mickey one

Yeah. That's not good. The way IU has missed on the bigs--1/3 of the squads at South Carolina, LSU, USC, and Reagan Beers . . . don't see it getting better with the formula of wishing and hoping for top 10 recruits. Maybe need to be more discerning on recognizing and attracting sleepers and overachievers? Like Mack Holmes, for instance.

Against UCLA (& the Betts sisters), Zaja (Wisconsin) got 16 points and 4 rebounds. Against UCLA, Noyan got 1 point and 2 rebounds; Ondineme got 0 points and 1 rebound; Wiseman got 0 points and 1 rebound. Yeah, it would be great to get a super-athletic center like Okeke, but we seem to miss on them all the time. When we've gone into the European market (Sandvik, Ondineme, Kadlecova), it's been mainly a bust. Garzon?

Be nice to make a find like this:

No WNIT? Isn't that a little high & mighty? This team/program needs to earn its way back to respect. At the moment, it doesn't have much room to say "that is beneath me". The consensus on this board seemed to be that CTM has done good things, and deserves another chance, after a whole bunch of recruiting misses. She is going to have to go in the portal and make some surprising catches to assure that IU is viable. And no more Ciezki next year.

a "number of reasons"? Like what? I don't think IU is heading to the Final 4 (or for that matter a Big 10 championship) until they get an inside banger like Etute.

Aside from the fact that the refs refused to call charging on certain Oregon players, it would be nice if IU was able to get an inside player like Etude--27 points, 17 rebounds. Seems like we are constantly running into dynamos like that, and have no such arrow in our quiver, so to speak. Etude has a sister who is apparently going to UCLA next year. Good grief--an Etude + the Betts sisters. That's ridiculous.

If you want to be a "player", one of the most disturbing things to this demolition was that 3 centers (Noyan, Wiseman, Ondineme) achieved almost nothing while racking up major fouls. At the moment, this team seems better suited to win (or at least compete in) the MAC or Mountain West, than the Big 10.

Beaumont needs an intervention: no more 1-on-1 "go to the basket" moves against McDonalds All-Americans like Kennedy Smith. Beau got it stuffed back in her face for the umpteenth time. Passing? great; 3-point shooting? great; Mid-range jumper? great; Bring the ball up and run offense? great; go 1-on-1 to the hoop with Kennedy Smith? NO! That is just not a strong suite for Beaumont, but she keeps on coming back with it, with minimal effectiveness. It probably made Kennedy Smith's highlight reel; not a good place to be.

Don't understand Beaumont's game. It seems very 1-on-1, but much of the time she ends up charging, losing the ball out of bounds, or getting it blocked.

Check out UConn Boneyard for their fans. 0-10 in the conference, they are going to be having LONG discussions as to who needs to be hired to replace Geno. Also, CTM is being paid over $1 m. a year. Like all sports, if you don't win as the coach, then you're out. That's just a fact of life. You think the Jets, Giants, Browns, et al. are going to keep their coaches, out of a sense of loyalty?

If Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey, Vic Shaeffer, Brenda Frese, Lindsey Gottlieb, Shauna Green, et al, had whiffed on recruiting for several years, and stood at 0-10 in their conference . . . . all of their fan base, some in anger, some in regret, would be calling for a coaching change. Yes, even Geno. Fans would not be saying "well, he won 12 national championships!" It would be: "That was a great run. Thank you. It's time for a change". People are looking for a way out of the cellar, and, hopefully, a pathway back to competing for Big 10 (dare I say "national") championships. I think that's what it is about. It's not about being mean or ungrateful to CTM. It's about seeking hope. As Sheryl Crow would say:

You should rename this "Time for Moren to move on?" What if it turns out she has cancer or some illness? She has been a great coach for a long time; it's just that the consensus seems to be that she is burned out, and cannot bounce back--for the benefit of IU, the fans, or herself. Mack Holmes said that CTM was the most competitive person she ever knew, so these recent failures must really bother CTM. If CTM could bounce back, we would all be thrilled, but at this point, it just seems extremely, extremely unlikely, and the whole thing has become a painful ordeal for all involved. Just a thought.

So true. Innovation or experimentation does not seem to be CTM's strong suite. If you're losing big time, why not try something different? What do we have to lose at this point? We'll never know the details, but this locker room must be witnessing one of the greatest morale crashes of all time.

The whole seems to be lesser than the parts. Supposed to be the other way around. Last year, Noyan & Stotijn contributed to their teams. This year they seem invisible.

Great coaches don't always go out on a positive note. CTM last summer said she was on a "treadmill" and described last year's loss to Butler as "bitter", both of which made me wonder if she was not just fed up. Somewhat inexplicable is her inability to bag top 10 recruits, given that she successfully coached the national team twice recently. Yeah, Glenn Box has been doing a great job at Miami--they knocked off conference rival Ball State by 20 at Ball State. Maybe just need some renewed energy: Carly Thibault-DuDonis is on the verge of a 3rd straight MAAC championship at Fairfield. https://fairfieldstags.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/carly-thibault-dudonis/882