DWB

For those interested, Coach Ja is on with the Hysterics guys on their podcast. He's really good to listen to IMO. (Coach that is...) Interview starts at the 31 minute mark.

Personally,, I don't think we should or will lose 3 of 4. Certainly possible being at the beginning of the season, but I believe we have comparable talent (now) than the others, it just comes down to what's between the ears of our players. Confidence or hesitation. If TJD/Race can lead the others, and the frosh who are used to winning chime in, we could be pretty good.

I think I'll start lobbying for NC State... put a little diversity into the debate (lol)

I disagree. I think Leal may be a surprise as a back up PG. Kid knows bball, and usually makes good decisions. And playing "against" the starting 5 can only help solidify his decision making. Last year, he looked for his shot as the absolute last resort. Was always trying to get it inside to Trayce or PS or Kopp if they were open. If he can get his confidence up, I look for him to surprise many of his doubters.

I don't want to rock the boat, and while I understand that many of you want to front load our non-con with marquee names, I think we should be a little careful of what we wish for. Some are wanting Duke/NC, Kentucky, and other highly ranked opponents. Like 5-10 or so of them(or so it seems). I'm not so sure you'd like that if we went 1-9 against them. Or even 4-6. The preseason is to prepare for your conference. Yes, you need to test the waters to see where you measure up, and not measure up against good competition. But I don't think we should be stuffing the non-con with (what seems like many want) with all ranked teams. Should we play sub 250-300 ranked games? Probably not, but there are plenty of really competitive teams out there that aren't in the top 25-50 that would make us better, and get used to learning how to win. (or "get over the hump" as Woody says) Just sayin'...

Certainly hope you're right about Scoop, but I'm not convinced it'll happen this year. JG? Absolutely I think that will happen. Looking for really big improvements from him. And I'm still betting on one of the "lower end" of the bench surprising us to the up side.

I guess I'm taking the flip side of that record. I'm glad he said no more strikes, or whatever it was. You F-up and you're sitting/gone. Now, maybe he did go into a little more detail than he should have, but then again....maybe not. I"m pretty tired of everybody walking egg shells in order to keep from hurting the snowflakes feelings. It's about time that guys that mess up get called out for it...publicly. (IMO) Now the whole Hoosier Nation knows he's out to win it. And it's either get on my train, or move the hell out of the way. And with all of the depth on the bench, as many have said, there may be no let down when subs come in. I thought his tone (more so than his words) said volumes about his intent and goals this year.

Wouldn't THAT be a nice thing to happen !! But Woody doesn't want to call 15-20 pts a blowout, so it probably needs to be 20+. (but I'm still hoping Leal does get a lot more minutes. He deserves a good shot.)

Too bad this isn't for the bball team. Still...a great achievement for student athletes !!

Tick toc, tick toc, time will tell (lol) If Leal hits 2-3 in a row the first time he's on the floor, he'll see his minutes growing. His defense isn't as bad as many think. Sure a helluva lot better than Parker's was....just sayin'

Oh, I think he will IF they earn it. I think some (not all) high rated recruits "expect" playing time, even starting in some cases. But they have never played at this pace and against competition this good. Most are in for a rude awakening. Scoop is a prime example. Everybody thought he was going to soar right out of the blocks. He didn't. He's talented, athletic, and yet couldn't get over the hump to increase minutes as the year progressed. The point I was trying to make (and I guess didn't do it so well) is that many posters here think JHS and some others will start or get starter's minutes. I just don't think it's a slam dunk (forgive the pun)

I'll be surpised if the freshman get a ton of minutes. Not Woody's style, nor was it RMK's, unless you have a Zeek, or a Yogi. I hope Scoop makes the jump this year, but I'm having my doubts, based on his waning minutes last year. Personally, I'd like to see us play (some) 5 out ball this year. Or a helluva lot more of 4 out. We "supposedly" have the shooters now to do it. If so, it puts a lot more pressure on Race to develop consistency in his shot from 3. Or use Race to give TJD a blow. Lots of options.

IMO, some will, some won't. But NIL might come back to bite them in the butt. Say kid gets a sweet upfront NIL deal. 2-3 years of it. Then he doesn't pan out for the NBA, or pro ball anywhere. Now, he's spoiled rotten with the free money he's gotten...entitlement. What effect will that have on him if he didn't get an education and skills other than playing a sport to support him in life. It's not that far fetched.

I think ALL students should have 2-3 money management courses in college. Cash flow, debt management & taxes. (and you might want to take a refresher on your English grammer...it's "their Freshman year." Not there Freshman year.) lol

Agree to sentence #1, and disagree with sentence #2. Based on what I've read so far on this thread, the ability to hit the 3 pt shot is a pre-requisite for playing time from most of the posts. If you have 2-3 guys that can shoot the 3, I would gladly play a player that is a stellar defender AND has the ability to create and get the ball to the right shooters at the right time. He doesn't have to shoot the 3. TG was probably the 4th option to shoot last year. I don't think we need 5 guys on the floor to be able to shoot the 3 ball. 2-3 consistent shooters and 1 viable threat to shoot the 3 is plenty IMO, especially if you have any inside game at all. If Jordy is allowed to work with the guys on the floor in practice I think you'll see some real improvement. But for now, the coaching staff trusts TG to play his way, and to his strengths. I don't see his minutes diminishing, but his role may change somewhat with addition of other "shooters" on the team.

...except a few Million $$$

Probably, but he doesn't have the personality to last in TV for more than a year or 2 until TV execs wake up to see how bad he is. if he wants to stay in BBall, he should probably be an NBA scout or something like that. Out of the lime-light.

Call me skeptical, but I highly doubt that the kid wrote this. Seems like PR verbiage to me. I haven't known any kids 18-22 that are this articulate. I could easily believe it was written by his parent(s), but not him. I like the phrase "highest level of character and integrity". Give me a break...he's trying to leverage the system.

So essentially everybody is a free agent without a contract, and "negotiate" every year, semester, day, whatever. Isn't this special...(sarcasm)

And if Woody cuts Leal, what does that do to his recruiting efforts within the state? Kick off a Mr Basketball, for a "possible" slightly better recruit that won't get that many more minutes than Leal would anyway? Might be a bitter pill for HS coaches to swallow and still support IU's recruiting efforts (this point was made by Rabjohns).

Nice of you guys to kick Anthony Leal off the team...lol.

Chris, I agree who finishes is important. But I also feel who starts is important to get off to the best start possible, so the games CAN BE close, or us pulling away. Starting 5 guys, and have them consistently put you in a hole is a receipe for finishing 9th in the B1G IMO. I like Woody, but I disagreed with him starting Kopp & Stewart, especially Stewart. Leal can play better defense, and probably shoot as well as Stewart did for the last several games. (only using Leal as an example. not sure he should start either) Phinese was a better choice at the 2 than PS. JG earned a starting spot IMO the last 1/3 of the season.

Trust me...us old farts consider anyone under 30 a "kid". 40 is questionable (lol)

After spending the last couple of hours reading this whole thread, I've come to one conclusion.... The cop was NOT an IU fan...

Happy for Michael that he got a HC gig. Just wish it was at a better place than BSU. I think Lewis is too talented for that school. I was hoping for a Xavier type school somewhere in the midwest. But I hope he over achieves!