HoosierFan1994

I'll do it like an All-American Team with honorable mentions. 1st Team Isiah Thomas Steve Alford Calbert Cheaney Scott May Kent Benson 2nd Team Quinn Buckner Mike Woodson Randy Wittman Brian Evans Alan Henderson 3rd Team Damon Bailey Jay Edwards Steve Green Ted Kitchel Steve Downing Honorable Mention AJ Guyton Bobby Wilkerson Greg Graham Eric Anderson Ray Tolbert

I think it is out of depth. If Jakai was healthy I don't think he would see the floor. Hope I am wrong. I am cool with X, Trey, and Gabe taking the bulk of the guard minutes...as long as everyone stays healthy.

He just doesn't look comfortable at all. Again, I see some potential with his game. I know in big games I don't think these two will see big minutes but my goodness they couldn't contribute against FGCU last night...The start of the year is really when you need to be playing 10 guys. We have one player using a redshirt year. Leal is Leal. That leaves 10 guys, well 9 with Sparks out. It is looking like the staff really needed to target another guard in the portal...

With Banks I can kind of see the potential. Gunn..I am sorry I just don't see it. Good news, it's one game. But they look like the same players a year ago. Agree on Reneau. He is awesome on offense but outside of that...Woodson said those three guys really needed to step up. Outside Malik on offense it was a dud performance from the 3 sophomores.

I have some faith Walker will figure it out. I'm really worried about CJ and Kaleb. Kaleb looked lost out there. CJ and his jumpshot...

Woof. That was rough. Was a little expected but with their best player out... 1) Gabe Cupps. He is the man. Lucky he is a Hoosier. 2) X-Gabe-Trey is going to be the way to go I think. Not a coincidence things got better with those three. 3) Enjoy Ware while he is here. Unique skillset. 4) Hope Mgbako learns that your ranking doesn't matter once you step foot on the court. 5) Not a promising game from Walker, Gunn, and Banks. Need more from them.

Gameday!!! So pumped. Been waiting for this since March 19. A few things 1) FGCU is no joke. Almanac had them 2nd in their league. Saw their best player is questionable. 2) Early on I am watching these three things: Can Galloway become a double figure scorer? Only did that in 9 of 32 games last year. Would be nice for that number to increase a bit. Only two games but I think he scored a total of 7 points in the exhibition. Can Malik stay out of foul trouble? If so, he is in line for a major year. Can Banks/Gunn become reliable options off the bench? I think if the answer is yes, not only does that raise the ceiling for this team but also sets the program up in better shape for the future. 3) Again..it was against not so great competition, but I was impressed by Kel'el Ware. Coming in to this year I thought he would be the 4th best player. You could argue he was the best player for IU 4) Brings me to my last point...we don't have a best player. IU has four guys who I think are capable of having a great game each night. X, Mackenzie, Malik, and Kel'el. I really like that part of this team. Go Hoosiers!

IU 79 FGCU 64

If Indiana can win that Empire Classic, the expectations are going to really change for this team.

I'll echo what many of you have said. November/December might be rough but February/March could be a lot of fun. 1) Anthony Walker is going to be a great pick up. Looks like a 6th man of the year contender in the conference. 2) LOVE Cupps. Scoring wise I don't know how big of an impact he will have this year but as far as quarterbacking the offense as well as defense he is going to be a major factor. 3) I felt like last year post X injury IU relied on offense from Trayce and Jalen. This year I think X, Mackenzie, Malik, and Kel'el are all capable of being double figure scorers. Probably the last time IU had that with four players was in 2013/2016. It's hard to take much away from these games. A little more interested this year because of all the new pieces. The first major test will be November 19. It'll be fun to see how they stack up against UConn.

