Honkyman

NOLA Hoosier said: The fact that Archie Miller and Dan Dakich is now what people outside the state think when they hear “IU” makes me ill. ________________ I'm an IU grad/native Hoosier living outside the state. Nobody I have ever talked to mentions Archie Miller and Dan Dakich when they hear "IU." Nobody even knows who Archie Miller is because the team has not made it to the NCAA Tournament when most people pay attention to college basketball other than the own school. If I say Archie's name, most people say "never heard of him." Most people turn off Dakich if they are even watching ESPN. Older basketball fans still think Bobby Knight if IU comes up. Middle aged people might mention Mark Cuban. Younger people might say "I hear they have a good business school." Frankly, very few people outside the state react at all when they hear "IU."

Tom Crean was more marketable than Archie Miller would be. Archie might be too boring for a TV "color" commentator. Crean is a talker. Even if sometimes what he said made no sense he could make it sound convincing. Also, Crean had several players in the NBA (D Wade, Oladipo, Zeller among them) and had coached a team to the Final Four. Miller doesn't have much to hang his hat on--a couple of decent runs with Dayton. He will eventually get a job but it could be a while. Mitigation doesn't mean he has to take any job. It has to be somewhat comparable.

I imagine IU will find a way to hire another Archie Miller or Tom Crean.

Archie is paid $3.2 million a year. Should we have paid him $4 or $5 million a year? IU should look among the best coaches in college basketball. If they can convince one of them then to come to IU, then pay them whatever it takes. But if all IU is just going to do is hire another Archie Miller--a young guy at a midlevel college looking to move up--why pay that person $3 million?

IU can't just hire anyone. The school has to hire a proven coach with some stature. Anything less and it will be tough to have the fanbase get behind the move. If IU just hires another Archie Miller--a promising coach at a midlevel school looking to move up--there will be no reason to have faith that things will be any better. Most IU fans thought the Archie Miller hire was a good one and believed it was better than keeping Crean. In fact, Archie has not been better than Crean as bad as Crean was.

Archie is getting paid what--$3 million a year. He is getting paid to put together a basketball team that can not only compete in the conference but also for a national title. He is not fulfilling his contractual obligation. The team he coached this year is terrible and these are his players--except Al Durham who plays harder than any of the others. I have compassion for Archie and his coaching staff. It is a sad situation but life goes on. IU deserves a coach worthy of its great basketball tradition.

8bucks said: Yeah I feel bad for Archie and am not sure why his Dayton success did not transfer better here. ______________ It is hard moving up. Most coaches who try it do not succeed. If Archie goes, IU needs to hire a coach with proven ability at this level and stature. Otherwise, it is the same crap shoot. Plus the fans will have no faith if it looks like another Archie Miller situation.

IU didn't play too bad. Michigan is just a much better team with better players who can shoot. TJD cannot shoot against big players. He missed a bunch of shots because he just throws them up there. There is no way he can thrive in the NBA until he develops a shot--any shot including 2 footers. Galloway has no business playing against a team like this. He can't shoot and he is too slow to guard most players at his position. Phinisee and Lander played pretty well together and should have been playing together more. We got killed on the boards. Two more games and hopefully the fans will be put out of their misery. If Archie is fired IU better hire a coach with stature. Otherwise, the fans will have no faith that the new coach will be any better than the old one.

If Armaan is not playing I hope Archie does not start Galloway. He seems to only perform well against teams. He gets killed playing against quicker and/or bigger players. Start Geronimo or Jerome Hunter at the 3.

Leadership starts at the top. If there is a leadership problem the coaching staff is to blame. Archie recruited the players and it is his responsibility to groom team leaders. Meanwhile, TJD's performance (20 points and 10 rebounds a game) is being wasted. Don't blame him. Blame the coaching staff for failing to provide the players and leaders to make TJD's game performances the key to a winning team. Jackson Davis is a sophomore. Team leadership usually comes from upperclassmen. Archie failed in developing the necessary leadership with the upperclassmen--or he failed to recruit players who are natural leaders.

72-70 IU. I could see Michigan coming in over confident. Their only conference loss was to Northwestern.

Jesus Shuttleworth said: "TJD is part of the problem." _____________ If only we had a few more "part of the problem" players like TJD who average 20 points and 10 rebounds a game.

Bardo did not "punk" Rob Phinisee though Rob deserved it.

