Jump to content

Thanks for visiting BtownBanners.com!  We noticed you have AdBlock enabled.  While ads can be annoying, we utilize them to provide these forums free of charge to you!  Please consider removing your AdBlock for BtownBanners or consider signing up to donate and help BtownBanners stay alive!  Thank you!

Class of '66 Old Fart

IUBB @ Penn State - 01/02/22 @ 4:00 on BTN

Recommended Posts

2 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

I was at the girls game so haven’t watched yet but here the thing IU’s basketball team just isn’t as special as most of us remember it being and for some that is a tough pill to swallow.   IU is just another program for now and has been for awhile. In college basketball this year there are probably 10 teams that have a chance to win it all.   The next 10 teams are well behind those teams and then from 21-60+ those teams are interchangeable.   IU is just another mediocre team with flaws.  Nothing special.    Even this 5-5 Penn St team had a chance to beat LSU on a neutral court before LSU sent it to OT.  This program had way more problems then just a coach in over his head and the dream of just changing the coach and everything being fine was wrong.  IU still has a long way to go as a program. Changing culture is hard 

One thing that I think was needed was a talent infusion. Time will tell, but can Woodson get the necessary talent if IU has another mediocre to subpar season? Bates and JHS were positive indicators, but will that continue to trend upward if this season nosedives in conference play as it has in the past few years?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 minutes ago, Bigred3588 said:

You’re not wrong. Woodson just got done addressing our pick and roll coverage in his presser. It’s nice to finally have a coach that can articulate the problem.

I always try to give a coach 2-3 years before I get really critical and the way he answers questions makes me optimistic. With our last two coaches, I wasn’t confident they understood or were capable of fixing the problems. I don’t have that concern with Woodson. My biggest concern with Woodson has been his substitution patterns and his play calling in late game situations (full court pressure at the end of the Cuse game, for example).

Those pick and roll mistakes have been there from the beginning of the year. Cuse feasted on it and after they feasted laughed about it before taking our lunch over and over. The over helping by our guards which doesn't really do much is killing us too. I'd love to blame that on Archie but the players that do it most often never played for Archie.

Substitution patterns and late game calling are up there but the list of issues is in volumes at this point. Addressing or benching those players in our cream puff of a noncon schedule could have helped. We were able to win those games and the issues never got resolved. That's 1) bad coaching and 2) bad leadership. To fix that in the Big 1.o schedule is going to be difficult.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
12 minutes ago, Bigred3588 said:

always try to give a coach 2-3 years before I get really critical and the way he answers questions makes me optimistic. With our last two coaches, I wasn’t confident they understood or were capable of fixing the problems. I don’t have that concern with Woodson. My biggest concern with Woodson has been his substitution patterns and his play calling in late game situations (full court pressure at the end of the Cuse game, for example).

I agree with this. Woody really just needs to be competent and above, because with his nba background he’s going to recruit his way out of this or it won’t go. 
 

Give him a year or two. I wouldn’t expect any this year.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 minutes ago, HoosierTrav said:

Man I don’t know. These guards are good enough to win with. If it’s anything to do with roster construction, it’s not ability. It’s the fact that we don’t have a single winner on that roster. No one has played a single game in the ncaa tournament. I may be wrong on that but I’m almost certain. 
 

As for the coach, we hired a 63 year old man who hadn’t coached a single game in college bc he was an IU alum. Everyone in the country was laughing at us except for half of the IU fanbase. There’s a saying that if you can’t spot the fool at the poker table then you’re the fool. We’re the fools for thinking that this job is what we think it is.  I think Dolson went all in on BS, and when he missed, the only option he had was to go the alum route. From what I was told, it was Brad Stevens or  an “IU guy.” I like Woodson and think he would have been a good choice back when we fired Sampson. But he’s 63 years old for god’s sake!!! I’m not convinced he has enough years left to even get us onto solid ground. Now we are having to hire ANOTHER coach or promoting Fife from the bench (oof). I’m not upset with Dolson. He went for a grand slam and offered to pony up the dough. Just wasn’t enough. 
 

If the IU job truly was a top 5-10 job in college basketball, we wouldn’t have 63 year old Mike Woodson roaming the sideline. 

Different times now when it comes to coaching.  Coaches make so much money now that they don’t really need to use other jobs as stepping stone jobs.   IU isn’t the only program that struggled to bring in a high level established college coach to a top 10 level coaching job.    Duke stayed in house.  North Carolina stayed in house.  Both are risks that jobs like that shouldn’t have to take.    Drew doesn’t need to leave Baylor for a better more high profile job, Few can stay at Gonzaga and still make 2 national championship games.  Wright can win 2 titles at Nova.   Coaching destinations in college basketball are pretty much a thing of the past 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Different times now when it comes to coaching.  Coaches make so much money now that they don’t really need to use other jobs as stepping stone jobs.   IU isn’t the only program that struggled to bring in a high level established college coach to a top 10 level coaching job.    Duke stayed in house.  North Carolina stayed in house.  Both are risks that jobs like that shouldn’t have to take.    Drew doesn’t need to leave Baylor for a better more high profile job, Few can stay at Gonzaga and still make 2 national championship games.  Wright can win 2 titles at Nova.   Coaching destinations in college basketball are pretty much a thing of the past 

Makes sense. Sucks for us. Means we are going to have to get lucky…… and we don’t attract much luck these days. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just now, HoosierCoop said:

If you aren’t going to run an inside out offense for Stewart or Kopp why play them?  There’s really no added value past that. 