Extremely sad day. I haven't had the time to come on here until now. Really enjoy reading all the stories about him. I was born in 1994 so my memories are at the tail end of his time at IU. Growing up in Indiana, the most popular man wearing red with white hair was not Santa. It was Bob Knight. My first memories of sports are sitting on my grandpa's lap to watch Bobby Knight. I remember hearing he was no longer the coach at IU and how big of a deal that was. A few of the things that really stand out to me: 1) What he accomplished at IU from 1972-1994 will never be done again in program history. 3 National Titles in 12 years. 5 Final Fours. 11 Big Ten Titles. Made the Sweet 16 a total of 14 times. 2) He really should have 5 National Titles. At least a total of four. That is a fact. Scott May in 1975. Alan Henderson in 1993. 3) 98% four year graduation rate. Unheard of. 4) Isiah was his only NBA-All Star player. Sure he had 1st round picks and solid NBA players. 5) He didn't win with 5 star recruits. Tolbert, Isiah, Edwards, Damon, and Alan were probably the best of his MDA's. He developed 3/4 stars into great players. I am so glad he was able to return to Assembly Hall in 2020. That was a great moment to see.

I always like to compare teams to what they were the following year. I look at this year's team and I think there is a huge advantage at the 2-4 spots. I expect Galloway to be better this year. I also expect Mackenzie and Malik to be well above the play of Miller and Race. Last year's team had an advantage with Jalen at the 1 and Trayce at the 5. That being said, there isn't a big drop off with Xavier and Kel'el. I think Payton Sparks will be like Malik and be a decent big off the bench. The addition of Anthony Walker will help. IU didn't really have a reliable 2nd forward off the bench. It will be nice to have a true point guard in Cupps off the bench. The biggest question will be IMO what can CJ Gunn and Kaleb Banks provide for this team. If they can be very solid role players I think this could really be a top 20 team. Thoughts? I'm probably drinking the preseason Kool-Aid with a game on Sunday but I don't think it is laughable to think IU will be better this year. November and December I think might be a little rough. I don't see us beating UConn or Kansas (sorry). What's insane is last year IU was #13 in the preseason poll. This year it would be #40 if you count receiving votes. On offense last year they really counted on Trayce and Jalen with an occasional big game from Trey, Miller, or Race. I think all 5 starters have the potential to score double figures any game.

As most of us diehards have heard, one common theme this off-season from Coach Woodson has been talking about the three sophomores and how he can't wait on them. Now is their time. While it's important to get highly ranked players, what is more important is how they perform once they arrive. The 2021 class was 0 for 2. I don't blame Woodson at all for that. Duncomb was someone he brought on for stability. Bates was just a miss by everyone. For the 2022 class Jalen was an obvious hit. However, they need the following from this class: 1) Malik to be play like one of the best players in the conference. I personally think he is a four year college player who will only get better. Not out of the question he's an All-American one day. 2) Need Kaleb Banks and CJ Gunn to develop into very solid role players. Maybe one of them become a starter eventually. I would not fall out of my chair to see Banks be a very good 6th man for this team. A successful recruiting class as a whole to me means you hit on at least half the class if not more. One thing that REALLY hurt Tom Crean was he had a ton of misses in the 2012/2013 class. That hurt IU for two years (2013-2014 and 2014-2015) after having incredible momentum from 2011-2013. The 2012 class was 1/5 (if you include Patterson) and 2013 was 3/6 for a total of 4/11. That won't cut it. Not saying this is going to happen to Coach Woodson. But it's not a good thing if Banks AND Gunn aren't contributing by the end of the year.

Not a huge drop off from TJD to Ware at the 5? At this point, I can't agree with that. Ware compared favorably to TJD as far as room protection, but other than that TJD was much better than anything Ware has shown. There's a reason TJD was a serious content for POY, or would've been if the voters hadn't already made up their minds by the end of December that it was Edey. At this time, the bench looks weaker than last year. Fair point. I just think with more talent at the 2,3, and 4 spots he will be a very solid center. Yes, he is no TJD but not a terrible replacement. I do agree this team has a higher ceiling. The 2022-2023 one was Sweet 16, especially without Xavier. I'll never forget him on defense at the end of the Michigan game. He worked his tail off.

I said this in August but he was by far the friendliest, most outgoing member of the team at the Fan Fest. I think he is a really good locker room guy. If Banks isn't healthy or not ready for the challenge, Walker will play a lot more.

I think Galloway, Leal, Sparks, and Cupps.

