Solsberryberries

We have cheered for a mentally soft (minus a year or two) IUBB program for the last couple decades. Last night was nothing new. You can’t blame the refs (who were bad) for a Big 10 loss to a bad opponent when you don’t score for 9 minutes. That, within itself, is soft. Excuses are soft. Giving up leads- often mental let down. Getting pushed off spots and not being physical on cuts- mental softness. Guys, our offensive stuff is pretty good. But if guys aren’t maintaining spacing, cutting hard, etc it’s all a sign of mental letdowns. Until the team shows some mental fortitude, many IU fans will stay home. This is the same stinking song we’ve been listening to since the mid 90’s.

Wait a second… is this the guy who thought it would be better to draft Leaf from UCLA over OG? If so, I change my mind. Bad hire! (I kid… kinda.)

It sounds like Ryan is a good hire and I hope he and coach DeVries can get on the same page to address roster construction issues from the beginning. Frankly, I’m shocked he didn’t hire this role or a “recruiting coordinator” role last year. Hulls had the impossible job in this role with Woody. Imagine a coach that didn’t want to travel to recruit Mullins? Inconceivable! I want this to be a good thing for the program, but I’m not sure what this means yet. We missed on quite a few guys that we brought in this year, but I still feel like we have enough talent to win. For whatever reason, this team lacks mental toughness- like so many other IU teams the last 25 years. Talent is A issue, but I’m not sure it’s THE issue. Time will tell.

As far as Tucker goes… It seems to me like something else is going on- maybe back issues? He appears to be significantly out of shape- like 25 pounds worth. If he takes himself and his role half of what I would hope he does, then I’m guessing there’s some sort of nagging injury. I mean, that would be the only legitimate excuse for being gassed in January, right?

I know it would seem reactionary, etc., but if we fail to make the tournament I would be in favor of firing him. I’ve been to SSAH during some of the biggest games this year and it is in full atrophy mode. This is a skeleton of the crowds even in Archie’s first year- things were mostly full in the balcony. To hear Fish say, “We finally have a few fans in the balcony” during the Nebraska game on our way home from the Peach Bowl made me want to puke. The fan support is there, but until there’s proof of competency it will likely continue to be a ghost town. I don’t think our program can “wait out” to see if coach can get the job done year after year, when there’s red flags this isn’t going to work. Here’s the fact- we’ve hired okay to bad coaches since Knight was fired (other than Sampson who was crooked). None of those coaches have excelled or had sustained success after Indiana fired them. But we waited around with all of them and missed out on some dang good coaches because of it. This isn’t a 6.5 million experiment for a year where we hope a grown man gets his bearings. He was paid big to coach (and pay) big time players to win big time basketball games for ONE year (because most of the guys only have ONE), and at this point it has been a failure.

Good gravy… After watching 3 months of uninspired, undisciplined and soft Indiana basketball I thought to myself, “I’m guessing there’s a ‘Fire DeVries’ thread on Btownbanners”… and here it is. To me, Darian DeVries is a lesser proven basketball version of Kalen DeBoer- he has some good ideas but seems to lack the toughness required to hold a team accountable to clear expectations. Just a few random thoughts on CDD and this team. 1.) This is a new era of college basketball. If a coach fails at roster construction on the fly, they fail. Interestingly enough, many IU fans scoffed at the idea of Brad Brownell coaching their Hoosiers. They are 16-4 and 6-1 in the ACC. Since the portal and NIL era as we know it he has averaged almost 25 games and looks like he’ll come close to that this year while having 10 new guys on this roster. DeVries first roster is atrocious. Giving Tucker the lion’s share of NIL is a sham at this point. How can our number 1 guy be 25 lbs overweight in January. 2.) As evidenced by the laughter on our bench at the end of the game, these guys don’t SEEM to be bothered by losing. I could be wrong, but… 3.) You can’t fool Indiana fans and unfortunately CDD will not have a 2nd chance to make a first impression. 4.) Coaching leashes are going to be much shorter in college sports in the NIL era. Either you have it, or you don’t. I’m not saying he’s gone after this year, but he needs to turn this around fast in the portal. 5.) You only get one chance to make one first impression with recruits. Guys will still come to get a bag of money, but this caliber of basketball isn’t going to bring in team oriented guys that make winning and winning fast happen. It takes way more than NBA talent- just ask Rutgers from last year.

Have they set out the chairs for the press conference? Does anyone know if the pep band will be there?

Same

This. An immediate family of mine who is high up in a Power 5 athletic department told me last year May didn’t want the job. They share a close common friend. May’s immediate family was telling people last fall that he isn’t coming to IU. All signs point to May carving his own path that likely won’t include IU.

