and if Cal wants to coach again then this is a really good start.

The local paper down here is reporting CAM is interested as is UCLA. https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/college/evansville/2018/03/15/ryan-taylor-explore-other-options-after-two-seasons-evansville/430780002/

Good to know. Should be interesting to see this play out. Honestly, I hope he comes back. But regardless of what happens, I think UE did the right thing of letting Coach Simmons go. I didn't like how it happened but I think it was probably time for a change.

If that's true then that's actually a good thing for UE basketball, especially if they want to be conference contenders year after year. This job can be a really good job to land and if the school is willing to go "all in" then it makes sense to ask for a bigger pot. I mean it wasn't too long ago that Butler was playing in the Horizon League and considered a rival.

https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/college/evansville/2018/03/14/looking-potential-evansville-basketball-coaching-candidates/423100002/

There's a buzz down in here that Cal's in the running for the UE HC job. Not sure if there's any validity to it though.

Thanks for sharing. I ended up reading a lot of his tweets. Man this guy seems like a really good hire. Seems like he has a "Moneyball" approach to things.

The fact that coach after coach after coach is saying the same thing about 'a change' speaks volumes. I hope the hammer comes down.

I'm not sure that would be case. Because a scholarship might prevent that from happening. Meaning, discrimination isn't really happening here. Another thought is a softball student-athlete at Florida or Oklahoma has a "higher value" compared to a softball player at Valpo. It's just the way it is. Any purchase of FU Softball t-shirt, and I would assume there's a lot, isn't going to go the Florida football team.

Well, the context is "paying the student-athlete" so I would assume it's the actual student-athlete you're currently watching on the court. All those other guys you mentioned are now professionals in their respected fields. Of course that's all up for debate though. I was thinking more of a percentage as a whole, meaning the entire basketball team will get a cut. But that would all depend on how the rules are established.

I'm not sure. I think it'll all depend on how the rules are established. Ever buy a school jersey/uniform with a number on it? Or a shirt that says IU <fill in the blank sport>. I live in the Evansville area and here UE sells a lot of multiple sport apparel. Certainly a percentage of those sales could go to the athlete(s) that are helping sell the product? Also, supply and demand is what it is. If a kid is good enough to play for UConn's women's basketball team she'll probably end up being compensated. If another kid is good to play for UE's squad then a free education is worth something. It's not like every high school student-athlete gets that kind of opportunity.

Bye Felicia.

I'm a happy camper. Can't wait to see what CAM does with an entire year already chalked up. Two of the top five state of Indiana recruits will be wearing the candy stripes, a red-shirt 4 star from Minnesota has an entire season under his belt, Ohio's #2 recruit is coming to Btown, and PA's #3 recruit will be joining the party. It's a very Villanova-esque type of recruiting class. That's without a possible shooter down in the southeast part of the state committing to IU. Future looks bright for the Hoosiers.

I tend to agree with you but a good D sinking free throw usually makes up for that kind of stuff. The MSU game is a prime example. And man, if all of the sudden a consistent guard play comes into it then I am almost certain IU makes some noise in the B1G tournament.

I might be having delusions of grandeur because of my bias but I really think if this improvement continues and they actually start sinking their free throws they might make some noise in the B1G tournament.

Thank goodness for the D because 44.4% at the charity stripe typically doesn't cut it. It was like the upside down last night. McSwain went 4-4 from the line and Johnson went 2-6. But man, that D! Absolutely velvet.