IUBB vs Army - Sunday, 11.12.23 @ 7:00 on BTN

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,386]

Malik has not been that great. Stats lie. Game one he was terrible on D and 1 rebound. Last night was better but again, he rarely passes and defense is not good. The ball get fed to him a lot and he always looks to drive at 2 guys. He needs to kick that is big part of our lack of 3pt attempts. 
You really believe MM has been selfish? That is what your post implied but maybe misunderstanding. He has barely had the ball and when he has, I wish he was 1000% more selfish. Forget his D for now. That kid needs to demand the ball and shoot. Look at his shot attempts. He is playing scared to make a mistake on both ends.  People talk about JHS and how he was “more ready” but JHS also shot the ball a ton and fans were even complaining he shot too much at times and for sure early on.  MM needs that scorer mindset. 

I watched the exhibitions too. He got good time in those games. The ball sticks with most of our guys. MM and MR included.

I want MM to be an offensive focus too, but I’ve seen him pump fake, drive into traffic and not finish a lot, especially in the EXH. I feel good with him shooting.

Energy level and defensive awareness has been bad for most of the team and especially MM.

I’m a fan, but it hasn’t been pretty. (Yet).


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[WayneFleekHoosier 48,386]

See my other reply in college bb thread. Think for him and others this may all be tied to trying not to make a mistake. Someone also said somewhere else that MM is still in doghouse over the Taco Bell incident so he is probably extra scared to mess up.
 
They are confused on what to do and not able to apply film to game yet according to Calbert. That would sure explain a lot.

I tend to agree. Let the guys ball. Thinking too much. That’s why I said to simplify the approach. Open up the game a bit. Shoot early, rebound aggressively, and defend mercilessly. Win basketball games.


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[Home Jersey 7,590]

A bunch of new guys learning systems on both sides of the ball that are new to them, and still figuring out how to play together/trust each other. Until we see some marked improvement, I won't feel very confident going into many games. 

If that is still the case in mid January, well... 

[str8baller 5,253]

3 hours ago, Ngw7183 said:

Malik might have led the team but he also had like 20 other chances he passed up. The ball sticks with him. He can be looking right at a wide open guy for 3 and will take on 2 guys.
 

Love him but he isn’t a 4. Just not. 

The guy literally leads our team in assists. Saying he can’t pass is hyperbole at best. He struggled passing out of double teams last night, but trying to fix that by starting MM in his place would be like trying to put out a fire with a can of gasoline.   
 

He isn’t a 4. He’s a college post (or 5). Ware is supposed to be the guy playing out in space stretching the floor.  
 

We don’t have enough guards to go small all the time. And MM didn’t come here to play the 4. We’re just not going to see much of that lineup just like we didn’t see much of Kopp at the 4 last year.  If MM and Gunn get to where they can defend and score, maybe we’ll see a change. But currently Reneau is better than both by quite a bit. 

[IUFAN1976 3,165]

I will say this about this team!  This team will be a true test on how good of a Coach Woodson is because he and his staff will have to do their best coaching job in order for us to compete in the B10.  If that happens, it will prove all CMW doubters and if it doesn’t, this team could finish last in the B10 and the Fire CMW supporters will rear their ugly heads!  I sure hope he rises up to the challenges and gets this team to compete at a high level, like they should be capable of!

[Golfman25 5,437]

1 hour ago, cthomas said:

All of this is CMW's problem to work out. He, and the staff, sees these guys every day in practice and has watched them at least since they got on campus. I know it's fun to speculate about what combinations would be better, but coach's opinion is the only one that matters. I also can't believe he doesn't see the same issues. Hopefully, he pushes the right buttons to get out of the players what he sees in them. At the end of the day, he is accountable for the product on the floor. 

That's just the thing, this early in the season.  We have seen maybe 80-160 mins of basketball.  Coaches have seen them for that long each day.  One more game and then we can decide if this team is a bust. :)  

[str8baller 5,253]

6 minutes ago, IUFAN1976 said:

I will say this about this team!  This team will be a true test on how good of a Coach Woodson is because he and his staff will have to do their best coaching job in order for us to compete in the B10.  If that happens, it will prove all CMW doubters and if it doesn’t, this team could finish last in the B10 and the Fire CMW supporters will rear their ugly heads!  I sure hope he rises up to the challenges and gets this team to compete at a high level, like they should be capable of!

I’m cautiously optimistic he can get this team to play good defense and be similar to his first team. That’s a bubble team who competes most nights in the B1G. Anything beyond that would be dang impressive given where we’re at now. 