My interpretation of the Athletic Department releasing next year’s games despite not having a head coach (that we know of): ”Buckle up, the future is going to be great and you won’t want to miss out. Buy those season tickets.” It used to kill me seeing empty balconies at Midnight Madness- now empty balconies at Big Ten games?!? It’s crazy the levels of apathy bad basketball has driven this fanbase to.

I watched Nevada the other night get thumped at home by Boise State. I have to say, it was the worst offense I’ve watched all year. I was terribly disappointed it was a Alford coached team. Ball screens and no movement off the ball. Terrible shot selection. It was atrocious. This Alford coached team hardly resembled Indiana basketball of old.

Some of his best players at Drake are D2 guys he brought with him. I get it. Big jump- but the dude is a killer.

Do you think Dolson offered him the “head coach in waiting” tag because he HOPED he would be a good head coach one day? In fact, part of me wants Fife to get and kill it here just so Dolson and Fife can show Woody and Crew what they missed out on because of their arrogance. We ended up hiring Mike Woodson- Fife would be an upgrade and no one would care more. That said, he isn’t in the top 10 of my wishlist, but Id rather have him than Cronin or Buzz.

On the basis that Fife was originally brought here to be coach in waiting. Things did not go well while he was here, but I don’t think that was his fault. He was considered in the top five last go around, so what’s changed?

Unpopular to “meh” coaches with the IU fanbase that I think would fit here: (I’ve had to take myself to this mental space because I can’t hold out for Stevens) -Alford -Brownell -Fife -McCollum -McCasslin -McDermott As people, I think they would do well with the IU fanbase and the Bloomington community.

I like Chris Beard… Have watched the Fireside Chat since he started at TTU… There’s no way he ever coaches at IU… We kicked the tires in 2017… nope We kicked the tires in 2021… nope We’re done kicking the tires… The only way he coaches here is if Rick Pitino is our AD…

This contract still sucks- 3 mil to 4 mil, one extra year, and a 7.5 mil buyout?!?! That HARDLY says “STAY AWAY FROM OUR COACH OF THE NEXT 20 YEARS!”

Screw it- pay the buyout. If BS is no, and May really is our #1 then you pay the buyout. I thought Michigan was going to cover for our HUGE mistake of not hiring him last year by the crappy contract they gave him, but it sounds like they’re going to make us pay. If we’re paying for a 15mil Tom Allen buyout then you bite the bullet for the future and pay it.

This needs to be a homerun. IU has done enough favors for subpar coaches. It’s time an elite coach who wins consistently is walking the sidelines. I’m tired of being out coached by Matt Painter…

As a lifelong IU fan and an Eastern Greene Tbird, this would be incredibly disappointing news. It seemed like last year was the year, and it was a punch in the gut to see him go to Michigan, but to not be able to hire him away… woof. I’m sure other candidates will be fine, but man is he a people person. He embodies Knight in that manner- remembers names, writes notes, visits people in the hospital and teaches his players to do the same. It would have been impossible for the people of Indiana to not support him. Perfect fit culturally. Dang it…

The roller coaster reality of IU basketball continues under CMW. Win 5 games against teams that aren’t good and get the feels back with some of the fans, then play a decent team on the road resulting in a non-competitive annihilating loss. Once again we give up. Once again we aren’t running back after turnovers. Once again we have selfish shots early in the shot clock against a soft Iowa team leading to long rebounds (our bad shots are worse than turnovers.) This season cannot end quick enough.

If I’m the Michigan AD, I’m trying to renegotiate Dusty’s contract mid-season. There’s a lot of angles to look at Dusty’s buyout. Was it Dusty who wanted a low buyout or Michigan? I’m guessing they’re going to push for a longer term contract, with more incentives with a higher buyout more comparable to what Alabama has with Oats. Here’s to wishing that Dolson does have a “close” relationship with Dusty and some of these conversations are happening. That said, everything I have heard is Dusty loves Michigan and has no desire to leave. What else would he say to people back home?

Woodson called TJD -“Tracy” his first few months on the job. That was a sign of things to come. I once had a coach who never knew my name- only knew the names of four or five guys on the team. (Last names only) He only coached for a year, but it still reminds me how important self-awareness is. At the time, it seemed he only cared about how he was being perceived as a coach. It was his thing- not really about the team. But he couldn’t see it. The Woodson administration is percolating some bad memories. I was worried when I could tell he wasn’t taking the time to remember names and he was referring to himself in the third person. But it’s the same thing. No awareness to how he fits into a program, the lives of young men, a university, a community or a state. It’s all about how those things fit into his world. And he can’t even see it.

Bringing in Yasir is the reason Woodson didn’t retain Mike Roberts. In his short time with Woodson, Roberts was trying to convince Woody to recruit Braden Smith because he was “the best guard in Indiana.” Roberts was right.