KYHoosier

Dusty May and Josh Schertz may end up being great coaches at big time universities in the future but there is no way you can convince me either are ready or qualified to become IU's next coach. Both should prove themselves in the P5 ranks as winners before they are asked to coach one of the biggest pressure cooker jobs in all of college bball. My top, realistic candidates would be Shaka Smart, Greg McDermott, Scott Drew, Chris Beard (don't agree with his character, but you at least give him an interview), and Bruce Pearl. I think IU could land one of these coaches and all could handle the job and win here. You can risk going after another unproven coach.

I will admit I was extremely disappointment when Woody was hired but he has done better than I expected him too when he was brought in. By all accounts, he seems like a very likable person outside of bball and has done well with trying to bring in high end talent and connecting with HS recruits. The thing I never understood about the hire was the fact that he put his name into consideration when we ended up hiring Archie but was never really taken serious for the position at that time. Fast forward a few years later, and he becomes the guy. Does not make any sense how he becomes so high on the list a few years later with the same qualifications outside of us panicking after Stevens said no. Additionally, he is 65 with no college coaching experience, making the hire extremely head scratching to me. Over the past few years, we have seen Woody continuously mismanage games and last night was no different. I do not see him ever taking this program on a deep run in the tournament and obviously is not the long term solution. Even if we land Queen, I do not see next year being any different than this year. If IU was serious about winning, they would move off from him this offseason. As far as the next coach of IU goes, I agree that they would not hire Beard but he would win big here. I'm not sure IU can afford to roll the dice on a guy like Dusty May. He had a nice run in the tournament last year but he has no track record of winning at a P5 school. He feels less proven than Archie did when he was hired. IU has to go out and land a coach that is already established in the college game. They have to be willing to spend the big time money it takes to land one of them.

Edey was ranked 436 best player in the nation coming out of HS. Painter has developed him into the best player in college bball for 2 consecutive years. I'd say that is a sign of a good coach. Not to mention the countless other players he has developed over the past decade. Who would you rather have as your HC, Painter or Woody? I think the answer is pretty obvious.

Not sure why any in-state HS bball player would pick IU over Purdue at this point with Woody as our HC. Painter 50x the coach Woody will ever be

Can we please try and front the post on Edey. He's just camping on the block and getting easy looks

I can't wait till Papaw is no longer our HC. He is a pathetic in game coach. Makes absolutely no sense to sit Mbako or Ware all first half when you are down 20. Let's not try and front Edey or anything. We are just letting him post up on the block. Games already over

Or how about act like a top program and go out and poach a top college coach from another program by offering them more money than there current college can. IU has the resources to pay a coach 7-8 mill a year. IU will keep struggling with finding coaches if they keep trying to find guys who are on the come up versus going out and getting a guy that is already a proven winner

Pretty evident Ware and Reneau are the only players able to consistently score on this team. This team lacks 3 point shooting, role players, good guards, and good in game coaching. We haven't had outside shooting since Crean left, that was 6 years ago. Woody is a nostalgic guy but is pretty evident he will never lead this team on a deep tourney run.

IU hasn't had a legit PG since Yogi.. coincidence they've struggled since then? Bball is a guards game now and we haven't had good ones for awhile. Hopefully Hood-Schifino is as good as they say he is.

Woody consistently makes bone head decisions in crunch time. He isn't the guy and we all know it but they'll give him 3 years. Sad thing is we will just go hire Fife and the cycle will repeat. 10 million dollar buyout for this... Pathetic Pretty sad Trayce in year 3 still cant use his right hand or hit an 18 footer.

