Indiana vs. Louisville- Mon. 11/20 @ 4:30 pm on ESPNU (Empire Classic)

[Home Jersey]

Just finished rewatching. I'm glad we got the W, it wasn't always pretty but a lot to like too, I think. 

Ware and Reneau are good, but I worry about them in B10 play. Can Reneau stay on the floor? Can Ware effectively post up and rebound? I tend to think there will games where the answer is yes and others where the answer is no. Hopefully it gets better over time. Hopefully the rest of the team steps up - it's tiring seeing those two be the only ones expected to get rebounds. Trey and X getting 4 each in this one compared to one each in the first game made a huge difference.

Sparks and Walker as back ups, if they show up like they did against Louisville, we could be competitive. If like UConn, we will have a rough year in the conference. The conference being down this year gives me hope we can have a decent finish in the standings. 

MM's defense honestly didn't seem bad to me. I don't hate the two quick aggressive fouls. The shots will eventually fall, I was happy we schemed looks for him early in the second half. What I'd really like to see from him is obviously continued improvement on D, but also, be much more active on the boards. I think that would help him get into the flow more easily. His passing was really good in this game. 

Banks - maybe the MVP of the game? Can't understate how valuable his rebounds and defense were... I want him to keep getting minutes. Gunn - my 2 3pt prediction unfortunately did not come true, but I think he is looking more comfortable each game. Also want him to keep getting minutes. Playing 10 guys all year is gonna be tough if that's what we stick with...

What I'm most optimistic about coming out of this game? Woody switching things up with the 2-3 and 4 out, 1 in... being adaptable to the personnel is obviously key and I think he does it better than some of his peers, it just takes time... As the guys continue to develop and build chemistry - get more comfortable rotating the ball, get the defensive rotations fixed, trust each other, etc... we can be a good team. 

There's a lot to clean up obviously, but I'm choosing to focus on the positive. 4-1. We really need to beat Harvard, Maryland and Michigan. Get to 7-1, 2-0 in B10. Kansas is probably a loss but you never know in SSAH. Auburn, they are really good but hopefully you can steal one. 7-3 would be a pretty decent start with an early lead in B10 play considering we haven't really strung together an entire good game yet. 8-2 or better would be overachieving IMO. Coming out of New York still cautiously optimistic and looking forward to mid January.

[JSHoosier]

Galloway had some good looks from 3 but they didn't fall. Gunn is looking better with the midrange pull up, but can't throw it in the ocean from deep yet.

Banks was big in this game.

Switching to zone was a good move by Woodson, we were able to stay in front of guys and not leave shooters wide open. Maybe it can buy some time and provide a new look but we need to get the man defense sorted out.

Mgbako really needs to get going. It was good seeing some action run for him in the 2nd and him confidently pull up. One of his fouls in the first looked kind of ticky tack.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Empire Classic All-Tournament Team:

MVP:  Tristen Newton @UConnMBB

1st team:

Malik Reneau @IndianaMBB

Max Abmas @TexasMBB

Skyy Clark @LouisvilleMBB

Alex Karaban @UConnMBB

[Chris007]

11 hours ago, BGleas said:

Great call by Woodson and the staff to go zone! 

While it didn't completely turn our offense around, I was really excited to see Woodson swith up our approach and to an extent system. 

We largely went away from the 2 low post offense. First possession and throughout we went with a horn set and then we also went with a 4-out/1-in a lot too. 

Again it didn't result in drastic improvement, largely because we didn't shoot well, but we did have a bit more space, got XJ and some others into the lane more and had a few more buckets hitting slashers. 

Really liked seeing those adjustments. 

 

Just to add to this, we have enough guys on this coaching staff who have been around basketball long enough to see what kind of changes need to be made. If we at home can see it, then I'm sure they can also. 

The more this team plays it seems the better their going to get. 

I would change the starting lineup, and most people would, but don't think Woodson ever will. Once he gets his starters, he sticks with them unless there is an injury. 

Everyone have a great break and be safe. Go Hoosiers!!

[Stuhoo]

Mack Mgbako committed two silly fouls early last night, and when he returned in the second half he was not good. 

But...

• He had a few nice assists.
• He played with more confidence, which
• made him look quicker
• His attitude on the bench is still stellar, which means
• He is still striving to improve
• His shot is pretty good looking, even when it doesn't go in

So, I hold out a little more hope after last night that slowly (hopefully not too slowly) he will be "getting it."

Probably Banks being so good gives us hope that we'll have the leeway to be patient.

[IU_FanClub]

10 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

Just to add to this, we have enough guys on this coaching staff who have been around basketball long enough to see what kind of changes need to be made. If we at home can see it, then I'm sure they can also. 

The more this team plays it seems the better their going to get. 

I would change the starting lineup, and most people would, but don't think Woodson ever will. Once he gets his starters, he sticks with them unless there is an injury. 

Everyone have a great break and be safe. Go Hoosiers!!

I agree it seems like they show improvement in different areas each game, problem has been when one improves they have slipped a bit in other areas. Once they start to put the pieces together I think they will be much better.

