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IU_FanClub

Serious Question

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After each disappointing loss, I stew for a short period, but then come to my senses and remember we just fired a coach and hired a new one. I believe that Woody is trying, but he has to learn how to be a college coach. He previously made a comment that kind of worried me just a little and I hope he changes his tune as time goes by. The comment was basically that this is his team and its his way. I think he is going to have to step back a little from that and let the assistants have a little say.

My other sobering thought is that our roster still has 11/17 players from the previous regime! That regime was 12-15 last season, I didn’t expect them to be world conquering this season, nor should anyone else. We have won games this year that the previous regime would have folded up and cashed in a loss. Our defense and yes our offense have improved no matter how small of a difference. Now get to work on the mental part of the game! No reason to play different on the road, the mantra of not losing at home it’s our house should carry over to road games, because for that day that is your home!

 Once the team face a little adversity they clam up and forget the basics! It was overly evident with the zone press last night and not just with the guards. No one came to help them up the floor in any of the trap situations. They stood there expecting that Rob, X, or Race could get the ball past half court. In normal circumstances they probably would be able to break the zone, but for some reason no one could see the path up the middle of the floor with outlets on each side of the court once you got near half court. If the guards would have pushed the ball instead of slowly walking up the court to start, they would have easily broken down Iowa’s defense and likely had several easy buckets. Got to get out of their own heads and just play the d@mn game.
 

Will we make the tourney? No one knows, but I am still going to watch each and every game and enjoy the fact that we can watch basketball. Love the game, love our team, love most of the fan base ( minus some of the idiots on Twitter)! Go IU and let’s beat the shiitake out of Nebrasketball, then PUrdouche! 

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Taking bits and pieces from others comments;

this is one of the oldest, most experienced teams Woody is ever going to have and it also has one of the best players that woody is ever going to have. That, plus the crazy weak schedule we have played thus far makes it incredibly frustrating that we are 12-4. That record in some other years is good, not this year.

talk about expectations… yeah, a tourney birth is fine and for me was expected when looking at our roster and our schedule. That tourney birth is very much in doubt, plenty of ball to play but we need to make improvements in places that have yet to see improvement.

long term expectation, for me it’s still just to make the tourney. Look at what we lose after this year, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, thus the importance on this season to make the tourney and get that monkey off our backs.

making the tourney this year is so so so important and they are doing everything in their power to jeopardize that. When we say we could be 16-0, we really should be

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18 minutes ago, MikeRoberts said:

Taking bits and pieces from others comments;

this is one of the oldest, most experienced teams Woody is ever going to have and it also has one of the best players that woody is ever going to have. That, plus the crazy weak schedule we have played thus far makes it incredibly frustrating that we are 12-4. That record in some other years is good, not this year.

talk about expectations… yeah, a tourney birth is fine and for me was expected when looking at our roster and our schedule. That tourney birth is very much in doubt, plenty of ball to play but we need to make improvements in places that have yet to see improvement.

long term expectation, for me it’s still just to make the tourney. Look at what we lose after this year, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, thus the importance on this season to make the tourney and get that monkey off our backs.

making the tourney this year is so so so important and they are doing everything in their power to jeopardize that. When we say we could be 16-0, we really should be

Not seeing consistent improvements is one of the things that gets me the most. Iowa's "pressure" wasn't even that much and we coughed it up at a laughable rate.

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33 minutes ago, HoosierAloha said:

Not seeing consistent improvements is one of the things that gets me the most. Iowa's "pressure" wasn't even that much and we coughed it up at a laughable rate.

True true, despite having nothing but veteran players out there, they looked lost and confused “a trap, what the hell is that?”

Phinisee looked scared and confused and none of our players were in the right position or moved into the right positions. Got caught off guard once, ok, but they never corrected it. If Il am opposing coach I trap all game from start to finish 

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I know that older fans who watched RMK use to watch his coaches show and he taught the game. I think this fan base has tbe basketball knowledge which is good but can be a detriment as well.  I think some of us d timers watch the game thinking they are a coach and not as a fan.  For me that is not an enjoyable way to watch the game because you are looking for all the bad and not just trying to enjoy yourself.

Also I think there are 3 kinds of people who come here.

1) actual IU fans who want to discuss the team and the game. It is alright to critique.yne ay.bit can look at the bigger picture bad well.

2) IU fans who want to make judgement on the teams future during every game and wants to find fault.  It seems like some are only happy when they are miserable.

3) Trolls who are not IU fan and just come over to troll our fans.

