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

[str8baller]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

But...

• He had a few nice assists.
• He played with more confidence, which

When he caught it at the elbow early in the 2nd half, turned and made an assist to a cutter, I thought that was the most confident and best he’s looked all season.  Looked more like instinct than thinking. 

[str8baller]

15 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 

One of my complaints last year was spacing of our shooters. Kopp was perpetually guilty but so was Trey. Instead of seeing up on the 3pt line in an opening they would be floating way off the line and out of position for a quick catch and shoot. It probably cost us a couple attempts a game. 

[WayneFleekHoosier]

13 minutes ago, HoosierHoopster said:

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

It drives me nuts and always has.  Some guys have that range but even then it's not consistent with muscle memory.  Common sense says take the most repeatable shot and the numbers go up. 

That's also why on defense we need to force shooters back a step.  Not only contest, but get them to set up off their mark.  Numbers will go down.

This has been a trend i've noticed offensively and defensively for a while now.

PART of it could be they are practicing NBA 3's more than college 3's.  But I have issues with that too.

[IU_FanClub]

55 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

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.

This is the most exciting part for me. I think from game 1 to now there has already been significant growth from CJ and Kaleb and while Ware isn't there yet, he has looked much better than I was expecting.

[go iu bb]

1 hour 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 

His shot selection this year and last leaves a lot to be desired. His shooting percentage wouldn't be as bad or, if it was, wouldn't worry me so much if the shot selection wasn't terrible. This is something that can be taught but he's in his second year and hasn't seemed learn it yet.

[Uspshoosier]

Don’t really need him shooting 3 but if he is I would rather it be a couple more steps in for the same amount of points.  lol 

[IU_FanClub]

1 minute ago, go iu bb said:

His shot selection this year and last leaves a lot to be desired. His shooting percentage wouldn't be as bad or, if it was, wouldn't worry me so much if the shot selection wasn't terrible. This is something that can be taught but he's in his second year and hasn't seemed learn it yet.

While he is in his second year, this is basically his first season of actually playing in games. The shooting still needs to come but I am impressed with his defense and not letting the offense get him down on that end of the floor.

[NashvilleHoosier]

1 hour 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

Maybe my eyes deceive me but it seems like 90% of the shots CJ takes, he has a hesitation at the top of his shot. Does anybody know....has he always shot like this (like in high school as well)?

[Uspshoosier]

Last year this would be a TJD assist for a Banks dunk.  Sparks didn’t see it 

[go iu bb]

The discussion about MM has me thinking that elite HS players who really want to be one-and-done should seriously consider spending at least a year at a basketball factory like Montverde. Gives them a chance to practice and play against better competition than normal high school teams, plus, if that place is good, they'll be taught the necessary skills to adjust more quickly to college. Both JHS and Reneau were more college ready than MM.

I don't think MM is the next Lander. He has the skill but just has to learn the system and get comfortable with the speed of college.

Of course, that isn't necessary for everyone. TJD was fine right off the bat although even he might have benefited from it, but no way to know. Just something I think they should really consider if they want to spend only 1 year in college. Bates did go to IMG so maybe I'm off here. It took him over until his 3rd year to become a decent player.

[Golfman25]

These are the frustrations we are going to have to deal with when you build your team thru "free agency."  There is only so much you can do in practice and limited time.  Schemes and systems need to be simplified, especially early in the season.  

[Uspshoosier]

X passes this up and it’s a Banks fast break dunk.   He is ahead of every Louisville player 

[Josh]

@Uspshoosier please do this after every game!  I don't care if the mail takes a week longer to arrive

Unless you guys prefer the previous couple post game threads instead

[SamIam]

Here we are again! I guess I'm doing this every game now. This game especially felt vindicating for me as so much of the stuff I've been saying came true. 

This is one of the worst shooting teams I've ever watched, and they are 4-1. You can look at that a couple of different ways. There is an argument to be made that it only goes up from here.  Even one reliable shooter would do wonders for this team. Make no mistake - with what we put on tape, defenses are going to sell out even harder in the post. Our guys just need to knock down open ones. I think Gallo will pick it up, he just needs to shoot with confidence. We need Mgbako. Beyond that, I still think Leal should get some minutes just for any semblance of spacing. On the other hand, even going back to the exhibitions, we haven't hit any. Other than the Marian game, we haven't made more than 4 in a game, and unless that changes soon we might actually be one of the worst power 5 shooting teams of all time. 

