JF87

I've been active in the Fire Mike Woodson thread, and I still feel like coach Woodson is not the right coach for IU. Imo, we've underperformed with our talent and the coaching has just been adequate. However, since it appears that coach will be returning, I'm going to be fair and give him some credit on what I think he did well this year. Assemble talent- I say assemble, not recruit. We have one of the most talented teams in the Big Ten with potentially 3 future NBA players. Look around the Big Ten, no one else has much NBA talent. Change his substitution style- He abandoned the hockey shifts and has mostly played a 7-8 man rotation in the last several weeks. Rely on the seniors- During the second half of the season, Leal, Walker, and Johnson have been the bench players that have been relied on. Experience can be more valuable than talent in college basketball. Focus on Ware- As the season has progressed, we have used Ware much more as an offensive threat and focus. Play to Galloway's strengths- Gallo isn't a three-point shooter. Putting him in pick and rolls with Ware has provided solid offense with either a lob or Galloway floater. Developing MgBako- Mackenzie started the year as a three-point shooter who was lost on defense. MgBako's defense has improved and he's developing an all-around offensive game.

We should have no problem with Penn State this time. They shot 12/21 (55%) from three the first game and 9/21 (43%) in the second game. It's very unlikely they shoot that well a third time. My guess is we win by double digits.

Porter must really be jonesing for some deep-dish pizza to take that Depaul job.

Yes, but we're just 4 wins away from being included in the NCAA tournament. DWS

What is it they say about a broken clock?

Officiating and what might have been. My thoughts here aren't about officials favoring one team over another, instead, my post is about how the game is called can affect the game. We've all heard announcers say it- "they're letting them play today". The officiating crew you draw and how closely the games are officiated can have a bearing on the outcomes. Some quick stats- during our current 4 game win streak the average combined total of fouls called per game was 23.2. During the 6 previous games when IU went 1-5 the average combined total of fouls was 38.3. That's quite a disparity. Imo, IU was negatively affected by closer called games earlier in the Big Ten season. IU does not shoot free throws well, so we were at a disadvantage in games where both teams are shooting a lot of free throws. Coach Woodson does not manage our bench well (auto-benching with 2 first half fouls) which led to key players sitting. IU's defense is less effective without Ware on the floor. During the 1-5 stretch Ware averaged 31.3 minutes per game while during our 4-game win streak Ware has averaged 37 minutes per game. In summary, if Big Ten officials had "let us play" earlier in the year, we could possibly had been 3rd or 4th in the Big Ten. Of course, the flip side may be that if the officiating crews had called our last 4 games closer, we wouldn't have won all 4 and Mike Woodson would be on the hot seat.

Same with Wikipedia.

Three-point shots are good basketball

We've been fortunate that Malik hasn't fouled out already. He's still reaching and slapping too much.

We are going to need "good Xavier" to show up in the second half.

Question for you bracketologists. Is ISU safely in? There net ranking was 26 before their loss today. Drake was 47, so I wouldn't think ISU would fall too far. The CBS crew talked like they were probably not going to make the field. Seems like they would be in with that net.

The consistency of Big Ten officiating. The Purdue/Wisconsin game had 37 fouls called. In our game, there are 9 fouls called in the first half which means around probably 20-24 for the game.

We are a much better team when Galloway plays.

Where's Galloway?

We're playing well. I thought we would get a close victory, but right now I think we will win by double digits. Izzo has lost it. He's no longer a great coach.

This is a very complicated case, Maude. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's.

Continuity is important, even if they are reserve players. Leal returning can help teach the new players how the rotations work on defense. A lot of the teaching can be taught by upperclassmen in the summertime. Our defense will be better if Leal, Galloway, Cupps, MgBako and Reneau all return. That gives you 5 players that should know where to be and how to rotate.

They can go through the senior ceremony and still return. It's been done before.

Ryan most likely didn't see the tournament in Notre Dame's future this year. Some guys want to make sure they play in the NCAA Tournament. We're going to find that out this off-season. We'll get some dudes, but we are going to miss on some players because there's no tournament guarantee with IU.

Thank you. My time spent on this forum today wasn't wasted. I had to Google it and learned something new today.

When we discuss modern day basketball we are talking about playing style such as 4 out and shooting the three. That's where you are confused.

If Dusty's representatives would call and say "Scott, we have an offer from Ohio State. If you want Dusty it has to be now", I would hope that Dolson would move on from Woodson and hire Dusty. It would be the watershed moment of Dolson's career.

I know that many of you just want to win. That's fine, I understand. Unfortunately for me, I'm still old school and how we go about it makes a difference to me. Unlimited transfers and NIL are legal and they are the new NCAA reality. IU should certainly participate in both transfers and NIL. However, the thought that the IU coaching staff's plan each year is to bring in the best portal players that money can buy is disheartening. Purdue is successful with a collegiate program built utilizing NIL and an occasional transfer. Our current staff seems determined to turn us into a G-League team. Can't we start recruiting players that want to represent Indiana University and not just collect a paycheck? I would prefer we develop a basketball program and not just a minor league team each year.

We're going to have to have an NBA team because Woodson rarely beats teams with equal or superior athletes.

This is a very good question. Is it "we want to him to get a 4th year so he can go out on a stronger year"? Or is it, " we're going to prove to everyone that Mike can coach and we don't care how long or how much money it takes"? I'm starting to worry it's the latter.