LamarCheeks

I predict he will make his decision either today or tomorrow!!!

This, from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. It was about Morgan and Carsen Edwards and their draft prospects. (Forgrave is Reid Forgrave, an NBA and college basketball writer for CBS Sports). I have not seen anything that has Morgan getting drafted. That didn't stop JBJ and Troy Williams from staying in the draft, however. Selfishly, I'd love to see him back -- because he can only get better and he can be the leader of what could be a really good team. I guess we'll know in a couple days ... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morgan faces a slightly different calculus as he tries to decide whether he'll return to Indiana. Unlike Edwards, the forward was not invited to the combine. The junior's name doesn't appear on mock drafts and he was “only” a second-team All-Big Ten player in 2017-18, not one of the best players in the country as Edwards was. Morgan's list of accomplishments includes leading a 16-15 Indiana team in scoring at 16.5 points per game and averaging 7.4 rebounds. He also blocked 1.4 shots per game, demonstrating his two-way ability. “He's kind of in one of those positions where he's very good at a lot of things, but not great at anything,” said Nick Baumgart, who runs HoosierBreakdown.com and has coached in Indiana for 15 years. “So he's almost kind of like that 4A baseball player at this point.” Forgrave was more blunt about Morgan's draft stock this season. “I haven't heard anything about him, which probably tells you something,” he said. Baumgart said Morgan could play himself into being a draft pick next season if he improves his 3-point shooting – the 6-foot-8 forward shot 30.2 percent last season – and becomes a better athlete. If Morgan does decide to return for another season, the Hoosiers, who also added one of the best recruiting classes in the country, will likely open the season in the Top 25. Baumgart is bullish on the team's outlook in that scenario. “If he comes back, 1 to 13 (on the roster), they're absolutely loaded,” he said. “I'm looking at Elite Eight (in that case). I don't want to go so far as Final Four, ... but I think Elite Eight is very very attainable for them.”

RIP, coach ... There aren't many highlights from more than 100 years of IU football, but you're responsible for about 90 percent of them ... I'll never forget watching the Michigan State game at my IU apartment in 1987, knowing that if we won, we were headed to the Rose Bowl. ... I figured it was a longshot (particularly because our QB1 was out because of an appendectomy), but I couldn't believe that with just one win, WE WOULD GO TO THE ROSE BOWL! Thanks for the memories, Bill. Rest in peace -- you've earned it. Prayers to your family.

Gorski's homer went about 20 rows up.

Holy crap! I cannot believe we won that game. We were a dead-@$$ team for the first 5-6 innings today. And for all of last night.

Only have one word to describe our B1G tourney performance thus far (though 14.5 innings): Pathetic. Maybe "embarrassing" is a better word? There's still time to turn it around, but from the sleepy effort we've put forth though a game and a half, I'm not holding my breath.

Very saddened to see this. I was in school from 1986-91 (I was on the five-year plan) when we were pretty doggone good in football. Bill Mallory was the reason why. Getting Dave Schnell and Anthony Thompson to commit was a pretty big coup and got us on the way to being relevant in the B1G -- for a few years anyway. Prayers to Bill and his family.

I think allowing draft-eligible non-seniors to enter the draft, then return to school if they don't get a good evaluation or don't think they'll get drafted, is a good idea. But the timing of the deadline needs to be re-evaluated. I'm guessing most players have an idea of what they'll do and most coaches have an idea of what those players will do, but May 30 is way, way too late for a program to be learning if a player will come back or not. Why can't they have all this decided by April 30? That might be a tad early, but still, it's better than like it used to be: Either you're in, or your're out. I've read coaches complaining about this deadline, and I don't blame them. What if you have a kid who you think will stay in the draft, so you award his scholarship -- then he decides to come back? You've oversigned -- a problem. Conversely, what if you have a kid who you think will return, so you keep his scholarship open -- and possibly miss out on a talented grad transfer or other unsigned player -- then he decides to stay in the draft? You're left holding the bag. Having an open scholarship isn't always a bad thing, but since there are 13 (down from 15 -- what it used to be), you want to make sure you are making full use of the resources available. May 30 is not a optimal time to be looking for players. This, of course, is all just my opinion. But I think it really makes it tough on coaches and programs with a deadline this late.

Seriously? We blow two routine plays and give up three runs. That's probably the ball game right there. Welcome to the losers' bracket.

I saw today that a South Carolina forward pulled out of the draft, while a Georgia Tech guard decided to stay in. ... I'm thinking we should be learning something fairly soon regarding Juwan.

It's difficult to say for this upcoming season, because I'm not sure what we'll have (Juwan? A healthy/unhealthy DeRon? How good will the freshmen -- other than Romeo -- be?), but basing it on last season, I can't give you a specific name, but my decision would be simple: I'd have found the best 3-point shooter in the B1G and been more than happy to add him to our roster. ... Our outside shooting was atrocious last season. I can't remember how many nights we were 6 for 24 or 3 for 19 -- something like that -- when just converting 3 or 4 of those misses would have made a difference. And you have to figure a good 3-point shooter is gonna be good from the free throw line, too. If we had a consistent shooter, we'd have beaten Duke (missed 16 3s and 10 FTs).

