Penn St @ Indiana, Wednesday 6:30 on BTN - Official Game Thread

[Whoozhers 3,736]

Rojo can score at times but man..... He has some BONEHEAD TO's!
Get it together Rojo!! You can do it!


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[Str8Hoosiers 2,965]

22 hours ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Any good signs tonight? Can't see any on TV.


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just reading through this thread so it may be answered but....

"Block Out Tough" is one the coaches are holding up during their free throws.

"Put Your Hands Up" is one the cheerleaders are holding during our free throws.... This is for the crowd, but I really wish the coaches would grab it for when we are on defense.

[incrediboy 928]

Some observations:

Morgan is still obviously not right. He got beat twice on the baseline early on and had to reach in with his hands and got rightly called for fouling. A month ago he moves his feet and doesn't get that foul. I wonder if OG was healthy if Morgan might still be wearing the boot. It's also affecting his jump shot, and not in a good way.

Something is seriously wrong with Curtis Jones. There was a time he brought energy and a dead-eye shot. Now at best he takes up space if there's nobody else to throw out there. Does he have mono? Pneumonia? Homesickness? Lovesickness? If he doesn't snap out of it, I'd be in favor of sending him packing this summer. I really thought in December if someone had said we'd lose Blackmon at this point that Jones would be ready to step in and fill those shoes. I don't think he could even fill his socks the way he's playing now.

RoJo is a good shooter, but with no Blackmon to draw the defense, he gets no 3-point shots. With the alternatives being Newkirk, McRoberts, Green and Morgan, I'm guarding RoJo with all I have and taking my chances too. Newkirk had an okay night, but he's not a great shooter. Green may be a really good player by the time he's a junior, but he's obviously a freshman in a little over his head right now. Not that we have all that many choices.

We need another zone defense beyond the 2-3, maybe a 1-3-1 or a 1-2-2, just to give a different look. With our shortage of bigs, we saw Penn State set the high ball screen and draw Bryant or Davis up high, leaving a midget to guard a giant underneath if we play man-to-man. A team that could execute better than Penn State would have killed that matchup. The 2-3 isn't bad, but some weaknesses were exposed (PSU put a man at the foul line in the middle, and twice he got good shots...plus more than once they got a dunk behind the zone at the baseline). A different zone look would cause more havoc, and right now we need to cause some.

IF Morgan gets healthy and Jones snaps out of it, we can be competitive with anyone. But if not, we're not going to beat anybody we're not supposed to beat...and we might lose some games we should win. Curse Crean all you want, but without the bodies (sadly, Morgan on one leg is better than McSwain on two), Johnny Wooden wouldn't be winning many games with this team.

[Hovadipo 58,240]

Some observations:

Morgan is still obviously not right. He got beat twice on the baseline early on and had to reach in with his hands and got rightly called for fouling. A month ago he moves his feet and doesn't get that foul. I wonder if OG was healthy if Morgan might still be wearing the boot. It's also affecting his jump shot, and not in a good way.

Something is seriously wrong with Curtis Jones. There was a time he brought energy and a dead-eye shot. Now at best he takes up space if there's nobody else to throw out there. Does he have mono? Pneumonia? Homesickness? Lovesickness? If he doesn't snap out of it, I'd be in favor of sending him packing this summer. I really thought in December if someone had said we'd lose Blackmon at this point that Jones would be ready to step in and fill those shoes. I don't think he could even fill his socks the way he's playing now.

RoJo is a good shooter, but with no Blackmon to draw the defense, he gets no 3-point shots. With the alternatives being Newkirk, McRoberts, Green and Morgan, I'm guarding RoJo with all I have and taking my chances too. Newkirk had an okay night, but he's not a great shooter. Green may be a really good player by the time he's a junior, but he's obviously a freshman in a little over his head right now. Not that we have all that many choices.

We need another zone defense beyond the 2-3, maybe a 1-3-1 or a 1-2-2, just to give a different look. With our shortage of bigs, we saw Penn State set the high ball screen and draw Bryant or Davis up high, leaving a midget to guard a giant underneath if we play man-to-man. A team that could execute better than Penn State would have killed that matchup. The 2-3 isn't bad, but some weaknesses were exposed (PSU put a man at the foul line in the middle, and twice he got good shots...plus more than once they got a dunk behind the zone at the baseline). A different zone look would cause more havoc, and right now we need to cause some.

IF Morgan gets healthy and Jones snaps out of it, we can be competitive with anyone. But if not, we're not going to beat anybody we're not supposed to beat...and we might lose some games we should win. Curse Crean all you want, but without the bodies (sadly, Morgan on one leg is better than McSwain on two), Johnny Wooden wouldn't be winning many games with this team.

Wanting to send a Freshman packing because of a cold streak in January/February? Jeesh.


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[incrediboy 928]

2 hours ago, Hovadipo said:

 

Wanting to send a Freshman packing because of a cold streak in January/February? Jeesh.


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If it were a cold streak, that would be one thing.  And he would snap out of it. But I think there's something wrong with him because it's not just his shooting that's gone south. It could be an illness, and I don't mean to be premature in my judgment. I want the kid to succeed. I hope his problem is physical and can be fixed. But he's become the antithesis of injection of energy off the bench.

 

[Ryno6284 3,136]

15 minutes ago, incrediboy said:

If it were a cold streak, that would be one thing.  And he would snap out of it. But I think there's something wrong with him because it's not just his shooting that's gone south. It could be an illness, and I don't mean to be premature in my judgment. I want the kid to succeed. I hope his problem is physical and can be fixed. But he's become the antithesis of injection of energy off the bench.