Sucks. Was wanting to see Kaleb. Wonder who will have more of an impact this year. Banks or Walker

I think I am on the Trey Galloway breakout season train now. I've just heard way too much from various people from Woodson to the media/people who have been at practice. If he becomes a 10 point a game kind of scorer...Can't wait for Sunday.

Maybe I'm being too optimistic but I think this is an emergency visit by the Maryland staff today. Dude was just on their campus 72 hours ago. He very well may go to Maryland but it's not a done deal. IU is a real threat. And as somebody else mentioned first, Liam gets the last visit.

I know Sweet 16's aren't and shouldn't be the standard around here, but that is exactly what this program needs right now. There is something about winning two games in the NCAA Tournament and making it to another weekend of play. I'm a believer this would have happened last year with a healthy Xavier Johnson. However, the national media is weird on who they choose to respect. Illinois has ZERO business being ranked. They have Shannon and that is it. No legit PG. Hawkins is IMO one of the most overrated players in college basketball. Bottom line: IU has to start advancing deeper in the tournament. Many feel they underachieved the last two tournaments even though Woodson won a game each year. I love Mike Woodson and what he is doing. He's made this program respectable. He just needs a deep tournament run.

I am with you on this. I think he's going to be the 4th best player on this team and possibly be the best NBA prospect of the bunch. I think he is in line for a 9 PPG, 7 RPG, 2 blocks a game kind of year. I hope we get more but I think Malik is in for such a breakout year. I think Mackenzie is going to be a pure scorer as well.

Just a guess...I think this staff is going to land a top talent PG for next year and then as a jr. Cupps will take over. He is going to have a huge impact this year and next year regardless of his role. But if this program wants to win a National Championship, they need to go after a transfer Portal PG next offseason. This year is so important for the future. How big of a jump do Trey and Malik show? Is Mackenzie really a one and done? Can Cupps and Sparks be great additions to bring off the bench? Can CJ and Kaleb contribute? I am hoping the answer is positive for a lot of those. If not, that is where we might be in trouble.

I said yesterday that it would be disappointing to only land Liam in 2024. They need to do everything they can to land Derik Queen. I believe this staff did everything they could for Fland. I'm just wondering about not having a backup option. I am high on Gabe Cupps and Newton if he can stay healthy. It's just upsetting to have thoughts of a Top 5 freshman class and end up with maybe just one player. That being said... 1) I said this over the summer. As much as I wanted all 3 guys, I didn't want a starting lineup of 3-4 freshmen next year. I think two is enough. I no longer think you can win a National Title with one and dones. Next year is the last Covid year. There will still be some 24/25 year olds playing college basketball. 2) I HAVE to think that IU is going to be a prime location for a Point Guard in the transfer portal. Here were some of the top PG's in the portal this spring: Max Abmas, Ryan Nembhard, Ace Baldwin, RayJ Dennis, Kerr Kiirsa. There are going to be some options for this staff this spring. Woodson was capable of landing Xavier Johnson. Remember, X chose IU have the the Champs (Baylor) and Final Four Team (Houston) in 2021. That was before he even coached a game here. He can point to JHS development. A big year from X will only help... 3) I think right now IU has three starters on the roster for next year...Trey at the 2, Liam at the 3, Malik at the 4, maybe 5 spot. Maybe Mackenzie comes back but that is TBD. Point Guard is going to be the #1 option. I like Sparks, but I have no idea if he can be a starting level big man at this level. I do think he can be a solid rotational piece. I also like Gabe Cupps. Add in a healthy Jakai Newton those aren't bad options. Let's see what CJ and Kaleb bring this year. EDIT 4) Last but not least, this program has to win. Period. They won't get too many more 5 star level players if they can't go any further in the NCAA Tournament. Woodson has done an incredible job of not making us a joke anymore. Next step, is to start winning B1G Championships and some deep March runs. Fland was the player I wanted most for this class. This miss flat out sucks because I know how bad this program and the fans wanted him.

Me too. He's been by #1 all along. This one sucks.

This is a kick in the gut for sure. As I said earlier, I am happy the staff went all in. However, I do think there should have been back up plans they prioritized. Queen isn't a must get by any means, but it's a major disappointment to land just 1 of these 3. They're capable of hitting the portal but this one stings.