Transfer Portal w IU Interest

[HoosierHoopster 8,304]

21 hours ago, Asha’man said:

Neither Michigan or Louisville had preseason hype. They made their own hype with their play. We need to win games not the press conference or the preseason hype. We will be competitive and we shall see how it goes. But DeVries record shows he knows how to win. Have some confidence. 

And as to hype, Woodson’s portal class got lots of hype… whoopee. How’d that turn out?

the players DeVries has already brought in are clearly demonstrated good players and they fit his system and player type and they complement each other’s games, a focus on SHOOTING- perimeter play with playmaking and assists, rebounding with transition, and toughness.
We have a ball club that I’m betting is already heads above this past season’s group (though it was undercut by lazy and incompetent Mike), and it’s still being built. I’m really happy with the way things are looking so far

[JaybobHoosier 13,172]

10 hours ago, TheWatShot said:

Man, I don't know about this. Imagine how toxic this place will be if we're looking at 3 straight years of no tournament. 

I think there is a good shot at it, but I think it depends on perception. IU hasn’t been a good team for 8-9 years, and if IU has a good season and there was growth, then why should this place be toxic? IU fans gave patience to Woody and and Miller (or at least they should have), so why can’t fans give Coach Devries patience? 
 

We all want the same thing, but part of the fan base sees everything as a negative unless we have a top recruiting class and top team. Coach Devries built a tournament level team without two of his top players, and turned Drake around when it was a historically terrible program. I understand being hesitant and not a fan of the hire, but I guess I don’t get why people won’t give Coach Devries rope to get things going?! 
 

Woodson was not a good coach, but still landed really good recruits. So if we miss the tournament why is it doom and gloom? I don’t mean to go in circles, I just see things differently which is all good. We all want to win, so as long as we get there with Coach Devries then it will all be good.

[rcbowla 8,261]

1 hour ago, JaybobHoosier said:

Said it perfectly! Coach is building a team to compete, not just collect talent. He knows how to put together a team, and has been successful at doing so. Little resources/talent at Drake and lost 2 of his top players at WV, and still had success. 
 

I’m not saying the 1st year will be perfect, and I’m on record saying a tournament birth isn’t necessary in year 1. However, I think coach is doing a good job navigating a lot of stuff. A mess of things from the past 8+ years, and he was only at WV one year, didn’t have a ton of time building relationships with recruits and teams. A turnaround might take a him a little time, and coach deserves our patience!

Respect the hell out of ya but......couldn't disagree more. Have, and I mean HAVE, to make the tourney in year 1. Not only that but I think be comfortably in as a 9 seed or better. Can't accept less from a coach with the payroll we're working with.

[bigrod 3,182]

3 hours ago, rcbowla said:

Respect the hell out of ya but......couldn't disagree more. Have, and I mean HAVE, to make the tourney in year 1. Not only that but I think be comfortably in as a 9 seed or better. Can't accept less from a coach with the payroll we're working with.

So we're looking for another coach next year if we don't make the tournament? I don't disagree that we should, but I think we should all be looking for a sound foundation building season before all else. This program is broken. Let's crawl, walk, and then run. We've had more resources than most for the past 25 years, and it's gotten us here. 

[Pagoda 4,554]

It's tough to see a scenario where we spend $11M on a roster (top-10) and we've got one of the biggest program budgets in the country for staff, etc., and we miss the tournament and that's not a pretty big red flag.  I am fine being patient and I want to be patient, but when a coach gets these sort of resources, they just have do something with it all, or why is IU giving him $11M for players?  

We really haven't been a big resource program until the NIL era, and the last two years we have really ramped up the resources.  I say this because pre-NIL we didn't do much of the under the table payments stuff to players, which made it hard to compete with KU, UK, Duke, UNC, etc. for top talent.

Two things stand out to me on why we really should make the tourney:

1) Making the tournament is not that hard, even though IUBB has made it seem hard.  With these top-10 resources, we've just got to be a top-35 or so team in the country to get in the tournament.  Mike Woodson more or less had the same resources last year (this year other teams are a little more competitive on resources), and despite him doing a terrible, terrible job, he still almost made it.  I mean it took a Mike Woodson masterclass to miss the tourney. 

Plus, we just saw UM, UL, and UK go through something similar to what we are going through and they made it.  I don't think the tourney is a high bar.

2) After this season, we're going to have a lot of key players run out of eligibility, so we're going to be pretty heavy in the portal again next year.  There is nothing wrong with this, it takes time to build in some high school recruiting, but if the portal didn't work in CDD's first year, then I'm not sure why it would be much better in the second year coming off a missed tourney.

If we miss the tourney in year one, I don't want to fire CDD, that's insane.  But I am going to be very worried because he just spent $11M picking his own team and he didn't do well.  I'll just have to hope he fixes it in year two with better portal picks and some internal development.  

And to be clear, I'm not worried right now.  While I don't have a great read on CDD yet, he's a quiet guy, his track record of program building and coaching at Drake and WVU looks good.  He is off to a good start in the portal and it's still early.  And some people I've ran into have good things to say about him, and they aren't IU fans.  For me, he's got free rein to do his thing this portal and hire his staff.  We won't know how well he did in the portal until we play games.  A top-30 player could be so-so, and a kid ranked #100+ may blow up, and the team has to fit together and be well coached.  And I think the team will be, and we go on to make the tourney and build from there.  But, I guess this rambling post is a way too long way to say I have a hard time seeing a missed tourney as anything else but a pretty serious red flag (assuming no bad injuries).

