Honkyman

Two of the starters--Race (9.1 points per game) & TJD (19.9 points per game)--started last year. Armaan Franklin (11.4 points) was a decent offensive player and Al Durham (11.3 points) was to a lesser extent. Rob Phinisee was unreliable as a shooter (7.1 per game shooting just 34.7% from the field). None were great free-throw shooters--Durham had the highest average at 78% with Rob at just 63%. Armaan shot 42% from 3-point range and Al shot 38%. Rob was a woeful 26% and Race was worse at 20% although he put up way fewer shots. Xavier should be an improvement at point guard and hopefully Parker, Tamar, and Miller are improvements at the 2 & 3. Hopefully there are improvements from Race & TJD. As you say, who is on the sidelines will likely make a difference, hopefully a big difference. It will be interesting.

IU 89 EMU 65

I agree. Obviously, the coverage is much more intense today than in previous eras. Nonetheless, the statement that fans did not know who would commit to a program until signing day is inaccurate. Those who were paying attention knew. Most of the class of 1989 except Lawrence Funderburke announced their commitment to IU prior to the signing date. Greg Graham committed immediately after receiving an offer from Coach Knight. Of course, offers were not routinely made years in advance when players are freshmen and sophomores as they are today. So, yes, it was a different time and recruiting was different. But many players committed well in advance of the signing deadline.

The speculation about whether George McGinnis and Steve Downing would play for IU went on for a year after their high school coach Jerry Oliver left Indianapolis Washington to become IU coach Lou Watson's assistant. Eventually they announced together that they would. Steve Alford announced he would attend IU almost immediately after Knight offered him a scholarship. Many many players committed to their chosen schools in advance of any signing deadline in years past. It's fun to talk about how great things used to be but often they weren't the way we would like to remember them.

Josh said: "I wish recruiting can go back to the day when you found out about your recruiting class on signing day." ________ It has not been that way for at least 50 years. I've been following IU and college basketball closely since before the Knight era. There were always rumors and speculation swirling about where the most coveted players would go. There was no Internet then,. but newspaper reporters and sports magazines wrote about recruiting extensively.

17-13 Maryland

Loaded Chicken said: 'Just hope Kyrie stands by what he says..." Like when Kyrie says he doesn't know if the earth is round or flat. Kyrie blamed his comment for saying the world is flat on the "YouTube rabbit hole." The rabbit hole must be where he gets his information on COVID-19. It's not from science.

Woodson has started off well in recruiting; Archie started off well. Recruiting drops off when team performance on the court fails to meet expectations. Woodson has to win for IU's recruiting to continue at the current level.

Yes. I realized it and then made my prediction in the appropriate thread. Thanks.

38-17 Ohio State

38-17 Ohio State

27-17 Michigan State over IU

LIHoosier said: " it is viable that by midseason the vaccine mandate could be gone." It is highly unlikely that the vaccine mandate will be lifted before next summer. With the delta variance, the population has to be close to 90% immune before herd immunity kicks in. That won't happen by midseason (Feb/March).

Loaded Chicken said: "I released my official preseason Top 25 on XSN" It looks reasonable.

Phinisee is a solid back-up point guard. Apparently, he is still above 5-star Kristian Lander on the depth chart.

When you are mayor you are responsible for getting things done--garbage collection, public safety, etc. You can't just shoot off your mouth. Most talk radio hosts who enter politics go into a legislative body where they aren't responsible for much. Even if Dakich had a realistic chance of winning (which is dubious), it doesn't seem to be a good match for him.

WayneFleekHoosie said, "I never knew the governor appoints the majority of the trustees." You know that "we aren't talking about head coaches", but you don't know that the majority of IU Trustees are appointed the governor? How is that possible? In fact, the Trustees at most universities are appointed, not elected. IU's process gives alumni more input than most.

Paying McRobbie $582,000 for six months "consulting" (i.e., severance) bothers me more than the selection process. A closed process is probably not a good idea at a university. On the other hand, an open process means potential candidates will be attacked ruthlessly on social media causing good ones to drop out or avoid it altogether. Mike Woodson was selected head basketball coach in a closed process. When his name leaked, there was a lot of criticism but so far it appears to be a good decision. Not everyone will be happy no matter who is chosen. Choosing a president is the responsibility of the Trustees, not some ad hoc committee. Apparently their recommendation fell flat. In any event, not many IU presidents have been stellar since the days of Herman B Wells. And, there aren't many people of Herman B Wells' calibre these days.

1. Purdue 2. Michigan 3. Ohio State 4. Indiana 5. Michigan State 6. Illinois 7. Maryland 8. Rutgers 9. Iowa 10. Nebraska 11. Northwestern 12. Wisconsin 13. Penn State 14. Minnesota

Bozich predicts IU with an 8th place finish, behind Rutgers. Too often, these sportswriters are basing their forecasts on last season's performance or the coaching irrespective of talent. The sportswriters pick Illinois for 3rd in the conference, which seems high even if Kofi Cockburn becomes the player of the year. Michigan & Purdue at the top seems right. Maryland at 5th could be high, too early to tell. Like IU, they have transfers who could be quite good. Michigan State gets 6th place just because of Tom Izzo. They have lost a lot and will start out slow. Whether the Spartans end up strong as is usually the case remains to be seen. I can see IU finishing as high as 4th but would be surprised and very disappointed by an 8th place finish.

Scott May was a great college basketball player as were Steve Alford and Calbert Cheaney. But George McGinnis, Isaiah Thomas and Walt Bellamy were in a class above all others among IU greats. McGinnis averaged 29.9 points and 14 rebounds a game--leading the Big Ten in both categories in the only season he played at IU. Bellamy averaged 20.6 points and 15.6 rebounds per game (as a senior he averaged 17.8 rebounds a game--still a team record). IU won the Big Ten both years Thomas started at point guard. IU's drive to the national championship didn't take off in 1981 until Bobby Knight allowed Thomas to be the coach on the floor. May was a great shooter and a good rebounder. But Quinn Buckner was the glue for that '76 championship team.

I'll miss Dakich. He may talk too much but he knows more about basketball than most of the ESPN announcers. Some IU fans don't like him because he is honest about IU basketball. As it turned out, he was right about Archie Miller before most IU fans were.

WayneFleekHoosie said: "Rutgers is good, Purdue is competitive. We’ve got our hands full." I agree. But as a loyal Hoosier fan I had to give IU more than just Minnesota.

Penn State 35-Indiana 17

5-7 Wins against Rutgers, Minnesota and Purdue. Losses against Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Maryland, and Michigan.