IU Prof

I compltely agree in general. That having been said, I am giving DDV a lot more leeway this year than Woodson last year, because Woody already had a track record of questionable talent evaluation. If DDV misses on a good share of this year's roster, then I'll be more skeptical moving forward. But for now, I give him the benefit of the doubt, because he knows much more ball than I do, and has a much better sense of how a guy fits his scheme than I could.

There are legitimate reasons, you just rule them out out of hand.

Not sure I agree with that. WVU has had a final four, an Elite 8, and 5 Sweet 16s since IU's last final four.

Except for the obvious fact that we just signed DDV away from another P4 program....

I'm going to trust DDV until he proves otherwise. If DDV wants Pack, I do too. If DDV thinks Bailey can play the 5, then I'll trust him.

100%. I get wanting Woody gone, that was so transparently obviously the right move in year 3. Same with Archie. But this angst over the "slow start," when we've already signed two guys out of the portal, is nuts. I don't know how many times people can point out that Louisville. UK, and Michigan all had roughly the same number of players, or less, at this point last year. But yet people refuse to hear it. It'll all work out.

Well, mathematically, there are only so many top 10 guys to go around, right? I get we missed on a couple priority targets, which sucks. But unless I missed something today, there is no reason to think that Dix or Conwell decided due to any short coming by DDV. There were just factors out of our control. We've "won the portal" before and sucked. In this case, I think wait and see is the most sensible approach.

Guys...Last I checked, we've already landed one Top 10 portal guy. Few programs sign multiple guys that highly rated. Chill.

Same with Tyme.

The ignore feature is a wonderful thing...

Could be that they are still working to land one guy (Murphy?), and that will determine someone else's title.

I guess I just don't see a BTT title as anywhere near equivalent to a regular season championship. There's so much luck involved in match-ups, etc., for the BTT. A 20-game regular season involves some luck too, but much less than a 3 or 4 day tournament run. To me it's like winning the Battle for Atlantis or something. All well and good, but nothing to really hang your hat on.

You obviously try to win every game you play. But the idea that a coach should be judged by BTT results is, in a league like the B1G, absurd. If DDV hangs a banner, has regular second and third weekend NCAA appearances, and consistently wins regular season titles, no one is going to care about how far he advances in the BTT. That's all I'm saying.

I care more about success in the NCAAs. And a lengthy run in the BTT, while nice and all, is meaningless if you then exit the NCAAs early. No one is going to say, well, coach couldn't get us to the second weekend of the dance, but that BTT banner makes up for it.

Not directing this at you, as I often see people talk about making ti a certain round of the BTT as a marker. I get IU's never had much success there, but I really couldn't care less about the BTT. It's really a nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I'd have to think that's a pre-season Top 10 lineup, no? Need to flesh out the rotation, but given what we know of DDV's coaching chops, I'd feel REALLY good heading into next year with that lineup.

I think she's a huge loss, but agree with you on development, and that she tended to struggle against longer/stronger defenders. The lack of development is why I don't think it's crazy she would consider looking elsewhere. If she think her game still has another level or two to unlock, it's clear that that won't happen with one more year at IU.

I thought Galloway and Leal's class was the last to get a COVID year.

What, exactly, are you blaming her for, then? And how do you know if she's heading to a better situation or not? Has her destination been reported?

For what? For deciding that another program might be a better fit or provide her with a better situation for her last year of college competition? You really expect her to put "Certified Sunshine Pumper's" preference ahead of her own best interest?

I don't think he needs to, or could, match TJD, Ware, or Ballo in DDV's offense. Totally different usage than what we've been running.

The theory is that once the settlement in the House case is approved, then NIL deals have to be evaluated for fair market value. That assumes the settlement is, in fact, approved, and that the fair market value assessment is actually enforced with any teeth, both of which may or may not prove correct.

Agree with this. Connell and Tucker DeVries would be great for 25-26, but then we're back to square one. That's part of the reason I was hoping DDV could bring Jonathan Powell with him. I'd love to hear whether he entered the portal when he did for more NIL, to play for a new coach, or because he knew DDV was on the way out. Is Bidunga viewed as a likely NBA guy after next year, or is he a 3-4 year college guy? He could be a nice building block too, if the latter...

Swap UConn and Nova, move Arizona below IU, and bump Texas down to 14, and I think that's pretty reasonable. Maybe swap Arkansas out too with another SEC school (Florida, Alabama?). Edit: I'd probably also move UNC down to 4. UK, Kansas, and Duke are basically a toss up at 1-3 for me.

It's just a 30 day window to announce, not to commit to a new program. There is also thought in some quarters that schools are going to be more stealth in the portal to avoiding publicizing their interest in players, to help with NIL negotiation.