I'll Be The Optimist For Once

[HoosierX 1,448]

7 minutes ago, tkbbn said:

My concern is that we don't fill the gaping holes that we have with the portal and really struggle next year. That will make recruiting spiral downward quickly. We have seen that in the past with recruiting and prior coaches.

I think the relationships that the coaches have with the '24 and '25 kids and the NIL dollars we have to offer is probably more important than our on-court success next year.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,183]

2 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

And Matt Painter isn’t Mike Woodson. 

Another major plus? After single plays against Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin last year, we are relatively likely to get double plays against them all next year.

Bottom of the league will be interesting. The top will be very good likely. Michigan State will be pretty darned good again. Purdue, with or without Edey will be a Top 20 team nationally. Illinois could be really good. Wisconsin will probably be pretty good. Iowa will be middle of the pack I'd assume. Likely we are trying to compete with the likes of Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State, Michigan etc in the very middle of the pack.

[Stuhoo 75,560]

8 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Bottom of the league will be interesting. The top will be very good likely. Michigan State will be pretty darned good again. Purdue, with or without Edey will be a Top 20 team nationally. Illinois could be really good. Wisconsin will probably be pretty good. Iowa will be middle of the pack I'd assume. Likely we are trying to compete with the likes of Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State, Michigan etc in the very middle of the pack.

Purdue without Edey and without double plays against every team from the bottom of the conference may or may not be a .500 B1G team.

I’d bet not.

And Wisconsin was lousy this year and has no recruits of note coming. That and Essegian apparently is transferring to IU!  :)

Also… Gard is a turd.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,183]

6 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Purdue without Edey and without double plays against every team from the bottom of the conference may or may not be a .500 B1G team.

I’d bet not.

And Wisconsin was lousy this year and has no recruits of note coming. That and Essegian apparently is transferring to IU!  :)

Also… Gard is a turd.

I think Purdue still has a ton of talent, even without Edey. Smith, Loyer, Morton, Gillis and Furst is a good starting 5. Smith and Loyer obviously got a ton of experience this year and Loyer is going to end up being a good scorer I think. Furst will be interesting to see. Obviously has played a very defined role his first 2 years, I think he has the talent to be a 15ppg, 8rpg type guy and Loyer can definitely get 15ppg. The offense will obviously be way different as well without Edey sitting in the paint, since Furst will actually step out and shoot. TKR I don't know... He might be their Jerome Hunter... Like Indiana Jerome Hunter. Not Xavier Jerome Hunter.

[Uspshoosier 44,206]

Hard to tell where any team is going to project in the B1G next year when the coaches don’t even know what team they will have next year 

[Stuhoo 75,560]

36 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

I think Purdue still has a ton of talent, even without Edey. Smith, Loyer, Morton, Gillis and Furst is a good starting 5. Smith and Loyer obviously got a ton of experience this year and Loyer is going to end up being a good scorer I think. Furst will be interesting to see. Obviously has played a very defined role his first 2 years, I think he has the talent to be a 15ppg, 8rpg type guy and Loyer can definitely get 15ppg. The offense will obviously be way different as well without Edey sitting in the paint, since Furst will actually step out and shoot. TKR I don't know... He might be their Jerome Hunter... Like Indiana Jerome Hunter. Not Xavier Jerome Hunter.

Loyer shot 32.6% on threes on high volume with a post that drew triple teams. He’s got a good looking stroke, but holy crap that is horrible shooting.

And fwiw, any summary that includes “Morton” and “a ton of talent” is inherently wrong.

[tkbbn 481]

1 hour ago, HoosierX said:

I think the relationships that the coaches have with the '24 and '25 kids and the NIL dollars we have to offer is probably more important than our on-court success next year.

I hope you are correct on this.

[RaceToTheTop 23,572]

39 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Hard to tell where any team is going to project in the B1G next year when the coaches don’t even know what team they will have next year 

Except Minnesota.  They will suck. 

[Stuhoo 75,560]

45 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Hard to tell where any team is going to project in the B1G next year when the coaches don’t even know what team they will have next year 

True for now. But if Shrewsbury leaves Penn State? They are already losing Pickett, Dread, Funk, Henn, Wynter, and probably Lundy. That’s a pretty grim situation.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,183]

3 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

Loyer shot 32.6% on threes on high volume with a post that drew triple teams. He’s got a good looking stroke, but holy crap that is horrible shooting.

And fwiw, any summary that includes “Morton” and “a ton of talent” is inherently wrong.

I'm not sure what world you're living in where 33% on 5 attempts is "horrible." That's pretty good. And only a freshman that'll be back next year(and probably 2 after that). Unfortunately, Painter has them pretty well set in the backcourt for the next 3 years. Right now, it's still a question mark as to what our backcourt even looks like next season.

[hoosierbgh 1,227]

11 hours ago, RaceToTheTop said:

i was optimistic that in a thread I thought was to be about optimism that people would be optimistic.

Are you new here? Or to the internet?

It's always "Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me" all the time. No optimism is allowed. Ever. 

