KzooHoosier82

Thanks for the info. Can’t hurt having 5 scholarship guys at this position especially with how young we are. Will also be curious to see if Pechac is able to earn some carries this season. If Cam added 10lbs in the off season he’ll be absolutely frightening at LB. He’s a kid who can lay some wood on opponents and can fly to the ball. I was actually kind of hoping to see him at strong safety this season and have a Bob Sanders-esc guy back there but I know Burgess should be really good also.

These kids weren’t in the same recruiting class and there’s zero reason we couldn’t have taken both. Leaving out the obvious point that one of the kids mentioned has over 20 starts for a BigTen program that has out performed IU the past two seasons and the other has yet to play a single minute. Perhaps we should wait for Hunter to get on the court before making such statements. Leal is a top target who’s been heavily recruited by Archie, not a local kid who was overlooked and went elsewhere. Not landing him would be a bad look regardless of who he can sign otherwise. That being said I would completely understand why a kid from Indiana would want to spend 4 years in California at one of the top universities in the world.

I was kinda hoping Winters was going to play defense given his size/athleticism and our young depth at RB. Any talk of him making that switch? Hearing him in interviews he seems to really enjoy getting after people

Is he quick enough to move over to WR? I know Allen loves tall receivers. It would be quite a body transformation for him to bulk up to TE status. So tough to tell with kids this age.

In terms of landing top talent kids who are being offered by top 25 programs. I don’t really care much about the rankings. If a kid has offers from Nebraska, ND, Iowa and Michigan, those are the recruitments I want our program to win over (whether they are rated 100 or 1500). When a kid’s next best offer is Georgia State and Miami of Ohio there’s usually a reason. Sure some pan out but that’s the exception, not the rule. I think a winning season this year will greatly improve the depth of our next couple classes, where we are turning kids down, not taking on unknown projects and sitting around with empty scholarships.

I expect this class to be a disappointment compared to the last two. We need a winning season to show HS prospects that this coaching staff and program are legit. Do that and the 2021 class should be top 25 and coming into a squad with a ton of veteran talent.

Confidence in baseball is everything. When the entire team comes to bat knowing they own the guy in the mound, there’s nothing like it. The ball is twice as big, it’s always right over the plate and you’re always finding a gap. I don’t think Michigan is better than these teams from a talent perspective, but right now they obviously do and they are playing like it.

You’re literally making stuff up to fit your narrative. Cross has nothing to do with Archie missing out on Morton nor is Cross ranked significantly higher than Leal. Only one recruiting service has improved their ranking of him and no one can honestly argue they know how/why 247 arrived at that ranking. Galloway’s stock is on the rise and I expect his ranking will improve accordingly. And no, I don’t agree that Cross is better than Leal or Galloway. If your opinion is we need 6’6 power forwards with no outside shot or athleticism for 2020 then by all means go all in for Cross. I’ll keep my expectations firmly planted where they are.

My opinion of Cross was based on his attributes (position, size, athletic ability, outside shot). My only comment on the ranking was the optics of such after having just been rejected by Morton. I couldn’t care less where he’s ranked. We need guards who can shoot and distribute. This guy wont see the floor until his junior year if ever...assuming he even comes to IU. “Rankings aren’t everything” but his recent rise in 247’s rankings were literally your only argument as to why you disagreed with my original post. As it stands he’a in Syracuse, UConn and Boston College’s backyard and doesn’t have an offer from any of em. Boy I sure hope Archie can find a way to out recruit UMass and Penn St. FOH...

I said the optics of losing out on a kid who was supposedly his top target to Purdue of all schools, then to move in on a kid who’s ranked out of the top 200 and doesn’t fill any current need looks desperate,...and I stand by that. Just because one ranking site all the sudden thinks this kid is a top 100 talent based presumably on the fact that he’s the best player on an awful AAU team doesn’t change my statement then, nor does it impact my opinion now. I’m sure Cross is a heck of a kid and could be a solid four year role player at IU but with only two guaranteed open scholarships, coupled with the fact that this kid says he wants to commit before the start the of season, I would think Archie would be going full court press on Love, Leal and/or Galloway. As I stated before, my opinion is we should focus on Love and Leal and if we have room for a kid like Cross take him down the road.

Guess it depends on what (if anything) we do to close out 2019, which will dictate how much room we have in 2020. If we fill the last two spots with anyone but grad transfers then we can only take two in 2020.

I hope you’re right. My thought is we can take a kid like this anytime so if he wants to commit in the summer, good for him but it shouldn’t be here.

