ray

So, what you’re saying is Indiana is a title contender? I don’t think so, but based on your post... Rob - 44% Hunter - 44% Al misses the mark at 37%, but I’m guessing you already knew that. Race is still shooting 50%, but he won’t be shooting many.

1986, most likely. 1987 is when they introduced the three-point line. If so, then that would be Louisville.

Smart play by Franklin. Unfortunately, the refs aren’t on point.

I hope they don’t call a foul on IU while they’re at the monitors.

Did Al sleep with your girlfriend or wife? You have so much hate for him. It’s endless. Yes, he makes mistakes. All the players do. He always plays with heart and effort though. Dang.

Oh, that’s right. You predicted it too when you said Leal would start in his place.

Wow.

Archie is out coaching so far this half. Appears to have been some good game planning at half-time. Hopefully they keep it up.

It better be 39-38 after this timeout. Rob was CLEARLY behind the line.

The most promising play of the game for me tonight so far was a missed shot, but holy crap Rob showed some extreme aggressiveness attacking that rim. Loved it. TJD isn’t hurt, but watching him sit on the court for 20 seconds still placed a lot of scary thoughts in my mind. Seeing Al playing and seemingly without much concern for his ankle is a relief. Lander gets way too upset anytime things don’t go his way. If he’s disappointed in himself, then I’m okay with that as it suggests he’s expecting more from himself...but it often seems like he is upset with others who had nothing to do with his errors. He’s young. Franklin is a solid rebounder and contributor this year. He and Race have showed significant improvement and impressed me thus far in the season. IU still sucks at shooting from the perimeter. Defense looks solid. Josh may not even remember the second half.

Agreed, and hopefully they have 5 rebounds each already.

When you feel comfortable with your maintenance schedule with the chiropractor, then you might consider adding yoga and/or pilates (slow and easy movements at first for an extended period of time before progressing). They are both quite helpful from my experience. This may or may not be true for your condition, but any work on your core strength (if you aren't completely incapacitated) is useful. I visited Summit Physical Therapy in Fort Wayne for several months. Andreas Lohmar is the only certified McKenzie Method therapist in the area. That was probably the most relief I've ever experienced. Unfortunately, it was expensive and my insurance wouldn't cover any of it. I guess they would prefer I seek disability rather than seek help. So, I continue to work...often times with a lot of pain. My issue began long ago (long before I felt any of the symptoms) after what seemed at the time to be a minor spinal injury from a middle school football practice. That incident caused small fractures in my spine (which were never identified or treated at the time because I was young and got right back at it after a few days rest) and over the years has continued to cause nerve damage, a lot of pain, and plenty of frustration. I manage to function and be productive, but it doesn't take much to knock me out for a few days time.

I don't know if I have a top 5 of all time, and I will admit I went nearly 20 years without a tv by choice, but the following shows are incredible in my opinion. I was surprised three of these were never mentioned. Money Heist Dark Ozark You Breaking Bad EDIT: Some others I really enjoyed: (in no particular order) Mindhunter Hip-Hop Evolution Broadchurch The Haunting of Hill House Stranger Things The Office The Sopranos Black Mirror The Umbrella Academy Master of None Locke and Key Love New Girl Atypical Russian Doll Some shows I still want to see: Our Planet Peaky Blinders Shameless Arrested Development It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Maniac Narcos Daredevil Dexter Ratched The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

Having dealt with back issues much of my adult life, I can assure you it takes very, very little to aggravate it again which only sets you back that much farther. It is especially easy to be set yourself back if you attempt to take too many steps forward too early. The slightest seemingly safe movement can incapacitate you and immediately drop you to your knees. I would guess even if they thought Joey could play a few minutes off and on during this game, they still know it would likely mean he would miss even more games going forward. Not having two senior captains on the road against a ranked team is concerning, as is the ridiculous length of this roster. (2) 7'1" (1) 6'11" (2) 6'9" (3) 6'8" (3) 6'6" (3) 6'5" (1) 6'4" (2) 6'3" (1) 6'2" (1) 6'1" 1,493" As a comparison (Indiana's roster) (1) 6'11" (1) 6'9" (1) 6'8" (1) 6'7" (2) 6'6" (1) 6'5" (3) 6'4" (1) 6'3" (3) 6'2" (2) 6'1" 1,225"

I agree, and I saw Armaan pull Lander aside twice to chat when he was showing frustration as well. There's a good chemistry with this team, and players such as Lander who likely expected things to be much easier will benefit from players on the court willing and able to calm him and keep his young perspective on point.

