Player decisions

[ap2345 7,571]

8 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

I don't really understand the speculation on additional players transferring. I may have missed it, but I haven't seen or heard anything to indicate any additional transfers, and on Hunter, he stands to have a big year, not the opposite, he's a legit outside shooter and Woodson will be running sets and a system to integrate outside shooting, which, of course, CAM didn't. Not seeing any reason to speculate on him or the others transferring. JMO.

Well Hunter is a career 32% 3 point shooter and a 64% career FT shooter. I think he could have a decent year but he's not going to be a star or anything because he doesn't have a secondary skill. He also hasn't shown he can beat anyone off the dribble. I also don't think he could guard me and that's the biggest problem. He has to be able to defend especially since IU doesn't have a rim protector at the center spot. I don't think it's a given anyone transfers. I just think this speaks to how much several guys not just Hunter need to improve. 

[cthomas 6,325]

I have to think that the staff in place is pretty good at evaluating talent. And, I also think CMW is comfortable having hard, realistic conversations. He talks and acts like he is here to win in the short term, not some time down to road.

[Evariste Galois 575]

1 minute ago, cthomas said:

I have to think that the staff in place is pretty good at evaluating talent. And, I also think CMW is comfortable having hard, realistic conversations. He talks and acts like he is here to win in the short term, not some time down to road.

That may be the big advantage of having hired a coach with a finite # of years ahead of him... a 40 year old might be thinking about long-term build.

[RaceToTheTop 24,957]

3 hours ago, Chris007 said:

Rob is not going anywhere. Fife said we need to figure out how to get Rob's groove back. Said he can be the best defender in the big ten. 

I would assume that it would likely mean Johnson or Phin moving off the ball quite a bit, wouldn't it?  It's a big log jam at the point with Lander, Phin, and Johnson unless you see a chunk of time with two of them in.  I would think in a motion type offense that you can play two of them at once although you have to be careful with size matchups when you play against big 2 guards.  

[Stuhoo 79,751]

16 minutes ago, cthomas said:

I have to think that the staff in place is pretty good at evaluating talent. And, I also think CMW is comfortable having hard, realistic conversations. He talks and acts like he is here to win in the short term, not some time down to road.

• Kenya has seen them play from the IU bench
• Dane has seen them from an opposing B1G bench
• Thad is looking at film from a successful B1G head coaching perspective
• Woody is watching from a successful NBA coaching perspective

That's a pretty freakin' strong evaluative brain trust.

 

[RaceToTheTop 24,957]

Re:  the quote that it was a surprise that Brunk was going to transfer after TJD said in his press conference that he was sure Brunk was going to be at IU.

One big development that happened after TJD's press conference was Race deciding to come back.  I think it had pretty much been a conclusion that there was a good chance he would be moving on.  I think that PT is a little tougher to find for Brunk if Thompson is around.

[Southside 1,914]

11 minutes ago, brumdog45 said:

Re:  the quote that it was a surprise that Brunk was going to transfer after TJD said in his press conference that he was sure Brunk was going to be at IU.

One big development that happened after TJD's press conference was Race deciding to come back.  I think it had pretty much been a conclusion that there was a good chance he would be moving on.  I think that PT is a little tougher to find for Brunk if Thompson is around.

Do you really see Race as the #2/backup 5 if Brunk was still here?

[Chris007 43,567]

3 minutes ago, Southside said:

Do you really see Race as the #2/backup 5 if Brunk was still here?

I do. I went TJD, Race, Brunk, Logan. Now I think TJD and Race will have to play some 4 but their all 5's in my book till I see different

[Southside 1,914]

1 minute ago, Chris007 said:

I do. I went TJD, Race, Brunk, Logan. Now I think TJD and Race will have to play some 4 but their all 5's in my book till I see different

I only view Brunk and Duncomb as true 5s. I know TJD is our 5 due to pure skill, but he'll never translate to an NBA 5. If he can find a 10-15 foot shot, I can see him having a chance in the league at 4. 

If Race is playing 5 for us for any duration other than spot duty, I don't like our chances (inside O or D). I think he's a 4 that needs to improve his shot.

[lillurk 3,738]

Tend to agree that the best case scenario for Race is a Brook Lopez Three Point Shooter Discovery that makes him viable as a stretch 4.

Joey seems like a great personality but Race is better at everything on a basketball court.

[iu-dl 1,442]

4 hours ago, Chris007 said:

Rob is not going anywhere. Fife said we need to figure out how to get Rob's groove back. Said he can be the best defender in the big ten. 

I watched the whole Fife interview and took it the same way, @Chris007. Gotta say...I really like Fife's demeanor. He's funny; to the point, really gets it. All that said, do we think we're at risk of losing Jerome Hunter still or is he also locked in?

[Chris007 43,567]

8 minutes ago, IU-DL said:

I watched the whole Fife interview and took it the same way, @Chris007. Gotta say...I really like Fife's demeanor. He's funny; to the point, really gets it. All that said, do we think we're at risk of losing Jerome Hunter still or is he also locked in?

I think he's back but who knows. He's going to have to work harder than he has in the past. 