I get that. But we swung and missed 2 times in a row trying to hire the next up and coming guy. We cant afford to take that risk again. I'd rather bet on a guy who is a proven winner in our conference, who already has an established name. We can pretend and toss out many names of who our next coach might be, but lets be realistic, Alford will likely be near the top of Dolson's list. So take your pick, who would you rather have, Alford or Matta. I would be 100% be ok with Thad Matta being the face of our program

While I agree, I also think with the right guy we could have this thing turned around in 2 years (I get this is a big if). The biggest problem with the roster, isn't that these guys are awful, it just that these players have not been developed at all by the coaching staff outside a few exceptions. Hell majority of our roster was ranked from 70-130 coming out of high school. It's not like Archie has been bringing in a bunch of Gelon's every year. He is just awful at player development. Imagine how much better of a team we'd be if Phinisee would have been developed. He is the same player he was as a freshman. Cupboard is not as bare as it seems. We have some pieces that could build a great foundation. We need to find a coach that can develop them, while also bringing in some difference makers to push us over the top. Problem is who is that guy? Im not sold on a guy like Oats yet. To me, a guy like Thad Matta would be a great hire. I get the concern about his back but he'd check a ton of boxes. Very respected in college bball, won at a high level in the BIG, and has recruited the midwest and Indiana well. If he were hired he'd immediately be a top 3-4 coach in the conference. When's the last time IU has been able to say that? Im open to other options, but never understood the Matta hate on this board. All he has ever done is win, which is something we haven't been able to do in a long time.

Never would happen, but as long as we are throwing names out there... Jay Wright would be very near the top of my wishlist. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

I try to stay as realistic as possible about my expectations for IU basketball. I really thought when Archie was hired, we found our guy that would bring success for the next 30 years. I get bad games happen, but after watching 4 years of this I’m not sure he is the answer. I’m torn on what we should do with him. Part of me thinks he can still turn this around as he is a young coach (only 42) and is still learning how to compete in a tough conference. The other part of me trusts what I see game in and game out. A team that is plagued with awful guard play, a team that can’t shoot 3s, hit free throws or even employ a semi respectable offense. A program that doesn’t seem to develop players. The big problem with Archie, is that I believe he is to stubborn to adapt. So what does IU do? All the fans calling for his head, who is your replacement? I would love for IU to act like a blue blood and go out and make a proven coach like Jay Wright the highest paid coach in CBB and pay him 10 mill/year. Problem is that’s not realistic, IU does not make those kind of moves. If Archies fired we will try and go out and hire another up and comer. We have seen how that story plays out. Unless we are replacing Archie with a guy who has won big or has been to multiple final fours, then for me personally, I’d rather continue to roll the dice with Archie and hope he can turn it around. Either way, times ticking, UNC, UK, and Duke are not far off from having to look for new coaches, so we better make sure we get our guy before they go looking. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

I’ve been in Archie’s corner for a while and truly wanted him to succeed here. Losing to Northwestern at home in year 4 should tell us all we need to know about what he’s capable of. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

Let's go!! Hats off to Anthony Leal and Trey Galloway for all of the behind the scenes recruiting I'm sure they did on Lander Can't wait to see him in Candies!

Wesley is one of favorite, if not my favorite, prospect in 2021 class. He has the size (6'5"), athleticism to play our style of D, and the scoring ability from all 3 levels that we desperately need. When you watch his highlights you can see his potential. I believe he has the game to develop into a stud for us and would be a player we'd look back and be upset we didn't get. Really hope CAM is doing everything he can to land him.

I believe the criticism of De'ron is justified, but I also think it's understandable to an extent as to why he does what he does. He has had one of the most unfortunate careers for an IU player in recent memory. High 4 star player coming out of high school, committed to a coach who was fired, enrolled late his freshman year, was hyped to be the man going into Archie's first year only to lose that role to Juwan, as well as tear his achilles, on top of numerous seasons not making the NCAA tournament. Despite the lack of production on the court, I believe he still has a large voice in the locker room. He has 2 options in my eyes: 1) Accept the role he has on the team, play smart, fundamental bball when he gets in, and help be a voice of leadership for the remainder of the season to help the team maximize its potential. OR option 2) Continue to be mad at his role on the team, play hero ball when he gets out on the floor causing him to pick up 2 quick fouls and provide no leadership. Colin Hartman faced a similar situation and we saw how he handled it. I went to my first game ever at Assembly Hall when they played Arkansas. I got their early to watch warm ups. I sat and watched De'ron shoot corner 3's for 10 minutes straight (a 50% free throw shooter) cracking jokes with teammates, while Joey and Trayce practiced free throws and post moves. This as well as other stories mentioned shows me his commitment level to the team and winning. Hope he is able to turn the corner because I think his leadership, or lack there of, could be very integral to IU's success for the remainder of the season.

