2023 SF/PF Mackenzie Mgbako to INDI-F’N-ANA

[WayneFleekHoosier 47,973]

1 minute ago, wirenuts said:

Seems like Adidas in general favors Louisville and Kansas over teams like IU. I'm not sure that is how it is but the impression that I have. It kinda begs the question of why IU still has an Adidas contract if players are going to be steered away. Not complaining, just an observation

This has certainly been the case more often than not.  Romeo Langford was a big time Adidas guy that we won.  But were also the hometown school.  Archie, IMO, sunk his career at IU with how the Romeo season went so far as recruiting 5 star guys.  

[Chris007 43,567]

4 minutes ago, wirenuts said:

Seems like Adidas in general favors Louisville and Kansas over teams like IU. I'm not sure that is how it is but the impression that I have. It kinda begs the question of why IU still has an Adidas contract if players are going to be steered away. Not complaining, just an observation

You are correct both of those schools get more money from Adidas than we do. That contract is up in 2024

[Brass Cannon 24,271]

They favor them because they win more and do more for the brand.  We aren’t going to have better luck with any other company. We have to start winning to be treated like winners 

[Chris007 43,567]

Just now, Brass Cannon said:

They favor them because they win more and do more for the brand.  We aren’t going to have better luck with any other company. We have to start winning to be treated like winners 

I was about to say we would be in the 10-15 range if we went with Nike. It's just got to be who is going to give you the most money. 

[wirenuts 1,055]

2 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

This has certainly been the case more often than not.  Romeo Langford was a big time Adidas guy that we won.  But were also the hometown school.  Archie, IMO, sunk his career at IU with how the Romeo season went so far as recruiting 5 star guys.  

If I remember correctly the ESPN article mentioned Tom crean being really happy when finding out Adidas was going to start helping. I'm sure it was at the end of his tenure. If that is the case, was it that crean only wanted to play the game when he knew he was gonna be fired for non performance, or was it that Indiana tried to play the game only to be knocked down by their own shoe company?

With friends like that, who needs enemas?

[Hoosier987 1,071]

Rabjohns seems to be clarifying his statements earlier. Now implying that he’s just repeating what backroom chatter he has heard and that he’s not saying Louisville is the team to beat. He is in the “let’s see what’s real and what’s not” mode. Again, seems like there’s a different rumor daily. 

[Hoosier987 1,071]

4 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

 We have to start winning to be treated like winners 

Very true words here. It’s a tough pill to swallow but you’re absolutely correct. 

[TheWatShot 13,683]

7 minutes ago, Hoosier987 said:

Rabjohns seems to be clarifying his statements earlier. Now implying that he’s just repeating what backroom chatter he has heard and that he’s not saying Louisville is the team to beat. He is in the “let’s see what’s real and what’s not” mode. Again, seems like there’s a different rumor daily. 

Could be something as simple as someone hearing "his agent wants him to check out Louisville" and telling someone else "his agent wants him to go to Louisville." 

[Scotty R 2,127]

27 minutes ago, go iu bb said:

I would also add that the players are the product. It's not the same as employees helping make or sell widgets for a company. 

In college sports the name on the front of the jersey is the product. Players come and go but the one constant is the name of the school.

[Deserthoozier 928]

30 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

This has certainly been the case more often than not.  Romeo Langford was a big time Adidas guy that we won.  But were also the hometown school.  Archie, IMO, sunk his career at IU with how the Romeo season went so far as recruiting 5 star guys.  

Remember — Langford was a super solid lean, if not lock, for Louisville, w/strong adidas backing, until they went up in flames and looked like they might be penalized w/one of their many scandals. Forget if it was the strippers, bags of cash at the 7/11, Italian restaurant post-dinner table action, or one of the others…too many to track. Aside from maybe better upfront contract cash, Adidas hasn’t delivered on brand, and all the ‘support’ that come with it, for IU like for other premier schools. Seem to be part of the problem…throwing picked over bones here and there - rather than a true partner in recruiting advocacy — which we know happens at a lot of places!

[go iu bb 5,546]

13 minutes ago, Scotty R said:

In college sports the name on the front of the jersey is the product. Players come and go but the one constant is the name of the school.

