Lebowski

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.

I was just talking about how much better this team's defense is compared to last year's team. Heck compared now to the start of the season is night and day! I think it all changed once Davis went down? It's like they had to play a completely different style?

I agree. And I'm not even sure elite players are necessary. A good example is Villanova. Just as long he's able to get his type of player he wants then I think (hope) us IU fans will be happy. His current team on the court are playing way beyond their potential. And if they manage to win eight games in the conference this year that's better than last year's three professional players on the roster team. Last night's game was tough to watch. 36.4% from the field and that consistency of 55.6% at the charity stripe doesn't really bode well for any team. Free throws. If they can make their free throws the wins will come.

OK, I'm now able to comment about this game, albeit I'm slowly recovering from that tough pill I swallowed. I thought IU played a decent game overall. They just played a really really good team to the wire. If this team can just get better at free throws they have a really good chance to finish above .500 in conference play. In my opinion, finishing above .500 is a very successful season with this team. These kids are giving it their all and I really like what I'm seeing with the overall progression. Now if they can somehow find a way to finish, along with improving their free throw shots, I think they actually can make a legitimate run in the B1G tournament. And if they can do all that starting tonight at OSU they may actually have a legitimate shot of getting an at-large bid to the dance. Highly unlikely but the potential is there and this team is playing way above its potential. That's a credit to the team from top to bottom. I'm seeing a lot of good things. A lot.

55.2% at the charity stripe with almost 30 attempts pretty much explains a two point loss on the road. Free throws. Make your free throws and all of us today would be talking about how awesome the win was. UI pretty gave a blueprint to the Iowa's of the league on how to beat IU. Put them on the line. It's been a problem for them the entire season. Overall I was really impressed with the team in the 1st half. They seem to be playing much better as a team. Honestly, I never would have thought I would be saying that after the season opener.

CB/S Kevin Brewer picked up CBs back in September. I'm wondering why he hasn't committed to any school yet? I really like the coaching staff going after Juco Kenny Turnier. If he decides to be a Hoosier that adds depth and experience rather quickly.

Juco SDE Kenny Turnier is another one to keep an eye on. I think he originally signed with Oregon State in 2016 and IU was on his short list back then. RB/ATH Andrew Cunningham has an OV coming up on the 27th. Looks like he's narrowed it down to IU and Louisville. OT Hamilton Hall just had an OV last month. He's got a nice list of offers but it looks like he might end up at Miss St.

Fun game to watch. I really enjoyed to see #3 J. Smith step up. A lot of positive to take away from this game. They were hitting their shots too! Was it me or did it look like they were playing with some chemistry? I think I really noticed it on the defensive side of the ball or was that Minnesota is just playing that bad? Hope they can stay on this awesome train for the next game against PSU this Tuesday at the Hall.

Man, bummer news. Hope it's not too serious. All hands on deck!

Well, after half way through the season I pretty much expected to be where they are. I didn't expect horrible losses to ISU and IPFW but I did expect a Jekyll and Hyde type of basketball team. This team is playing like a team that is learning a completely new system with a completely new coaching staff teaching it to them. I really think next year we'll see a lot more consistency on the court. I think it's possible they finish in the middle of the pack this season but realistically I don't see that happening. If they finish below .500 and at the bottom of the conference I'm content because I really expected that at the beginning of the season (last year they finished 7-11 with 3 professional players on the roster). If they finish .500, I'm happy. If they finish above .500, I'm ecstatic!

Coaching or personal or both?

Yeah, at this point NIT might not even be an option. Tennessee Tech this Thursday might even cause problems.

The kid can score. He's got a knack to find the open shot and can handle the ball extremely well. That tends to get him to the foul line, which he can sink. He also has a hustle and grit component to him that kinda of reminds of the way Zach McRoberts is playing right now. Last year he was one of those players you didn't really notice and all of the sudden you would see he put up 20 in the box score. He was a really good compliment to Nunge. This year, I would imagine he'll be the focus. His team isn't as strong as last year's but they should hold their own in the SIAC.

Yeah, I have to wonder about USC. Considering who's the RB coach over there and all.

Man, I totally agree. I would have loved to see him in candy stripes but I just don't think it was going to happen. The kid is all in with Iowa.

That's interesting man. I don't have a clue regarding AAU and all the politics. Thanks for sharing.