Here's an interesting take. It's IU-centric, but FWIW ... https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/the-real-question-why-is-rick-pitino-talking-to-the-media-about-romeo-langford/

Lunardi needs to update his bracketology after we added Romeo and Fitzner. I have to know right now where we will be seeded come March! LOL!

LOL! Nope. Sorry -- that would've made for a much better story. She's just Polly from the block.

So, here's an odd story that has nothing to do with anything, but I thought I'd post here. My dog (she's a big IU fan -- pictured below) and I were on our usual daily walk at our favorite park when an unleashed dog ran up to us. He was friendly, and after exchanging a couple sniffs with my dog, kept following us as we made our way along the trail. Later on, I could see and barely hear (I had my iPod on) someone across the small lake calling him. He wouldn't go, and instead kept following me and my dog (I think he was attracted to her!). Anyway, he stuck by us and wouldn't go back to his owner. So I finally turned around and started back around the lake toward his owners. Luckily, he followed and pretty soon, ran up to his humans and got his leash back on. His name? Romeo!

Looking back to our last NCAA title, the late, great Darryl Thomas was a McD's All-American, but for some reason, Steve Alford was not. Hard to imagine -- he averaged nearly 38 points a game his senior season at New Castle. ... I have no idea what star ranking they had -- or if those even existed back then (would've been 1983). ... BTW, Freddie Banks was a McD's AA, too. Remember him? Just when it looked as if we had Vegas put away in the 1987 national semis, Freddie started hitting crazy 3's. Made us really sweat that one out. FWIW, here's a link to that team. Can you imagine Marshall or Austin Peay getting a burger boy today? Wow. https://basketball.realgm.com/highschool/mcdonalds/rosters/1983

I'm gonna guess No. 2 ... He wore No. 1 at New Albany (which is taken by Durham) and No. 22 during his AAU days (which is taken by Moore). ... So he can grab No. 2. And by doing so, what better way to pay homage to Josh Newkirk? LOL!

May 30 is the deadline. But hopefully we don't have to wait that long to find out what Juwan is doing. Last year, the deadline was May 24 and we learned on or around May 16 that RoJo was coming back.

IU basketball put out this tweet just a while ago. Hard to tell from a photo, but DeRon still looks in relatively decent shape to me -- at least it doesn't look as if he's put on a bunch of weight since his injury. I'm sure he's got a long, long way to go before he's healed and in basketball shape, but still ...

I'm gonna share a little advice from Aaron Rodgers for all those getting all huffy about what's being said on other fan boards or what people are writing about Romeo and/or IU or his dad: R-E-L-A-X. (And as a Bears fan for 40-plus years, it pains me to quote Aaron Rodgers). Go back and read what was said here about Darius Garland after he picked Vanderbilt. Or read all the mud slinging at Bryce Drew and Bill Self. It's all gonna be OK. Don't worry about what they're writing on other fan boards -- why even go there anyway?. What did you expect them to write? Just enjoy the moment. Let it go. We just got the No. 5 player overall in the country -- and No. 1 at his position. And just a few months ago, we weren't even on his radar. Kudos to Archie and his staff for a remarkable effort. I'm pretty damn excited about next season.

A video of the fellas doing some hot yoga -- 102 degrees. Not sure when it was shot, but Juwan is included ...

And that was after he committed, then de-committed. ... I was sure once he bailed, he wouldn't be back.

Considering what hopefully will happen tonight, here's a somewhat appropriate tribute to Archie, Romeo and IU hoops. It's a blast from the past (1982). Romeo Void's "Never Say Never." ... OK, the lyrics might not exactly make sense to this situation, but look at it this way: Months ago, hardly anybody thought Langford would end up at IU, but Archie said, "Never say never." ... And the band's title is more than fitting because Romeo not only fills a void on IU's roster, but hopefully going forward, will help us fill the void of the past few years of missing out on the state's top talent ...

I fully expect Romeo to deliver his decision thustly: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. "It ain't Kansas or Vandy. Baby, it's IU." or "Roses are red. Potatoes are starchy. "Don't wanna play for Bill or Bryce. It's all about Archie." or "Roses are red. Bozo's a clown. "Who wants Lawrence or Nashville? I'm goin' to B-Town." or "Roses are red. I ain't got no gripes. "My wardrobe of choice? Those sweet Candy Stripes." Drops mic.

And what did Dorothy keep saying? "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." ... Which is exactly what Romeo will say Monday night when he decides to stay in the Hoosier State. ... I'm sure of it. I think. Sorta. Maybe.