[Home Jersey]

5 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Mack Mgbako committed two silly fouls early last night, and when he returned in the second half he was not good. 

But...

• He had a few nice assists.
• He played with more confidence, which
• made him look quicker
• His attitude on the bench is still stellar, which means
• He is still striving to improve
• His shot is pretty good looking, even when it doesn't go in

So, I hold out a little more hope after last night that slowly (hopefully not too slowly) he will be "getting it."

Probably Banks being so good gives us hope that we'll have the leeway to be patient.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but now that I think more about where Mack is coming from...

Gill St Bernard - a really good academic school with a basketball program that just so happens to be pretty good

Roselle Catholic - an NJ bball factory, always just recruiting the most talented guys they can find and playing a semi-national schedule, but not really excelling outside of the state... not the best coaching in the state... Losing the Hurleys and Boyles, who now run MVA, has definitely hurt the quality of NJ HS BBall...

NJ Scholars AAU - i mean, it's AAU, enough said. Not a lot of teaching that goes on there to start. 

I think like a lot of freshmen, he's pretty in over his head when it comes to understanding what's actually happening on the court in real time. He's got the physical traits and the skill in shooting that makes me think his mental will catch up and he will find a better groove. I'm very much still hopeful that he figures it out. Will be embarrassing for him otherwise given all the 1 and done talk he created to a degree. 

Banks performance was so clutch yesterday. I like that those two will be pushing each other in practice. 

[Uspshoosier]

CJ gave up an open  3 to take a contested long 2.  Regardless of his shooting percentage he has to shoot the 3 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

Just now, Uspshoosier said:

CJ gave up an open  3 to take a contested long 2.  Regardless of his shooting percentage he has to shoot the 3 

100%

[WayneFleekHoosier]

why are we always shooting NBA three's on NBA courts?  Can't help with consistency.  I've noticed this for all our guys.  Including Galloway. Are they confused by the lines?

[Uspshoosier]

1 minute ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

why are we always shooting NBA three's on NBA courts?  Can't help with consistency.  I've noticed this for all our guys.  Including Galloway. Are they confused by the lines?

At the Maui classic there was confusion on which line to use as well.   Stoppage by the refs during the first game.  My question is why on earth is there an nba 3 point line on a court in Hawaii where no NBA is going to play.   lol 

[Hovadipo]

4 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

why are we always shooting NBA three's on NBA courts?  Can't help with consistency.  I've noticed this for all our guys.  Including Galloway. Are they confused by the lines?

Mentioned that in the UConn game too, hoping UConn wouldn't realize they were taking deep NBA threes lol. I've noticed it a lot on floors that have both lines, not just IU. They had a full 5 minute timeout in the Maui Inv. yesterday trying to figure out which line was the college line.

Edit: mailman delivers early on Feast Week, keeping it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

8 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

CJ gave up an open  3 to take a contested long 2.  Regardless of his shooting percentage he has to shoot the 3 

He had another long 2 a few plays before that as well. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Reneau needs to be grabbing more rebounds. Inexplicable that he only grabbed 3 rebounds last night and 3 vs UConn (although the whole team rebounded poorly vs UConn). He also only had 1 rebound in 31 minutes vs FGCU. Banks and Walker grabbed 8 and 7, respectively, last night in similar minutes.

[Stuhoo]

I don't want to pump too much sunshine because we still look pretty funky out there, but CJ Gunn, Kaleb Banks, and to a certain extent KelEl Ware are really lacking in game minutes as sophomores, and are going to be learning as they go to a real extent. The difference between their learning curve and Malik, who played much more as a freshman, is noticeable. Add Cupps and Mgbako and we've got 5 of our top 10 drinking out of a fire hose. 

If we don't have a quick learning curve it's gonna be a rough year, but the ceiling for this team is still as high as ever.

[Uspshoosier]

Only Indiana could make this turn into a wide open 3 for the other team   lol.  

[CSP]

6 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Only Indiana could make this turn into a wide open 3 for the other team   lol.  

You never slow down as a receiver, CJ! McCulley and Cooper should have taught him that! Lol 

[Uspshoosier]

47 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

why are we always shooting NBA three's on NBA courts?  Can't help with consistency.  I've noticed this for all our guys.  Including Galloway. Are they confused by the lines?

Here is an example for of that. If he takes a step in he is still open for a college 3 instead he repositions further back.  The defender does the fake hustle  close out but by that time the shooter has the open shot even if he takes a step in 

[Josh]

50 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

CJ gave up an open  3 to take a contested long 2.  Regardless of his shooting percentage he has to shoot the 3 

He's in his own head.  Hopefully he has a game where he hits some early to get into his groove

I've never been one to believe shooters can shoot their way out of a slump, I believe they need to defend their way out of one.  Play hard D, get a steal, make an uncontested layup.  After hitting those layups, the rim gets much larger

[HoosierHoopster]

2 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Here is an example for of that. If he takes a step in he is still open for a college 3 instead he repositions further back.  The defender does the fake hustle  close out but by that time the shooter has the open shot even if he takes a step in 

Right and this is a big difference in shot length and ability to connect. Something staff should notice and point out to the players.