 

I thought I heard he hurt his ankle earlier this week, or maybe last week.

[HoosierAloha 30,077]

I thought I heard he hurt his ankle earlier this week, or maybe last week.

I believe Crean listed him in the "not 100%" list before this game.

[Hovadipo 58,240]

If it were a cold streak, that would be one thing.  And he would snap out of it. But I think there's something wrong with him because it's not just his shooting that's gone south. It could be an illness, and I don't mean to be premature in my judgment. I want the kid to succeed. I hope his problem is physical and can be fixed. But he's become the antithesis of injection of energy off the bench.

 

I actually forgot about the injuries that were just brought up, but even besides that the kid is just a Freshman. He needs time. Sending him packing is a tad harsh in my opinion.


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[Yogi's Picnic Basket 5,004]

Wanting to send a Freshman packing because of a cold streak in January/February? Jeesh.


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Specially one as highly regarded as Jones is/was. He was on a CBS list at the beginning of the year for sleeper freshmen picks. He has potential to be a very very good player here. I am fine with him and continue to have confidence he will be one of our better players next year.

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[biteoftheapple 4,115]

Specially one as highly regarded as Jones is/was. He was on a CBS list at the beginning of the year for sleeper freshmen picks. He has potential to be a very very good player here. I am fine with him and continue to have confidence he will be one of our better players next year.

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I feel the same. I have seldom agreed with much of what incrediboy analyzes, anyway.

[Josh 12,783]

I don't wish a transfer on a kid, but Cujo isn't good. I cringe every time he takes the court.

FIRE HIM! This is embarrassing

[mdn82 25,633]

I don't wish a transfer on a kid, but Cujo isn't good. I cringe every time he takes the court.

FIRE HIM! This is embarrassing

I think we can say that about a lot of players. But I think it goes back to coach not putting then in a position to succeed.


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[Hoosierfan2017 22,545]

Cujo needs to gain about 30 pounds. He's got the Kevin Durant body going on right now without the skill. 

[CrossboneIU22 1,274]

15 hours ago, incrediboy said:

Some observations:

Something is seriously wrong with Curtis Jones. There was a time he brought energy and a dead-eye shot. Now at best he takes up space if there's nobody else to throw out there. Does he have mono? Pneumonia? Homesickness? Lovesickness? 

 

Taking a piece of your post.  I think this is strictly due to Crean's style and program.  Let me explain, I have seen it in multiple freshmen.  There are a few exceptions and I have a theory on that as well.  First, On Cujo and the freshman slump.  I feel that our incoming sharp shooting freshman or at least highly capable shooters in terms of pure shooting ability, are hurt by our strength and conditioning program.  When a shooter comes in and is so used to shooting under certain conditions and muscle repetition, once they start adding on muscle mass and conditioning, it throws off that shot for a while.  Most High School programs do not have a Strength program anywhere near what college (IU esp.) has and it can be a dramatic change.  Then, when you start getting into the heart of the season where your body starts to wear down.  Shots start coming up short so you over compensate and then they are off all together and your confidence plummets. Then as a freshman, you don't have a long enough leash to gain that confidence back in game play.  We saw it with Hulls, Watford, Yogi, Blackmon, Johnson, and Cujo.  They start improving their Sophomore year because they have had all off season to work on their shot with their muscle make up.  Some exceptions to this could include OG, Oladipo, Zeller, Vonleigh and others as they were already pretty strong coming in or they developed their shot more so after already adding the "freshman" strength increase.  

Again, this is just my opinion.  Facts may prove me wrong but I've seen it year in and year out.

[CrossboneIU22 1,274]

I think Jones will be just fine, he just needs to settle in and work on his shot.  Also, it wouldn't hurt if he was put in better situations than he is.  He can't be out their as the 1st or 2nd option at this point.  The game hasn't slowed down enough for him yet to be put in that role (partially due to lack of quality playing time, can't get a rhythm only playing in 1-2 minute spurts).  He needs to be in with the game with any combination of 2 between, Blackmon, Rojo, Bryant/Davis (both Bryant and Davis can't count as the 2, need at least one of the guards with him) and then let him play for 5-6 minutes at a time (unless he is just completely screwing up).  After a minute or two or three and once he settles in and is playing well, you can bring in subs and make him the 2nd option or 1st option if he is playing really well for small spurts to get or keep his confidence up.  Again, just goes back to not understanding substitutions at a high level program with 7-10 highly skilled basketball players.  

Quick tangent, but when you have 7-10 highly skilled basketball players, you have to use them differently then you would if you have 1-3 highly skilled players and a bunch of hustle guys or average college players like you would at a lower level school.  You also have to have a feeling for the game and who can do what in certain situations.  Tangent over.

[WayneFleekHoosier 49,247]

Curtis Jones-
Has lost all confidence.

He could play before and he still can but his shot is barely hitting the rim right now. Missing those FTS at penn state might have been the straw that broke the confidence.

Plus he's primarily a shooter. Needs to build confidence to be of help. Or focus on doing the other things that he isn't necessarily known for.


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[LockdownD 2,246]

1 hour ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Curtis Jones-
Has lost all confidence.

He could play before and he still can but his shot is barely hitting the rim right now. Missing those FTS at penn state might have been the straw that broke the confidence.

Plus he's primarily a shooter. Needs to build confidence to be of help. Or focus on doing the other things that he isn't necessarily known for.


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Curtis needs to focus on doing those other things that he can do and the team needs.  Set himself up for success.  Challenge himself for defensive stops.  He can do it, the team needs it, and the crowd would love it.  Those shots will fall.