Scott Dolson New AD

[CS2 174]

32 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

Okay...help me.   What are you afraid of?  Seriously.  Making a coaching change will not...I repeat will NOT magically make Indiana basketball a national champion.  Any coach will need to build, just like Archie is building.  Indiana has improved every year under Archie.   He HAS had injury problems, and the roster he was left by Crean was garbage.  Sorry, but it was.   The kids he specifically recruited are nos sophomores.  He even jettisoned one (Forrester) who wasn't going to fit.   The caliber of player he's attracting is and has been solid. 

What are you afraid of?  What's your fear?   If all you're doing is judging the final results without looking at the true picture, it's going to look far different than what it is in reality.   We have seen consistent material improvement on the basketball floor, even if the results we all want aren't there yet.  The improvement and direction ARE there.  I don't understand "fear."

1. I am afraid of nothing regarding this

2. Never wrote a word about firing a coach.

Did you respond to the wrong post?

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,606]

Results don't matter? Yes it can be pathetic, but there has been improvement.  
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Has there been improvement? College basketball as a whole was down. So relative to last year, the product was still awful. The product on the floor still matters. We can’t have garbage basketball and 20 wins and be happy. At some point, Archie will have to have good basketball on the floor and it’s been very rare under him so far. We aren’t Rutgers, we shouldn’t be trying to ugly up the game to win.


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[Old Friend 8,389]

This should make you curmudgeons feel better.   

https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2020/03/19/new-indiana-ad-scott-dolson-familiarity-iu-athletics-key-reason-appointment-fred-glass-indiana/2877101001/

[Old Friend 8,389]

24 minutes ago, CS2 said:

1. I am afraid of nothing regarding this

2. Never wrote a word about firing a coach.

Did you respond to the wrong post?

You wrote this :

That is some people's fear.

So...I asked.  Nope....I responded to the word "fear."  And asked "what's the fear?"

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,606]

This should make you curmudgeons feel better.   
https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2020/03/19/new-indiana-ad-scott-dolson-familiarity-iu-athletics-key-reason-appointment-fred-glass-indiana/2877101001/

The only correct answer is “Men’s basketball will be of the highest priority.” Glass helped further ruin the program while trying to put some lipstick on the pig.


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[CS2 174]

3 minutes ago, Old Friend said:

You wrote this :

That is some people's fear.

So...I asked.  Nope....I responded to the word "fear."  And asked "what's the fear?"

Correction: You asked "what are you afraid of?" and "what is your fear?"  So you indeed asked...and you asked me specifically.

Refer to my previous answer as it is in context.  Hope that helps.

 

[jk34 1,105]

1 hour ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Well Glass put basketball on the same level as wrestling or water polo with the 24 sports 1 team crap. Men’s basketball needs to be priority #1-10. Football #11-20. Everything else follows.


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That's exactly why you're on a forum, and not making decisions like this! 

[Old Friend 8,389]

7 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Has there been improvement? College basketball as a whole was down. So relative to last year, the product was still awful. The product on the floor still matters. We can’t have garbage basketball and 20 wins and be happy. At some point, Archie will have to have good basketball on the floor and it’s been very rare under him so far. We aren’t Rutgers, we shouldn’t be trying to ugly up the game to win.


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There is just so much here....

1)  Saying college basketball as a whole is down is a pathetic excuse.  Parity does not mean it's down.  There's a reason Dayton, San Diego State, Baylor, etc are having success, and it's because there are WAY more really good players now.  The field has been leveled to an enormous degree and to deny that says only that you have no idea what you're talking about.  You really think the number of lesser-known programs is because college basketball is down?  That's just ignorant.

2)  The product on the floor matters, but because of the way basketball is played now, it will never look as pretty as it used to look.  Defense is far more an emphasis than it used to be, officials allow more contact, and quicker, longer players are closing to shooters now.  North Carolina was awful this season.  Florida State  (who we beat) just plays players in waves and always wins ugly.  Except for games against bad teams, tell me who "wins pretty" in college basketball now, and simply "making shots" doesn't count.  I'll hang up and listen.

3)  Indiana was ranked #26 in defensive efficiency, and had as many quad one (which means solid) wins as almost any team in the country.  You're defining "good basketball" by what, exactly?   My initial post on the matter said the problems were basically attributable to kids Archie didn't recruit, and one in particular.  That player has now graduated, and you know exactly what I'm talking about.  He, by himself was responsible for "bad basketball," but why do I think when he was making shots, that is the rare occasion you're speaking of?   