[Uspshoosier 45,686]

15 minutes ago, str8baller said:

The guy literally leads our team in assists. Saying he can’t pass is hyperbole at best. He struggled passing out of double teams last night, but trying to fix that by starting MM in his place would be like trying to put out a fire with a can of gasoline.   
 

He isn’t a 4. He’s a college post (or 5). Ware is supposed to be the guy playing out in space stretching the floor.  
 

We don’t have enough guards to go small all the time. And MM didn’t come here to play the 4. We’re just not going to see much of that lineup just like we didn’t see much of Kopp at the 4 last year.  If MM and Gunn get to where they can defend and score, maybe we’ll see a change. But currently Reneau is better than both by quite a bit. 

Coaches lie.  If later on woody thinks playing him at the 4 will win him games he is going to do it.    Furst got recruited to play the 4 and wanted to play the 4.   Now he is the backup 5. Lol.     Brooks told everyone don’t mention playing the 4 and Cal sold him on playing the 3.   That lasted a minute before Cal moved him to the 4.  

[MikeRoberts 7,013]

1 hour ago, Ngw7183 said:

I have said multiple times MM needs to play the 4 start over Malik. Malik spells Ware and some time at 4. Would change us instantly.

Cupps is not quick enough. Doesn’t matter how much people want him to be. He is great bench, spark guy. Play hard, hit a few shots etc. can work against some teams with less athletic guards. He has limits but 100% love him and glad as hell we have him. 

What on earth are you watching? Who do you think is quicker than Cupps on this team other than X?

[Hoosier987 1,170]

10 minutes ago, IUFAN1976 said:

I will say this about this team!  This team will be a true test on how good of a Coach Woodson is because he and his staff will have to do their best coaching job in order for us to compete in the B10.  If that happens, it will prove all CMW doubters and if it doesn’t, this team could finish last in the B10 and the Fire CMW supporters will rear their ugly heads!  I sure hope he rises up to the challenges and gets this team to compete at a high level, like they should be capable of!

 Seasons can be won or lost before any games begin during the summer. Woodson constructed this team. It was clear to anyone who watched IU Basketball that we lacked guard play and scoring ability…yet he didn’t address these issues during the off-season and it’s rearing it’s ugly head. This is his 3rd year, he needs to continue an upward trajectory but he left himself a mighty tall task with the makeup of this team….and I won’t mince my words, last nights coaching wasn’t very good. This team lacks basic teaching fundamentals. 

[Hoosier987 1,170]

9 minutes ago, str8baller said:

I’m cautiously optimistic he can get this team to play good defense and be similar to his first team. That’s a bubble team who competes most nights in the B1G. Anything beyond that would be dang impressive given where we’re at now. 

Why would it be dang impressive? Woodson constructed this team. He built the make-up. These are HIS guys. 

[MikeRoberts 7,013]

4 minutes ago, Hoosier987 said:

 Seasons can be won or lost before any games begin during the summer. Woodson constructed this team. It was clear to anyone who watched IU Basketball that we lacked guard play and scoring ability…yet he didn’t address these issues during the off-season and it’s rearing it’s ugly head. This is his 3rd year, he needs to continue an upward trajectory but he left himself a mighty tall task with the makeup of this team….and I won’t mince my words, last nights coaching wasn’t very good. This team lacks basic teaching fundamentals. 

It is very mind boggling that in year 3 we have 3 serviceable guards on the entire team - not sure how that happens

[str8baller 5,253]

10 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Coaches lie.  If later on woody thinks playing him at the 4 will win him games he is going to do it.    Furst got recruited to play the 4 and wanted to play the 4.   Now he is the backup 5. Lol.     Brooks told everyone don’t mention playing the 4 and Cal sold him on playing the 3.   That lasted a minute before Cal moved him to the 4.  

Sure. Otoh, other knowledgeable posters say Woody won’t bench MM because of recruiting. He gets paid the big bucks to balance those interests.  
 

I’m not sure what anyone has seen that makes them think MM is a viable option at the 4 or that Woody would make that change. He seems to like a certain style.

[str8baller 5,253]

12 minutes ago, Hoosier987 said:

Why would it be dang impressive? Woodson constructed this team. He built the make-up. These are HIS guys. 

From a coaching perspective. Not from a roster perspective and you can see my posts from the summer expressing concern over the position distribution of the roster.   
 

