craigyv88

I noticed that too, I had to look at it a second time to make sure I was seeing it right but it's true. They were two spots higher than Indiana in adjusted defensive efficiency at 41st nationally and, as we would all expect, they were way better at 3 point fg defense than Indiana.

It is, and I don't see how flipping nearly his whole roster with new transfers every year is any better than recruiting high school kids, but apparently that's his model. However, he actually has a 5-star guard coming in next year as well as a top-150 C, which gives Nebraska the 3rd ranked 2021 class in the Big Ten. The guard is Trey McGowens' brother, but credit to Hoiberg for getting a good class locked up.

Not advocating for Hoiberg as our next coach, but Nebraska's tempo and spacing looks really good and is reflective of what I'd like to see ran by whoever coaches at IU next. Nebraska is 33rd in adjusted tempo and 27th in 3-point attempts and they seem to get a lot of open looks. By comparison Indiana is at 284th in adjusted tempo and 188th in 3-point attempts.

It can definitely be interpreted that way. I think what he may be saying is that Race is more injured overall since he has the ankle plus the facial injury, but Armaan's foot is the most limiting single injury. Who knows though.

Rutgers - 71 IU - 61

Probably been thinking about it far too much lol

I'd love to see Fife have more of a head coaching sample size as much as anybody, but when looking at the amount of head coaching experience current Big Ten coaches had prior to landing their current jobs, Fife actually fits the mold more than we might think. Current Big Ten coaches had an average of 5.4 years of Division I head coaching experience prior to being at their current job. Fife has 6. Being a long-time assistant under a Hall of Fame coach actually seems to be a more common denominator among Big Ten coaches than an extensive amount of prior head coaching experience. Tom Izzo ----> Jud Heathcote Matt Painter ---> Gene Keady Chris Collins ---> Mike Krzyzewski Greg Gard ----> Bo Ryan Richard Pitino ---> Rick Pitino Honorable mention to Steve Pikiell who played for and started his coaching career with Jim Calhoun despite only coaching at UConn one season. Obviously Fife ---> Izzo fits right in with this trend and qualifying characteristic of Big Ten coaches. If I'm Scott Dolson, Fife isn't the first call I make but he is certainly worth a spot on the list in my opinion.

I’m starting to like the idea of Fife more as well. I’ve advocated for Beilein so I might sound all over the place in this thread, but if we are going on the young end of the age spectrum I’d definitely prefer Fife over any other up and comer. Being a key part of the staff for so many good teams, MSU's deep tournament runs, knowledge of the Big Ten landscape, and most of all his ability as a recruiter makes him a legitimately viable candidate in addition to the obvious plus of being an alum. Fife was listed as the lead recruiter for Jaren Jackson Jr, Aaron Henry, and Malik Hall, and was co-lead for Matt McQuaid, Josh Langford, Max Christie, and several other top-100 players. He seems to be no stranger to these lists on 247 and not just for the 2021 cycle.

On the Assembly Call last week they had a guest who is a Michigan guy and is apparently Beilein's neighbor in Ann Arbor. He said Beilein kept his place there and he occasionally talks with him or his wife. The topic of Beilein wanting to coach again came up and the guest said pretty undoubtedly that he believed Beilein wants to and will coach again. It was an interesting listen. I think IU would be an opportunity he would definitely come back to coaching for and I really don't think he wants that awful tenure with the Cavs to be his final experience as a coach after such a long and successful career. I don't like the idea of being guaranteed to be back in coach change mode in 5 years or so even if Beilein would be successful, but given this will be the first time since 1919 that IU will go 5 straight years with a losing record in the Big Ten I think it is imperative to get a proven winner at this level, if at all possible. I certainly understand the concerns and he may need to build out his staff a certain way to make it work, but I absolutely think Beilein is still a good option given where things are at with IU right now.

Mich - 75 IU - 64

Celtics are gonna lose again tonight!

