Are We Better Than Last Year?

[Josh 12,380]

3 hours ago, JaybobHoosier said:

Makes you wonder if he did transfer earlier we may still have Jake Forrester?!


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

Jake's dad was very openly critical of Archie.  He wasn't gonna stay regardless imo

[JaybobHoosier 11,821]

Jake's dad was very openly critical of Archie.  He wasn't gonna stay regardless imo

While I agree, a lot of it was towards Archie’s use of Smith. Reading between the lines Jake and his dad weren’t happy with Smith getting all the playing time and not earning it. Idk how true that is, but by watching games you could tell Smith wasn’t always engaged and lazy.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

[Brass Cannon 24,068]

No thanks on Jake Forrester.  Somebody Chris007 I think said that he made little to no effort to learn the the schemes.  Yikes 

[JaybobHoosier 11,821]

No thanks on Jake Forrester.  Somebody Chris007 I think said that he made little to no effort to learn the the schemes.  Yikes 

Never heard that but if that’s the case then good riddance.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

[Alford Bailey 12,259]

After the last couple games I think we are still on pace to be marginally better than last year. We got punched in face by a good team in Texas then came back with a nice performance against a lesser quality team in Stanford. I think that will be a common theme this season.

[Crazy about IU 154]

I believe IU is a better team this year. But may not translate into more wins the Big Ten is also better. Not going to be any easy wins Penn State looked really good last night. Should of won all the Big Ten Acc challenge games yesterday. IU outside shooting is going to have to improve which I think it will do to be competitive in the Big. This team is young and I believe it will get better as season goes along. I believe a 10 win Big Ten season would be about right for this team. 

 

[Banksyrules 4,251]

I was very excited by the Miller hire.  It’s year four and we still can’t shoot. I think it’s time to decide if we need to go in a different direction.

[maharkn 1,604]

I was very excited by the Miller hire.  It’s year four and we still can’t shoot. I think it’s time to decide if we need to go in a different direction.

But the players have reached their max in bench press and have six packs

Sent from my SM-A515U1 using Tapatalk

[Brass Cannon 24,068]

We are worse than last year. Because we are a worse 3 point shooting team.  Big Ten teams will continue to do what they have done for 4 years. Pack the paint. Give us open 3s.  Knowing we will miss them. 

[BGVille Hoosierfan 2,884]

22 minutes ago, maharkn said:

But the players have reached their max in bench press and have six packs

Sent from my SM-A515U1 using Tapatalk
 

Cliff Marshall is a big problem with this program in my opinion. Shooting is all about muscle memory and he’s training these guys like they’re football players and it’s impossible to develop and maintain a shot when you’re just trying to build muscle mass. He’s a well known NFL trainer and he should stay in that lane. Look at Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, you don’t need to be jacked to be able to shoot the ball. I honestly believe that has played some part in our atrocious shooting over four years.

[Brass Cannon 24,068]

7 minutes ago, jbell833 said:

Cliff Marshall is a big problem with this program in my opinion. Shooting is all about muscle memory and he’s training these guys like they’re football players and it’s impossible to develop and maintain a shot when you’re just trying to build muscle mass. He’s a well known NFL trainer and he should stay in that lane. Look at Kevin Durant and Steph Curry, you don’t need to be jacked to be able to shoot the ball. I honestly believe that has played some part in our atrocious shooting over four years.

It’s a fair point.  Once conditioning was over my soccer coach forbade us from doing leg workouts.  So that we could settle into muscle memory. If these guys are building muscle the whole offseason how can they do that. 

[IU - Kaulie 1,876]

My take is we are better but that’s solely based on the roster turnover.  I have zero confidence that this staff (this includes the whole staff) will make them better.  Now that falls on the players too but still.

Heck, to the causal observer who doesn’t know better one of the two guys coming off the bus you would think would be a player really can’t play at this level.

 

[Bigred3588 1,532]

3 hours ago, Brass Cannon said:

It’s a fair point.  Once conditioning was over my soccer coach forbade us from doing leg workouts.  So that we could settle into muscle memory. If these guys are building muscle the whole offseason how can they do that. 

There’s nothing wrong with building muscle during the off-season. Hell, most of the former IU players currently in the NBA come back to IU to work out with Marshall during the off-season. It’s only an issue if you continue to make gains during the season, and I highly doubt Marshall is unaware of that. 

The fact is, players have a ceiling when it comes to shooting. You could teach one player perfect technique and they’ll never be more than a 36-38% shooter regardless of the muscle memory built. Meanwhile, an unconventional shooter like Hulls can maintain 40+ percent. You could put both players through the same strength training program, and that disparity won’t change. 
 