But in any event, this was going to be a rebuilding season. We lost a prolific post player to the nba plus our stud pg. we also graduated two other starters. This was a rebuilding year any way you slice it and making the tourney would be a nice accomplishment.  
 

I don’t know if people have been paying attention the last couple decades, but we’re not a big time program anymore. We’re a struggling, middle of the pack B1G program. Taking a flawed roster (by Woody’s construction, admittedly) to the tourney in such a year is a solid job of coaching. Archie couldn’t do it. Crean couldn’t in rebuilding years. Davis couldn’t. And the coach before that is long gone, and we’re not that program anymore anyways.  

[Hoosier987 1,170]

9 minutes ago, str8baller said:

 

I don’t know if people have been paying attention the last couple decades, but we’re not a big time program anymore. We’re a struggling, middle of the pack B1G program. Taking a flawed roster (by Woody’s construction, admittedly) to the tourney in such a year is a solid job of coaching. Archie couldn’t do it. Crean couldn’t in rebuilding years. Davis couldn’t. And the coach before that is long gone, and we’re not that program anymore anyways.  

Not that program anymore? Yikes. Woodson would whole-heartedly disagree with you and so would many others. He has stated on multiple occasions that the next step for Indiana is to win a Big Ten Title and a National Title. Hell, he mentioned this as early as a couple of weeks ago. I believe him and so do many others. Despite, obviously what you think…We’re a top 15 program and many national writers and coaches would tell you that. 

[str8baller 5,253]

18 minutes ago, Hoosier987 said:

He has stated on multiple occasions that the next step for Indiana is to win a Big Ten Title and a National Title. Hell, he mentioned this as early as a couple of weeks ago. I believe him and so do many others

If that is what you think Woody is selling, I personally don’t believe him this year.  If you think that’s on tap for this season, I am not sure I even know what to tell you.  
 

On an unrelated note, a buddy of mine has some exclusive deals on some new bridges for sale. Real cheap. If you act now I can get you in on the ground level.  ;) 

 

In all seriousness, I think those are unrealistic expectations for this team. I think Zellers last year and maybe Gordons first year are the only teams that carried those type of expectations since Calbert graduated. That’s two seasons in 30 years. Rank that however you want. 

[JSHoosier 20,232]

1 hour ago, str8baller said:

 Taking a flawed roster (by Woody’s construction, admittedly) to the tourney in such a year is a solid job of coaching. Archie couldn’t do it. Crean couldn’t in rebuilding years. Davis couldn’t. And the coach before that is long gone, and we’re not that program anymore anyways.  

I hope there's not a single person involved at IU that believes this. Missing a 68 team field when this staff's fingerprints are all over the roster would not be good.

If that happened I'd expect the staff to take a serious look at what they're doing and re-evaluate.

[MikeRoberts 7,013]

10 minutes ago, JSHoosier said:

I hope there's not a single person involved at IU that believes this. Missing a 68 team field when this staff's fingerprints are all over the roster would not be good.

If that happened I'd expect the staff to take a serious look at what they're doing and re-evaluate.

100% this is year 3 and this team is loaded with 4 and 5 star players. There is no reason making a 68 field tournament should be a reach.

 

I’m not confident we make it but that is more to do with team construction - if only the ncaa would allow us 13 scholarships like everyone else

[JSHoosier 20,232]

30 minutes ago, MikeRoberts said:

100% this is year 3 and this team is loaded with 4 and 5 star players. There is no reason making a 68 field tournament should be a reach.

 

I’m not confident we make it but that is more to do with team construction - if only the ncaa would allow us 13 scholarships like everyone else

A 6th year PG, 2 5*, another highly ranked player all starting.  A lot of teams that would make the tournament can't say that. Missing with that would look really bad and be used against us on recruiting, rightfully so.

[JSHoosier 20,232]

15 minutes ago, Ngw7183 said:

Who should they have gotten with that scholarship  that would help? Would have to be portal to have a for sure impact. Who? They tried for Dingle, for Knecht. Rayj Dennis, etc. At some point, you don’t just take a guy. The had hope for CJ and I can still see it (again, he is a mess right now) but it is there if he can calm down. 
 

also, someone correct me but Newton was expected to play but was found out he needed another surgery when he arrived at IU to further fix the knee and not just more rehab. 
 

easy to say they needed another guard but not sure who else they could have even went after that they didn’t who would have for sure helped. Sure someone has a name.

A knee scope is what was reported for Newton, but that shouldn't keep someone out this long.  That knee may be a concern moving forward.