Indiana vs Penn State Post Game Thread

[ElectricBoogaloo 4,307]

I don’t know what you do about Smith and Fitzner. We need them both if this season is going to be fully realized  

Fitzner’s closest player comparison is an unathletic Hanner Perea. His hands are THAT bad. And then he passes up shots on the perimeter. That’s why you’re there dude!

Green got us back in the game early and then boned away 4 turnovers in about 6 possessions to let Penn State back in the game. Can’t trust him. The highs aren’t high enough and the lows are killer. 

[Beachfront Property 619]

Does anyone remember when Smith would get 2 put back dunks a game last year? I can’t think of a single one he’s had all year!

[Schreckbagger 620]

Why is Anderson not getting any minutes...? I know he can be a liability on defense, but he can hit a shot. Sometimes you need a shooter on the floor. End of half...?

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[Uspshoosier 45,372]

Anyone listen to Robs interview after the game? He said Archie drew up the play they were going to run for Stevens. Scouting and coaching. I liked that little attention to detail. He definitely can and will improve on some stuff but I was impressed with that


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[schoosier 3,463]

The beauty and curse of being an Indiana coach is not one fan base is as knowledgeable about the game as ours. We support our team like no other but can shade tree coach every minute, mistake and good play made. We’ll take the W but there’s plenty to improve moving forward. 

[Bailey7878 2,506]

Tonight's take... a win is a win. I don't care if we won at the buzzer or won by 50 we have to we these kind of games. Penn State is probably an NIT team. They are tough. I'll be rooting for coach Chambers and his team the rest of the season. A few things...
1) For Archie's first 20 months on the job I really haven't had any complaints. However, Justin Smith HAS to sit. I don't know what's going on. I hope nothing is wrong with his family. But he is costing us games. Start the Jagger kid over him, I don't care. But he has to sit. Sorry to the Bills fan on here but he is worse than Nathan Peterman. Goodness...
2) Is it just me or has Fitzner been a dissapointment? What is going on with him??
3) Great game by Rob and Romeo. Rob rebounded really well after a few off games. I think he clearly needs to stay in the lineup. Turnover Devonte was back tonight. 
4) Liked seeing Clifton Moore get some minutes. Think he could be a solid role player. Really don't know why Damezi and Jake aren't playing. McRoberts doesn't seem 100% yet. 
Hope this team gets ready for University 6 on Saturday. I hate those guys and they have had our number lately. 

Fitzner did not get big minutes at st marys and averaged 4 points per game. So no i was never expecting much from him.

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[IUfan_Charlie 3,867]

32 minutes ago, Schreckbagger said:

Why is Anderson not getting any minutes...? I know he can be a liability on defense, but he can hit a shot. Sometimes you need a shooter on the floor. End of half...?

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From what I saw when he played earlier this year he is no where near ready. His defense and sloppiness with the ball were both awful. 

[Bailey7878 2,506]

From what I saw when he played earlier this year he is no where near ready. His defense and sloppiness with the ball were both awful. 

You got it. He just isnt ready and there are only so many minutes to go around.

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[RaceToTheTop 25,261]

Despite their record, KenPom has Penn State ranked as the #37 team in the nation.  

Winning on the road there is a good thing.

[Hoosier2014 289]

I know Smith played horrible on offense but he did play some pretty good defense. He had the assignment of Stevens for the majority of the game and held him to 5-13. He also had 9 rebounds which is crucial to how bad of a rebounding team they seem to be.  

Also, didn’t a player from a few years back use to play catch with a baseball to improve his hands? I might be making that up but maybe that could help Smith. 

[rcbowla 7,055]

Coach K is my homeboy ...

That's just unfortunate

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[Old Friend 8,389]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I don’t know what you do about Smith and Fitzner. We need them both if this season is going to be fully realized  

Fitzner’s closest player comparison is an unathletic Hanner Perea. His hands are THAT bad. And then he passes up shots on the perimeter. That’s why you’re there dude!

Green got us back in the game early and then boned away 4 turnovers in about 6 possessions to let Penn State back in the game. Can’t trust him. The highs aren’t high enough and the lows are killer. 

Guy averaged 4 points a game at St. Mary's.  If he's not shooting, he's just a tall body.   But Hanner Perea could never shoot like he can.   

[Old Friend 8,389]

12 minutes ago, Hoosier2014 said:

I know Smith played horrible on offense but he did play some pretty good defense. He had the assignment of Stevens for the majority of the game and held him to 5-13. He also had 9 rebounds which is crucial to how bad of a rebounding team they seem to be.  

Also, didn’t a player from a few years back use to play catch with a baseball to improve his hands? I might be making that up but maybe that could help Smith. 

Exactly.   A coach's grade on Smith will be higher than a fan's grade.

[hoosierpap 14,300]

Just getting back from the game. A couple things...