Boston is not firing Brad Stevens and he is not coaching IU. I don't know why people continue to engage in this pipe dream.

Everyone reacts differently. When my father died I wanted to get right back to school full speed to keep my mind of it.

There is always a place in the NBA for a big man who can shoot. Garza won't be a starter but he'll be a part of a 2nd unit on some NBA team. TJD's challenge to making it in the NBA is his lack of shooting ability/skills.

I doubt there is another Bobby Knight out there. Knight was unique. He made news in New York during Army's NIT appearances in the late 1960s because his teams played so far above their talent level and because the 20-something Knight came across like a James Dean character which the NY media loved.The choices now are either to try to hire someone who has already had some success like Chris Beard or even Bruce Pearl. Frankly, IU is a hard sell these days to experienced coaches. Or, find someone who is coaching very successfully at a smaller school, someone who is highly regarded. I don't know who that might be. I don't believe IU could have predicted that Archie would struggle. His tenure at Dayton seemed to indicate he was ready and able to compete in the Big Ten Conference. Unfortunately, his offense is dated, from another time--like from the 80s--and he doesn't seem capable of motivating his players, at least these players. As others have pointed out, his recruiting has not panned out as some believed it would. I believe Archie understood that Rob Phinisee was not the answer for point guard which is why he has tried to bring in other more highly rated point guards. Not bringing in shooters has been his biggest recruiting failure. It doesn't matter because IU is not firing Archie Miller--at least not at the end of this season.

C-Thomas: Those mid to late sixties teams were not great. We were firmly headed for mediocrity until Coach Knight was hired. He was a complete unknown from a military school. _________ Not really accurate. Indiana won the Big 10 in the 1966-67 season led by All-Conference point guard Vernon Payne. Injuries impacted the team's success for a couple of years. But Coach Lou Watson had spectacular recruiting success bringing in high school All Americans Joby Wright, George McGinnis, Steve Downing and Ed Daniels. The front line of McGinnis, Downing and Wright was as good as any IU has ever had. IU was 17-7 in Lou Watson's final year, 1970-71. Fans were disappointed they didn't win the conference because in those days only the conference champ was eligible to play in the NCAA tournament. Because of the rule prohibiting freshman from playing varsity McGinnis, Downing & Wright only played together one year. Even with McGinnis going pro, Knight inherited some really good players, including Downing, Wright and John Ritter. IU went to the Final Four in Knight's 2nd season led mostly by players recruited by Lou Watson (except freshman Quinn Buckner whom Knight recruited). Knight was well known as the brightest coach in the country when IU hired him. He had taken his undermanned Army teams to the NIT several times and had been profiled in many national publications. Knight might not have been known to Indiana basketball fans who don't pay attention to anything but IU. But he was well known as the best young coach in the country to anyone who followed college ball in general.

10 hours ago, Hoosierfan2017 said: Anyone know what Dakich said during the game? ___________________ Dakich said TJD never acknowledges a good pass or play by his teammates. Dakich also complimented TJD's play throughout the game and said he carried the team on his back.

IU won't get a tournament bid unless they win 2 out of the next 3.

I don't always agree with Old Friend, but he is and has been (going back to when he posted as GoColts on another forum) one of the 2 or 3 smartest posters regarding Indiana basketball. He is a target, imo, not because he is wrong but because he states his opinions with such authority that he sometimes comes across as arrogant. Personally, I miss his posts. Indiana fans are justifiably upset over the state of the basketball program. Most were ready for Crean to go for reasons that need not be rehashed. Most were optimistic that Archie could turn things around. That doesn't seem to be the case. Even if IU makes the 2021 NCAA tournament (which will probably be decided this week, i.e., if we don't win our home games against teams that are currently below us in the standings we're not likely to win enough games to qualify), fans will remain uneasy with Archie's inability to address chronic issues mostly related to the offense. Next year does not look promising if TJD moves on. But there is no reason to attack fellow posters or dwell on who said what when. IU fans are negative because the team is not winning enough. Hopefully that will change. If it doesn't there will be a change sooner or later. Let's try to stay a little more civil.

The talk of Stevens coming to IU is ludicrous.

IU not ready to play again.

Archie isn't going anywhere soon. IU will make the tournament, barely. With TJD IU should make the tournament. Then Archie has another year to prove he can coach at this level.

The Pacers are struggling a bit but so are the Wizards, more so.