skhoosier2

This post is exactly where I’m at. Carr was brought here to evaluate and find talent. Until we start winning and prove something, we are just used to drive up bidding wars imo on higher end talent.

Scotty now busy doing that on the other board. Or maybe it’s how you aren’t a true fan.

Exactly. Players know we are in a spot with nobody on the roster. They are using us to get more money. We are trying to swing for the fences and missing. I personally do not know if they come EVEN if we overpay. No doom and gloom. Not giving up. I have never personally thought we were getting top talent. I am unconvinced the staff can close. There is nothing proven yet. And selling bringing IUBB back from the ashes is tired IMO. HOPEFULLY Carr is good at his job. We get some under the radar guys to commit and we can get in the tournament safely, beat NW next year, and create some momentum in the off season.

Not disastrous by any means but we need to hit at some point. But i fear these sought after portal guys will use our offers to leverage better offers from places they may deem better at this point. We need 8 guys. Portal players know we are in need and will use that to their advantage. Not a good spot to be in IMO but hopefully the staff can get some of the guys they are targeting.

Agreed. I don't find this excuse to be valid when others did not experience the same hired slightly before or after CDD. I am not giving up on him but building the roster and setting the culture is on him alone. Hopefully he's better and learned from his mistakes this season. Find players that fly under the radar, make the budget go far, and land a few top guys if we can. If Estrella lands at UM, it won't be a surprise but will hurt. Lots of talent in the portal though so have to get on many and not be left holding the bag when some move on to better situations or for more $$.

Just read staff asked him to take a pay cut...take it fwiw.

That's what I was thinking...hopefully that's the case.

Isn't this Olsen?

EXACTLY. We are not in a good position by needing so many players. That's why last year was a waste. It isn't helping this year in the portal at all or to get top talent because we are going to have to overpay to do it and at this point we cannot afford to overpay when you need 7+ players.

This has been my thoughts going into the portal. With what we need, I just don't see how we afford the big splash players especially given the amounts of money being tossed around as asking prices. We need 7 players. On 14m (IF that's actually what we have), we cannot afford to spend recklessly. I really think we have to find players that have talent but that are not the big splash names to build our team with. Many fans will be disappointed especially the twitter verse iubb crazies. I think it's critical we make the tournament this year to build some momentum, but I do think this won't be a fast rebuild. I also think we are inquiring about the big names and seeing the price tags pricing us out fast. Players are using us to get more $$ like they did last season knowing we need a full team again. Not a great situation to be in leverage wise to negotiate IMO.

Saw his tweet this morning and assumed the same thing. We need too many pieces to spend big on 3+ guys. The staff definitely has its work cut out for it.

Spending wisely is going to be KEY. Carr will need to earn his paycheck with talent evals and finding the talent flying under the radar for the right price.

Feels like this is not sustainable year after year. Didn’t we have 10m last year? Rumored 12-14m this year and need 20+ to try and get a top 25 team since we need 6-7 players? I think Cig spent like 22m for football last year. Madness it seems. Carr needs to earn his $$ fielding a team of under the radar guys we can get into the tournament with. Talent scouting is going to be even more important with a ‘limited’ budget (and who can believe 12-14m would be limited).

Agree with this. Prices seem much higher than last year. How many of the guys we are after use us to drive the price up for places they are more interested in? I really hope the staff can get it done on some of these guys. We really need to make the tournament this year to repair our name/reputation and build. My concern has always been yes we have money and playing time, but what else draws guys here? Like you said, better first year would have gone a long way. Hopefully this year with a full staff we can get it done.

We hired Carr to evaluate talent and manage a budget. Let him earn his money. Iowa did more with less $$. We will have to spend wisely considering we need an entire starting 5 plus a few bench pieces. I really think many may be disappointed with the roster we end up with again. My hope is that Carr identifies the guys we can afford that are team buy in guys that can compete in the B1G and make the tournament. This portal can’t open up fast enough.