It is still way too early. The teams IU has played this early in the season are superior to last season's opponents (Western Illinois, Portland State, North Alabama, and Troy) at this point in the schedule, but the Big Ten will be brutal again this year and IU has yet to face any conference foes. The last season's totals are based off all games on their schedule vs only four opponents for this season. Therefore, any of this below is pretty useless to gauge improvement...but, stats don't lie and it's the only pure data we have to compare the two seasons beyond the "eye test". In my early opinion, it seemed IU was playing better defensively. The stats seem to indicate this may be true. (+) Field goal percentage defense has improved to 38% from 42% last season. (+) Three point fg percentage defense is 23.0% compared to 32.2% a year ago. (+) Scoring defense has improved to 61.5 compared to 66.7 last season. (+) 5.0 blocks per game compared to 4.4 last year. (-) Steals have dropped to 5.0/game compared to 5.6/game last season. At first glance I thought the offense had improved at least marginally. The stats may also suggest the offense has improved slightly. They played one of the best defensive teams and a possible borderline top ten team in Texas already, but again, the Big Ten will be much more challenging than any of the other teams they've faced thus far. (+) Turnovers per game are down about 1.5 this season with an assist to turnover ration of 1.42 compared to 1.02 last season. (+) Field goal percentage has increased to 46% compared to 44% last season. (-) Three point percentage has dropped to 29.31% compared to 32.6% a season ago. (=) Free throw percentage is the same at 68%. (+) Pts/game up to 72.8 compared to 71.4 a season ago. (-) The rebounding margin for last season was plus 5.6 whereas this season thus far it's plus 0.2. (+) Turnover margin is plus 3.5 this season compared to minus 0.3 last year. (+) Scoring margin is plus 11.3 compared to plus 4.7 last season. How much (if at all) the team has improved is still a question. My best guess at this point is they'll likely finish someplace in the 5-10 spot in the Big Ten (that's how little we know yet and how deep the Big Ten is), and I expect some lopsided losses against teams far more talented (Illinois, for instance looks scary good and deep). Perhaps IU steps up and plays better against teams rated above them, which isn't too uncommon for Indiana teams of the past, and perhaps they'll play down to others? Who knows? Can they end in the top 5? My guess is they won't finish there, but anything is possible. It is FAR too early to tell. And with Covid the relevance of this team vs last season's team or the strength of the Big Ten vs last year's Big Ten may prove to be moot points, as IU may benefit from another team's testing or vice versa. I still believe IU will make it into the tourney this year (if there is one) based on at least an average record in this year's best conference. If that indeed happens, is this team better than last year's team which would have also played in the tournament, albeit by eking out one or two additional must-win games? If this year's team ends the regular season and finds themselves out of the conversation of bubble talk, then I would say the team has improved considering the Big Ten is seemingly stronger this year than last. I believe the roster is better built this season. I also like the hustle and effort of a number of the players. The team also appears to have a better connection and chemistry. I hope they shock me and finish better than top 5 in the Big Ten, but I've seen Illinois and Michigan State play so far. They will be two monumental challenges for IU, and I highly doubt they'll be the only. Wisconsin and Purdue have owned Indiana for some time now, and I don't think there's much question as to whether either of those teams have improved from last season. Iowa always has someone shoot lights out from behind the arc and drop 30 on us, and they have the best player in the nation. And then there's Michigan, Ohio State, Rutgers, Maryland...whew! It could be a long season. Hopefully IU makes it an exciting one too.

Franklin stuffed the stat sheet. 3 turnovers, but I’ll accept it considering he was playing aggressive and played all 40 mins in the third game in three days. 13 points , 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block (5-6 from the line as well), while tasked with guarding a likely NBA lottery pick and holding him to a 1-10 performance. Race stuffed the stat sheet with a monster of a game as well. 6-7 from the field, 1-1 from 3, 2-2 from the line for 15 pts, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks. Trayce played like we expect from him and had something to prove. Shot well from the line too. Phinissee had too many turnovers (5) after two great performances without one, but he hit a couple threes to feed the hungry. Lander still has some work to put in and some adjustments to make...poor shooting and a couple turnovers, but he did have 3 blocks and 4 assists. Leal got some run and Geronimo didn’t. I’m surprised and happy to see Al shooting in pregame. Overall, a good game. IU’s defense was impressive in Maui/Asheville...three good defensive performances. It’s still the offense that needs work, but two games showed signs of improvement from last year. At least Indiana didn’t lose to the second place team...they were beat by the 2020 Maui champs. Walton talked with Hornsby for what seemed like at least half of one of the two halves. The rest of the time he talked about anything and everything, a good bit of which was unrelated to basketball.

I heard something about the odds makers learned Durham would finally be benched for a far superior Leal. That may have swayed their predictions. This is all just hearsay, of course. Just a friendly tease LCS, and not at all meant to be a jab on Leal.