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True true, despite having nothing but veteran players out there, they looked lost and confused “a trap, what the hell is that?”
Phinisee looked scared and confused and none of our players were in the right position or moved into the right positions. Got caught off guard once, ok, but they never corrected it. If Il am opposing coach I trap all game from start to finish 

Exactly, we don’t have a steering wheel on the floor with this team and the engine putters often. When we are having those issues it’s on the coach to get it straightened out. After stumbling and fumbling in the first half, we had halftime to adjust but it got worse. Oof


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9 hours ago, HoosierAloha said:

Iowa's "pressure" wasn't even that much and we coughed it up at a laughable rate.

I started thinking about the Black Sox. It was so bad, At times you had to wonder if they were trying to throw the game. 

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20 hours ago, IU_FanClub said:

Obviously it's no secret that IU fans are about as passionate as it gets. My question is why do we as a fanbase have to lose our heads and act like the season is over after every loss? Did we play well last night? No of course not. Do we have issues on the road? Definitely. But we're 12-4 and the issues are clearly fixable. Why can't we just enjoy the ups and downs of the season and ride with the team instead of questioning the very existence of the program after every bad game? This team is very close to being very good and for as bad as we've played in some of these road games we've had chances to win every single one of them. It's completely reasonable to think they can fix some of the issues and get some real momentum going here. We got a big week ahead of us let's enjoy the season Go Hoosiers!

Then why haven't the problems been fixed yet? 

You said it yourself, 12-4 (against a weak schedule) means we're halfway through the season and our most notorious problems still plague us.

Inconsistent PG play, lots of turnovers, and scoring droughts did Archie in, and have been the downfall of this program the last 6 years.  I'm rooting for Woodson to fix it, but I'm so jaded by this program over the last 20 years to have much faith it will be.

Yeah, the fans have high expectations.  That's to be expected at this level, especially at a program that has won it all 5 times.  So there really isn't room for excuses.

I've begun to accept we're more similar to Nebraska football in that we're trying so hard to find the right combination of players and coaches to replicate major success achieved decades ago, rather than Alabama football righting the ship by hiring Nick Saban.  

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11 hours ago, IU Scott said:

I know that older fans who watched RMK use to watch his coaches show and he taught the game. I think this fan base has tbe basketball knowledge which is good but can be a detriment as well.  I think some of us d timers watch the game thinking they are a coach and not as a fan.  For me that is not an enjoyable way to watch the game because you are looking for all the bad and not just trying to enjoy yourself.

I have slight basketball knowledge, but I think I was born with it since I’m a native Hoosier (more of an instinct thing). I can watch and recognize plays, screens, etc, but for the most part I don’t have any idea and just watch for fun. It’s a good balance that leaves me not overly critical. 
 

It’s frustrating that we are one missing piece away from having a deep tourney team. Feels like we haven’t had a complete one since Zeller was here. 

 

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23 hours ago, IU_FanClub said:

Obviously it's no secret that IU fans are about as passionate as it gets. My question is why do we as a fanbase have to lose our heads and act like the season is over after every loss? Did we play well last night? No of course not. Do we have issues on the road? Definitely. But we're 12-4 and the issues are clearly fixable. Why can't we just enjoy the ups and downs of the season and ride with the team instead of questioning the very existence of the program after every bad game? This team is very close to being very good and for as bad as we've played in some of these road games we've had chances to win every single one of them. It's completely reasonable to think they can fix some of the issues and get some real momentum going here. We got a big week ahead of us let's enjoy the season Go Hoosiers!

After reading this question, I wanted to answer it first before I read the others comments from their posts.  I for one agree with you, everything is fixable and we have been right there with a chance to win those 4 road loses.  I for one believe in CMW and staff will get this straightened out and we will see a different team by mid-February and March.  This is a new staff and they are trying to undo the embedded mind set and culture of the current players and that takes time; however, we as a fanbase have done without consistently winning for so long, we have little to no patients.  I think we are just waiting for this thing to go off the rails just like the last several seasons, each just may be the start of this trend.  The last 4-6 years and even longer has really left a bad taste in our mouths that may take years to undo, just like what CMW has to do with reshaping the program and culture.

What it comes down to is a total lack of trust that the current Administration and coaching staff will get it done. Not to mention we want to start winning now!

I do think CMW and company will get it done, we just have to trust him and show patients.

Actually, this was a very good question and I am glad someone had finally asked it!

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13 minutes ago, IUFAN1976 said:

After reading this question, I wanted to answer it first before I read the others comments from their posts.  I for one agree with you, everything is fixable and we have been right there with a chance to win those 4 road loses.  I for one believe in CMW and staff will get this straightened out and we will see a different team by mid-February and March.  This is a new staff and they are trying to undo the embedded mind set and culture of the current players and that takes time; however, we as a fanbase have done without consistently winning for so long, we have little to no patients.  I think we are just waiting for this thing to go off the rails just like the last several seasons, each just may be the start of this trend.  The last 4-6 years and even longer has really left a bad taste in our mouths that may take years to undo, just like what CMW has to do with reshaping the program and culture.

