Honkyman

31-17 IU

I'm not sure we will be a 6-6 team this year. That being said, IU could have won this game if they had scored when they had the chance rather than turning the ball over. Sloppy play and turnovers rarely lead to victory. The defense was lousy as well.

1a) George McGinnis--because he did what no other IU player has done averaging 30 points and 15 rebounds per game; 1b) Isaiah Thomas--because he was the best point guard in IU history and led the 1981 team to a National Championship; 1c) Steve Alford--because he was the best pure shooter in IU history and led the 1987 team to a National Championship; 1d) Scott May because he was the NCAA National Player of the Year and led the 1976 team to an undefeated season & a National Championship.

Cockburn won't win BIG 10 player of the year because Illinois won't be that good. If Michigan wins the Big 10, Dickinson will be MVP.

24-21 IU

Hardwood83: Appears I am the first to say Alford ________ I lived in Bloomington from 1978 through 1987, so I was able to watch 2 national championship teams ( '81 & '87) with regularity. What impressed me most about Alford--aside from his unbelievable shooting ability--was his maturity even as a freshman. He had great game judgment--better than almost any IU player since. I was a student from 1967-1971 so IU basketball was a mixed bag then. But Vernon Payne, who was All Conference, was as good a point guard as IU has ever had besides Isiah Thomas and Quinn Buckner. George McGinnis, who just played one year (1970-71) was the most talented player to put on an IU uniform. He was like LaBron James--a man among boys. That 1971 team's front line had three high school All Americans-- McGinnis, Steve Downing and Joby Wright. Too bad the coaching was so poor. Yes, even McGinnis acknowledges he would have benefited from a year playing under Bobby Knight.

27--13 IU

I hate giving Purdue a chance to spoil IU's undefeated season.

It will be a better showing.

Hopefully, the most improved player is one of the starters. If a bench player is the most improved, we may not be much improved as a team.

Race Thompson. He will be given the freedom to develop into a complete playing, including outside shooting.

Dave from Dayton said: "I think the rules need to be changed to penalize those that are not incredibly positive about Indiana football." _______________ What does that mean? I thought I was being incredibly positive about Indiana football when I picked Iowa to beat Indiana by 3 points. In actuality, I believed Iowa would win by 10 points or more but because of my "crimson-colored glasses" I picked Iowa by only a field goal.

This is on the coaches. The team was clearly not ready to play. The play calling has been poor. Obviously, the offensive line is weak but they should have shored it up in the offseason. Penix has been mediocre but he hasn't played a while. Tom Allen is overrated, frankly, and I thought that last season.

Embarrassing.

This Indiana team is not a top 20 team. Penix looks average. The play calling has been predictable.

Wait 'til last year!

24-21 Iowa

Calling fans "crazy" is a compliment.

TJD can't play the 4 in Mike Woodson's system because he has no outside shot.

Brass Cannon says: The fact is they were final caliber teams.] ________ A team that shoots 32% from the field, 27% from 3-point range, and 55% at the free throw line is usually not considered a very good team. But you are free to engage in your fantasy that this Serbian team was a really good team. I'm in the camp that believes it is too early to judge how good this IU team will be this coming season. You apparently think otherwise. That's fine. Enjoy your opinion.

Brass Cannon says: The facts don’t seem to agree with you. But enjoy the opinion \ _______ Actually, the facts do support my opinion. But enjoy your opinion.

Your point? This team came in second in their not too shabby league last year. My point. Having watched all available film/video of the two games, in my opinion, the Serbian team IU played Friday and Sunday did not look to be a very good team irrespective of their place in their league last year. IU looked reasonably good Friday, but not so good today. I suspect Mike Woodson would agree with that assessment. I'm happy IU won both games. I'm happy the new coach and players were able to play against international competition in August. But I'm not convinced these games provide sufficient evidence of what kind of season we will have this coming year.

There are pro teams in Europe that would not be ranked in the top 25 of college basketball.

Brass Cannon said: The rest of the world ain’t half bad at basketball ______ My point wasn't that international teams are not good. My point was that this particular team--given its very poor shooting and generally poor play (I have watched all available film)--did not seem to be a very good team in spite of the fact that it is a professional team. I'm not convinced this particular team provides much of an indication how good the IU team will be this coming season. There is much to be positive about--ie., the team play hard and seemingly played good defense. Turnovers were down. But there is also reason for caution. We shot poorly as we have in recent years. We will have to wait until the season starts this fall back in the US to get a better sense of how good IU will be.

This Serbian team may be professional but they don't appear to be a good team. We'll have to wait and see on IU's team until they play US competition.