JimBobJimmyBob

Hey Hardwood, I'm really sorry for overreacting myself. Hugs all around, we're all zealous IU fans. When I was younger, I was way too emotionally invested in IU hoops. I used to swear I was going to die of a heart attack during an IU basketball game. I just lived and died by the Hoosiers, and it wasn't healthy. I now live in a town with a D3 school that has pretty good athletics. I've gotten to know a lot of the kids that play for the school, and I watch how these kids work their butts off to play a game they love (and in the case of D3 don't even get a scholarship to play). They are amazing kids, and knowing them enriches my life. When I watch them play, I can start to get worked up over some dumb turnover or, even worse, missed free throws....then I think, wait a minute, I know Jack, and that kid works his butt off day in and day out and loves this game as much as any kid I've ever met. So the whole 'character' reference just set me off. But I get where you're coming from. We can all agree these last few games have been subpar performances, but I think it's a dang good sign that we could have a subpar performance and win by 14 (and be a tip-in or a horrible call away from being 6-0). Last year's team didn't have that kind of resilience -- we were losing to ISU and IPFW instead. The trajectory of the program is in the right direction overall, I think.

Understood, and apologies. I’m just incensed by calling the character of teenagers into question over a mediocre performance in a game. It’s reprehensible and unbecoming of IU fans, IMHO.

You’ve missed the plot entirely. If, for WHATEVER reason, you see fit to call the CHARACTER of the kids into account over a sub-par performance — and maybe even if they just weren’t hustling 100% of the time as much as you in your infinite wisdom thought they should be — then I’d invite you to go have intercourse with yourself and find another school more suited to your own character. Personally, I have no doubt these kids work their butts off — day in, day out — harder than most of us can understand. And I say that as a guy who used to work 90-hour weeks regularly. If they start showing up in the police reports, or running over each other with cars, or wearing Purdue shirts, then I’ll consider whether there might be character concerns. But over a bad game or two? That’s asinine.

If you’re watching some kids play a game, during which they make some bad passes, or miss some shots, or otherwise don’t play their best for one reason or another and decide that that it’s a reason to question their “character,” then you’re an insufferable ******-nozzle that I’m embarrassed to have associated with my alma mater in any way. All it takes is a little effort to listen to any of these kids get interviewed, or just look a little bit into how they act, how they treat other people, their presence in the Bloomington community to understand their character. Overall, the team didn’t play well tonight. I shouted a few expletives at the screen. There were plenty of boneheaded plays against a team they should have run out of the gym. So be it. Plenty of coaching opportunities. We have a young, battered team with a still-new coach with only 4 (active) players that he actually recruited to play in his system. The complete lack of patience, the insufferable demands for what we as fans are “entitled” to because we won 5 national championships more than 30 years ago is just disgusting. Barely a week ago we ran a ranked team off the floor, shutting down their high-octane offense, but that’s not good enough for people after some less-than-ideal performances. Ugh.

Good god, our fan base makes me shake my head sometimes. [emoji849]

I think the optimism about Phinisee is well-deserved. Kid is a baller for sure.

It's hard to believe BTN can get away with charging for coverage of this quality. Yikes.

If they keep this up, Romeo will have to reclassify to 2019 because next season will be over before he announces. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

Those cheerleaders are going to have neck problems from those gigantic ribbons. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

Less than 12 hours now... This thread is pure insanity, so I had to be part of it. Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners

OK, you sell a ton of #11 IU basketball jerseys. Who gets a percentage? Devonte Green? Dane Fife? Dan Dakich? Isaiah Thomas? Todd Jadlow? Yogi Ferrell? Errek Suhr? The 17 other guys who have worn #11 for IU basketball?

UK will never have someone like Yogi, because players like Yogi are classy and literate.

Good god, can you imagine how tan he'd be? (EDIT: Just saw Brass Cannon beat me to the joke, dammit.)

Photo of the "crowd" retweeted by ChronicHoosier. This is f!@#ing pathetic by the students.

Good god, our ability to go ice cold is astounding.