IUBB vs Lindenwood - Thursday, 11.20.25 @ 6:00 on BTN

[woodenshoemanHoosierfan 6,739]

DeVries is not Woodson. He is not Archie. He is not Crean. But unfortunately, we've endured those three since 2008... so the experience, feelings, even early-onset panic seem inevitable.
In the past couple of games, we've seen this team play down to the level of the competition - an experience that we saw far too often in the recent past.
I'm willing to give DeVries a chance to sort this out. We've still got some injuries to work through, and some guys who may or may not pan out. I'm not thrilled with what I've seen lately, but also not ready to pull the plug.
Fix the stagnation on offense, the lack of rebounding and let's see where this goes.

You said this more eloquently than I did

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[Goober 166]

Underwhelming 

[Redcamaro 294]

2 hours ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

We are regressing and are going to be in trouble soon. We’ve looked awful 2 straight. Discombobulated/disjointed offense. Missing shots. Ball movement is stagnant. Cuts are our best offense but we don’t have the athletes to finish.

Reed Bailey has a skillset but he’s the softest big I’ve seen in some time. Completely weak handed.

Nervous for the B1G with how we look.


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I would make him carry a damned basketball around every waking hour of the day!

[HoosierDevils 191]

Kansas State looks great against Chris Jans’ Miss St team that’s #45 on KenPom. Up 20 and PJ Haggerty with 37. Based on what we saw this week, am a bit nervous for this one. 

[TheWatShot 16,001]

35 minutes ago, HoosierDevils said:

Kansas State looks great against Chris Jans’ Miss St team that’s #45 on KenPom. Up 20 and PJ Haggerty with 37. Based on what we saw this week, am a bit nervous for this one. 

Hopefully the Hall will have a little more energy and the team will feed off of it. The place was an absolute morgue tonight. 

[Old Friend 8,784]

5 hours ago, gfeltner28 said:

I hate to be negative but you really don't have to be patient in the NIL era with our resources. 

Every coach and player on the roster is new and we have no size.  You're a fool if you think the NIL and portal can win immediately in that scenario.  No.  You don't "have to" be patient, but it's ridiculous to use resources as an excuse for what this team is and will be.   Mike Woodson wrecked the program and the culture.  Curt Cignetti is the exception, not the rule and dozens of teams have terrific resources.  And ALL except IU have a culture and returning players.   

Cignetti succeeded because he brought a coaching staff and 13 of his best players from a ranked team with him.  He brought culture and expectations.  DeVries didn't have that luxury and it takes a little time to develop a culture...especially one you can sell to recruits.   I'd suggest patience.

[Old Friend 8,784]

2 hours ago, AZ Hoosier said:

DeVries is not Woodson. He is not Archie. He is not Crean. But unfortunately, we've endured those three since 2008... so the experience, feelings, even early-onset panic seem inevitable.

In the past couple of games, we've seen this team play down to the level of the competition - an experience that we saw far too often in the recent past.

I'm willing to give DeVries a chance to sort this out. We've still got some injuries to work through, and some guys who may or may not pan out. I'm not thrilled with what I've seen lately, but also not ready to pull the plug.

Fix the stagnation on offense, the lack of rebounding and let's see where this goes.

After what Indiana has been through the last 25 years, does the success in football REALLY mean we have to mention "pulling the plug" on basketball already??

[str8baller 8,220]

10 hours ago, rcbowla said:

Is this team closer to the 1st 3 games or last 2? Because they aren't the same.

I lean towards the former. Often times coaches use these games as glorified “scrimmages” in the sense that they just run their base offense and defense and want the kids to work through things. It seemed out of time outs when CDD threw in a wrinkle we scored easily. Last night wasn’t all that bad in the grand scheme of things; Tennessee beat a slightly worse team by “only” 19.  

If I had to guess the two issues that frustrate the staff are: 1) we haven’t been very good running our offense against clearly inferior opponents, and 2) our first halves weren’t terrible but I’m sure the staff had words for the team meant to get them to come out more focused in the 2nd half. In both cases the team came out and gave up ground to the opponent.  
 

The staff will have answers for #1 against KSU with a more detailed game plan. I’m not sure what to make of issue #2. 

 

[pumpfake 4,614]

21 minutes ago, str8baller said:

I lean towards the former. Often times coaches use these games as glorified “scrimmages” in the sense that they just run their base offense and defense and want the kids to work through things. It seemed out of time outs when CDD threw in a wrinkle we scored easily. Last night wasn’t all that bad in the grand scheme of things; Tennessee beat a slightly worse team by “only” 19.  