If that was the case, why do we know the names of players? 

Yes, the fans are fans of the school but the players are who they watch. Bring in a bunch of nobodies who can't play and see how long fans stay around. IU fans have been more persistent than most but I have definitely seen a decline in fan enthusiasm in the last 25 years or so.

Under Miller, fan enthusiasm really took a dive. Lots of losing because of bad coaching and teams that didn't have much talent outside of 1 or 2 players.

Basketball is actually the product, not the school name. Without the players you don't have that.

[RaceToTheTop 25,013]

1 hour ago, Chris007 said:

I'm not sure this one is hard to connect though. Who has been advising this kid for years? Slater. Who is drinking buddies and good friends with Slater? Rabjohns. So it's not like he is getting bad info. Maybe the kid goes to Louisville and hates it. We can hope for that.

Except Slater has already went after another media guy for releasing information on the Mgbanko recruitment.  I don’t think he’s feeding rabjohns information here because I think he knows that rabjohns is going to release information related to IU.

[RaceToTheTop 25,013]

56 minutes ago, Brass Cannon said:

They favor them because they win more and do more for the brand.  We aren’t going to have better luck with any other company. We have to start winning to be treated like winners 

Maybe we should go 4-28 like Louisville.

[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,182]

Would feel better if it were coming from somewhere other than Rabjohns.  He tends to paint an overly optimistic picture of things for IU, so him saying that 'Louisville currently leads' without him even visiting is not encouraging.

And if the family is keeping this recruitment close to the vest as has been said, he is guessing. Again, his guess may be proven correct, but just like every other rumor/guess, I take it all with a grain of salt until the player announces where he is going and signs.

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[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,182]

I like how we suddenly have all this "information" about the recruitment of MM when it was said early on there would be minimal information coming out. It's almost like we forget what has happened in the very recent past.
It'll be fun to hear how things "truly" went down after he announces.

Exactly

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[Scotty R 2,127]

24 minutes ago, go iu bb said:

If that was the case, why do we know the names of players? 

Yes, the fans are fans of the school but the players are who they watch. Bring in a bunch of nobodies who can't play and see how long fans stay around. IU fans have been more persistent than most but I have definitely seen a decline in fan enthusiasm in the last 25 years or so.

Under Miller, fan enthusiasm really took a dive. Lots of losing because of bad coaching and teams that didn't have much talent outside of 1 or 2 players.

Basketball is actually the product, not the school name. Without the players you don't have that.

Just put it this way, if you take all the top players from the power 6 conferences out of the college game. If the top players in college basketball were bench players from power 6 conferences or the top mid major players . If those players were at the blue blood programs and were winning you would still see the same attendance and viewership.

[RaceToTheTop 25,013]

4 minutes ago, woodenshoemanHoosierfan said:

And if the family is keeping this recruitment close to the vest as has been said, he is guessing. Again, his guess may be proven correct, but just like every other rumor/guess, I take it all with a grain of salt until the player announces where he is going and signs.

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It just seems like a strange take for someone to make that is an Indiana media guy.  Why even venture a guess?

[HoosierTrav 7,737]

This recruitment is one of the many examples as to why I’ve detached from recruiting. I check in from time to time but I refuse to get overly  invested. A vast majority of the time, it’s going to end in disappointment.  

[Capt. Crimson 3,415]

This recruitment is one of the many examples as to why I’ve detached from recruiting. I check in from time to time but I refuse to get overly  invested. A vast majority of the time, it’s going to end in disappointment.  

I said that after Darius Garland yet here I am. *sigh*.


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[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,182]

This recruitment is one of the many examples as to why I’ve detached from recruiting. I check in from time to time but I refuse to get overly  invested. A vast majority of the time, it’s going to end in disappointment.  

This. It's interesting to see who the program is after, but I'm not going to get so invested, that I feel like the sky is falling when a highly rank recruit goes somewhere else. I want to win as bad as the next person. My wife will tell you how mad I get with bad play and losing games we shouldn't. I'll be pissed after a game like that for about 30 minutes, then I calm down. My health isn't worth being upset. I say this as someone, who, when I was younger would be pissed for days when my sports teams lost. Recruiting is the same way

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