mickey one

Lauren Betts looked like a giant. Reminded me of Kamilla Cardozo from South Carolina last year. How do you handle 6'7", other than with a double-team, and against a decent team, that opens up easy lay-ups. But Betts is everyone's problem in the Big 10 this year. With that said, IU is going to struggle this year. We'll have trouble getting past Minnesota, Michigan State, & Iowa, let alone Maryland, Ohio State, and the West Coast teams. This could be painful. Given that state of pain, it seems to me that CTM would vow, come hell or high water, to recruit the hell out of the portal and next year's prospects to get athletic TALENT in the middle. As a perfectionist, it has to bother CTM greatly to get run over. Her coaching is fine. Do whatever is necessary to RECRUIT.

I get the feeling that some of the people on the IU bench--if they were playing for USI today, they would have 10 points and 5 rebounds. There is something suffocating or limiting . . . . and definitely uninspiring, about the IU team this year. You look for overachievement; but what we are seeing is woeful underachievement. Don't know exactly what is causing it, but it seems to be a wet blanket over this team/season.

Also, what about Faith Wiseman? She had great numbers in HS, and in the Indiana-Ky All-Star game, played great defense. How come she also seems to be a "3-years, then maybe she will play a little" project, and is glued to the bench? Grace Berger & Mackenzie Holmes played as freshman. Look at other players, like Kate Koval, Syla Swords, Hannah Hidalgo, even Elina Aarnisalo (at UCLA), Kayleigh Heckel at SoCal has that potential --they all have come charging out of the gates as freshmen. Why do other teams get these "immediate impact" recruits, and IU has "she might be good some day, maybe, if she develops" recruits? I am hoping Maya Makalusky & Nevaeh Caffey can come charging out of the gates. (also, a player is never going to develop, if they are permanently glued to the bench)

That was one embarrassing and horrible loss (& it came after the Harvard & Butler losses), particularly for a team with national aspirations. Maya Makalusky & Nevaeh Caffey cannot arrive soon enough. BTW: I for one would like to see what Currie-Jelks can do with more playing time. Was she late for practice or something? Given how the other "bigs" can absolutely disappear in a game and get run over, it seems like CTM would be willing to challenge Sharneece to go out there and give it a try. The way things look now, it may be a long season, in a downright tough Big 10.

Calling for a change in coaches at this point is ridiculous. More worrisome, though, are the recruiting failures. Places like Maryland, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Southern Cal (i.e. our rivals) and now Kentucky, are bringing in all kinds of of talent. UConn poaches Indiana talent at will. We even missed on Reagan Beers (why wouldn't she look at IU?). If it were not for Parrish and Scalia transferring to IU, and CMM taking a 5th year, we would really be in the wilderness now (if we aren't already). Punching above your weight is one thing. Seriously competing to get in the Final Four or win a National Championship, sadly, takes high powered recruiting. It depends on the program's aspirations.

With the woefully uninspired performance of the regulars (Meister 1 of 8 from the field with 2 rebounds), why not give Currie-Jelks (all-OVC) and Kadlecova (Czech national team) a shot? There seems to be something very rigid sometimes in CTM--if you're in the top 10 nationally, that's one thing; if you're getting beaten by Butler by 10, that's another. I saw tape of Stanford taking out UC-Davis. Stanford-IU could get ugly fast. I hope it's competitive, but I don't know . . . .

By the way, I saw Quinnipiac University take out Harvard last Sunday, 76-53. Harvard played full-court press from the beginning, but Quinnipiac's freshman point guard, Gal Raviv, handled the pressure superbly. Quinnipiac's bigs pretty much neutralized the middle, and Jackie Grisdale hit 7 three's and totaled 33 points. Harvard had no answer for her. The eventual margin of 23 could have been worse for Harvard. I was probably the only one in the stadium who viewed it as payback.

yes, it is just somewhat mystifying as to why Coach Moren has not had more success. She coached a bunch of A-listers this past summer on the national team, but none of them chose IU for college (even though a few of them were still on the board). In college athletics, recruiting is destiny, like it or not.

P.S. also, if this is a "lost year" in terms of championships, etc., why not give people like Currie-Jelks & Kadlecova some exposure? to see how they would handle things, if the "regulars" look flat. Are they that uninspiring or incapable in practice? To stick to a tight rotation, and the tight rotation is going nowhere . . . it starts to feel like a "doom loop".

Recruiting failures are taking their toll--if you had Reagan Beers, Makayla Blakes, Syla Swords, et al., I think it would be a different story. Forget about winning anything big this year. Next year, Maya Makalusky and maybe Nevaeh Caffey can step into the starting lineup.

Think "Hannah Hidalgo"

Posted 39 minutes ago I love Geno! Incredible coach and incredible leader. Everything one should want to run a program. He will crush you, and then explain that he is unhappy, because his team made mistakes. If you're a UConn fan, it's great. UConn really needs to get out of the Big East--they have pretty much trampled everyone mercilessly. They need to be in the Big 12 or the Big 10. I don't know what the politics were in inviting Rutgers and not UConn. "Fast and Bulbous."

https://www.crimsonquarry.com/2024/9/13/24228847/indiana-womens-basketball-valentyna-kadlecova-scouting-report

We already have Nevaeh Caffey, not to mention Maya Makalusky. Caffey can do everything Beckham can do. We need to commit to the development and eventual stardom of the top players we recruit. Was there even room for Beckham at IU? I question that, and she may have questioned it, too. I know some of the top programs like UConn "stockpile" players. UConn has a "survival of the fittest" spectacle going on at guard this year, with 9 players vying for 2, or maybe 3 starting spots. The result will be a number of high school All-Americans sitting on the bench. That is sad.

(1) For what it's worth, "International names to know for WNBA draft"--lists her name: https://wbasketballblog.com/2023/12/28/international-names-to-know-for-2024-wnba-draft/ FYI: Czech teammate Dominika Paurova had good 1st year at Oregon State, and is now at Kentucky. SO, maybe this girl has some real talent. (2) Fact is that for IU women in 24-25, there are a whole bunch of people who have the potential, but they need to take the next step--that certainly includes Lamendola, Bargesser (can she get a steady 3), Currie-Jelks, Meister. Any or all of them could break out and show "All-Big 10 form". Or not. Maybe you can add Valentyna to that group. (3) Look at what Garzon has accomplished. Did anyone really predict that when she came in as an international?