IUBB Offseason Topic

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

37 minutes ago, rebelhoosier848891 said:

To generate discussion---any news on Priller's development? Can he step up to more back up minutes this year? He will always be a fan favorite-- but his hustle and experience have led to good plays when he gets limited minutes late in games. Any chance we see his minutes increase since he is a big body and we are thin/young inside?


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It would be wonderful to see light years improvement in MSB but we've probably seen the best he has to offer and if he's getting extended minutes this season it's probably because we're in deep doo doo depth wise.   It would be interesting to speculate on what kind of improvement, if any, MSB might have made had our coaching change been made in 2016 and he'd have had a full year under Archie.

[Str8Hoosiers]

10 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

 

Starting.
With Hartman as the 6th man.
That's what I envision CuJo doing this season.

 

 You think we will start 3 guards? 

I think CuJo could potentially be that spark off the bench,  but not in a starting role.... Hartman is going to be crucial to our success this season. 

[Stuhoo]

 You think we will start 3 guards? 
I think CuJo could potentially be that spark off the bench,  but not in a starting role.... Hartman is going to be crucial to our success this season. 

Yes! I'm thinking that it is very likely that we start three guards. Very likely. I also think that Hartman will play starters minutes as the sixth man.

[Brass Cannon]

I'd agree Cujo has potential to start. Kid had all the physical skills he needed a coach 

[HoosierAloha]

Yes! I'm thinking that it is very likely that we start three guards. Very likely. I also think that Hartman will play starters minutes as the sixth man.

I could see this happening. Hartman being first off the bench for any of the 1-4 starters. It also balances the experience on the court with him likely coming in for another upperclassman.

[Stromboli]

Curtis has moves JBJ never had.  Curtis is a funny case, in that he's a massive talent that has been hiding on our roster behind headlines about Thomas, OG, JBJ, coaching changes, and recruiting news.  He came in with two very good shooting guards in front of him.  And I think he, above many others, really suffered from the schizophrenic coaching last year.  That's why he started like an assassin against Kansas, and then just withered as the season wore on.  

I disagree that CAM will start 3 guards so Curtis can start.  I think that's a lineup that is just too small for the defense he wants to run.  I truly believe CAM will base his lineups on defensive efficacy, and having three guards just doesn't provide the length he wants.  Look at who he's recruiting, a bunch of lengthy, rangy players.  RP aside, he seems to be looking for lengthy guards, and has spoken before about Al's value on defense with his length.  Even talk of moving Jerome to SG.  Whoa!  Having that bevy of lengthy, quick guys works with the packline and constant switching, so there are no matchups to be created and exploited.  I just don't see him putting a 6'3" Curtis in over a 6'7" Hartman.

THAT SAID, Curtis may still start.  I've heard the same, CuJo is showing signs of being one of the team's best.  Add in that Robert came back from the combine being told that his place in the Association would be as a PG, and so Archie may just decide that Johnson and Jones are our best option back there.  It certainly has some merit.  I am not a Newkirk hater by any means, I'm just wondering if his abilities at PG over RoJo are so significant that it merits taking Hartman off the floor... or maybe Smith or Moore.  I honestly don't think that there is enough, if any, increase from Johnson to Newkirk at this point to justify not fielding Archie's best defense (meaning only two guards).

Round it out with Hartman, DD, and Juwan.  Plenty of depth left behind them. 

 

 

[HoosierAloha]

How much longer is Hartman than Jones? He might be 3-4" taller but I think they're comparable in terms of length.

[8bucks]

Remember when Davis took over and suddenly Coverdale became a big time player? He could not get on the court with RMK and then boom he is a key player on our FF team.

I would not be surprised to see someone have a similar jump in value this time around. Maybe not as big as Coverdales jump was but big nonetheless. Thus when I read that this guy will or that guy will be key for us this year, I am hopeful that we have a few guys we don't mention much have breakout years.

The Morgan and CuJo talk may be some of this and hopefully we have a few pleasant surprises once the team starts to play.

[VO5]

6 minutes ago, Hardwood83 said:

Who is the guy between Moore & Cody? Kinda looks like Etherington.

It is Etherington

[Hoosierfan2017]

7 minutes ago, Hardwood83 said:

Who is the guy between Moore & Cody? Kinda looks like Etherington.

It's Etherington. 

[Yogi's Picnic Basket]

To quote Stromboli since the website hates me and wont let me actually quote, I am in agreement that Jones and RoJo could start with Newkirk off the bench. Obviously I have shared the improvements he has made as well as others have and was told if RoJo was not here, CuJo would start and be our leading scorer. Archie loves him. Has really improved his hands and on ball defense. His confidence was/is the only thing holding him back.

Maybe not to start the year but I see this lineup come B1G play.

PG: RoJo SG: CuJo SF: Morgan PF: Hartman C: Davis

Newkirk, Green, Smith & Moore as our 9 man rotation. 

[Trish]

Saw Archie the other day at the game. Didn't know he was so tiny!


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[Stuhoo]

Seems as though Curtis Jones just might be the president of the IUBB "I'm glad Tom Crean's not my coach" fan club.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Series of optimistic tweets from Nick Baumgart:

Just weeks away from start of college hoops practice, early prediction for IU, with firepower, experience and now D, watch out B1G....