Green absolutely frustrates the hell out of Archie. Green seems like the kid who really doesn't respond well to the tough love Archie was giving him. A couple of managers were trying to bring him back up after getting reamed out by Archie. Green's biggest issue, imo, is just forcing it when things aren't going well when the approach should be to slow things down, simplify it. Green's parents were a row in front and a section over behind IU's bench and certainly didn't have the greatest experience outside of his two big threes in the first.  

Juwan seemed a little off, on the floor and the bench. I don't know, I never have really seen that side of him. Possibly related to the bone contusion but, idk. I think it was reflective in the box score.

You have to like how Rob showed up down the stretch. That's what you want out of a PG and he's a freshmen at that. Interesting to see Archie drew that last PSU inbound up and the execution on Rob's part was there. This kid is not afraid to lead...at one point Archie was coming at him after a set play where Romeo was supposed to come from the corner 3 for a handoff to start the action. Romeo stayed in the corner, Archie called time out and laid into Rob. I'm not entirely sure what the play was, but it did appear to be a standard variation of a 4 out set.  Rob looked right at Romeo and yelled "I tell you all the f-ing time on that, let's go." Rob is the kid in a couple years who leads you in a tourney run if you get the pieces around him.

Clifton and Fitz are tough to watch on defense. I know Clifton had a couple impact plays towards the end of the 1st but I'm telling you he is absolutely lost at times throughout the possession. Fitz, man, just a lack of awareness. Plays his man only 75%, eyes locked, and can't see the ball. He did have two decent hedges which tells me he's being coached to do it, it's just not happening consistently.

That said, they did play some solid team defense overall. This team is well coached. Archie has command of this group which is a glaring difference from the previous leadership. When you see it up close, it's like night and day. The offense has a ways to go, Rob got into some situations in the 2nd where IU was really struggling to get their sets initiated and he ended up dribbling north of 15 seconds. That's not a recipe for success. 

 

One thing of note...I spoke with a Hawks scout, Dotun (sp?), before the game. He was down on the floor pregame and said he was there for Romeo. He claimed not to know if any other scouts were there, idk that I believe that lol, but he's the only one I saw. He said Romeo is going in the top ten. Not breaking news. At this point, they have prospects above where he is projected but never know where they'll end up. I asked about strengths and weaknesses.. strength, something to the effect of "the kid understands the game on both sides more than anyone in his class. He knows he can score anytime but there is a hesitancy." Weaknesses, again, paraphrasing "Attitude affects his play. Being passive in the NBA won't warrant the value of a top 10 pick. That's the concern. He knows he's a killer, so kill." I didn't see him after the game, but have to think his eval of strengths and weaknesses was a tale of two halves. Said RJ, Bol Bol, Zion.

 

[hoosierpap 14,300]

50 minutes ago, Hoosier2014 said:

I know Smith played horrible on offense but he did play some pretty good defense. He had the assignment of Stevens for the majority of the game and held him to 5-13. He also had 9 rebounds which is crucial to how bad of a rebounding team they seem to be.  

Also, didn’t a player from a few years back use to play catch with a baseball to improve his hands? I might be making that up but maybe that could help Smith. 

Yeah, he was what they needed on defense. Held him under 10 pts of his avg. The turnovers and overall lack of effectiveness on offense are frustrating and stick out, but you grab 9- and 3 very important boards- and keep their biggest weapon in check...Smith is big in this win.

[Bailey7878 2,506]

Guy averaged 4 points a game at St. Mary's.  If he's not shooting, he's just a tall body.   But Hanner Perea could never shoot like he can.   

I still dont get what some expected from him? He can shoot but there is a reason he did not start at st marys. He is very limited and his minutes may continue to go down if moore plays well or race comes back. Not ripping him but he is what he is.

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[Uspshoosier 45,372]

Rewatching game at 2am (18 month old teething). Fitzner had a terrible ending to the game
Missed 3
Next possession missed layup
He had Romeo wide open for a layup but mishandles the ball and ends up getting fouled
Misses front end of 1 and 1
After miss could of got called for a foul going after the miss (surprised they didn’t call it on the road)


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[hoosierpap 14,300]

2 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Rewatching game at 2am (18 month old teething). Fitzner had a terrible ending to the game
Missed 3
Next possession missed layup
He had Romeo wide open for a layup but mishandles the ball and ends up getting fouled
Misses front end of 1 and 1
After miss could of got called for a foul going after the miss (surprised they didn’t call it on the road)


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Currently re-watching.

[Uspshoosier 45,372]

Currently re-watching.

Reaves is an elite defender. That steal at the end of the game was a fantastic play. Following Romeo down on the baseline sees the backdoor lob at the rim and stops following Romeo and makes the play. Heck a defensive play


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[Whoozhers 3,665]

Smith did have a couple of key rebounds late. But..... what did he do next? He darn near turned it over with 2 bad air head passes! His inability to finish at the rim is unfortunately his trademark. He reminds me of this quote by Bobby Bowden..... "Son, you've got a good engine, but your hands aren't on the steering wheel."



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