I'll Be The Optimist For Once

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,152]

Obviously a super tough ending for both squads.

For the women's, you get that 1 seed, you roll through the regular season and just have an off night at the wrong time.

Positive: Basically the entire roster is coming back outside of Berger. We could honestly be better as CMM and Garzon take the next steps in development and Holmes becomes even more of a beast. I think they are definitely a Top 15 team entering next season.

As for the men, still a tough one but man... That was the entire season in a nutshell wasn't it?

Positives: Looking forward, we might be an NIT/low seeded NCAAT team next year but in a way will be refreshing to see new faces leading the program in the post-TJD era. I think next season is when the new culture and new foundation are truly built. How will the team look? No clue but I think they could be really fun to watch. This off season will no doubt be fun to monitor as the transfer portal unfolds and see who we go after and what kind of players those are. We may only have 3 more years of Woodson, but these next 2 I think are the most important. And even without getting any big time recruits for 2023, a guy like Cupps is the player we hate playing against if he goes to MSU or OSU. But I think expectations should be that of "learning and growth" for next season.

 

Lot to look forward to for both programs, even if it is 2 years down the road for the men's, so don't be down on the ending of this season too much.

[RaceToTheTop 23,402]

2 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Obviously a super tough ending for both squads.

For the women's, you get that 1 seed, you roll through the regular season and just have an off night at the wrong time.

Positive: Basically the entire roster is coming back outside of Berger. We could honestly be better as CMM and Garzon take the next steps in development and Holmes becomes even more of a beast. I think they are definitely a Top 15 team entering next season.

As for the men, still a tough one but man... That was the entire season in a nutshell wasn't it?

Positives: Looking forward, we might be an NIT/low seeded NCAAT team next year but in a way will be refreshing to see new faces leading the program in the post-TJD era. I think next season is when the new culture and new foundation are truly built. How will the team look? No clue but I think they could be really fun to watch. This off season will no doubt be fun to monitor as the transfer portal unfolds and see who we go after and what kind of players those are. We may only have 3 more years of Woodson, but these next 2 I think are the most important. And even without getting any big time recruits for 2023, a guy like Cupps is the player we hate playing against if he goes to MSU or OSU. But I think expectations should be that of "learning and growth" for next season.

 

Lot to look forward to for both programs, even if it is 2 years down the road for the men's, so don't be down on the ending of this season too much.

I can’t see IU women starting next year at anything lower than top ten….and think they are more likely top five.

[Stuhoo 75,377]

19 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Obviously a super tough ending for both squads.

For the women's, you get that 1 seed, you roll through the regular season and just have an off night at the wrong time.

Positive: Basically the entire roster is coming back outside of Berger. We could honestly be better as CMM and Garzon take the next steps in development and Holmes becomes even more of a beast. I think they are definitely a Top 15 team entering next season.

As for the men, still a tough one but man... That was the entire season in a nutshell wasn't it?

Positives: Looking forward, we might be an NIT/low seeded NCAAT team next year but in a way will be refreshing to see new faces leading the program in the post-TJD era. I think next season is when the new culture and new foundation are truly built. How will the team look? No clue but I think they could be really fun to watch. This off season will no doubt be fun to monitor as the transfer portal unfolds and see who we go after and what kind of players those are. We may only have 3 more years of Woodson, but these next 2 I think are the most important. And even without getting any big time recruits for 2023, a guy like Cupps is the player we hate playing against if he goes to MSU or OSU. But I think expectations should be that of "learning and growth" for next season.

 

Lot to look forward to for both programs, even if it is 2 years down the road for the men's, so don't be down on the ending of this season too much.

 

Since you're being the optimist, I'll be a little harsher and set the bar higher than you for the men's team:

If our coaching staff is of the quality that we expect (and that Mike Woodson says he expects) we should be more than an NIT/bubble NCAA team next year.

Part of that expectation is based on my expectation of our staff's ability to recruit. We should be able to fill those yet to be filled two, three or four about to open roster spots with quality, rotation-level players. And given the development of players like Gallo, Kopp (yes he improved tremendously under Woody) and X (yes he improved tremendously under Woody) I also expect kids like Reneau, Gunn and Banks to improve commensurately.

 

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,152]

2 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

Since you're being the optimist, I'll be a little harsher and set the bar higher than you on the men's team:

If our coaching staff is of the quality that we expect (and that Mike Woodson says he expects) we should be more than an NIT/low seeded NCAA team next year.

Part of that expectation is based on my expectation of our staff's ability to recruit. We should be able to fill those yet to be filled two, three or four about to open roster spots with quality, rotation-level players. And given the development of players like Gallo, Kopp (yes he improved tremendously under Woody) and X (yes he improved tremendously under Woody) I also expect kids like Reneau, Gunn and Banks to improve commensurately.

 

I love Reneau, Gunn and Banks as prospects. Especially Gunn and Banks. Both seem to have confidence and the length and athleticism we need on the wings.

[Stuhoo 75,377]

8 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

I love Reneau, Gunn and Banks as prospects. Especially Gunn and Banks. Both seem to have confidence and the length and athleticism we need on the wings.

Just because a young player like Reneau is already pretty good, that doesn't mean he can't substantially improve.

Exhibit A is TJD this past year. Already really good, but got immeasurably better.