[Myrmidon76 614]

The kids need to do what they feel is right of course, but stats aside.... personally, I want kids that want to be here to stick around. The stats we have are from an offensive scheme that was...well...offensive. Nobody really knows what the kids are capable of under Woodson. If they want to be here, then they should stay, put in the work, and be very prepared to play to the standard that Woodson requires. Having a locker room filled with togetherness, wanting to play at Indiana, has a profound effect on players....that's something that no stat can ever measure.

[Stuhoo 79,751]

28 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

I think he's back but who knows. He's going to have to work harder than he has in the past. 

And he won the "gold jersey" for practice warrior under Archie.

I wonder if at times Archie used that mini-award for players who gave more in practice than usual and not necessarily for maximum effort.

[Uspshoosier 45,149]

Just now, Stuhoo said:

And he won the "gold jersey" for practice warrior under Archie.

I wonder if Archie used that mini-award for players who gave more in practice than usual and not necessarily for maximum effort.

Those jerseys were awarded to the person that earned the most points each week.  Each practice someone kept track of the points earned by each player.   It’s a Sean Miller coaching tree thing.   Mack does it as well 

[hoosierbgh 1,264]

4 hours ago, VO5 said:

Total guess but I have a feeling one of Galloway or Leal may be gone, with Galloway being the more likely option. I know they said they’re coming back but honestly I’m not sure how either really fit the guard play that Woodson would want. Leal has shooting value, but we have to honestly ask ourselves if these are the players that can take us far in the tournament and I just don’t see it from either. And I say that loving those guys, just trying to be realistic. Our guard play has to be elevated to the point where we have more Xavier Johnson’s that have some shooting ability. I think that is what we will see moving forward.

Leal and especially Galloway are the kind of guys that not only push more talented players in practice but do the little things that help a team win games and make deep tournament runs. At this stage in their careers they are not starters on a really good team but they are good options as the 3rd and 4th players off of the bench, which they'll likely be. Writing them off after one season with a bad coach is beyond silly in my opinion. 

[go iu bb 5,532]

2 hours ago, brumdog45 said:

Re:  the quote that it was a surprise that Brunk was going to transfer after TJD said in his press conference that he was sure Brunk was going to be at IU.

One big development that happened after TJD's press conference was Race deciding to come back.  I think it had pretty much been a conclusion that there was a good chance he would be moving on.  I think that PT is a little tougher to find for Brunk if Thompson is around.

I imagine Woodson has started working a  bit with them on what he wants to do offensively and defensively, as well. Or at least has pointed them to clips of teams doing it. So the players probably have a better feel now than then of how well they'd fit into such a system.

Plus, Woodson has had a chance to evaluate the players so he may have told Brunk how much PT to expect. Maybe Brunk wanted more. 

So things have definitely changed since TJD said that and between all of those things Brunk thought it was best to leave. 

TBH, it doesn't break my heart that he's leaving. I'm only kind of disappointed since he wouldn't have counted as a scholarship so looking at it from that perspective he'd be a great player to have as a walk-on.

(Before anyone tells me, yes, I know he wouldn't have had to pay for his schooling so not technically a walk-on.)

[Southside 1,914]

4 minutes ago, hoosierbgh said:

Leal and especially Galloway are the kind of guys that not only push more talented players in practice but do the little things that help a team win games and make deep tournament runs. At this stage in their careers they are not starters on a really good team but they are good options as the 3rd and 4th players off of the bench, which they'll likely be. Writing them off after one season with a bad coach is beyond silly in my opinion. 

Galloway got 6th man minutes (tied with Hunter). Leal and Lander were close to each other in minutes as 8th/9th.

IMO, Galloway is going to continue to get minutes just because of hustle. He's got to improve his 3 ball though.

And as long as Leal can shoot, he'll get quality minutes. 

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 8,904]

3 hours ago, ap2345 said:

Well Hunter is a career 32% 3 point shooter and a 64% career FT shooter. I think he could have a decent year but he's not going to be a star or anything because he doesn't have a secondary skill. He also hasn't shown he can beat anyone off the dribble. I also don't think he could guard me and that's the biggest problem. He has to be able to defend especially since IU doesn't have a rim protector at the center spot. I don't think it's a given anyone transfers. I just think this speaks to how much several guys not just Hunter need to improve. 

TJD and RT defend the rim fine for college. Not perfect, but adequate. 

[RaceToTheTop 24,957]

2 hours ago, Southside said:

Do you really see Race as the #2/backup 5 if Brunk was still here?

If Brunk's only job is to backup TJD, then at most he's getting 6 minutes/game on average.  TJD averaged 34 minutes per game.  The reason that Thompson would get more PT comes from the fact that he is likely to be able to play alongside TJD than Brunk is.  We tried Brunk alongside TJD two years ago (and, yes, I realize it was a Miller offense)....all it did was clog the middle.  Race at least can shoot outside of five feet....Brunk not so much.

It isn't about wanting Race to be the backup five, it's the fact that from Brunk's perspective it really accepting the role to only be a backup 5.  Brunk can't play any other position and I don't think our best lineups would be with him starting at the 5.  So while the preference may be to have Brunk backup TJD instead of Trayce, that doesn't make sense from Brunk's POV to do so.

I also think that we need to look beyond the Big Ten and see that by and large, teams aren't looking for seven foot slow centers to win.  I think it's part of the reason that the Big Ten failed in the tournament.