IMO, our shooting woes boil down to the fact that Archie doesn’t bother recruiting shooters because he doesn’t view them as a necessity for his offense. I suspect he doesn’t emphasize development in this area for the same reason. His offense is predicated on getting the ball to the rim and generating layups and/or fouls. You aren’t going to accomplish that with players that spend the bulk of their time on mechanics. All he really needs is a couple of guys that are good enough to keep the defense honest. It’s not the prettiest offense and I don’t necessarily like it, but I doubt we’ll see much of a change during his tenure at IU. 

[Hoosier Guy 7,472]

I’m not into moral victories. This isn’t peewee sports where every team gets a participation trophy. IU had every chance to win that game. They didn’t capitalize

[Trish 11,414]

I honestly think our system of defense and offense is slightly better. We may never get a great amount of data from this season given our national pandemic. But it will be interesting to compare the numbers if we make it to march with a decent amount of comparable data points. 

 

[Stuhoo 75,753]

4 hours ago, Hoosier Guy said:

I’m not into moral victories. This isn’t peewee sports where every team gets a participation trophy. IU had every chance to win that game. They didn’t capitalize

 

But this thread isn't designed to discuss the relative value of moral victories. 

It is to discuss whether we are better than last year's 20-12 team.

1. Does anyone really think that last year we could have an "off" night in so many respects and still take a top 20, athletic team to OT on the road? 
2. We are not a title contender, but we are a better team than last year. Here's why; not only is TJD a little better than last year,  Race and Armaan this year are better rotational players than ANYONE we used last year (beyond Trayce). 

Can any of you make a sane case for anyone on last year's team being more effective that Race or Armaan have been? That is not to say that Race and Armaan are flawless, title contender featured players, but they have played at a very high level so far.

 

[Trish 11,414]

37 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

But this thread isn't designed to discuss the relative value of moral victories. 

It is to discuss whether we are better than last year's 20-12 team.

1. Does anyone really think that last year we could have an "off" night in so many respects and still take a top 20, athletic team to OT on the road? 
2. We are not a title contender, but we are a better team than last year. Here's why; not only is TJD a little better than last year,  Race and Armaan this year are better rotational players than ANYONE we used last year (beyond Trayce). 

Can any of you make a sane case for anyone on last year's team being more effective that Race or Armaan have been? That is not to say that Race and Armaan are flawless, title contender featured players, but they have played at a very high level so far.

 

I can agree with this. I think our offense improved by not having Green be so ball dominate with the basketball. I think we're seeing the ball be reversed more and we're making some extra passes. 

Defensively I think we've improved as well. We're switching some ball screens, our hard hedges have improved a slight bit, and we're simply playing great positioning and helpside defense on drives. 

 

[JaybobHoosier 11,821]

I can agree with this. I think our offense improved by not having Green be so ball dominate with the basketball. I think we're seeing the ball be reversed more and we're making some extra passes. 
Defensively I think we've improved as well. We're switching some ball screens, our hard hedges have improved a slight bit, and we're simply playing great positioning and helpside defense on drives. 
 

Our offense still has a lot to be desired, but it is better. I have loved our defense this season. Even without a bunch of size we are a top defense in the country.


Sent from my iPhone using BtownBanners mobile app

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,223]

Armaan has looked more aggressive. Still can't hit the broad side of a barn but he's a lockdown defender. Durham has looked god awful this season. Rob has been so-so bit has showed flashes of wanting to be a scorer. But this team as a whole is just like last year thanks to the offense still being terrible. 

[Hoosier Guy 7,472]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

 

But this thread isn't designed to discuss the relative value of moral victories. 

It is to discuss whether we are better than last year's 20-12 team.

1. Does anyone really think that last year we could have an "off" night in so many respects and still take a top 20, athletic team to OT on the road? 
2. We are not a title contender, but we are a better team than last year. Here's why; not only is TJD a little better than last year,  Race and Armaan this year are better rotational players than ANYONE we used last year (beyond Trayce). 

Can any of you make a sane case for anyone on last year's team being more effective that Race or Armaan have been? That is not to say that Race and Armaan are flawless, title contender featured players, but they have played at a very high level so far.

 

It’s yet to be determined if IU is better than last year. They’ve lost the two significant tests. Do I like the improvement from the Texas game to the Florida State game? Absolutely. Will IU continue to improve as the season goes along? That’s yet to be determined