4)  When did anybody say "we're Rutgers?"  What point are you trying to make, here?   You seem to have an understanding of this situation like old people drive at night.   There's no perspective or peripheral vision at all.   We get it.  You're negative and upset that Indiana hasn't won yet to satisfy your "right now or else" millennial mentality.    That's obvious.  But you're not paying attention to what's really happening in favor of the most elementary approach you can possibly take.   We all get THAT, too.

[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,182]

Has there been improvement? College basketball as a whole was down. So relative to last year, the product was still awful. The product on the floor still matters. We can’t have garbage basketball and 20 wins and be happy. At some point, Archie will have to have good basketball on the floor and it’s been very rare under him so far. We aren’t Rutgers, we shouldn’t be trying to ugly up the game to win.


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Who said anything about being happy the play. If you don't see the improvement, you don't want to

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[Old Friend 8,389]

9 minutes ago, CS2 said:

Correction: You asked "what are you afraid of?" and "what is your fear?"  So you indeed asked...and you asked me specifically.

Refer to my previous answer as it is in context.  Hope that helps.

 

This just makes me laugh.  Whatever, man.  If you're that in need of validation, I'm the wrong guy,  You wrote it.  "Some people."  Did that mean you?  Did it not mean you?   NOW you're saying it didn't.  Okay.  Fine.  Whatever.  But I told you what I responded to and no....it wasn't the wrong post.  Don't need help, but thanks anyway.  

[Demo 19,580]

5 minutes ago, jk34 said:

That's exactly why you're on a forum, and not making decisions like this! 

You’re right. But, to his credit, and I never thought I would type that, Chicken Sandwich is one of the few critical posters around here who is highly specific about what he wants from IU sports. MBB success followed very distantly by IUFB and nothing else matters. I don’t agree, really, really don’t agree, but his priorities are clear. And I assume this is a widely shared perspective, because, frankly, to prioritize things any other way would make it pretty tough to describe Glass’s tenure as anything but successful. And, clearly, a lot of folks don’t. But I don’t really know for sure, because a lot of the criticism of Glass and the Dolson hire are, outside of hiring/retaining Miller, pretty vague. I would be more interested to read about people’s specific vision of a successful AD tenure and how they plan to judge Dolson against that. I’ll probably get around to that at some point.

[jk34 1,105]

31 minutes ago, Demo said:

You’re right. But, to his credit, and I never thought I would type that, Chicken Sandwich is one of the few critical posters around here who is highly specific about what he wants from IU sports. MBB success followed very distantly by IUFB and nothing else matters. I don’t agree, really, really don’t agree, but his priorities are clear. And I assume this is a widely shared perspective, because, frankly, to prioritize things any other way would make it pretty tough to describe Glass’s tenure as anything but successful. And, clearly, a lot of folks don’t. But I don’t really know for sure, because a lot of the criticism of Glass and the Dolson hire are, outside of hiring/retaining Miller, pretty vague. I would be more interested to read about people’s specific vision of a successful AD tenure and how they plan to judge Dolson against that. I’ll probably get around to that at some point.

I get that, but almost every post could be moved to the negativity thread. We're all passionate about IU basketball,  but most are realistic about it. When incremental improvement in wins is less important than the way it looks, that's irrational thinking. Archie said from day one it would take a few years to get things in place. In the next year or two, if he doesn't hold up his end of the deal, then Dolson will be judged on how he deals with it.

[CS2 174]

2 hours ago, Old Friend said:

This just makes me laugh.  Whatever, man.  If you're that in need of validation, I'm the wrong guy,  You wrote it.  "Some people."  Did that mean you?  Did it not mean you?   NOW you're saying it didn't.  Okay.  Fine.  Whatever.  But I told you what I responded to and no....it wasn't the wrong post.  Don't need help, but thanks anyway.  

Just go back read all three posts again.  I wrote "some people" and then clearly explained my personal position.  Sheesh man.

Edited March 19, 2020 by CS2

[MoyeNeeded 3,073]

On 3/18/2020 at 5:33 PM, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Confirms they wanted to hire someone they could walk over and an absolutely awful hire.


