Does "This is Indiana" really have pull anymore?

[FindEndNow 198]

I always see recruits say "Indiana has a lot history" buy never hear them talk about recent times. You also heard Glass say "This is Indiana" for a reason not to play the in the CBI after the 2013-2014 season. Does that really mean anything anymore? It might to fans but does it to recruits who haven't witnessed Indiana be great? Does Indiana need a rebranding or something similar?

[KelleyHoosh 2,263]

Indiana doesn't need rebranding. It needs winning. Win and it all comes back. IU right now isn't the Indiana of "This is Indiana"

[Beachfront Property 619]

Well, let's start by talking about what is used to mean. It used to mean being a winning team that played fundamentally sound basketball and ran a clean program. Now, what do we stand for? Over the past fifteen years, we have not stood for any of these things.

 

We still have several advantages that DO have meaning with recruits.

1. Great fans.

2. Great facilities.

3. A great university.

[HoosierCoop 3,927]

YES!!!!!!

 

...and that is all you need to know.

[FindEndNow 198]

Indiana doesn't need rebranding. It needs winning. Win and it all comes back. IU right now isn't the Indiana of "This is Indiana"

I'd say we do need a rebranding. Simply because it's been 20+ years since we've been great. It doesn't have have to be anything crazy but some modernization in the program could really help with recruiting now. Gotta have talent to win. Gotta recruit big to get the talent.

[FortWayneHoosier 6,128]

no not in my opinion....i know it was posted on here that recent players had no idea of the history of Indiana....and honestly i dont blame them...the last national championship was in 1987....for kids that are 18 that seems like a longgggg time ago and really it is. Dont get me wrong i love the tradition and this fan base but you can only get so far with those things...we need to put up another banner asap!

[FindEndNow 198]

no not in my opinion....i know it was posted on here that recent players had no idea of the history of Indiana....and honestly i dont blame them...the last national championship was in 1987....for kids that are 18 that seems like a longgggg time ago and really it is. Dont get me wrong i love the tradition and this fan base but you can only get so far with those things...we need to put up another banner asap!

it's not a bad thing to rebrand. You can still change it up while honoring tradition. I'm 21. I started paying actually paying attention when I started playing in the 2nd grade which was also the year we played Maryland in the title game.. but other than a few seasons there hasn't been much success in my life. And the kids coming in are all now a few years younger than me. Not to disrespect the greats of the past but we need to start making it about now. It seems like we're trying to stay in the 80's or something

[ALASKA HOOSIER 11,276]

the only "re branding" we need![attachment=2133:thCAQMKMSM.jpg][attachment=2134:thCA6FG6XG.jpg][attachment=2135:thCAFBT9YA.jpg]

[FindEndNow 198]

the only "re branding" we need!thCAQMKMSM.jpgthCA6FG6XG.jpgthCAFBT9YA.jpg

1987... that's 6 years before I was born... lol

[mamasa 15,302]

Could you give some ideas of what you would have in mind in terms of rebranding?

[FindEndNow 198]

Could you give some ideas of what you would have in mind in terms of rebranding?

your simple things would be an actual brand rebranding. Like switching from Adidas to Under Armour(UA passed Adidas in the US last year). Moving towards pretty much anything that will pull in players now. We have to be able to stay with the times. Instead of thinking "This is Indiana and we play this type of basketball"... Knight isn't around anymore obviously.

[ou812dude 3,326]

kind of the way you rebranded your name, Fin?

 

edit: he added the d...IU could add the d...ohhh forget it...

[mdn82 25,510]

Duke is evolving on the fly to maintain their winning culture. Coach K was not much of a fan with one and dones (Magette being the outlier) until Irving. If people expected Duke to be where they are off of the same concepts of 25 years ago and win at the rate they are they would probably be disappointed. This isn't "still IU" because we don't win consistently. You can't get stuck into thinking how something worked then so it will work now. IMO. I think that is where the issue lies with our fan base.

[rebelhoosier848891 9,588]

"This Is Indiana" has great appeal----our name and tradition alone turns heads---and opens doors and immediately puts us in the final few schools of many top recruits all over the United States.  Everywhere I travel----Indiana is still synonymous with Basketball----we are known for our hoops.  Would I like to see our program continue to improve and reach the heights we knew under Knight including winning a National Championship?  Absolutely!  But---there is no doubting the power of the IU Basketball brand. It's still strong nationally.