Archie prefers to play 99% man, use bench. 2017-18 Hoosiers will likely look to 2014-15 Flyers - small rotation, great D, Sweet 16..

The lineup shouldnt matter as much as rotation: Newkirk, Johnson, Hartman, Morgan, Davis likely to start (they combine for 14 seasons)

Good luck keeping 6-6 frosh Justin Smith off floor. Add on, Curtis Jones (set for big yr2), and how far has Devonte Greens game come?

Expect IU 2b undersold nationally but cld have as many as 4 future NBAers in rotation, especially up front w an experienced backcourt.

[VO5]

I'm not doubting any of you, but where is this Cujo info coming from? Is he impressing in practice? 

Everything I've read so far doesn't really mention him besides that Baumgart tweet. Is it wishful thinking or actual observation?

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Series of optimistic tweets from Nick Baumgart:
Just weeks away from start of college hoops practice, early prediction for IU, with firepower, experience and now D, watch out B1G....
Archie prefers to play 99% man, use bench. 2017-18 Hoosiers will likely look to 2014-15 Flyers - small rotation, great D, Sweet 16..
The lineup shouldnt matter as much as rotation: Newkirk, Johnson, Hartman, Morgan, Davis likely to start (they combine for 14 seasons)
Good luck keeping 6-6 frosh Justin Smith off floor. Add on, Curtis Jones (set for big yr2), and how far has Devonte Greens game come?
Expect IU 2b undersold nationally but cld have as many as 4 future NBAers in rotation, especially up front w an experienced backcourt.

This is how I'm feeling as of late. Genuinely think we can put together a strong season IF DD can be a force.


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[Stromboli]

I was just putting some furniture together and thinking about this. Just why are we being predicted to miss the tournament? That makes no sense! This is a well built team! Our main concern is that we don't have a backup center! Most teams can't field one good center. We have plenty of height and big bodies to compete.

Good to see these tweets. I wonder sometimes if Archie doesn't get excited about what he's got brewing here.

[Brass Cannon]

2 minutes ago, Stromboli said:

I was just putting some furniture together and thinking about this. Just why are we being predicted to miss the tournament? That makes no sense! This is a well built team! Our main concern is that we don't have a backup center! Most teams can't field one good center. We have plenty of height and big bodies to compete.

Good to see these tweets. I wonder sometimes if Archie doesn't get excited about what he's got brewing here.

We are predicted to miss because the media thought Crean was a good coach and that means in their head we fired a good coach for an up and comer and lost 3 NBA players. Despite none of them playing like it in college. OG having the excuse he was hurt at least. 

[Yogi's Picnic Basket]

Without selling anyone out my sources were based on convos with a certain walk on and a convo with a recruit that many were expecting to commit here till we got Hunter and Anderson. Said recruit played open gym with the team. I have a comparison for him, a more athletic Devonte Graham. Many in HS thought he would have been a 5 star if not for Miles Bridges being on his team. 

Juwan talk has been everywhere and Justin Smith, though have heard his shot will need lots of work is impressing as much as anyone. Also the RoJo talk comes from a lot of sources on twitter. He has worked out a lot of places. 

I agree with Nick though on IU being undersold nationally. I really feel like this team is boundd for a run at a Sweet Sixteen maybe more. Could also be a 1st round exit depending on how the year progresses, but I expect a tourney bid. 

[lillurk]

I tend to think this is a tournament-caliber team, as @Stromboli says, given the experience, depth, and pretty evenly distributed roster construction. (As an aside, I think we'll see some creative workarounds to the lack of a clear backup 5: against less threatening interiors, some combo of two or three of Morgan/Hartman/McSwain/Smith could provide serviceable spot minutes, and I like the possibility of Moore's skill and height challenging oafish bigs like Haas to defend him out to 24 feet to shoot or drive.)

In general I think IU's probably seen as roughly a bubble team at the moment: some reasons to believe, some reasons for concern. There aren't a ton of statistical models projecting the year publicly yet, but T-Rank is a decent-enough one and has IU in a mid-conference logjam just a couple games out of third. I don't think there's any adjustment for the coaching change there, though, so if IU's the team he projects on offense but a bit better on defense, they'd jump more comfortably into that Northwestern-Iowa-Minnesota Maryland tier, as all those teams' offensive projections are in the same ballpark as IU, with defenses a point or two better per 100 possessions.

If IU wins a couple or more of the four tough non-conference games (Seton Hall, Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame) without dropping any others, they'll be in a good place. My hunch is the most likely outcome is they win one of those and have lots of work to do in conference but once we see the team we'll know more.

There are some winnable road conference games on the schedule (Illinois, Ohio State, Rutgers, Nebraska, maybe more), so even if they drop a couple at home, if they otherwise hold serve they should be able to get to 18-12 (9-9) or 19-11 (10-8). I don't think the above is wildly optimistic but it isn't a shoo-in, either. Assuming you win a conference tournament game or two, that's probably good enough for an at-large bid.

The upside this year, theoretically, is in maintaining Crean-era offensive efficiency (roughly top 30 even in a less-than-great year) and adding an equivalently good defense. That's maybe a top 20 or 30 squad, so you're comfortably in the tourney. At that point things can break all sorts of ways.