Honkyman

I was torched on this board when I said exactly this after Love decommitted from Michigan and some thought IU was recruiting him.

I doubt IU was really interested.

Well, of course, anything is possible. But part of securing playing time is playing smart. Gunn has a long way to go in that department. The fact that he led the team in 3-point shots per minute while also having the lowest 3-point percentage on the team underscores that point. Gunn's problem now is that Jakai Newton is competing with him for playing time and given Newton's potential that is a competition he might win. But the shooting guard position is arguably IU's weakest so if IU doesn't land another 2-guard who is a starter, there will be opportunity for both Gunn and Newton (though Galloway has proven to be valuable in a variety of way--defensively, 3-point shooting, leadership, and all around hustle).

It seems like Cupps is getting the same treatment.

Now that he didn't fulfill expectations, he is not particularly well thought of. But at the time, comments about Rob Phinisee's future as IU's starting point guard were similar to the comments about Cupps today. And, of course, after he hit the winning buzzer beater against Butler early in his freshman season, expectations for Phinisee rose even higher. In any event, the central point being made was that Cupps would be a backup to Boogie Fland or any other 5-star point guard who Woodson might recruit for 2024.

Cupps may be good enough to start in his second year at IU. We'll have to wait and see how he plays this season. Boogie Fland almost certainly would start ahead of Cupps. Cupps seems to be at the same level as Rob Phinisee was. There is a lot to like but there may be better players at his position.

Neither Gunn nor Newton will be competing for a starting job. They will be competing against each other for the 3rd SG slot behind Galloway and Sharavjamts.

Watching the Dayton clips, Sharavjamts is a 2/3.

Though 1st on the team in 3-point shooting percentage, Galloway was 4th in the 3-point attempts. On the one hand, Galloway is the ultimate team player and rarely tries to force a shot. On the other hand, he tends to pass up more than a few open shots. The real problem with Galloway as a starter is that he has been injury prone and also tends to foul quite a bit. If IU doesn't land a good perimeter shooter from the transfer portal, Galloway starting means that unproven players will be backup at the shooting guard spot. Yes, Newton and Gunn will get more chances to prove themselves. But if they aren't up to it, the team will have problems in conference play whenever Galloway has to go to the bench.

There should be no discomfort with Trey Galloway playing SG. Galloway started this past season at that position and ended up the best 3-point shooter on the team (percentage wise). Galloway has gotten better every year he has been at IU. However, Gunn has a long way to go to be ready for extended minutes. His 3-point shooting (8.3%) was awful in part because his shot selection was poor. Hopefully, his judgment on the court will improve in year 2 because he has the physical talent to be a good player. If not, Jakai Newton or even Anthony Leal may end up seeing the floor more than Gunn. After Galloway, none of Gunn, Newton or Leal are proven back-ups.

Yes, nearly all players work hard in the offseason and some occasionally improve dramatically between their freshman and sophomore seasons. The fact that all the players are working hard means there is likely improvement for all of them. Gunn starts pretty far behind Galloway to be able to jump past him--a player who started the previous season and was the top 3-point shooter (percentage wise). Yes, stranger things have happened but I wouldn't bet on it. Hopefully, Gunn improves enough to be able to play some. In the absence of injury, however, he is not a regular starter in 2023-24.

Gunn is being discounted because this past season he was a terrible perimeter shooter (8.3% from 3-point range). Yes, he has the physical gifts to be a good player but also seems to lack the skills to play meaningful minutes. Part of the reason for Gunn's poor shooting was judgment. He took many poor shots and also hurried his shot. Shooting in game situations is considerably more difficult than shooting in the training environment shown in the video above. If Gunn can settle down and concentrate on shooting when he is open rather than as soon as the ball is in his hands, he can make progress. But getting his 3-point percentage up to 30% (which would be a huge jump) wouldn't even make him a starter. Galloway had the best shooting percentage on the team last season from 3-point range (46.2%) and is almost certain to start at the 2-guard unless a better player from the portal is signed. Jakai Newton may prove to be better than Gunn.

Yes, it will not be hard for him to improve over this past season. Gunn was not just bad from 3-point range. At 8%, he was awful. But to be able to be on the floor in crucial moments, Gunn needs to improve dramatically. We'll see. Gunn may not be ready for meaningful minutes until the year after next.

I didn't say it had anything to do with NIL. I merely said Cuban $5 million for the Cuban Center which serves all IU athletics including the basketball program. The impression left was that Cuban does nothing for IU basketball. Not true.

I can’t tell you the reason why he’s not been a donor for IU basketball Mark Cuban gave $5 million to IU basketball for the Center for Sports Media and Technology.