[Bobman1 2,909]

A rebranding for Indiana requires two things. Keep the Program clean, and players stay clean. And 2, we must win.

[GloryDays 5,920]

 The brand is fine.We still recruit at a high level because of the name.

Retooling is whats in order.

[rebelhoosier848891 9,588]

I get tickled by the people----especially those in opposing fanbases----- who claim we have become a mid-major program. In reality they envy us and like to see us have down years.  Maybe our winning percentage has become mid-majorish of late--- but we are certainly not a mid-major program.  Our fanbase and facilities and tradition are second to none and mid-majors don't regularly reel in top 20 recruiting classes like we do year after year--- or have multiple first round draft picks in the pros. McDonald 's All-Americans regularly come here and don't usually go to mid-majors.  We are still an ELITE program---but we have to start winning at an elite clip NOW or a coaching change must and will be made. It has to start and continue this next season.  After all---This Is Indiana! :biggrin:

[FindEndNow 198]

I get tickled by the people----especially those in opposing fanbases----- who claim we have become a mid-major program. In reality they envy us and like to see us have down years. Maybe our winning percentage has become mid-majorish of late--- but we are certainly not a mid-major program. Our fanbase and facilities and tradition are second to none and mid-majors don't regularly reel in top 20 recruiting classes like we do year after year--- or have multiple first round draft picks in the pros. McDonald 's All-Americans regularly come here and don't usually go to mid-majors. We are still an ELITE program---but we have to start winning at an elite clip NOW or a coaching change must and will be made. It has to start and continue this next season. After all---This Is Indiana! :biggrin:

I'd never say we're a Mid-Major cause we're still in the B1G. But we are not and elite program. Elite programs are in the tops in recruiting every year. We aren't up there with UK, KU, Duke, UNC or Zona right now. Those 5 of your top programs and I'd say we're quite a bit behind all of them. Can that change? Well yea. But not by recruiting 1 top 25 player every year.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,744]

From Rebel at #17:   We are still an ELITE program---but we have to start winning at an elite clip NOW!  And from FindEnd at #18:  Elite programs are in the tops in recruiting every year.  We aren't up there with UK, KU, Duke, UNC or Zona right now.

 

As Rebel states it's getting back to being a consistent winner and competing for B1G championships and making deep runs in the Big Dance.  That's where we've really been hurting for far too many years.  Consistency in performance is what puts teams in the elite category in the minds of those who follow college basketball.

 

As for recruiting, I'm not convinced you need to always have a top 10 rated recruiting class.  There are many programs and coaches who turn in very good results year in and year out without the ego-stroked AAU hyped recruits - Bo Ryan to name just 1.  BUT, you have to recruit kids who fit the style of ball you want to play and fill your needs in terms of positions.  I'm not turning this into an anti-Crean rant, but to me our recruiting is much to haphazard and lacks focus and is to enamored with chasing names.

[FindEndNow 198]

From Rebel at #17: We are still an ELITE program---but we have to start winning at an elite clip NOW! And from FindEnd at #18: Elite programs are in the tops in recruiting every year. We aren't up there with UK, KU, Duke, UNC or Zona right now.

As Rebel states it's getting back to being a consistent winner and competing for B1G championships and making deep runs in the Big Dance. That's where we've really been hurting for far too many years. Consistency in performance is what puts teams in the elite category in the minds of those who follow college basketball.

As for recruiting, I'm not convinced you need to always have a top 10 rated recruiting class. There are many programs and coaches who turn in very good results year in and year out without the ego-stroked AAU hyped recruits - Bo Ryan to name just 1. BUT, you have to recruit kids who fit the style of ball you want to play and fill your needs in terms of positions. I'm not turning this into an anti-Crean rant, but to me our recruiting is much to haphazard and lacks focus and is to enamored with chasing names.

Well ask yourself this... Do we want Wisconsin success or Kentucky success? You can hate on Kentucky all you want but they've been to 4 Final Fours and an Elite 8 under Calipari plus the championship. They just went 38-1. They only lost 2 games during AD's freshman year. Or look at Kansas who has won the Big 12 what? 11 or 12 times straight now? I'd like for Indiana to be at that height. Not where Wisconsin is. And same goes for their playstyle. I wouldn't watch if IU played like that. Not how basketball should be played.