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Who is they? McRobbie? BOT? McRobbie will be retiring. The BOT was split. I guess you were on the Reynolds train. Yes I would have been happy with him. But Dolson absolutely not an "awful hire". I agree that bball should be at the top of the list with football next, but you have pretty much implied that the rest of the Athletic Dept deserves little to no attention. That is an awful lot of tunnel vision.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,606]

There is just so much here....
1)  Saying college basketball as a whole is down is a pathetic excuse.  Parity does not mean it's down.  There's a reason Dayton, San Diego State, Baylor, etc are having success, and it's because there are WAY more really good players now.  The field has been leveled to an enormous degree and to deny that says only that you have no idea what you're talking about.  You really think the number of lesser-known programs is because college basketball is down?  That's just ignorant.
2)  The product on the floor matters, but because of the way basketball is played now, it will never look as pretty as it used to look.  Defense is far more an emphasis than it used to be, officials allow more contact, and quicker, longer players are closing to shooters now.  North Carolina was awful this season.  Florida State  (who we beat) just plays players in waves and always wins ugly.  Except for games against bad teams, tell me who "wins pretty" in college basketball now, and simply "making shots" doesn't count.  I'll hang up and listen.
3)  Indiana was ranked #26 in defensive efficiency, and had as many quad one (which means solid) wins as almost any team in the country.  You're defining "good basketball" by what, exactly?   My initial post on the matter said the problems were basically attributable to kids Archie didn't recruit, and one in particular.  That player has now graduated, and you know exactly what I'm talking about.  He, by himself was responsible for "bad basketball," but why do I think when he was making shots, that is the rare occasion you're speaking of?   
4)  When did anybody say "we're Rutgers?"  What point are you trying to make, here?   You seem to have an understanding of this situation like old people drive at night.   There's no perspective or peripheral vision at all.   We get it.  You're negative and upset that Indiana hasn't won yet to satisfy your "right now or else" millennial mentality.    That's obvious.  But you're not paying attention to what's really happening in favor of the most elementary approach you can possibly take.   We all get THAT, too.

1. Parity doesn’t mean quality. College basketball is down. It’s been on a downward trend for years. Why? I don’t know. You can pick from plenty of things. Transfer, the one and done rule, other players leaving earlier than they should, injuries, conference realignment, coaching changes, officiating getting worse or whatever. It’s just a bad product. And the quality of basketball played on the floor wasn’t good this season as a whole.

2. Indiana basketball isn’t FSU. And UNC has one bad year. Look at previous years, they played wonderful basketball.

3. Efficiency ratings differ from year to year. It all depends on the landscape. The defensive efficiency really doesn’t help the 10 minute offensive droughts, the god awful shooting, the god awful offensive sets, lack of effort, lack of hustle, lack of basketball IQ for everyone on the team. You may want to blame it on Devonte Green, but was Phinisee any better? No. He made a ton of bad decisions as well. The entire team did so quit putting everything on one guy. I define good basketball as having good defense that hustles and an offensive system that works slow, fast or with guys that can hit 3’s or not. We don’t have that.

4. We won ugly this year. That’s been a norm under Archie. That’s something bad programs do because they have to make up for something, like Rutgers. That’s where Archie has gotten us.


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[Gahoosierfan 272]

I think Dolson is a typical IU hire. Much like his predecessors. We have had Donninger, Greenspan, and Glass. The athletic program is still mired at the lowest levels of the B10  as a whole and a non-factor on the national level. And yes I know men's soccer is usually pretty good and sometimes swimming teams. The real heart and soul of any competitive  NCAA Div 1 program are football and men's basketball. There is no denying IU lags far behind the rest of the B10 and has for decades. In the case of football, it is arguably one of the 10 worst programs all-time in BCS. These are just the facts. You can speculate all you want on why it is like this.  What I do know is that when any organization performs poorly over long periods of time it is reflected back to top management. That is always the weakest link at IU. It all starts with a lack of competence on the Board of Trustees. This is a structural problem in governance. 

[HoosierAloha 30,024]

Only top 10 worst now?! That’s a whole lot of improvement after being dead last up until the last 5 years or so.


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[sierracoach 66]

On 3/17/2020 at 9:26 PM, Old Friend said:

I'm like everyone else with time on his hands, and lots of opinion, but I'll offer these simple points :

1)  Scott was the easy hire.  I'd personally have rather had Chris Reynolds, but Scott is a former basketball manager and he has relationships with dozens of former players.  They will have his ear.   I wish IU would have hired Chris, and I think it's a mistake they didn't; but that doesn't mean Scott's a mistake, and I happen to know him.  Good guy and a Hoosier through and through

2)  By most measures that really matter, Scott is set up for success.  The direction of IU's two most visible entities is positive.  Basketball is on a good trajectory, and to deny that is driven by something different than facts.  Is it on a steep curve upward?  No.  But an unhealthy program does not attract three 5-star players in 3 years.  Football is what it is, and I think solid if not spectacular.   Indiana is doing okay and better than it was 3-4 years ago.