If I had to guess the two issues that frustrate the staff are: 1) we haven’t been very good running our offense against clearly inferior opponents, and 2) our first halves weren’t terrible but I’m sure the staff had words for the team meant to get them to come out more focused in the 2nd half. In both cases the team came out and gave up ground to the opponent.  
 

The staff will have answers for #1 against KSU with a more detailed game plan. I’m not sure what to make of issue #2. 

 

This blends with some things I've considered.  First is that opponents may not have been able to fully prepare for us as a team composed of all new players.  I'm not sure how much teams scout & gameplan in the first month.  As the games accumulate there's more tape on who we are and what we do.  As mentioned, maybe we haven't been gameplanning too intensively, especially against the lesser opponents.

Then, there's the fact that our offense will largely live by the three and die by the three.  I expect we may see a bit of a rollercoaster season based on it.

We lack size & depth compared to the teams we will face going forward.  It will really be a good test for the coach and his staff to show how they can compensate for weaknesses (same applies to most teams).

[Uspshoosier 55,206]

Not surprised a team with all new players that have only played 5 regular season games struggled in some games.   Personally I think this is the norm in college basketball  for teams that bring in a new team each year.    IU looking as good as they did in the first couple games probably changed people’s expectations on where IU was early in the year.   Most picked IU middle of the B1G and most on here said they were a border line tourney team and some thought they were not a tourney team at all.   Still won by 20 and played a terrible game where one of your best players played like crap.   Effort needs to get better and I think it will.  I think some of these guys still are playing like they are on a non B1G team.   Playing at IU or any power conference you have to play hard every night.  Bigger stage with bigger expectations.  They better bring effort Tuesday because Kansas St is physical and has a shot maker that can go for 40 on any giving night.  Luckily they played a crap team and got away with it but for IU to be successful this year their main guys that got the majority of the NIL money are going  to have to play like it.  If not they are going to lose some games.  In a 30 + game season a team probably has 5 games where they play above where they are and 5 games below where they are as a team.  It’s the middle 20 that show what a team is made of 

[Stuhoo 92,945]

A combination of IU football beating teams 86-3 on a regular basis and a couple of really good early season showings have raised expectations to where a 20 point win over a crappy team is "concerning?" Some top 15-ish rosters are in one posession games late with some crappy teams on a regular basis this time of year.

I get the negative narrative, but I'm trying to stay in close proximity to reality:

• We are 5-0
• We are (barely) ranked with a whole new team early in the season
• We have a professional, hard working coach and staff with modern schemes
• We have physical talent limitations that will equate to some losses, but
• We have a veteran roster that can really shoot the ball,  will have the maturity to overcome and respond to bad stretches, and will make for some really fun games this season.

As an IU basketball fan and general optimist? If you have realistic expectations, IMO this win is not a time to be concerned. Instead, it's a really good time to be an Indiana basketball fan. And that's true whether we win 28 games or 21 games this season.

[HoosierCoop 4,206]

Ok, I am going to go ahead and say it.  I am not impressed by Sisley at this point.  I know he is Freshman.  I get that.  My expectation was a lot higher than what I am seeing now.

Yes - He can shoot.  Yes - He played for Montverde.  Yes - He was a highly coveted player in high school.

He is lead-footed on defense.  Rebounding for him is atrocious.  He is not athletic around the rim.

I didn't expect him to be an all-american, but I expected more.

I will gladly eat some crow with bbq sauce if he drastically picks it up in conference play.

[Stuhoo 92,945]

Another thought:

It was said before the season and it is as surely true as true can be:

Thanks goodness for Connor Enright and Sam Alexis. Those two undertalented guys are and again  chippy and extremely motivated. Enright took three charges last night. He's undersized and looks like a lunch league hack, but he can hit an open three at a pretty high rate and he is always, always a pain in the other team's @$$.

[Stuhoo 92,945]

32 minutes ago, HoosierCoop said:

Ok, I am going to go ahead and say it.  I am not impressed by Sisley at this point.  I know he is Freshman.  I get that.  My expectation was a lot higher than what I am seeing now.

Yes - He can shoot.  Yes - He played for Montverde.  Yes - He was a highly coveted player in high school.

He is lead-footed on defense.  Rebounding for him is atrocious.  He is not athletic around the rim.

I didn't expect him to be an all-american, but I expected more.

I will gladly eat some crow with bbq sauce if he drastically picks it up in conference play.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but in my opinion, Trent Sisley is off to a freshman year start that greatly, greatly exceeds any expectations for a kid ranked 65th out of high school. 

His per 40 stats are fantastic for any player, but especially for an 18 year old:

4:1 assist to turnover rate, low foul rate, and 45% from three on volume?

He's already so much better than some high-priced players (cough... Mgbako) were last year. For context, sucky Mgbako was our three last year and could have been a returnee for about $2 million. Sisley is currently better than Mgbako last year at:

• assist rate,
• turnover rate,
• rebounding rate,
• fg %,
• 3pt fg %,
• foul rate, and
• attitude.