Because standing outside the arc is much easier?

Seriously, if we had just a little movement to get Stewart or Kopp open after dumping it into TJD we would really have something. Race could then dive to a more open lane.

Hell, even some pick and roll with X and TJD with Kopp and Stewart spread wide and Race diving would be way better offense than what we currently run. Did anyone watch when TJD tried to set a screen for X late in the 2nd half? Whew, that was ugly and did nothing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, kreigh8 said:

I'm just wanting to try something different on that end as opposed to whatever we are running right now. I still am not sure there's much a plan outside of throw it to TJD and watch

And we’re not very good at throwing it into TJD when he’s got position.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
7 minutes ago, IUFAN1976 said:

I agree with most of this!  I just don’t think he has the type of point guard he wants or excepts!  I think he knows by now that he needs to get a better point guard than anyone he has on this current roster!

That’s why it surprises me he hasn’t given Lander a little more run. If his vision for the offense is what I think it is, he needs a PG that can beat his man off the dribble and then make the right decision. Phinisee is a PG that isn’t quick enough to beat his man and X is a combo guard that doesn’t know how to distribute once he gets in the lane. Of the 3, I think Lander is the only one with the ability to do both.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, HoosierAloha said:

Because standing outside the arc is much easier?

Seriously, if we had just a little movement to get Stewart or Kopp open after dumping it into TJD we would really have something. Race could then dive to a more open lane.

Hell, even some pick and roll with X and TJD with Kopp and Stewart spread wide and Race diving would be way better offense than what we currently run. Did anyone watch when TJD tried to set a screen for X late in the 2nd half? Whew, that was ugly and did nothing.

TJD had a run to the basket on the last possession with 3 guys covering him. At least 2 guys were open. He has to pass it. All the movement in the world doesn’t matter if he can’t do that. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 minute ago, Bigred3588 said:

That’s why it surprises me he hasn’t given Lander a little more run. If his vision for the offense is what I think it is, he needs a PG that can beat his man off the dribble and then make the right decision. Phinisee is a PG that isn’t quick enough to beat his man and X is a combo guard that doesn’t know how to distribute once he gets in the lane. Of the 3, I think Lander is the only one with the ability to do both.

Lander is so bad he can’t get minutes on a team desperate for guard play. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
39 minutes ago, rcs29 said:

Bad loss. Bad team. This is now where IU is. IU is in the grouping of PSU, Minn, Neb, Rutgers and Northwestern. Lower expectations exponentially and maybe we won't be as disappointed?

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
 

No need to insult Rutgers....weren't they in the NCAA tourney last year and beat Purdue this year???? I made NO comments about hiring Woodson when they did, but I KNOW you don't hire a 60+year old that has never coached in college for a major rebuild of a top program that has been destroyed slowly for 24-25 years (and yes that includes the last 3-4 years of Knight!!)

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
13 minutes ago, HoosierCoop said:

If you aren’t going to run an inside out offense for Stewart or Kopp why play them?  There’s really no added value past that. 

Agree with Stewart, but I haven’t really seen any reason to play Kopp. I’m still baffled that guy was billed as a shooter.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
19 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Different times now when it comes to coaching.  Coaches make so much money now that they don’t really need to use other jobs as stepping stone jobs.   IU isn’t the only program that struggled to bring in a high level established college coach to a top 10 level coaching job.    Duke stayed in house.  North Carolina stayed in house.  Both are risks that jobs like that shouldn’t have to take.    Drew doesn’t need to leave Baylor for a better more high profile job, Few can stay at Gonzaga and still make 2 national championship games.  Wright can win 2 titles at Nova.   Coaching destinations in college basketball are pretty much a thing of the past 

Duke and Carolina stayed in house because their legendary coaches demanded it. Same reason Wisconsin did even though they didn’t want to. 
 

Coaches have been getting paid for two decades now. That hasn’t stopped UK from pulling decent coaches and winning titles. Or UNC from poaching. Or Kansas from making good hires. Or Michigan. Or Ohio State. Virginia pulled a P5 coach. Texas just did.  You get the point.   Hell, UCLA got more out of Howland and Alford than we did our pathetic hires.  
 

IU has simply been incompetent for 20+ yrs from the admin level up to the BoT when it comes to basketball. Our hires have been atrocious. I actually have a small glimmer of hope for this Woody/Matta combo. Let’s see yr 3 after they’ve had a chance to beat the bushes for talent for a few years. If it doesn’t work…well, it doesn’t really matter because our inept admin will serve us the same crap next time.   

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×