Going zone changed the game, credit to Woody. On thing that is worrying me is the fact that savvy, quick PG's like Johnson and Newton have been able to foul out our whole team. I realize that basically none of the calls they got would be called in the big ten but if we want to make the tourney we have to tighten that up. 

Clearly Woody got on them about rebounding and they responded. Credit to Walker and Banks, and even to Mgbako who pursued his boards relentlessly while he was playing.

I'm still unsold on Walker, his game is just on the cusp of being out of control and he shoots way too much. For reference, in his five seasons Walker is shooting 20% from 3, including a solid 12% last year.  That's somehow worse than our team this year. He should not be taking those shots, and as soon as the other team realizes he spins left every time, that will be a travel. Still, he played hard.

Banks was phenomenal. He needs heavy minutes at the 3 and the 4. Length, athleticism, and I think he can shoot it a little bit too. And most of all, he has a nose for rebounding that I just love. 

Gunn had a great outing in NY. He is an animal at on-ball defense. I don't know if I've ever wanted to see a player hit a 3 more. I want Woody to let him play the Kopp role alongside Trey and X for a little. Right now, he is playing Gallo's role off the bench which requires all this movement and shooting midrange off the bounce. Let him shoot one on a kick out without dribbling, hopefully that will get him thinking less. 

Ware impressed me. He was fighting in there for rebounds, he committed a couple of stupid fouls but also got a couple BS ones called. Needs to take the top of the key 3 when he gets it. 

I love that Gallo is willing to shoot. He's thinking too much, need to get him some catch and shoot opportunities as well.  Here's to hoping he can start to knock some down. 

Reneau was unfairly reffed against UConn, and his first two fouls in this game shouldn't have been called. But his next two were some of the dumbest decisions I've seen. Has to be smarter. For all we heard about him being a great passer, we don't see it too much. He needs to look for guys on the double team that will get us even more looks. 

Overall, I am encouraged. The way I see it, if this team can find a way to being even a below average 3 pt shooting team, they could be competitive. If not, it will be ugly games like this but at least we've won them so far. 

[Home Jersey]

28 minutes ago, go iu bb said:

The discussion about MM has me thinking that elite HS players who really want to be one-and-done should seriously consider spending at least a year at a basketball factory like Montverde. Gives them a chance to practice and play against better competition than normal high school teams, plus, if that place is good, they'll be taught the necessary skills to adjust more quickly to college. Both JHS and Reneau were more college ready than MM.

I don't think MM is the next Lander. He has the skill but just has to learn the system and get comfortable with the speed of college.

Of course, that isn't necessary for everyone. TJD was fine right off the bat although even he might have benefited from it, but no way to know. Just something I think they should really consider if they want to spend only 1 year in college. Bates did go to IMG so maybe I'm off here. It took him over until his 3rd year to become a decent player.

I think Boyle at Montverde just runs such a strong program, with so much talent, the kids there just are outliers in terms of college readiness. Practicing every day against a bunch of top 50 guys on a college-lite regimen works more wonders for them than as you pointed out, a place like IMG. IMG still a great opportunity for kids but MVA is in a tier of it's own IMO. 

[Uspshoosier]

Banks again wide open all he needs is a pass.   Kid played a heck of a game and deserved that exclamation dunk.    I counted 6 easy points for him that his teammates missed 

[Home Jersey]

I will say this... watching Texas-UConn right after, was clearly a different level of basketball than we were playing. Do I think we are capable of playing that kind of basketball? Maybe... but without the guard play, it will be really, really tough this year. 

Just got to get hot at the right time. Keep getting better one day at a time.

[Hoosier987]

Just now, Uspshoosier said:

Banks again wide open all he needs is a pass.   Kid played a heck of a game and deserved that exclamation dunk.    I counted 6 easy points for him that his teammates missed 

I was hoping he would've passed it too so that we can finally say we've won by double digits. Also, would've been nice for Banks.

[Stuhoo]

36 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Don’t really need him shooting 3 but if he is I would rather it be a couple more steps in for the same amount of points.  lol 

That's completely on the staff.

These players don't want to be braced for taking  a 21 ft two pointer, so they err on the side of caution. The staff has to clearly let them know in pregame where the applicable line is when they see guys behind the father line.

[HoosierHoopster]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

The staff has to clearly let them know in pregame where the applicable line is when they see guys behind the father line.

What about the mother line?