Not sure if this makes me qualified but I'm from his area and watched him play multiple seasons at Castle. He pretty much ran his team on the floor. Last year he had a guard to help him. But he was essentially the coach on the floor for his team. He was really knowledgeable with situations etc. etc. and he progressed through the years. I think his GPA was tops among his class. Or something of that nature. Not to mention he's a good kid with a great family to back him up. But that doesn't mean poop with his basketball IQ. I just wanted to through that in there. ;-)

Woah, woah, woah, pump the brakes man. I didn't say he's the second coming. I just said he's smart, tough and athletically above average. And pointed out that he can hang with the blue bloods as he did last year. Most importantly, I said he's young. And as you just pointed out through time he'll more than likely get better. He didn't play as a Small Forward for his high school so I betting there's a learning curve for him as well. With his intelligence it wouldn't surprise me that we'll see a significant change next year. I could be wrong. Personally, I wouldn't place him at the Small Forward position. I see him more as a possible stretch, but that's stretching it too. Maybe a forward-center? He might need to bulk up to play that position too. He's one of those tweeners if that makes any sense. I don't get paid to make those calls and I'm glad I don't have to. Regardless, the main point of my post was to point out that I don't think Crean wasn't interested him.

I don't think he's limited athletically, he's just young and lacks strength. He also looked kinda drained in the second. He put up 32 and nabbed 14 on MSU's bound Aaron Henry. And the week before that he put up 20 and nabbed 19 on Langford. You'll probably see a big difference with a year under his belt. Nothing personal but I'm not buying that Crean wasn't interested. What kind of coach doesn't want a high IQ, tough minded, above average athleticism 6'11 block of clay that can shoot from anywhere on the floor? I would put Nunge a few notches above Hartman and Crean wanted Hartman. From what I understand Nunge wasn't going to IU as someone already mentioned he's got Iowa roots. Not to mention there's history. Personally I think there's more to it then just Crean wasn't interested. Crean might have been told not to waste his time or something. Jack has a little brother coming through and if he plays anything like his big brother we'll see if Archie is interested or not. I have my doubts that Archie won't be interested in a chance to get someone like Nunge on his team. I could be wrong though. Great win for the Hoosiers! Now if Davis can just make his free throws!

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2017/10/02/iu-football-names-peyton-ramsey-starting-qb/722754001/ Probably a good game to make this change.

We know it's your effin' homework Larry!

I don't know the numbers but I would imagine the vast majority of student-athletes end up being [insert profession here] and not a professional athlete of [insert sport here] after they graduate. Also, I have a feeling a very small percentage of student-athletes compared to the total amount of student-athletes competing in the NCAA are part of this investigation. It looks as though this is geared towards elite athletes and based on their market value. I could be wrong though. But I'm skeptic that folks like Johnny Jager are getting some sort of compensation from Adidas. Heck even folks like Newkirk or Johnson for that matter. I don't have any proof but I don't think this is anything new. It's probably been like this for decades. A minor league won't fix this because capitalism exist at the college level. Once we fully embrace that concept then and only then fixes can occur.

In my opinion that's a bad analogy. If you're going to put it that way then the fan in the stands wearing the jersey with [insert number here] is stealing from the player's [insert number here] wearing it on the field/court market value. And just handing over the cash to the NCAA/school. In other words, the wealthy woman is the elite athlete and the guy robbing her is the NCAA/School. It works both ways. All those NCAA enticements apparently aren't good enough for the elite athletes. And capitalism doesn't care about the rules. Isn't that the root cause of the investigation here?

The one-and-done wheels of capitalism is rolling through the NCAA. And at the CFB level the money train is even bigger. I read a column back in 2011, I can't remember who wrote it, but it was basically about the big dogs being big dogs and it's time to understand that. It's not going to change. The writer proposed that the NCAA should also recognize it and change the rule book to about 50 pages instead of the current 430+ page book it is. It covered topics like having licensed NCAA affiliated agents for the athletes. It covered topics like the NCAA knowing the dollar amount going to athlete. It covered things like jersey sell percentages going to the athlete. I covered things like unlimited text messaging and phone calls. It wasn't perfect but it was practical. I'll have to search the interwebs and see if I can find it. Edit: Found it. https://www.si.com/more-sports/2011/07/27/new-rules

The wheels of capitalism keep rolling. It doesn't care about the NCAA's scholarship, room, board and small stipend it has to offer. In fact it's the bug and capitalism is the windshield. No one is really talking about the elephant in the room here. It looks like this is the 'norm' of college sports. Once the dust settles, and I have a feeling this will be a dust pile the size of Mt. Everest, the underlying issue will still exist. Also, I will not be surprised if IU is part of that dust pile. I hope that's not the case but this appears to be bigger than just a handful of schools. Personally, I think there should be a major overhaul with the NCAA rules, especially if they want to continue to benefit the revenue.