AH1971

Disappointing season? Sure. Epic failure” not even close. IU was picked to finish anywhere between 7th-9th in the conference. Behind all those “stars” was a relatively young roster that was extremely flawed. Those “stars” were a true freshman and two sophomores who were bench/role players the year prior. Our stars played fine, it was the lack of talent/depth around them. That issue has been addressed and fixed. Payne was an epic failure. As was Patrick Ewing at Georgetown and Chris Mullin at St. John’s. Same could be said for Archie Miller. Mike Woodson having a singular disappointing season doesn’t cross that threshold…at least not yet. Sorry for interrupting your whine fest. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Epic failure? Hyperbole much?

We already have a serviceable (actually more than serviceable) backup 5 on the roster who can play 10-15 mpg. His name is Malik Reneau. Yes we need another big as an insurance policy (that's where someone like Hatton comes into play) in case someone like Ballo (or Reneau) gets hurt, but the reality is that Ballo and Reneau are going to commandeer the majority of the minutes at the 5 spot with the way the roster is set up.

You're more than welcome to attribute those comments however you please.

You can set your own benchmarks and expectations my guy. You don't need our approval. I'm sure whatever they are, you will ultimately move the goal posts just like you have this entire thread.

IU is going to sign a back up big for an insurance policy as a worst case scenario which is probably best case scenario for us fans as it forces Woodson to stagger Ballo and Reneau's minutes.

My thoughts exactly. -Two guards -Combination of Mgbako/Goode at the 3/4 -Ballo/Reneau Probably our best potential lineup combinations next year and how I would be looking at it if I were a portal big. Realistically I think there's ~10 mpg max for a portal big barring injury and perhaps even less once conference season goes full swing.

Goode

lol. Were you alive for the Archie era? He took Archie’s players and went to the tournament back to back years. Serious question, short of a national title…is there anything Woodson can do right next year?

You don’t have to compartmentalize anything. Two years ago, IU spent all but 3 weeks ranked, finished 2nd in the B10, and swept the outright champs. And did it with 2 starters missing the majority of the year. This coming years roster DWARFS that teams roster and that roster had an AA and a top 20 draft pick. Last seasons guards STUNK. Bottom line, that’s it and that’s all.

100%. Love this post.

He may have started Sparks and Reneau together (and who cares) but he certainly didn’t play them together for long stretches. Sparks logged double digit minutes 5 times last season and played 20+ minutes once. He certainly isn’t married to the idea. Reneau and Ware played a lot together because they were easily the two most consistent players last year by a wide margin.

You didn't really think Reneau and Ballo were going to play 35 mpg together simultaneously did you? Even before Goode entered the picture that was never going to be the case.

Think you'll see extended stretches with Ballo/Reneau as the only big and Goode/Mgbako as the 3/4. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing either. I still expect the staff to land an emergency 5 in case Ballo or Reneau go down, but the way things are shaking out, Ballo and Reneau will likely start together and then see their minutes staggered.

I think most of Torvik's projections are based on efficiency and Purdue returns a bunch of efficient players. What Torvik's model doesn't factor is that a lot of those players were efficient for one reason; Edey. Going to find out real quick the dynamic of that team when Edey is no longer A, B, and C on the scouting report (See the national title game). In all honesty, Painter has completely elevated the floor of that program. I think they'll take a step back this year and rightfully so, but they'll still have a high floor and don't foresee them falling completely off that map.

Or Purdue at 5

3 out of the 4 Final Four teams highest usage player was that teams 5 (Edey, Clingan, Burns). Playing through the post does NOT mean throw the ball down low and not ever see it come back out. Jesus people!!!

Because Ballo isn’t that type of player.

He shot 44% from the field and 56% from the line. 10 points on 9 shots for a lead guard is terrible. There’s no sugarcoating that.

lol, they have not shot 3’s at a higher clip. Going 11-30 (XJ) or 14-39 (Cupps) over the course of a 35 game season is not shooting at a higher clip, percentages be damned. No sense in wasting time arguing with somebody who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Our 5 core back court players last year made 77 combined 3’s. Carlyle and Rice made 62 and Carlyle missed 10 games, all as first year players. We didn’t shoot 3’s at a high clip last year because everybody not named Mgbako couldn’t hit a high clip if they tried.

Because IU needs a shooter off the bench and someone to space the floor when they inevitably go with one big. You’re not ever going to have an 8-9 man rotation all average double figures.

I guess we just have differing definitions of playmaking. Will concede that Trey had good facilitating numbers but 10 points on 9 shots shooting 26/56 from 3/FT is awful to put it bluntly, out of a lead guard no less. He was subpar finishing at the rim and even worse when teams made him earn it. Was not a threat to shoot from the perimeter or in PnR. And he was the best back court player we had which says a lot. Ballo will definitely get paint touches, but his points and shots will come off lobs in PnR action and off drive and dumps just like they did at Arizona. He’ll likely score more off the glass than anything. But I think it’s paranoia at this point to suggest Woodson’s offense is going to revolve entirely around Ballo like it did TJD/Ware the last three seasons. He’s just not that kind of player.

He recruited Caleb Love and Knecht in the portal last year. He had a verbal from the best shooting prospect in the country. But more importantly than just shooting, he’s recognized the need for playmaking guards.

Nobody is missing anything. When you’re hamstrung by a group of guards that collectively stink, you’re limited in what you can run efficiently. I don’t know how or why that is so hard for some people to understand? Now that blame lies squarely on Woodson and the staff and it shouldn’t have taken hair on fire to properly correct it, but expecting IU to be an efficient, volume 3 point shooting team with the backcourt personnel IU’s had the last few seasons isn’t living in reality. There is a big influx in talent coming next year paired with a big that compliments their style of play. There’s no excuse next year, it’s either going to change or he isn’t going to have a job. Those are his options.

Because he’s had one guard (Kopp) who could be categorized as a shooter in 3 years who could shoot consistently on any kind of volume. Don’t over think this one man.