HoosierHoopster

Preface - really like your posting and often agree with you. here, I buy in half way. I understand the statement, and agree - rankings mean only so much. But then a top ranked player, as Lander was, achieved that ranking on demonstrated talent to multiple scouts over an extended period. And the question about coaches? Lander came in as a 17 year old, skinny high school senior, and the first and only coach before this season was that offensive genius, Cam. And now Lander has been starting to get more minutes - under Woodson, and he had clearly played better, while not being fully there, and he’s made mistakes, mistakes that show a lack of experience, which is what Woodson referred to in giving Rob the nod. It’s just not accurate or fair to say that shows Lander isn’t good.Talent and ceiling? They’re there, really think that’s obvious. Decision making and judgment? Not yet

I do think his game has grown this season and he’s showing steady improvement. He isn’t lost on either end (was last season), he’s finding guys better, his shot looks better, he’s clearly stronger. But also think he hasn’t yet had the college game slow down for him, he plays so fast he has missed things because of it like in OT last game — then you have Woody give the nod to Rob noting his experience— Lander basically got 0 experience because of Cam and so that shouldn’t be surprising— but I do want to see Lander getting game experience, his upside is seriously high, and if / when ge gets there we’ll all be very happy

Think you went a bit far here. Lander was a top rated point guard in his class for very well demonstrated reasons. Heck you can just pull up Rabjohns' recent tweet about how Lander's excellent play (at the time) was what he (Rabjohns) saw in Lander for years while he was demonstrating outstanding point guard ability. All discussion above is fair. Lander continues to have weaknesses in his game, and I for one do trust this very experienced staff to play the player who has earned his floor time. However, it's really unfair to Lander to cross-compare him to Leaf. Lander has exceptional talent. He absolutely earned his ranking (to the extent rankings matter). But who plays between him and Rob and when will continue to be the the coaching staff's call and fair discussion.

IU 81 Cornholes 70

Agree on all points. Rob gets bashed here because of the 'pound the ball' thing, and honestly that's been warranted (and I think CAM really hurt his confidence), but he's an excellent defender, and he contributes offensively more in ways that don't show up in the box. But -- Lander is really coming along, and he is so quick with the action and his reads. From what I see, his D is suffering now more because of his being overly aggressive - he reaches and fouls way too much -- than what is was before, when he looked lost. He doesn't look lost much now, and his offense is showing the 5-star talent that he came in with, it's not there yet, but it's really starting to show. I do hope he can continue to get minutes, I think he's going to continue to improve and he has the talent to get us W's.

Why didn't you say this during CAM's tenure???

2 OT against a desperate -- well coached -- team with some very good guards -- ON THE ROAD. Yeah, it was a disappointing L, yeah we came out like we were not ready and got down big, but also yeah, on the road (in that silly football arena ) we were within a basket of the W in double OT.

I think we're going to curb stomp Neb. May be a dog fight at times but I do think our guys will fight this one and finish it strong.

But I thought it was always sunny at IU?

After our poor start against Cuse, then the fight to double OT, and now starting Conf play, I think our guys come out strong and focused. Good W coming

Agree. The slow start though was bad, though, and not sure why we came out of the gate so poorly. Some stat pluses -- we shot 40 percent from deep, our outside shooting is clearly improving, though Bates was an unusual 0-4, after coming into the game over 40 percent, he's going to continue to get better as he adjusts as a frosh. Related, Kopp turned the corner last night, major bounce back game for him. On the very down side, 26 TO's is awful, and 7 of those were by Race and 6 by TJD. Guess they'll be doing some serious running. I was confused as to why X wasn't more involved in the scoring -- 9 assists (to 3 TO's) if fantastic, but only 2 shots? Our offense is improving, but it's still not well balanced, and I think we're going too far in shortening the bench. 3 players playing 45 plus minutes, another with 39 in a double OT game while the bench barely played -- right, our bench had a terrible last game, but before that game it was a plus, and guys like Bates and Geronimo need playing time, Lander too, we're going to need that bench support in the B1G.

This is just crazy

Looks just like Crean. ........ :)

Good! Looking forward to seeing him back out there

Except that most people are idiots. :)

I think you may be right -- def hope so -- I think we're pretty clearly the better team, but man it's the first road game and I don't like that football venue/arena. Definitely need to bring it tonight.

I want a sweep of Wiscy. Man I really, really can't stand that program. It's time to stick it to the cheese heads.

He’s doing some practicing, that’s all i know, sounds like a game time decision

A good watch - get confident --

IU -- 73 Cuse -- 68

Yeah, Hulls' injury didn't help - he had a separated shoulder. And Cody missed almost everything. Ball movement was terrible, just as it was in the game against Temple. Yeah, not my best memory lol

Good post. I haven't made my prediction here yet but largely agree -- we've been snakebit by Cuse and are thinking in the past. We have a different team, differently coached, and Cuse hasn't been strong this year. However -- it's our first road game, and we have struggled against the zone this year already. I still think we pull it out.

I can't believe you asterisked out "oh snap" :)

Largely agree. The NBA scouts / drafts on potential / upside / athleticism and demonstrated ability, and team workouts go a long way, but the well-rounded big that excels at the college level (e.g., Morgan) often will have a place / role depending on team needs at the time of the draft and over the summer. TJD is killing it, the crazy 10 blocks and his extreme high-level scoring doesn't go unnoticed. He has holes in his game, he is not an elite athlete, he hasn't shown any level of consistent shooting (but he has started to show shooting this season), and we all know the off-hand has been a development need. I wouldn't under-sell Cody and Vic though. That class wasn't the strongest, but besides their both going in the top 5, Vic went on to be an all star and both have carved out long, successful NBA careers, Cody as a strong role player. TJD has the tools, skill, motor and size to carve out a role player career in the NBA, imo. No I don't think he's a first-rounder at this point, but yes I'd be surprised if he's not in the League whether it's after this season or the next.

Ok that’s freaking impressive