3)  Baseball under Glass became big time.   IU has hosted the Big Ten tournament and the program is becoming one of the top in the midwest.  Glass gets credit for that and the corresponding facilities.  Scott will be an advocate of this continuing.   Women's basketball is similar.   On a great trajectory

IU remains one of the top sports properties in the country.  Its athletic program operates in the black.  Its top programs are on a positive trajectory.  I don't really think Glass botched a hire, unless you think IU Basketball should have won bigger than it has...Archie's improved every year, and still has a bunch of big wins.  Has a solid recruiting class coming, and depending on what Lander does, a solid start to 2021.    I like Scott personally.   I think he'll be fine.  But I wish Indiana had hired Chris.  Scott's a good, safe consolation prize.

 

Tracy Smith and Rick Greenspan had more to do with the baseball program's success than Glass did

And McNeely, of all people, hired Ray Looze, which people also tend to forget

If we're fortunate, Dolson won't have to make any coach-hiring decisions any time soon, and perhaps instead he can concentrate on replacing/renovating Mellencamp and giving the FB program its own lifting/training facility

Edited March 20, 2020 by sierracoach

[DChoosier 7,769]

On 3/19/2020 at 3:59 PM, Old Friend said:

You're negative and upset that Indiana hasn't won yet to satisfy your "right now or else" millennial mentality.    That's obvious.  But you're not paying attention to what's really happening in favor of the most elementary approach you can possibly take.   We all get THAT, too.

I’m curious as to when the “win now” card expires.

Having big expectations in year one, which many posters did, yea that’s a “right now” attitude. Year two, ok, that’s pretty quick. Year three at IU?  Does not being satisfied going 9-11, and tied for 10th in the conference, constitute having  a “right now” mentality? 

I agree we are seeing improvement on defense, and perhaps recruiting, and it will be very interesting to see how (or if) the team attitude/chemistry/locker room changes with the graduation of the seniors.. We will see what happens with one particular senior leaving as things could possibly radically transform for the better since one alpha personality can definitely influence a team for better or worse. 

Looking forward to next year and really hoping Archie makes this work.

[Old Friend 8,389]

50 minutes ago, DChoosier said:

I’m curious as to when the “win now” card expires.

Having big expectations in year one, which many posters did, yea that’s a “right now” attitude. Year two, ok, that’s pretty quick. Year three at IU?  Does not being satisfied going 9-11, and tied for 10th in the conference, constitute having  a “right now” mentality? 

I agree we are seeing improvement on defense, and perhaps recruiting, and it will be very interesting to see how (or if) the team attitude/chemistry/locker room changes with the graduation of the seniors.. We will see what happens with one particular senior leaving as things could possibly radically transform for the better since one alpha personality can definitely influence a team for better or worse. 

Looking forward to next year and really hoping Archie makes this work.

I've consistently said when Archie's recruits are upper classmen, it's reasonable to expect "winning," but how is that defined?   You define it with the record you indicated above, and I don't think that's unfair.  I also don't think it tells the whole story.   

It doesn't show, for example that Indiana beat Florida State, which ended up being the best win in the Big Ten this season for ANY team.  It doesn't show that Indiana basically took a crap in a few games (Arkansas, Rutgers, both Purdue games, and the end of the Maryland and Illinois games as examples) which easily could have turned that record from 20-12/ 9-11 to at least 23-9 / 11-9 and a finish at 5th/6th place or so.   I think that would have been a reasonable ceiling for this particular team.  

It doesn't show Indiana as being ranked #34 in Sagarin or since December 3rd having the #1 toughest schedule in the country.  It doesn't take into account the 8 wins vs that Sagarin top 50 teams.  Only 13 teams in the country had more.  It also doesn't take into account that senior you mentioned and his robbing his team of at least 5 possessions EVERY damned game.  And he did.  Inarguably.

Next year and the year following will tell the story, as will the 2021 recruiting class.   I think Indiana is a hell of a lot closer than their final record indicated, but if "you are who your record says you are," then I can see the other side of that argument.