Honkyman

This team does not deserve to play in the NCAA tournament. And, if they manage to get selected they will undoubtedly lose to an inferior team in the first game. I can't remember seeing a team miss so many 2 foot shots. This was a really pathetic performance in the final 8 minutes.

The only question is can Wesley shoot? Damezi would be playing if he demonstrated he could hit shots in real live games.

Purdue has been playing the same style of basketball since Matt Painter became coach. IU didn't look atrocious because Purdue wasn't scouted properly. That is a lame excuse for poor coaching.

Why does Archie need Bruiser to scout Purdue? IU just played them a couple of weeks ago. The problem is there is no real offensive scheme. That's on the coach.

Archie has tried to recruit over Rob Phinisee several times--Darius Garland, TJ Carton, and now Khristian Lander. There is a reason. Rob is a solid back-up guard but not good enough to lead Indiana into title contention. In other words, he is no Yogi Ferrell. If Indiana gets Lander he will end up get more playing time than Rob before the season is over.

Rob is a mediocre point guard. Lander may not start but he is more talented, will play a lot of point guard and would be more important to IU's success if he would come to IU.

I probably spend too much time reading posts by people like you who clearly can not tolerate anyone who disagrees. I like Archie fine. But I don't drink the Kool Aid like some posters here do. I have consistently written here that we will know more about whether he is a good enough coach to take IU back to national prominence after next season when the team consists of players who have played college for him only. The results so far are mixed at best. In my opinion he has shown less progress than other coaches who emerged as really good coaches--not just by win/loss record but by ability to motivate teams to play better than their talent level--which is the mark of a truly good coach imo. That hasn't happened yet at IU under Archie. But I have always said we have to give him at least four seasons. If that translates to you as hating, you need to go back to school.

My only agenda is winning--just as it has been since I became a die hard Hoosier fan 50 years. What's your agenda?

Good lord? You must have a great eye and head for basketball.

I did read the article. I didn't miss the point. I disagree that there is a valid comparison between Archie Miller and the other two coaches who had demonstrated progress in the first three years that has not been demonstrated at Indiana. In fact, the Indiana program is no better today than it was 3 years ago--some have argued it is worse off.

Based on what we've seen, Archie Miller is no Jay Wright or John Beilein.

There's also Sophomore Slump. Maybe that's what Rob Phinisee is experiencing--at least with turnovers. Also, expectations for him were unrealistic. He was only ranked in the 120 range coming out of high school yet some fans seemed to think he was destined to be another Yogi Farrell. He may be just an average point guard for this level.

Sadly, Archie Miller has no ability to inspire this team.

I agree with Old Friend that next year will be the test. The core of the this year's team is returning (assuming TJD doesn't bolt for the pros). IU has a couple of quality players coming in who might help out some though this is Archie's weakest recruiting class to date and there are no top 30 players (usually the immediate impact players are top 30). But this team will have had a year of playing together, Jerome Hunter should finally be playing to his high potential, and Green and D'Ron Davis will be gone. So if IU continues to play next year like they have so far in almost 3 years under Archie, it will be difficult to justify.

Old Friend should go run the IU sports public relations department. He does a much better job rationalizing poor coaching and uninspired play than anyone directly connected to the basketball team.

The mark of a really good coach is the ability to find ways to get his players to play better than their talent level. Archie doesn't seem to be able to do get his teams to over-perform. In fact, too often the opposite seems true. Some people blame the players Crean recruited, but even the players Archie recruited don't seem to show the effort necessary to win games in this conference either. Nor does it appear any of our 2020 recruits will provide much improvement but I could be wrong. I agree next season will tell us if this is headed in the right direction--especially if Trayce Jackson Davis returns (I've seen his name in the late 1st round on mock draft boards). Years ago a team that returned all of its starters had to be considered competitive for the conference title. We'll see if that applies should TJD return.

D'Ron played like a top 50 player his freshman year and sophomore years (e.g., against Duke) before he was injured. I agree that Galloway won't be ready to contribute a whole lot next year. It's not clear Leal will help much either. If we are lucky enough for TJD to return for another year, we will be starting the same lineup as we are this year.

Two straight games and Archie is out-coached by arguably the worst coach in the league. Archie should have had three ball handlers in the game during the final minute. Jerome Hunter should not have been handling the ball that he threw away. It is too bad because before that miscue Hunter had played his best game yet at IU. Also, Al Durham threw up a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left on the shot clock and Green made a bad shot, though there were only a few seconds left on the clock. Archie had plenty of time outs. He needed to take one and make it clear how they should handled the final minute or more. This is a game IU definitely should have won.

There is nobody currently on the team or a part of the 2020 class who is a good enough shooter to push Brunk to the bench next year. Leal may be good enough to play the role Franklin is playing this year. And, Franklin may be good enough next year to push Durham to a reserve role. But unless IU is able to land an unsigned top shooter in the spring, the starting lineup will include Brunk at center and Smith at the 3 with Hunter possibly getting more time if he has found his shot by then. Experience will have to make up for the lack of shooting skill.

Brunk will be here next year and will probably better. Archie clearly likes Brunk as a starter. I predict there is no chance Brunk comes off the bench in 2020-21.

Joey Brunk shot 7 for 8 from the field against Nebraska including a couple of nice jump shots. He is shooting 54% from the field. There are times when he is the only IU player who seems to be giving it his all. Meanwhile, Jerome Hunter is shooting 34% from the field, 19% from 3-point range. Based on performance, I suspect Archie will continue to start Brunk this year.

The front court played well including the reserves. Jerome Hunter played just 8 minutes but was 2 for 3 both 3-point shots. D'Ron Davis didn't play much (6 minutes) but he played well--2 for 2 from the field. The guard play was not particularly good. Green didn't shoot well--just one 3-point shot, 1 for 6 from the field--but he generally played better than he has lately. Rob Phinisee started out well but ended up with four turnovers and just 2 for 7 from the field (1 for 5 from 3-point range). Al Durham--IU's best free-throw shooter--missed two clutch free throws and was just 1 for 6 from the field (1 for 5 from 3-point range). So the guards still need to step up if IU is to have any chance against Michigan State on Thursday.

The way IU is playing it is not surprising the top players are leaning toward other schools. Of course, Purdue isn't playing very well either except for the Michigan State game.

What Rutgers, Maryland and Wisconsin had in common was poor guard play, including awful 3-point shooting. Our effort against Rutgers was better than in the Maryland game which I am regret to say I attended. There didn't seem to be any effort (except by Brunk) against Maryland whereas against Rutgers there was occasional effort.

The guard play was awful. Yes, Green was terrible but so were Phinisee and Durham. The problem is the coach has yet to go out and recruit shooters not to mention his offensive schemes depress movement that can generate scoring. Hopefully, they can somehow scratch out a win at Nebraska since that is probably the last opportunity to win on the road this season.