What it comes down to is a total lack of trust that the current Administration and coaching staff will get it done. Not to mention we want to start winning now!

I do think CMW and company will get it done, we just have to trust him and show patients.

I have more faith in this staff than the previous one and that isn’t based on where the last one ended, but started.

that said, they need to get some things ironed out ASAP. Not next year or the following year. We can’t afford to piss away this season and not make the tourney when we have the team that could and should make it.

when I read that we were right there with a chance to win in those 4 road loses I can’t help but wonder what you think that means? We had zero chance of winning that game at Iowa once they took the lead in the second half it was over. It’s not like we were even in the game with a minute or two left. Same with Wisconsin and same with PSU. They fold at the first sign of pressure or adversity and aren’t in it to even have a chance at the end.

We’re at that point where the season improves or goes down the toilet as our schedule only gets harder. These easy to fix issues that haven’t been fixed easily need to be fixed or we will be watching us miss out yet again 

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I'll admit that I'm one fan with little, if any, patience. I thought Woody's approach would resonate with the guys, we'd get a bunch of intensity back and play "Indiana smart" basketball.

But from my viewpoint, while the defense had been much better overall for the season, with a few obvious lapses, the offense isn't even close to being efficient IMO. We appear to play at ½ speed, settle on questionable shots too many times, and when TJD gets the ball, we stand around and watch him (not totally, but far too much).

The only guy I can see willing to put it all on the line, and do the dirty work, is Galloway. X could be the junk yard dog, but he's way too emotional on calls against him, and loses focus.

If Woody would start putting more time and effort on developing the offense, instead of "go down and have fun on offense" I think we could really grow into something pretty good. There are times I see our offense run plays that look exactly like those that Archie installed.

If we don't start winning on the road, we won't have a shot at the tourney, much less make a run in it.

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7 minutes ago, MikeRoberts said:

I have more faith in this staff than the previous one and that isn’t based on where the last one ended, but started.

that said, they need to get some things ironed out ASAP. Not next year or the following year. We can’t afford to piss away this season and not make the tourney when we have the team that could and should make it.

when I read that we were right there with a chance to win in those 4 road loses I can’t help but wonder what you think that means? We had zero chance of winning that game at Iowa once they took the lead in the second half it was over. It’s not like we were even in the game with a minute or two left. Same with Wisconsin and same with PSU. They fold at the first sign of pressure or adversity and aren’t in it to even have a chance at the end.

We’re at that point where the season improves or goes down the toilet as our schedule only gets harder. These easy to fix issues that haven’t been fixed easily need to be fixed or we will be watching us miss out yet again 

In 3 of 4 road games they had possession of the ball with 1 min or less to go with a chance to take the lead.  I would call that giving yourself a chance to win on the road.    Most coaches will say that on the road they want the game close at the under 4 timeout to give yourself a chance.
Davis hit the dagger from the corner for Wisky and Parker missed his wide open 3 from the top.  TJD had a tough short range shot that didn’t go down and Cuse they didn’t even get a shot off.   Margin of error between winning and losing  is very small in high major basketball 

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12 hours ago, IU Scott said:

I know that older fans who watched RMK use to watch his coaches show and he taught the game. I think this fan base has tbe basketball knowledge which is good but can be a detriment as well.  I think some of us d timers watch the game thinking they are a coach and not as a fan.  For me that is not an enjoyable way to watch the game because you are looking for all the bad and not just trying to enjoy yourself.

Also I think there are 3 kinds of people who come here.

1) actual IU fans who want to discuss the team and the game. It is alright to critique.yne ay.bit can look at the bigger picture bad well.

2) IU fans who want to make judgement on the teams future during every game and wants to find fault.  It seems like some are only happy when they are miserable.

3) Trolls who are not IU fan and just come over to troll our fans.

What is a basketball program stuck in the 80s, Alex.

Today, fans can watch in an evening what used to be a weeks worth of games. Fans have at their fingertips all the knowledge and more of what RMK used to teach on his coaches show for years. We also have access to analytics that wasn't as prevalent back in the day.

How is knowledge a detriment? Are you stating that it's bad that fans know and understand the game? If so, whaaaat?!

1) Actual* IU fans 

2) IU fans

3) Trolls

Solid assessment

As stated in a different post, I believe because of that basketball knowledge many IU fans have seen this coming but would prefer to ignore it hoping it'll go away. They instead try to take digs at those who acknowledge it and provide solutions to make it better.