Great addition and one that IU really needed. Love his game. Will be a key player on a lot of good IU teams in his career. Has a little Will Sheehey to him

I love physical basketball but these past two games have been ridiculous. Big 10 has to make some changes after the season. It’s ruining the quality of the game imo Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

Personally, I am more excited to see how the end of this season shakes out than the Keion Brooks decision. I think Keion is a great player, with a great attitude, but his recruitment has lost some luster to me as he has been in "decision mode" for the past 3 months. Do I really want Keion to be a Hoosier, yes. Do I think he'd be a big miss if we didn't get him, yes, but if he chooses to be a player coming off the bench for UK next year, over a guaranteed starter for IU, then so be it. We will move forward, so no need to get worked up over something that hasn't even happened yet.

I think some people’s opinion that Archie has hurt or not helped Romeo’s stock since he’s been at IU are dumbfounded. Romeo was projected as a top 5-10 pick before he even stepped foot on campus, and guess what... he’s still projected as a top 5-10 pick now. And let’s be honest he wasn’t going to jump any of the players projected to go in the top 3-5 so that’s a moot point. So to say Archie has hurt or hasn’t developed Romeo just isn’t accurate. I promise you if Keion doesn’t come to IU, Romeo’s development or lack there of (in some people’s opinion) will not be the reason why. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

Juwan Morgan has been awful today. His effort and energy level has been putrid. Doesn’t even look like he wants to play. If he’s not going to demand the ball on offense or play hard on defense take him out. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

I don't post too often, and have had many different thoughts and emotions about this season so far. Finally had an opportunity to sort through them and would like to offer some hard reality but also some optimism to help quell all the negativity. As much as it pains me to say it, and I'm sure as much as it pains you to read it, we are not in the same conversation as UK, KU, UNC, Duke, MSU, Nova, etc right now. It's not fair at all to compare us to them... yet. However, I absolutely still believe we can and get to that level. This process with Archie is going to take some time, and perhaps most importantly its going to take buy in from the players and us, the fans. Yes, losses have piled up this year and that's frustrating to everyone. But when I take step back and look at the big picture, there are some very encouraging things going on. Our defense is markedly better, we are turning the ball over less, and we are recruiting the hell out of this state again. I also look at Archie and it's obvious how much he cares and how bad he wants to build this program. He understands it's going to take time to build the culture that is going to lead to long, sustainable results. I believe in him and I think its time for us to all buy in cause he's not going anywhere anytime soon. I also think its time for us to stop bickering about player rankings and whether certain players are worthy of us. Its clear there is an organized plan of attack to Archie's recruiting and it's already paying off. If he continues this we will be in a great position. Do we need top, high profile, five star players...absolutely. Some have argued against one and dones, but the reality is we need them. We also need the 3-4 star program builders (AKA the Sheeheys, Hulls, Zeisloft, Watfords of the world). One of which I really believe is Leal. Kid from our own backyard, loves IU, will probably be Mr. Basketball, and most importantly has arguably the greatest skill our team lacks this year...shooting. Hell yes we need this kid. We've had a guy we picked up from the rec center starting on and off for us for two now haha. He is absolutely worthy of an offer. You have a solid core of these players (which is what Archie is building) and sprinkle in some top talent every year and you have a very solid and sustainable blueprint. Romeo has not been a pure waste just cause our team isn't very good this year. Romeo has been a symbol and ambassador for other top players when it comes to Indiana. He will continue to help garner interest from other top high school players just like he did with TJD and Keion Brooks. Top players are necessities just as much as the core 4 year players. To close, lets all take a step back from the ledge and have a little faith in Archie and this process and give it some time. If we do, I don't think we will be disappointed.

That 48" inch vertical!!!