Ctf9

Adding Brennan and Overton moved us up to the 22-26 range.

If I’m reading it right, and he does say it’s too early, but as of right now this collection of players looks like a team that would rank in the thirties by his formula. Offense would be in the fifties and defense in the twenties, which is the opposite of what I would have guessed. But a team in the 30-39 range on Kenpom sounds right. Purdue would be top five, for reference.

Totally agree. It may not be a holiday so much as a time for families to hang, but the whole family benefits from NIL—loved Wilkerson telling Goodman his first purchase was something for his mom.

I have no idea but don’t you think Easter weekend is probably not a big visits weekend? I could see the coaches working through, given the time structures, but maybe the players just want to hang with their families? I have no idea but if it’s a quiet weekend I won’t stress.

So assuming we add a competent bench big, what’s the expectation for this team? To me it seems like great offense, ok defense, and making the tournament with a chance for some upsets along the way because of shooting and toughness. I would take that season in a heartbeat.

He’s also doing it in what seems to be a more competitive portal environment—lots of top teams spending big and turning over huge chunks of their roster, fast. I remain in wait and see mode with DeVries, but I’m certainly not panicking anymore. This team should make the tournament. That’s good enough for year one. I think they’ll also be really fun to watch.

Iowa just signed a shooter out of Kansas State who will surely start with Stirtz. Plus four other Drake players, mostly wings and guards. Plus a kid from Utah Valley on campus now. So they might not have room for Overton (or maybe they couldn’t afford him).

First Four more likely but in year one I’ll take it lol

Nice work by DeVries.

Did you get a sense of why he was spinning the info? To make an IU source happy or was he just being duped or what?

I like the rebounding more than anything else. He could help compensate for Bailey.

Hopefully he's the best of both worlds -- he specifically said he came to IU for the resources, so he's not averse to using the money.

Well I'm factoring in the injuries -- if those don't hammer WVU, I feel like they're more like a 22-10, 24-8 kind of team, with a good shot at winning one or two games in the tournament. I also feel like Woodson's teams were always less satisfying to watch than their records -- it was so obvious that with a better coach, there would be better results. If we squeak into the tournament while also seeing good coaching and development across the season, I would take that for sure.

Thanks for the reply—makes sense. I am hoping for a season like West Virginia one last year. But maybe a lot of fans are expecting more.

Honest question: Why do you think he needs that much time? Drake was really good in his first year, and I heard him talk in a podcast about having ten new players that year, and that was pre-portal. West Virginia was really good in his first year too. I was skeptical of him as the choice, so I’m wondering why you as someone who’s all in thinks he’ll need more time. Not trying to be snarky here—a genuine question.