[Hovadipo 52,784]

I’m really excited to see us start landing some pieces for our open scholarships and start projecting next year’s team. Winning the offseason, if you will.

Portal recruiting is really fun, because you’re projecting an impact in a couple months instead of a couple years down the road like HS kids. 

[coonhounds 8,690]

I cannot be optimistic about the men's team for next season at this point. That being said Woodson can absolutely not afford to take a giant step back like the nit at this point. His goal is to bring iu back to what it once was and to do that he is going to need to keep forward progress. I am hoping for a mass exodus and to get some ball players in through the portal and decomits and hopefully a surprise recruit. Time to get grown men and no complainers lol

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

[Alford Bailey 12,217]

Im excited to see new faces and see this staff build a roster. Very confident in the coaching just gotta see who we bring in.

[rayl456 386]

43 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

Since you're being the optimist, I'll be a little harsher and set the bar higher than you for the men's team:

If our coaching staff is of the quality that we expect (and that Mike Woodson says he expects) we should be more than an NIT/bubble NCAA team next year.

Part of that expectation is based on my expectation of our staff's ability to recruit. We should be able to fill those yet to be filled two, three or four about to open roster spots with quality, rotation-level players. And given the development of players like Gallo, Kopp (yes he improved tremendously under Woody) and X (yes he improved tremendously under Woody) I also expect kids like Reneau, Gunn and Banks to improve commensurately.

 

Man, I hope that you're right.  I think with the amount of change coming both in personnel and style of play that I'm tempering my expectations.  But who knows, I mean we have see what the roster looks like before making any claims.

[Honkyman 1,670]

1 hour ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

I love Reneau, Gunn and Banks as prospects. Especially Gunn

Gunn has to fix his shot. 8% from 3-point range isn't going to get him on the floor when it counts next season. Reneau will be the top or 2nd highest scorer next year assuming he develops over the summer, develops an outside shot, and learns how to stay out of foul trouble. Banks seems to have potential and hopefully he takes a big leap forward next year.

[Hoosierfan2017 19,845]

I’ll be absolutely shocked if IU makes the tournament next season. We’re likely losing 4 of 5 starters. We had 4 bench points across two tournament games. Galloway and Reneau are really the only B1G caliber players I see on this roster barring Xavier’s waiver being granted. Our 2023 recruiting class is mediocre as it stands now. Woodson and his staff have a lot of work to do this offseason. 

[Scotty R 1,896]

13 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

I’ll be absolutely shocked if IU makes the tournament next season. We’re likely losing 4 of 5 starters. We had 4 bench points across two tournament games. Galloway and Reneau are really the only B1G caliber players I see on this roster barring Xavier’s waiver being granted. Our 2023 recruiting class is mediocre as it stands now. Woodson and his staff have a lot of work to do this offseason. 

Did anyone think Purdue would win the conference after losing 4 of their top 6 players from last year.

[IU - Kaulie 1,855]

14 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

I’ll be absolutely shocked if IU makes the tournament next season. We’re likely losing 4 of 5 starters. We had 4 bench points across two tournament games. Galloway and Reneau are really the only B1G caliber players I see on this roster barring Xavier’s waiver being granted. Our 2023 recruiting class is mediocre as it stands now. Woodson and his staff have a lot of work to do this offseason. 

I will go the other way and be shocked if we don’t make it.

[Hoosierfan2017 19,845]

8 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

Did anyone think Purdue would win the conference after losing 4 of their top 6 players from last year.

Probably not, but Mike Woodson isn’t Matt Painter. We have a ton of holes to fill, and a whole lot of production to replace. We’ll see how the offseason goes. We certainly will have a lot of playing time to offer at, we’ll, every position. 

[Hoosierfanyuh 1,786]

Well be fine lmao

[Stuhoo 75,377]

14 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

Did anyone think Purdue would win the conference after losing 4 of their top 6 players from last year.

Illinois also replaced four of five starters.

Penn State had three new starters.

Kentucky had three new starters.

 

 

[Stuhoo 75,377]

9 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Probably not, but Mike Woodson isn’t Matt Painter. We have a ton of holes to fill, and a whole lot of production to replace. We’ll see how the offseason goes. We certainly will have a lot of playing time to offer at, well, every position. 

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.

[Scotty R 1,896]

10 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Probably not, but Mike Woodson isn’t Matt Painter. We have a ton of holes to fill, and a whole lot of production to replace. We’ll see how the offseason goes. We certainly will have a lot of playing time to offer at, we’ll, every position. 

You are right Woodson has never lost to a 15 and 16 seeds

[Stuhoo 75,377]

 

[Hoosierfan2017 19,845]

18 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

You are right Woodson has never lost to a 15 and 16 seeds

Are you the IU Scott guy?

It’s fun to poke fun at Purdue and all, but Matt Painter is a very good coach who, year in and year our, gets very good results despite coaching at an inferior school that lacks the advantages a school like IU has. He doesn’t land the best recruiting classes (in part because of coaching at Purdue), but over the past 9 seasons he has finished below 4th in the conference once and won it 3 times. That’s with zero top 30 recruiting classes. So, sure, nobody predicted Purdue winning the conference, but Painter regularly exceeds expectations. His teams do better than they should. When is the last time IU exceeded expectations? 

If Woodson wants to field a tournament team next season, he has to be a portal rockstar. Thus far he hasn’t been anything special in the portal. We’ll see if he can change that this season.