IU - 71 Rutgers - 76

The situation is getting depressing and I don't see a lot of good and realistic options to get the program on an upward trajectory right now. I looked back to my top 5 list in this thread from just January 15th and I don't know if any of those guys are viable at this point. Oats just got a big extension with a big buyout, Collins is on a big losing streak for the second year in a row, not sure if Woodson makes sense, who knows how long Donovan will be with the Bulls, and Beilein would be 69 assuming we wait until after Archie's buyout drops. I love the idea of Matta provided he is healthy and willing to do the Big Ten coaching grind again. At minimum it sounds like he has turned down opportunities with Georgia and Wichita St but I think he would give a lot of consideration if IU called. That's the only option giving me hope at this point.

That's a bummer, I feel like we really need a PF in the 2022 class after the recent misses at that position. I thought Reed would be a good fit to backfill that need and that we would have pursued him harder. Per 247 our only other PF offers in the 2022 class are AJ Casey and Jalen Washington, both 5-stars. Not sure where we stand on those or how realistic those options are.

IU - 79 Minn - 72

OSU - 75 IU - 70

I was an advocate for Collins both in 2017 and in late December and am certainly eating crow for it at this point. I still believe the idea made sense at both times as he is the only coach to ever take NW to the tournament and nearly beat eventual runner-up Gonzaga in the second round in 2017 and also has the highest win percentage at NW since a guy named Dutch Lonborg who started coaching there in the 1920’s. Plus six weeks ago he had his team in the top 20 and seemed to be building his roster back up after a couple of down seasons with multiple guys ranked in the top 80-150. However, it appears things have gone downhill quickly there and they consistently falter in close games. Barring a massive turnaround I would no longer put him on any coaching lists of mine.

I could probably be the unofficial chairman of the Chris Collins Fan Club (which doesn't look great at this point) and have long felt he was better than his record and was worth a look for IU, but I would have to admit Archie had some nice plays and coached a good game last night. It's hard for me to say anybody thoroughly outcoached anybody else in a game that took 2OT's to decide, but my basketball brain is not that great and I think had IU not gotten down 21-7 to start the game the coaching effort would have been more apparent.

I like Gunn and am happy to have him but I understand the sentiment when looking at these stat lines. I just keep reminding myself that Gunn plays on a really good and balanced team that plays at a slow pace and that he clearly brings something to the table or he wouldn't be ranked anywhere near 4-star territory. I think the answer is that we really need to get a kid like Nickel or Alex Karaban to go along with Gunn in this class. A 6’7” – 6’9” wing that can flat out score would complement him and a PG prospect in this class nicely.

Absolutely cannot lose to NW twice. Hopefully Assembly Hall won't be a slumpbuster for them. IU - 77 NW - 70

Winning close games was something I felt to be a strength of Archie early in his tenure, but the downward trend can actually be traced back to the start of the infamous 12 out of 13 game losing skid from the 2018-19 season. During Archie's first season and the first 14 games of the 2018-19 season IU was 9-4 in games decided by 5 points or less, but since that time IU is 10-11 in those games. Maintaining that same win percentage in close games from what was essentially Archie's first year and a half would have given us basically 5 more total wins since and might have been enough to change our current perception at least to an extent.

IU - 69 February Fran - 77

I'm in the same boat regarding whether or not IU should reach out. It all depends on what ultimately prompted the dismissal. From what I recall Archie really liked Cross and I at one point thought he would be a member of our 2020 class before it was clear that Miami and South Carolina were the leaders to get him. Cross was shooting 40% from 3 on 50 attempts at Miami and got nine starts. 7 PPG and 3.5 RPG. I've seen him listed at 6'8" and if he has truly reached that height it would be hard to not be interested in a kid that size that can shoot and stretch the floor. But, as OF pointed out switching schools every year is a cause for concern and we don't know what went wrong at Miami.

I see the home woes continuing: Hoosiers: 65 The Fighting Brad Underwoods: 71

I'm normally not a fan of the transfer market approach or just assuming that the perfect transfer that fills all our needs will be there for us in the spring, but this year might be the one exception. It's crazy to think about how many names will be floating in and out of the portal here in a few months.