I stumbled upon this today. I guess he's been doing these since some point last season. I thought some of you might enjoy them. I apologize if this has already been posted elsewhere. https://iufilmroom.com/2020-21/indiana-vs-providence-11-30-2020/ About IU Film Room Tony Adragna is the guy behind the curtain. Tony is a 2013 Sports Broadcasting grad from Indiana University. While at IU, Tony spent a lot of time around the basketball program and broadcast some of their games for BTN and WIUX. Upon graduation, Tony became a basketball coach at his alma mater (Southport High School), where he played for the Cardinals through high school. Mixing a bit of media, IU hoops, and X’s and O’s checks all of the boxes for Tony. Thus, IU Film Room was born.

Mike Schumann @ The Daily Hoosier @daily_hoosier Somewhat lost in the much deserved Race Thompson praise was this combined line from upperclassman starting guards Rob Phinisee and Al Durham yesterday: 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting, 8 assists with 0 turnovers. That will win you most games. #iubb Well said, Mike.

Nice article about today’s MVP. https://www.insidethehall.com/2020/11/30/the-perspective-behind-race-thompsons-dominant-afternoon/

I'm a huge fan myself. This article from NPR pretty much sums up Big Star. And interestingly, you also mentioned Lou Reed. This article begins with a mention of The Velvet Underground, of which I'm also a super huge fan. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123270136

I am in complete agreement that free throws should be a positive part of anyone's game at this level. I also agree that TJD will be at the line a lot (whether he proves to be decent or terrible at the line, he will still go there a ton) and, because of that, whether he makes or misses them will more than likely determine some closer games. My point wasn't for you to remain calm and ignore anything. It drives me nuts too. I was merely pointing out that it wasn't a team full of players who missed a ton of free throws. It was four. That is still too many and concerning, but it wasn't the entire roster. Al was 0-2. I doubt his FT percentage will drop considerably from last year when he was the best free throw shooter on the team (albeit 81% led the team). His percentage has increased each year at IU (71.4 Freshman - 74.0 Sophomore - 81.1 Junior). Geronimo was 0-2. I don't know what Geronimo's stats for free throw shooting were in high school. Race Thompson was 1-4 or 25% compared to 66% last year (which was still below where I wish it was). TJD was 6-11. He shot nearly 70% last year, which isn't necessarily great, but it's not the 54% he shot last night. It's also near the average of NBA (73%) and above the average for NCAA (69%). Only two others shot free throws and were perfect. Armaan Franklin was 2-2 and Trey Galloway was 1-1. Those four were 7-19, which is abysmal. The other two were 3-3, which is perfect. I have said it many times before...I wish we had the shot doctor back. Unfortunately, Tim Buckley is an assistant at UNLV now after leaving the Timberwolves. With that said, though, it appears the team isn't too far behind the rest of the NCAA. Three returning players for IU shot below the NCAA average last year from the line (Armaan shot 61.5% - Race shot 65.9% - Joey shot 66.7%). If the NCAA average is 69%, then as a team IU was below average at 67.3% last year. And, so were IU's opposing teams in games played against them at 68.1%. Now, I'm not saying we should be average...and last night's percentage was WAY below average...hence the wishes for a Buckley return. However, in defense of the staff there now, each player has in fact improved each year while at IU. Let's hope that continues...and sooner than later, as well as more significantly than before.

I’m watching the Wisconsin game. All players are spaced at least 6’ apart on the benches. Yet, once they are on the court they’re huddling up and locking arms at each stop in play. Hmmm. I guess I’m still confused by some of the protocols. I mean...for instance...if I’m sure to step away from someone after 14 and a half minutes of a conversation in close quarters, then am I really safe whereas if I wait another 30 seconds I need to be tested? Someone I work very closely with tested positive. I’m told I’m fine and don’t need to quarantine since I was never in close proximity for more than 15 mins at a time (similar to what brumdog is mentioning as the “thinking” behind this particular safety protocol in his post above), even though we probably worked in close proximity for an hour or more throughout the day...not to mention days leading up to it when she was likely already carrying the virus. I’m told if I was with this coworker 15 minutes at one time I would be forced to go home for two weeks, but if I’m around her for an hour in increments I’m fine and free to mingle in 14 minute and 59 second increments with other coworkers as I wish. It seems absolutely absurd. Do people believe the virus hangs out with a stop watch and waits for the 15-minute buzzer to go off before it jumps from someone’s lungs and into my nostrils? I’m guessing not. And if not, then wt_?

It is baffling, but keep in mind 15 of the 22 FTs attempted were by IU’s two bigs...both of whom need to be much improved. The only other two players to miss a FT were Geronimo (0-2) and Durham (0-2) who will make most those considering he was last year’s best FT shooter. Historically, Archie’s IU teams have been rather atrocious at free throw shooting, but hopefully this puts tonight’s performance from the charity stripe into perspective and we can hope for better in the future.