 

[AH1971 3,146]

6 hours ago, rcbowla said:

Respect the hell out of ya but......couldn't disagree more. Have, and I mean HAVE, to make the tourney in year 1. Not only that but I think be comfortably in as a 9 seed or better. Can't accept less from a coach with the payroll we're working with.

Or what? Introduce our 5th coach in 11 seasons?

[IU Prof 2,353]

It all depends, folks. If we miss the tournament because TDV and Wilkerson go down early with season ending injuries, it'd be hard to say that's a huge red flag for DDV. If everyone stays healthy and we go 5-15 in the B1G, then that would be a big red flag.

 

[Home Jersey 15,961]

Hurley missed the tournament his first two seasons at UConn and was below .500 in his first season. 6-12 in American Athletic conference. The portal changes things but you can pay $20M, it’s no guarantee you’re getting a team that’s going to the tournament or a final four. Sure, that type of investment should net you that kind of season… but the consequence of not having that kind of season? Way overstated here IMO. Would definitely make things more tricky, but not impossible. Fans will always support IUBB IMO even when it doesn’t feel fun. Winning changes everything… more often than not though, that gratification is delayed, not instant. You’ve eventually got to be comfortable riding with a guy through the highs and the lows. Hopefully the lows are few and far between, and mostly in the early years when DDV is still getting acclimated to a new job. Patience… and we’re off to a good start in the portal year 1. 

[str8baller 7,466]

2 hours ago, bigrod said:

but I think we should all be looking for a sound foundation building season before all else. 

Most of the guys brought in have 1 year of eligibility left. They won’t be a part of any future foundation. Can we at least expect them to produce like guys being paid top dollar? 
 

Or is the new coach smell supposed to be so intoxicating that we just clap like trained seals for a couple years no matter what happens? 

[Pagoda 4,554]

24 minutes ago, str8baller said:

Most of the guys brought in have 1 year of eligibility left. They won’t be a part of any future foundation. Can we at least expect them to produce like guys being paid top dollar? 
 

Or is the new coach smell supposed to be so intoxicating that we just clap like trained seals for a couple years no matter what happens? 

Part of the foundation we need is being a decent team.  Players need to see IU in the dance and winning some big games in front of a raucous AH and IU just being somewhat in the national conversation.  We’ve stunk for so long we have a perception problem.

And yet, we are doing okay in the portal so far, which is good.

[Uspshoosier 54,384]

https://x.com/travisbranham_/status/1914645928004182027?s=46

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 11,817]

Hope to get recruiting news today.  This discussion is BORING. 

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 11,817]

Just now, Uspshoosier said:

https://x.com/travisbranham_/status/1914645928004182027?s=46

Wait grad transfers can't enter? 

[68Hoosier 1,262]

Any news on yesterday's visit?  Did anyone track them down at dinner.... 

[Hoosierfan2017 24,880]

3 hours ago, bigrod said:

So we're looking for another coach next year if we don't make the tournament? I don't disagree that we should, but I think we should all be looking for a sound foundation building season before all else. This program is broken. Let's crawl, walk, and then run. We've had more resources than most for the past 25 years, and it's gotten us here. 

Mike Woodson is a terrible coach and he made the tournament his first year. We’re one of a dozen teams or so with $10+ million to spend. With a high budget comes high expectations. A good coach should be able to come into this situation and comfortably make the tournament in year 1. DD had much less in resources at WVU, lost his best player early in the season, and was still the first team out and should’ve made the tournament. If IU’s sitting on the outside looking in next March then something went drastically wrong. 

[Hoosier DaDa 3,770]

21 hours ago, 68Hoosier said:

Maybe he can shoot it left-handed from the line. 

Bring in Cal the smooth lefty from Evansville.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,680]

46 minutes ago, Certified Sunshine Pumper said:

Wait grad transfers can't enter? 

Not after 11:59 tonight.  Also a reminder that schools don't have to submit the paperwork for 48 hours so likely hear more names portaling through Thursday if some schools drag their heels.

[steubenhoosier 1,829]

One thing I will take into consideration is that IU has scheduled some high level games, but they are all against programs more established than us, and all happen relatively early in the season. Based on past results, I have confidence that CDD is going to put together a well-coached and competitive team, but it’s going to take some time for a bunch of portal guys to develop a cohesive unit. The Marquette, UL, and UK games are considered marquee contests that can significantly improve the resumes when the tournament committee picks the seeds. I hope we play competitively in these games and can win at least one of them. However I fear that the fanbase is going to melt down if we struggle.

Regardless of the money and resources we have, none of that can blend a group of individuals into a team. Only time, coaching, and the willingness to work together will do so.

Long season. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 11,817]

I wish you guys allowed more emojis here. 

[Hoosier987 2,764]

Any word on Federiko? Seems like we're going after him. He would be our center/rim protector. Does anyone know what his wingspan is? Doesn't seem to be a huge offensive threat, but if the other 4 positions are, then it seems like he's there more for defensive purposes -- which is what we need.