And Sisley is just getting warmed up. 

[HoosierCoop 4,206]

5 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but in my opinion, Trent Sisley is off to a freshman year start that greatly, greatly exceeds any expectations for a kid ranked 65th out of high school. 

His per 40 stats are fantastic for any player, but especially for an 18 year old:

I was expecting some contrast on my statement.  Sorry,  I have seen him live twice now and it seems like he is really behind on plays.  Again I hope to swallow my opinion as the season goes on.

[iu eyedoc 4,550]

It's nice having Sam Alexis coming off the bench but I'm not sure IU can afford to continue with Reed Bailey starting.A stretch 4 that has 1 3pt attempt, averages less than 4 RPG, has marshmallow hands, and  protects the rim about as well as a broken condom is just a liability as a tone setter in the paint.He is what he has been for 3 yes, so I can't see him changing. 

When teams start feasting on ORBs it becomes like a great white feeding frenzy and that aggressive play gets out of IUs control, much like last night. Alexis is not Dikembe Mutumbo, but he is the best guy IU has defensively at the rim and IU needs to set the best tone they can early that opponents misses are their property.

[Stuhoo 92,945]

2 minutes ago, iu eyedoc said:

It's nice having Sam Alexis coming off the bench but I'm not sure IU can afford to continue with Reed Bailey starting.A stretch 4 that has 1 3pt attempt, averages less than 4 RPG, has marshmallow hands, and  protects the rim about as well as a broken condom is just a liability as a ton setter in the paint.He is what he has been for 3 yes, so I can't see him changing. 

When teams start feasting on ORBs it becomes like a great white feeding frenzy and that aggressive play gets out of IUs control, much like last night. Alexis is not Dikembe Mutumbo, but he is the best guy IU has defensively at the rim and IU needs to set the best tone they can early that opponents misses are their property.

"protects the rim about as well as a broken condom" is a basketball analogy that we didn't know we needed.

[Home Jersey 17,676]

22 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

One more thought:

It was said before the season and it is as surely true as true can be:

Thanks goodness for Connor Enright and Sam Alexis. Those two undertalented guys are and again  chippy and extremely motivated. Enright took three charges last night. He's undersized and looks like a lunch league hack, but he can hit an open three at a pretty high rate and he is always, always a pain in the other team's @$$.

Connor Enright is 3/10 from 3 this year. 

Appreciate what brings on defense and in the locker room... but the lack of shooting / ability to space the floor from him and Conerway is looking increasingly problematic. 

37 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

A combination of IU football beating teams 86-3 on a regular basis and a couple of really good early season showings have raised expectations to where a 20 point win over a crappy team is "concerning?" Some top 15-ish rosters are in one posession games late with some crappy teams on a regular basis this time of year.

I get the negative narrative, but I'm trying to stay in close proximity to reality:

• We are 5-0
• We are (barely) ranked with a whole new team early in the season
• We have a professional, hard working coach and staff with modern schemes
• We have physical talent limitations that will equate to some losses, but
• We have a veteran roster that can really shoot the ball,  will have the maturity to overcome and respond to bad stretches, and will make for some really fun games this season.

As an IU basketball fan and general optimist? If you have realistic expectations, IMO this win is not a time to be concerned. Instead, it's a really good time to be an Indiana basketball fan. And that's true whether we win 28 games or 21 games this season.

What if we win 17 or 18 games? Haha

I'm not writing them off at all but we've got very real limitations this year. Will probably upset some teams we shouldn't and have some fun along the way... just establish a strong culture this season and really need to build a better roster in the portal for year 2. 

[Stuhoo 92,945]

3 minutes ago, Home Jersey said:

Connor Enright is 3/10 from 3 this year. 

Appreciate what brings on defense and in the locker room... but the lack of shooting / ability to space the floor from him and Conerway is looking increasingly problematic. 

What if we win 17 or 18 games? Haha

I'm not writing them off at all but we've got very real limitations this year. Will probably upset some teams we shouldn't and have some fun along the way... just establish a strong culture this season and really need to build a better roster in the portal for year 2. 

After we beat Bethune Cookman, Sienna and Chicago State, that would be 9 wins and 15 losses against P5 teams. 

Possible? I guess. But that is not happenning.

[Home Jersey 17,676]

1 minute ago, Stuhoo said:

After we beat Bethune Cookman, Sienna and Chicago State, that would be 9 wins and 15 losses against P5 teams. 

Possible? I guess. But that is not happenning.

That would be 8 wins... we will see how we do during B10 season. Possible, yes. Not as sure as you that it's not happening.