Game Thread: IUBB at Kansas Sat 12/17/22 Noon ESPN2

[Banksyrules]

Ugh I hate this. It’s the lack of effort that still stings. 

[HoosierAloha]

3 hours ago, BGleas said:

I just wonder with this core group, and especially TJD and Race, where does the on floor leadership and mental toughness come from?

Games like today on the road and the at Rutgers game have been far to common the last 4-5 years and it doesn't seem to change. 

Who are the guys, if any, that are really pissed off after some of these recent performances? Who is the guy,  outside of the coach, losing his crap in the locker room and getting in guys faces? 

I don’t think IU has that and I don't think we've had that in a long time. 

This isn't anything new and has been called out by "haters" for several years now. We have some nice young men on this team that are comfortable with getting put in their place by opponents. We could bring in all the talent and shooting we want but when there is a lack of accountability up and down the roster it doesn't matter. Unfortunately, our best talent aren't natural leaders and haven't been forced to step up. Some were concerned about this but "our recruiting class" and coach...

There are issues with the roster and style of play but that is of less concern than leadership.

[HoosierAloha]

9 minutes ago, Banksyrules said:

Ugh I hate this. It’s the lack of effort that still stings. 

We can post this again or no?

[RaceToTheTop]

Had to keep score at a game today.  Recorded the game, saw the final score. No need to watch.

[Banksyrules]

I don’t know where to begin with this team. Usually I have a player can improve this or that but the entire team showed no effort.  You can’t fix that unless the players want to. Not much left to be said. I’m so glad the women’s team plays hard. Hopefully they make it to Dallas. 

[Rico]

48 minutes ago, Banksyrules said:

Ugh I hate this. It’s the lack of effort that still stings. 

[HoosierFan1994]

48 minutes ago, Banksyrules said:

I don’t know where to begin with this team. Usually I have a player can improve this or that but the entire team showed no effort.  You can’t fix that unless the players want to. Not much left to be said. I’m so glad the women’s team plays hard. Hopefully they make it to Dallas. 

That's what frustrates me with IU. I just feel nobody gets extremely better. Take the Harris kid from Kansas. He was maybe their 5th/6th best player last year. I felt he was their second best player today. 

[NashvilleHoosier]

5 hours ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

The Rutgers loss still bothers me more than the Kansas/Arizona ones. Kansas and Arizona are just better teams than us. No shame in getting dominated by a better team. Rutgers isn’t a better team than us, but they dominated us because our roster is full of softies. Rutgers punked us. Straight up. They’ve done it year after year. At some point you’d think TJD would get tired of getting punked by Rutgers, but alas. He seems like a nice kid. But we need some guys with his ability but polar opposite mentalities. 

It’s the combo of getting worked over/dominated in all 3 of those games for me. We shouldn’t be getting dominated by anybody. If we’re okay saying there is no shame getting dominated by better teams, then we’re no different than any team we’ve had the last 6-7 years or more. Which may unfortunately be true. We are the same mediocre team from last season that somehow got propped up b/c of a couple timely wins in the BTT and adding couple good freshmen. We agree on the fact that we are soft. So damn soft. And yeah, I can’t for the life of me figure out how TJD seems so okay with it so often. 

[Stuhoo]

As usual, papa Gunn is a great, great guy:

 

[str8baller]

10 hours ago, Dave from Dayton said:

lack of toughness on the road

We won at Xavier, which looks like it’s going to stand as a pretty good win.  
 

So it’s not like we aren’t capable, it looks more like they don’t care. I guess the upside is that issue is fixable. But it’s not a good sign to see a team that seemingly doesn’t care. 

[Dave from Dayton]

1 hour ago, str8baller said:

We won at Xavier, which looks like it’s going to stand as a pretty good win.  
 

So it’s not like we aren’t capable, it looks more like they don’t care. I guess the upside is that issue is fixable. But it’s not a good sign to see a team that seemingly doesn’t care. 

Seems that you are more accurate than me on this point.    Might just be the lack of leadership on the team.  We may need upperclassmen that refuse to lose and get in the faces of players.

I recently read the RMK statement that went somewhat like this:  You aren't here at Indiana to play basketball.  You are here to win.

[Rico]

3 hours ago, str8baller said:

We won at Xavier, which looks like it’s going to stand as a pretty good win.  
 

 

I surmise that if we played Xavier tomorrow they would beat us.

[Whoozhers]

The sting of another debacle game has not lessened after sleeping on it.

The fork in the road looks more confusing as to what path the HOOSIERS will trod.

One thing that’s been consistent is a RABID HOOSIER fan base.