Blind optimism won’t benefit anyone. I know the 2020 class was never going to be “epic” but I would have thought our staff would be focusing more on guys who fill actual needs like Caleb Love, securing Leal’s committment and if we have room find potential diamond in the rough like this kid. Losing out on our top target in Morton to our arch rival then taking a kid outside the top 200 sends a negative message to potential recruits, imo. Looks desperate

A 6’6 power forward with no hops or post moves, who shoots 30% from beyond the arc and is a volume scorer on a terrible team...hard pass.

How so? The more I think about it, the more I wonder if it was LSU or Memphis the entire time and the only reason IU made its way into conversation was because of the Will Wade issues. To me that was the only way he comes here and its more out of necessity because Memphis filled up and LSU needed a new coach, rather than him really wanting to be here. I don’t necessarily think we need another addition for next season so my preference would be to shut it down and focus on 2020. I don’t like seeing IU getting involved in recruitments late only to see us lose out.

Not buying “a” player. Complaining about how difficult it has been to buy a player when it was so much easier to buy the other players. This is a bad look and a decision I think Trendon and his family will go on to regret. Either way, good luck to him.

The purists don’t want to admit it but I bet you’re right. We too often assume just because we thing something is shady, cheating or immoral that the families of these kids agree. It probably more likely that they justify taking things in whatever way they need to because they don’t care about the rules just as many of us break laws we don’t think are “that big of a deal”

Yeah, that’s definitely a curious case. I could see the NCAA going after them to send a message to everyone else. They don’t want to bust UK, Kansas, UNC and Duke. But Memphis means nothing to them, has a record thanks to Cal and Penny is a newcomer who hasn’t paid his dues. He is primed to be made an example of.

Someone help me understand why a kid of Watford’s caliber, and given how widely respected his family is, would rather play on a team where the coach is on tape admitting to paying kids while not getting paid than follow his brother to IU? He knows his future teammates are getting and/or had received money. He knows there’s a chance his coach could be fired before he steps on campus if the NCAA finds a way to prove it. Who here would take a job at a company that is known for breaking laws and shady, dealings while you know for a fact that your coworkers are getting extra benefits you won’t get because you have moral fiber? If he indeed is not coming to IU, one of two things (in my opinion) are true, he’s going to stay home and play at Alabama or he’s been bought and the Watford’s aren’t who we thought they were. I hate to even say that but none of us would have been ok with Romeo keeping Louisville on his final list through commitment. It would have been a very bad look and Watford keeping ties with LSU at this stage is exactly that whether he chooses them or not.

They had a full 13 man scholarship roster last year not including Jayden who is a walkon. 5 graduated and two transferred to open up 7 spots. They’ve now got 8 coming in and allegedly aren’t done (although I can’t see all his commits sticking around if he continues to take more guys). So as of today, Penny has to convince one more kid to leave just to take all the commitments he has.

I didn’t mean to imply that I don’t think he’s good because he absolutely is. I just don’t think he’s a one and done talent and frankly will need to improve quite a bit if he’s going to be drafted period. He’s never been the best player on his HS or AAU teams much less a sure fire one and done. He needs a ton of work in all aspects of his game to realize that potential and he won’t get that at Kentucky. I suspect he’ll see some playing time as a freshman but not enough then get completely recruited over with legit one and dones, see his minutes fade away then transfer somewhere. Again, hope I’m wrong but I haven’t seen anything yet shows me he’s a star with a sure fire NBA career ahead of him.

You might be right and I’m rooting for Brooks to succeed. I’d have no problem admitting I was wrong if he turns out to be a better/more productive college player then I think he will be but I don’t see his game translating like others do. If I had to put money on it, I’d say his talent is much more in line with Troy Williams at this stage than a Kawhi Leonard or Miles Bridges (neither of whom were one and done but probably could have been). Can’t wait to see what he does though.

Phin, TJD, Green are all starters next year. If Hunter is healthy and the player everyone says he is then he’s starting which leaves the 5 spot open for Davis/Brunk. I didn’t say he wouldn’t start at IU but I’m in no way convinced he would. A case could be made to move TJD to the 5 and let Brooks start at the 4 but he wants to play the 3 and he isn’t the shooter Hunter is so it would be Hunter’s job to lose. 99% Brooks is a starter on IU’s squad is in my opinion a much hotter take than my comment.

Do people think he’s one and done because of his actual talent and NBA potential or because he and his family make it painfully obvious that this is the plan or bust? Brooks has benefited greatly from having teammates like Stewart and TJD. Without those guys I’m very confident he would have been rated in the 40-55 range and considered a four year college prospect. He’s simply not that impressive in terms of creating his own shot and shooting in general. He was the beneficiary of having very talented low post teammates who attracted a TON of attention every time they touched the ball. He won’t start at UK nor am I convinced he would start at IU for that matter. I’d love to have him here but I don’t think he has a chance in hell to be a one and done and frankly he may be the most overrated prospect I’ve watched in a very long time.