[Stuhoo 75,560]

6 hours ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

I'm not sure what world you're living in where 33% on 5 attempts is "horrible." That's pretty good. And only a freshman that'll be back next year(and probably 2 after that). Unfortunately, Painter has them pretty well set in the backcourt for the next 3 years. Right now, it's still a question mark as to what our backcourt even looks like next season.

32.6%. If it were 33% percent it would be excellen... wait, no it wouldn't. It would still be a two guard without strength that gets pulled for end game defensive possessions and shoots volume below average, even with his post getting double and triple teamed. Right now, Fletcher Loyer is Tamar Bates.

Our starting backcourt next year appears to be, absent additional upgrades, Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway. That's a whole lot better than Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer. Defends better, gets to the rim better, can break a freakin press, and shoots far better.

If that's what Painter has set for the next three years I'm feeling pretty good about Purdue being fine but not great, and hopefully those guys starting as freshmen scares away recruits or portal transfers that would be upgrades.

[reconmkd 4,169]

11 hours ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

I think Purdue still has a ton of talent, even without Edey. Smith, Loyer, Morton, Gillis and Furst is a good starting 5. Smith and Loyer obviously got a ton of experience this year and Loyer is going to end up being a good scorer I think. Furst will be interesting to see. Obviously has played a very defined role his first 2 years, I think he has the talent to be a 15ppg, 8rpg type guy and Loyer can definitely get 15ppg. The offense will obviously be way different as well without Edey sitting in the paint, since Furst will actually step out and shoot. TKR I don't know... He might be their Jerome Hunter... Like Indiana Jerome Hunter. Not Xavier Jerome Hunter.

Maybe TKR could come here and be our Xavier Jerome Hunter, lol!

[Chris007 42,066]

13 hours ago, HoosierX said:

Do we know he's after more NIL money? Honestly, if I'm him I'm hoping just to stay on the team and get whatever the non-star players at IU all get. It's very likely more than he would make anywhere else.

Would you be OK with let's say giving him 300K, and another 50-75K to move his family to Bloomington?

[Chris007 42,066]

I think we have 7-10 portal guys on our board. With I would say 4-5 of those 10 are not in the portal yet. I think all of them are really good players. Money won't be an issue. We also are still going to go after at least one more 23 recruit. I also if what is being said is true we're going to play a totally different style next year. So there should be some optimism, but also a wait-and-see approach. 

[Henryville Hoosier 932]

5 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

I think we have 7-10 portal guys on our board. With I would say 4-5 of those 10 are not in the portal yet. I think all of them are really good players. Money won't be an issue. We also are still going to go after at least one more 23 recruit. I also if what is being said is true we're going to play a totally different style next year. So there should be some optimism, but also a wait-and-see approach. 

I appreciate your updates. 

[Stuhoo 75,560]

13 hours ago, Alford Bailey said:

You can’t use the old criteria to judge a new game. It’s about NIL, playing time and the portal now. And, a knowledge on getting guys to the next level. We offer all that. 

Damn.

You want optimism crystalized concisely?

There's the post right there.

[HoosierFan1994 4,609]

Things that I really liked about this season: 

1) Felt like the pride of IU basketball is back. I've only been a fan for around 20 years and this was probably the 5th most enjoyable season I can remember ('02, '12, '13, and '16). Was so nice on Saturday's to wake up and know IU had a huge game that day. Also, as a teacher I'm stunned to see so many young fans for IU. This season was their first positive IU season yet. 

2) This team didn't quit in mid-January when things got tough. I feel teams under Crean and Miller would have. 

3) Not sure where he ranks but Trayce is an IU legend. He went from being a really good layer to an elite one in a matter of months. Also Jalen went from being undrafted to being a top 20ish pick. Trayce too will be around a 1st rounder. This bodes well for IU recruiting. 

4) Sweeping Purdue twice. Even without X, I felt IU was the better team. I know they got beat by a 16 seed but this was huge for Coach Woodson. 

I know the grass isn't always greener and you need to be careful what you wish for, but I'm excited to see Woodson pick guys in the portal. There is NO REASON Indiana can't get the best possible players they want. It's going to be a huge disappointment if he can't get the dudes Indiana needs to compete Nationally. Anyone who watched the game Sunday saw it, there was a huge talent gap. To heck with the NIT, this team needs to make the NCAA Tournament next year. If it was 2018 I'd understand but it's basically open season with free agency now. Add in NIL, which I understand IU is doing very well in.

[HoosierFan1994 4,609]

31 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

I think we have 7-10 portal guys on our board. With I would say 4-5 of those 10 are not in the portal yet. I think all of them are really good players. Money won't be an issue. We also are still going to go after at least one more 23 recruit. I also if what is being said is true we're going to play a totally different style next year. So there should be some optimism, but also a wait-and-see approach. 

Looking back to last year, it was impossible for IU to land transfers. You had X and Jalen as your backcourt with Trey and Tamar providing depth. Miller and Race were returning starters with IU recruiting Malik. The question mark of Trayce coming back too. This year it should be easier for the staff to recruit guys. 

[HoosierX 1,448]

1 hour ago, Chris007 said:

Would you be OK with let's say giving him 300K, and another 50-75K to move his family to Bloomington?

Considering we could get better value out of the portal, I would say no.