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Passing is... not Ware's strength lol

I really do feel sorry for you that you feel this way man

I know some people are resistant to the idea and some may think this is a reactionary take based on his RU incident, but I tend to agree. Since Cupps also refuses to make himself a scoring threat, the ball moves better with him on the first unit IMO. If Mgbako's defense continues to get better, CG starting with the rest of the group is doable for a short stretch before you bring in XJ. Gunn getting more run too... I just think XJ leading that second unit gives them a much clearer identity on the court and everyone plays their role more. At the end of the game you can go with your best 5 that given night.

Banks I agree needs to work on his handles some. Don't get me wrong, Gunn could definitely have a tighter handle too, but I feel like most of his ball handling mistakes are a result of his mind moving faster than his body, feel like we're still seeing him figure out the speed of the game at this level.

CJ overthinking loses the dribble, don't get a shot off. 10 point lead going into halftime. Fairly pleased overall, not going to get too up or down based on this game. Hope they close it out strong! Big stretch ahead! Nice to get some momentum behind us for them.

Really weird lineup to close this half.

Wow nice handle from Mgbako, gotta finish the layup! Good cleanup by Ware and Banks.

An overly aggressive closeout that got called for a ticky tack foul and resulted in 1 point? His defense is still not good, but it's gotten better. That was an effort foul. I can live with that compared to earlier this year. Add in the offensive threat he provides, and lack of competition at his position, ... getting progressively tougher to keep him off the court.

I hate the move where you bat the ball as far out as you can instead of grabbing it or getting better positioning.

I just wish they played this hard outside of SSAH.

If we blow this game look no further than FTs.

OMG Cupps didn't even look at the basket on that drive.

Another highlight of today's game? The new IU commercial... the last one was getting really old!

The staff needs to get to the root cause of these FT challenges and figure out how to improve things ASAP. We are leaving points on the table that will be the difference against better competition in the B10.

Mgbako showing some handle, passing, shooting... solid D so far AND?... a couple of box outs! Great game from him so far. Love seeing this team play well. Trey's defense has been great too. Everyone's contributing. Keep it up!

IU 76 Minnesota 68

We've talked about this team lacking leadership a bit... I get that everyone has a different temperament/their own style and way of doing things... we sort of see X trying to fill that void (whether effective is an entirely different conversation... I don't much care for his style, most of the time... time and place...). But why is Gallo, a senior and coach's kid, not comfortable being more vocal/getting in guys faces? Leal doesn't really get minutes and the other guys are young/new. Malik could probably handle that role but its a lot on a sophomore who is still developing. Sad because had high hopes for Trey this year, but last year definitely looks like an anomaly now. Rooting for him.

IUFB pre season dark horse for the 12 seed?? After we poach some of Bama's roster maybe... Make it happen Cig. Lol

I don't think the Bama fans would accept Tommy Rees as the Scheyer to Saban's Coach K. Gonna be some seismic moves in the coaching carousel!

Wow! New era of CFB about to start between this and 12 teams in CFP next year. Do they go after Kirby?

This year I've adopted Princeton as a "second" team since it's basically the best basketball in the state (pretty sad for RU and SHU). The way they move the ball is BEAUTIFUL. The way the players communicate amongst themselves - not just on D, but on the bench and during TOs. Their seniors get on the younger guys a$$ for taking a bad shot or throwing the ball away. Every possession is valued. There is coaching constantly happening on the bench. Mitch Henderson will spot a guy ball watching, walk down the bench and often say something like "Xaivian is ball watching, his man cuts baseline and the backdoor is open every time. Make sure you check him/get a hand in the passing lane" etc. Every time a bad shot happens (which is very rarely) as in too early in the offense, not your kind of shot, etc... the assistants are asking the kids on the bench "tell me what you just saw happen" or "what should so-and-so have done on that instead?" And when the kids come out, Mitch always talks to them. Always. Sometimes it's a few words and a pat on the butt, usually it's about 10-15 seconds, which is actually a lot of time for a coach to give you a point of emphasis/guidance, etc. The players are always hyping each other up going into halftime... always bring the energy... players go into the locker room first while the coaches have a huddle for a couple minutes and look at the stat sheet/talk about what needs to happen. I've just not seen any of that at the IU games I've been at. We don't feel connected as a team and maybe I'm overanalyzing it but Woody was pissed alllll night. Even early on. The tension that the staff was feeling last night was palpable, to be honest. And the kids didn't look like they were up to the challenge/bought in to the system. Princeton's gym is super small and basketball fans from all over NJ are going to PU games now because it's a GREAT product on the court. If you're a basketball junkie, you can actually hear a lot of what the benches are saying... I've seen a few HS coaches sitting in the first row scribbling on a notepad. It just sucks that I'm confident Princeton would beat IU this year with a roster full of future investment bankers, doctors and lawyers lol.

Since this message is apparently needed again.

Who you calling weird buddy?

Saw this comment on Reddit and thought it was funny enough to share: "It was an interesting experiment for Peacock to take ten guys who have never shot a basketball before and stream a game between them, but let’s get the college athletes back that won’t airball ten shots next game."

Yes, Mack basically fell into their lap. KW was the #1 center in the portal and is a unique, introverted kid who committed on his first visit. How much assessment actually went into those recruitments? Even the lower ranked guys on the roster - how did we evaluate that talent, because it doesn't seem to be a fit for this level/developed how it needed to be at the start of the year. Based on who we return next year, it feels like Woody coaches the program on a season to season basis with whoever happens to be on the roster, rather than him building around his philosophy.