Definitely. Good bench player but not starting center 30+ mins a night.

I really thought Sam turned into a nice player at the end. He may not have been highly ranked, but he gave good effort and battled. Your post is spot on. Hopefully with Carr we scout well and get what is needed this year.

Woody got TJD to the league. Big guys saw that and wanted to ride that coattail. There is nothing this program has done recently that would suggest high major talent will come for money alone and if those are the players we are getting just for money then there's a possibility they will not establish the culture needed to sustain success. Just my opinion. Don't be disappointed with the team we assemble with higher expectations than we get. I will be ecstatic if I'm wrong. Wilkerson was a great get. We got lucky there for sure. Without him, we really struggle to win.

I am aware. He was just an example of someone that did it with less money and coached his players/developed his culture. He put a foundation in place his first year to attract the players he wants to compete with. I believe that's what we need to do this season in order to get to where we want to go. Last year was a disappointment and a waste in regards to program building. The narrative that CDD had no time/no staff is an excuse. Other programs hired their coaches later and did more. That's fully on CDD for dragging his feet on staff(yes I know he was waiting on higher level assistants he ultimately did not get) and not knowing what kind of roster he needed to compete in the B1G. I am not giving up on the guy, but I am calling it what it is. He's got a GM now to help with talent evaluation. My expectations are tournament or bust. Roster construction is key to program building and taking the program in an upward trajectory. If he cannot get to the tournament next season, he will deserve to be on the hot seat. I am not expecting high major talent. I am expecting a better roster construction, better coaching, and an upward trajectory to see a path to getting better talent where we can be at the top of the conference again. That doesn't happen if we cannot make the tournament yearly and win games we should win to get there.

While I understand what you are saying, players of top caliber can get money and stage almost anywhere. Until we get this thing rolling (assuming CDD is the guy), I really don't see the highest of talent coming to IU just for money especially if they want to go to the NBA (granted Carr has that bridge now but we have to have a coach that can coach/develop them to get there). Some may be interested in solely money and like I said are those the guys we really want to build this thing with? Ben McCollum doesn't have the money IU has and still got a team to buy in and coached them to the elite 8. Personally, i think the first step is going to be to assemble a team that can get to the tournament safely and win games we are supposed to (see NW). Once he can do that yearly, then I believe the talent will come and we can start to compete at the top of the conference again. But IMO the best we can hope for at this point is a yearly tournament team to start attracting more talent. Even in the NIL era, I just don't see how this will be a fast fix even with money to spend given the state of our program. I completely agree with your take and our needs. I just think a realistic view of what we want vs what we can get are two different things. I hope we get there. I hope they swing for the fences and get a couple guys. I just do not see that as the realistic possibility so if we get a starter from UL that fits what we need it's a start and hopefully an upgrade to what we saw last season.

Generally, I agree with you on most of what you post but I am curious...why do you think we are attractive to high major more talented players? What do we have to offer besides money and playing time? While I really want to see us build a competitive roster with better players, I just don't see what is better about IU if they can go to UK, UL, Texas, Arkansas, UT, etc. Those were tournament teams. We had a meltdown and couldn't beat NW twice. Being a tournament team seeded 6-10 would be a feat for this program right now IMO. We are not the IUBB of old. We cannot just attract any players we want unfortunately. Money isn't the only thing that attracts these high major players especially when other programs have the SAME money to offer and a more attractive winning program. I am not saying CDD/Carr shouldnt go after the big fish. I am saying I don't think there is anything at this point to believe we can get those players over others save for money (and those that are purely after money aren't going to create the right culture that is needed to build this program).

Wonder how long that will last?

Anyone know who the poster is? I don’t follow him but he shows up a lot on my feed and always seems to know about recruiting for basketball and football.

Great coach. Very smart and his game plans were excellent in the tournament. He will be a force in the B1G and tournament for years to come.

Great win for Iowa. Had to turn off Purdue. The refs let their bigs get away with murder all game.