Dig deep HOOSIERS and find that confidence spark!

It’s there and we’re here!

GO HOOSIERS!

[Hoosier987]

These just aren’t 3 losses. What’s concerning is we’ve had our ***** kicked in these games. That doesn’t happen to really good teams. We have a long way to go to close the gap.

[Stuhoo]

15 minutes ago, iubhounds2 said:

Competitors love playing on the road in a hostile environment. Competitors bang back when getting banged on. Competitors never give up, they scratch, crawl and will do whatever to win. Yet, when race horses are use to losing races, they lose consistently. They don't know how to win and if in contention they will find ways to lose, just like basketball teams. The two games in last year's B1G Tourney are fools gold. High expectations, social media love and NIL payments have made this team content. Losing might matter to a few on this team but not many. They have a great deal just the way they are and there isn't a need to change since nothing will happen when they screw up. I am too old school for today's athletes so my comments might be skewed. Yes my first post but only because I could not remember my password and email address I used when I originally signed up on this forum.

Welcome! Stronnnng first post.

Glad to have you in the mix!

[J34]

18 hours ago, BGleas said:

I just wonder with this core group, and especially TJD and Race, where does the on floor leadership and mental toughness come from?

Games like today on the road and the at Rutgers game have been far to common the last 4-5 years and it doesn't seem to change. 

Who are the guys, if any, that are really pissed off after some of these recent performances? Who is the guy,  outside of the coach, losing his crap in the locker room and getting in guys faces? 

I don’t think IU has that and I don't think we've had that in a long time. 

Bingo! TJD is the same player he was 4 years ago (no midrange, no off hand, and unlike his father, no dawg in him). Love the guy, and what he represents, but he heard from every NBA scout, and hasn't shown improvements in those areas.

Race has been here 6 years, and has shown minimal improvement (besides his body). There is nothing in the scouting report, that jumps out.

I hope this team comes together, and shows how pissed off they are at losing. Can't rely on your home court, to create the energy.

Gabe Cupps is not the most athletic, or highest rated, but this guy personifies that win at all costs mentality. 

[HoosierAloha]

1 hour ago, iubhounds2 said:

Competitors love playing on the road in a hostile environment. Competitors bang back when getting banged on. Competitors never give up, they scratch, crawl and will do whatever to win. Yet, when race horses are use to losing races, they lose consistently. They don't know how to win and if in contention they will find ways to lose, just like basketball teams. The two games in last year's B1G Tourney are fools gold. High expectations, social media love and NIL payments have made this team content. Losing might matter to a few on this team but not many. They have a great deal just the way they are and there isn't a need to change since nothing will happen when they screw up. I am too old school for today's athletes so my comments might be skewed. Yes my first post but only because I could not remember my password and email address I used when I originally signed up on this forum.

I would agree the players look content but I don't believe it has to do with NIL. Many of these players look the same attitude wise as they did when arriving in Btown. It's on the program, system, coaches, and players. I'd love to see some of these players dropped in programs where they have to fight and claw everyday.

This goes back to a statement that was made several years ago. The majority of our players, and most of the leaders, are cool with being cool. That player leadership won't change until the majority give a **** or leaders actually step up and say no more. We're nowhere close to that point yet.

[Whoozhers]

I think we’ve seen JHS become assertive on the floor and can provide leadership but not sure the older players are buying into him having that role.

Anyway…. Hope they get it figured out soon. B1G is right around the corner!

GO HOOSIERS!

[Hoosierfan2017]

39 minutes ago, HoosierAloha said:

I would agree the players look content but I don't believe it has to do with NIL. Many of these players look the same attitude wise as they did when arriving in Btown. It's on the program, system, coaches, and players. I'd love to see some of these players dropped in programs where they have to fight and claw everyday.

This goes back to a statement that was made several years ago. The majority of our players, and most of the leaders, are cool with being cool. That player leadership won't change until the majority give a **** or leaders actually step up and say no more. We're nowhere close to that point yet.

Fire is something you either have inside of you or don’t. If you have it, money won’t make it go away. Tom Brady’s 45 years old, made hundreds of millions of dollars, and still has as much fire as anyone in the NFL. Our guys play like basketball is a chore they have to get out of the way before they can go do the things they really want to do. 

[cthomas]

1 hour ago, J34 said:

Gabe Cupps is not the most athletic, or highest rated, but this guy personifies that win at all costs mentality. 

Yes he does. He will be a part of the necessary culture change. The upper classmen on this team expect to lose more than they expect to win. No amount of talk will convince me otherwise.