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1 hour ago, NOLA Hoosier said:

I have slight basketball knowledge, but I think I was born with it since I’m a native Hoosier (more of an instinct thing). I can watch and recognize plays, screens, etc, but for the most part I don’t have any idea and just watch for fun. It’s a good balance that leaves me not overly critical. 
 

It’s frustrating that we are one missing piece away from having a deep tourney team. Feels like we haven’t had a complete one since Zeller was here. 

 

Which one piece do you believe we are missing?

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22 minutes ago, MikeRoberts said:

I have more faith in this staff than the previous one and that isn’t based on where the last one ended, but started.

that said, they need to get some things ironed out ASAP. Not next year or the following year. We can’t afford to puss away this season and bot make the tourney when we have the team that could and should make it.

when I read that we were right there with a chance to win in those 4 road loses I can’t help but wonder what you think that means? We had zero chance of winning that game at Iowa once they took the lead in the second half it was over. It’s not like we were even in the game with a minute or two left. Same with Wisconsin and same with PSU. They fold at the first sign of pressure or adversity and aren’t in it to even have a chance at the end.

We’re at that point where the season improves or goes down the toilet as our schedule only gets harder. These easy to fix issues that haven’t been fixed easily need to be fixed or we will be watching us miss out yet again 

This is where I am. I was calling things out early in the season in hopes we would get those things ironed out and be able to point to the staff as having made solid strides. We're not there. We're back to the talk but not the actual doing. That's concerning.

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13 hours ago, IU Scott said:

1) actual IU fans who want to discuss the team and the game. It is alright to critique.yne ay.bit can look at the bigger picture bad well.

2) IU fans who want to make judgement on the teams future during every game and wants to find fault.  It seems like some are only happy when they are miserable.

3) Trolls who are not IU fan and just come over to troll our fans.

I don’t think there’s a difference between 1 and 2. All IU fans that want the same thing. People have their differences on here and get their feelings hurt, but they’re the same type of fan. 
 

3 doesn’t really apply here. Can’t think of a time where we had an actual non-IU fan on BTB trolling. 

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I’m as disappointed as anyone when we blow opportunities to win. Let’s face it, we could easily be undefeated or a one loss team. That being said Woody has reinvigorated my enthusiasm to watch games.  Anyone miss losing to Indiana State, Fort Wayne and getting smoked by other teams? I remember being “lectured” as someone with  “instant gratification” expectations because I posted complaints about Archies results in his FOURTH SEASON. He was still being excused in his fourth year, people sincerely posted it takes 3 years to learn his defense and now some are ready to bail on Woody after 1/2 season? I’m not sure how Woody will work out but he definitely deserves more time. There have been some incremental improvements but playing up to our capabilities for 40 minutes, in every game, is certainly not there yet. We have a reasonable shot to go 3-1 in the next 4 games (we could also go 1-3…we will see). If we are able to go 3-1 I think we will be on the path to making the tourney which would be a good 1st year accomplishment.

 

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19 minutes ago, DChoosier said:

I’m as disappointed as anyone when we blow opportunities to win. Let’s face it, we could easily be undefeated or a one loss team. That being said Woody has reinvigorated my enthusiasm to watch games.  Anyone miss losing to Indiana State, Fort Wayne and getting smoked by other teams? I remember being “lectured” as someone with  “instant gratification” expectations because I posted complaints about Archies results in his FOURTH SEASON. He was still being excused in his fourth year, people sincerely posted it takes 3 years to learn his defense and now some are ready to bail on Woody after 1/2 season? I’m not sure how Woody will work out but he definitely deserves more time. There have been some incremental improvements but playing up to our capabilities for 40 minutes, in every game, is certainly not there yet. We have a reasonable shot to go 3-1 in the next 4 games (we could also go 1-3…we will see). If we are able to go 3-1 I think we will be on the path to making the tourney which would be a good 1st year accomplishment.

 

I would like this post except for the part about bailing on woody. I could be wrong but I don’t see anyone or at least not many of any bailing on him. Just posting concerns that some easy to fix things arent being easily fixed. As posted above, there is a small margin between winning and losing and this easy fixes are what could be the difference between being 12-4 and 15-1 and that will continue to affect our record like that until it’s fixed

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I hope JHS can be a quality D1 PG.  

What a world of difference it is when you have a PG like Yogi that you trust with the ball at the end of the game, usually makes good decisions and can take the ball to the rim and/or shoot from the perimeter. I think a lot of us, including me, thought/hoped that Woody would somehow transform X or Rob into much better PG’s. The reality, however, is that both of them had a ton of prior D1 experience and they are pretty much playing like their previous three years indicated they would.  The lack of a dependable PG, not to mention the need for a well rounded 2 that is a threat, is a major impediment of our progress.

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