AH1971

Yes. The guy you were responding to doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I was there, left with about 5 minutes left and just got home. I won’t lie and say Hinkle was at full capacity, but you’d really have to try hard to find an empty seat at the start of the game. Butler had a full student section and a loud crowd and were really into it while it was still a game. There was also noticeable red from the IU contingency. Definitely didn’t have an exhibition feel. As far as the game goes, I have a few takeaways. -Noticeably a bigger and more athletic team even with a bar set so low from last year -big talent upgrade in the backcourt -bench may actually be an asset this year -Sherrell seemed bothered playing with another big -Manhertz is going to be awfully tough to keep off the court, physicality might be the only thing holding him back -if I must nitpick, the persistent fouling in the 1H brought back bad memories from last year and some of the heat check 3’s I could do without. Hard to take that much away from an early October exhibition but there is a lot to like and a lot to look forward too.

Been in Europe for the better part of the last month so really haven't had any time to digest and enjoy the season. Have kept up with some highlights and read some clippings but I feel this is the week they really open the playbook both offensively and defensively. Defensively feels like we've rotated a ton of guys largely due to some very hot and humid climate games and doesn't seem like we're stunting/blitzing they way we have in the past. Injuries, eligibility-issues, and inexperience at some key positions have probably dictated some of that but just feels like its been noticeably different. Offensively it feels like Cig has really tried to make it a point of emphasis to remain as balanced as possible and to really establish the run almost to a fault, trying to instill in Hoover's brain that he doesn't need to win the game on every drop back. Anyways, looking forward to finally being able to watch a full 60 minutes start to finish on top of getting down to Bloomington for the first time this season.

Can't play guys who don't practice. Can't practice if you're injured. They go hand in hand and Cignetti gave an honest answer in regards to his situation.

Edit: the Pacers couldn’t even if they wanted too. Given the Pacers cap situation, the max deal they could offer Braden Smith is a one year $1.35 mil rookie 2nd rd maximum. And that would count towards the Pacers roster limit regardless if he spends the whole season in Noblesville. A two-way contract is the most practical approach and probably the only way it works out for both parties.

Smith could command $4-5mil next year alone by coming back to college. I don’t think there’s anyway the Pacers are going to guarantee Smith $4-5mil as a 2nd round pick or else he’d be signed already. That being said, Smith likely ends any chance of a long term NBA career by walking out on the Pacers.

If Smith ever wants to play in the NBA, probably wise not to walk away from the hometown team that traded up to get him. Financially the move makes some sense, but for someone who has NBA aspirations, coming back to college doesn’t make a ton of sense.

Hall is an immense talent despite some of his baggage and fits a huge position of need. Sisley is really the only 4 on the roster with any kind of game experience and it's limited at that. Alexis is a take if Hall is a no go, but if the goal is to stack your roster with the most talent possible, Hall is the guy you want.

Not sure Yigi isn’t “it”, but he’s not a 28-30 mpg B10 player which is what he would be asked to do under the current circumstances. Based on his previous production, Hall would appear to be a massive talent upgrade at the 4. Having Sisley and Yigi as your front court depth pieces would be huge.

Does he have eligibility left or is he suing and daring the NCAA to do something about it?

Brad is ultra-analytical and Brown by the numbers is a net-negative player on the court despite a lot of raw production.

Who is a scared fan? I’ve seen IU win multiple titles. I’m heady enough to know what Bob Knight did at Indiana isn’t replicable and finding his clone isn’t sustainable. Cycling coaches every 3-4 years has made Indiana an undesirable job and it gets worse by the year. Forget the Brad Steven’s or Dusty May’s, there’s a reason why guys like Josh Schertz or Ben McCollum wouldn’t/won’t ever entertain this job

Trashed the program. Cheated without reprieve and recruited literal convicts and gangbangers to the program. Anybody who supports that is a dirtbag.

It isn’t. Sampson trashed the program and ruined what any image IU had left. Your disdain for Woodson is borderline unhealthy…all because he told you to chill out.

The two most successful coaches in college basketball history weren’t “championship caliber coaches” by years 4 or 5. The best coach in college basketball today didn’t win a tournament game until year 5. This lunacy that you have to fire a coach every 2-3 years is exactly why IU will remain a meddling program going forward. There’s no culture, no continuity, no momentum, no nothing. It’s a wasteland job. The statistical probability of winning a college basketball title is already very low. The probability of catching lightning in a bottle and winning a championship in years 1 and 2 is even lower. Your theory makes zero sense.

Of course he could coach, but there was no way he was freely going to get away with how he operated nor should have it been enabled.

IU was a top 15-20 team for the majority of the season in year 2 and lost 2 starters at the beginning of conference season for an extended period of time. Calling that an underachievement based on where IU has been the majority of this century is the exact reason why nobody takes this program seriously.

I’ve never claimed Woodson a good college coach by the way. But the fan base turned on him the second there was some adversity in year 3 despite some moderate success in years 1 and 2 and it was over. It just fuels the reason why this fishbowl job is continually stuck in neutral.

Which coach doesn’t have flaws? There’s X amount of coaches good enough to reach a F4, win multiple B10 championships and consistently recruit/develop first round talent. If that isn’t good enough for IU, well, we’ll be doing this for awhile. How did IU hire Cig? Pure luck. There’s no reason that guy should have been available for IU to hire in the first place.

Hiring Kelvin Sampson was the biggest mistake IU made in the post-Knight era

Mike Woodson made the tournament his first year and was contending for a B10 title in year 2. What do you have for sale if I may ask?

The problem with going the mid-major route…are you going to give that mid-major coach time to get his feet wet and figure it out? This fan base has put this job so high up on a pedestal that simply doesn’t exist. It’s a lose-lose.

Can they? Kentucky was turned down 5 different times? So was UNC this last go around. Mick Cronin was UCLA's 20th choice back when he was hired, they couldn't even pry Jamie Dixon from TCU. Why would someone like Nate Oats want to leave his comfy perch and go coach at Batsh*t Crazy U...just so he can immediately be fired in 2-3 years for not winning a national title? You don’t need to coach at a blue blood to win a national title these days.

So if actual relevant programs can’t make a serious hire….

Recent blue blood hires Mark Pope—-zero tournament wins at Utah Valley/BYU Mike Malone—-zero college HC experience Hubert Davis—-zero head coaching experience John Scheyer—-zero head coaching experience Mick Cronin—4 tournament wins in 16 years Murray St/Cincinnati; never made it past first weekend Yet Tom Crean (F4) and Archie Miller (E8) were meh hires? What do you call the hires above? At least those schools above have been relevant this century. It’s not 1985, the allure of this job doesn’t exist anymore. The last 3 national title winning coaches came from FAU, San Francisco, and Rhode Island. What is a serious hire today? What serious coach is coming to Bloomington? Blue blood means absolutely nothing in today’s climate.