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

[Hoosier987]

3 minutes ago, Golfman25 said:

Cupps is a liability?  You smoking something?  

He may mean in terms of size against Big Ten opponents or stiffer competition. I could see where Cupps could potentially be a liability on the defensive side because of his size.  Gabe will be a very good player, I’m confident in that…however, it still remains to be seen in his young career if he can hold his own against stronger opponents. This isn’t a knock on Gabe either, just the reality of the situation.

[Golfman25]

2 minutes ago, Hoosier987 said:

He may mean in terms of size against Big Ten opponents or stiffer competition. I could see where Cupps could potentially be a liability on the defensive side because of his size.  Gabe will be a very good player, I’m confident in that…however, it still remains to be seen in his young career if he can hold his own against stronger opponents. This isn’t a knock on Gabe either, just the reality of the situation.

Sure, but let's at least give him a chance before we call him a "liability."  Geeze.  

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

29 minutes ago, Hoosier987 said:

He may mean in terms of size against Big Ten opponents or stiffer competition. I could see where Cupps could potentially be a liability on the defensive side because of his size.  Gabe will be a very good player, I’m confident in that…however, it still remains to be seen in his young career if he can hold his own against stronger opponents. This isn’t a knock on Gabe either, just the reality of the situation.

Yea no way you can ever win with "short guys" playing the 2. Jordy Hulls sucked. Tyson Walker sucks... Definitely should never have anyone under 6-4 at the 2. No way.

[J34]

26 minutes ago, Hoosier987 said:

He may mean in terms of size against Big Ten opponents or stiffer competition. I could see where Cupps could potentially be a liability on the defensive side because of his size.  Gabe will be a very good player, I’m confident in that…however, it still remains to be seen in his young career if he can hold his own against stronger opponents. This isn’t a knock on Gabe either, just the reality of the situation.

Gabe Cupps is the last person on the roster we need to worry about. He's one of the strongest guys on the team. He's 6'2 and played against high level competition for years. Would you say the same thing about Boogie, if we'd have landed him, at 6'2 175lbs? 

[JSHoosier]

So far our opponents have taken 72 3s and hit 26.  We've attempted 24 and hit 8.  The last time we were near the top 100 in attempts is Crean's last year.

[Home Jersey]

The NBA sub pattern can not happen again. It just can't. If Woodson does not recognize that after allowing Army to go on that huge run at the start of the game, I'm seriously concerned for the rest of the year. Let's see how we look against Wright State. 

Walker... I am sure is a good kid... I wish we picked up a guard in the portal. That and Jakai being injured is seriously gonna limit this back court. Thank God Cupps is ready for big minutes. I hope XJ, GC, and TG don't end up too fatigued at year end. 

I will say... upon rewatching, yes Banks had plenty of lapses, but I do think he shows the most competence of the wings on our schemes. Mack is looking lost and looks like college game is a little too fast for him right now. Surprising considering all the hype and runs with Kyrie, etc. I do think he figures things out eventually and it helps elevate our team... when exactly, not sure, hopefully sooner than later. 

As I've said, still think its too early to reasonably project our ceiling. But last night shows us the floor is awful. The good news... the team and staff are obviously aware things need fixing. The bench looked so P.O.ed losing to Army in the first half... everyone knows what a performance like that says about our team right now. Let's see how they respond. XJ's comments about practice are concerning, but it's encouraging that he's calling people out and trying to hold the team accountable. I hope the locker room is receptive. 

My bigger question though is... will the staff make the proper scheme adjustments to fit this personnel? If not, it will be a long year.

This is where XJ's leadership abilities will truly be tested IMO. Can he be the one to get Coach to buy into making necessary scheme changes (shooting more 3s comes to mind)? I hope he knows what buttons to push and the staff is open minded enough to adapt. 

That said... we won the game, a bunch of big programs lost. Let's see how they look against Wright State... 

Not sure how much we'll learn from the Empire Classic, considering UConn is going to be a drumming in all likelihood. I hate that right now I don't feel confident saying Louisville would be a win. 

[IU - Kaulie]

18 hours ago, RaceToTheTop said:

Re:

On 'not playing MM'......

He's averaging 17 minutes/game.  It's not like he has stuck with him overly long.  But I also fully believe that in practice he has shown that he is a guy that should be starting.  Having it not go well for the first two games of career doesn't change his talent level.  I'm not sure who you think should be getting minutes and burying him on the bench....Cupps is getting 20+ minutes per game so far.  Woodson has had to patchwork plays at the three by either playing three guards or by having Banks there temporarily.  

MM is going to be good.  Gotta be patient.

He can’t play on the wing so that means he can’t play with Ware and Malik.  Ware and Malik need to play a lot of minutes.  Sparks needs to play.  MM needs to back up Malik and play 10-15 minutes/game.  Banks needs to start.  Cupps needs to play his 20 minutes.  Walker and Gunn are going to get minutes.

[IU - Kaulie]

1 hour ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Yea no way you can ever win with "short guys" playing the 2. Jordy Hulls sucked. Tyson Walker sucks... Definitely should never have anyone under 6-4 at the 2. No way.

Tell that to Miami last year.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

2 minutes ago, IU - Kaulie said:

Tell that to Miami last year.

Our last few B1G title teams have played small ball.

[Hoosier987]

1 hour ago, J34 said:

Gabe Cupps is the last person on the roster we need to worry about. He's one of the strongest guys on the team. He's 6'2 and played against high level competition for years. Would you say the same thing about Boogie, if we'd have landed him, at 6'2 175lbs? 

I was literally responding to why another poster thought the other was smoking. If you notice in my original comment, I simply provided a theory of why maybe the other poster said he was a liability. I agree, there are many others who are more of a liability than Cupps. With that said, we’ve yet to see Cupps go against bigger guys. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do. I’m confident in Gabe. 

[HoosierHoopster]

10 hours ago, JSHoosier said:

I don't think we're going to be taking a lot of 3s with Woodson as coach; his comments have sort been take them if they come, he doesn't discourage them but it's not an emphasis either.

And this is a real problem- and one I don’t understand. As in, why? 

[IU - Kaulie]

3 minutes ago, Ngw7183 said:

It isn’t about height. It is quickness. He doesn’t have enough for elite players. He is fine but people need to slow down acting like this kid is going to be the answer, he is limited. 

So you believe Cupps doesn’t have the quickness but you think MM has the quickness to play on the perimeter/wing or anything other than the 4?

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich]

23 minutes ago, Ngw7183 said:

It isn’t about height. It is quickness. He doesn’t have enough for elite players. He is fine but people need to slow down acting like this kid is going to be the answer, he is limited. 

Huh... Wonder how he stayed with the kid from FGCU...

[cthomas]

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. 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Reneau is our 2nd best player imo. Ware has been our best. Both guys need to play a lot. Our guards aren’t too good. The fact that we love Cupps as much as we do, says everything.

As far as the 3. Man, idk. Mgbako could be the guy if he took his intensity level from a 1.5 to an 11 and thought about team first, move the ball principles. Will that happen? Unlikely.

Gunn is the same player as last year so far. Walker could be a dude but doesn’t dribble or shoot like you want. Banks has potential, but…..

So X, cupps, Galloway does make the most sense rn, but I’m not that impressed with any of them right now. Bummer.


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[WayneFleekHoosier]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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!