I don't remember her at all.

She wasn't with us very long.

OK, I remember now. She was the one who would bring us coffee and sandwiches.

She never did anything very important.

. . . making fun of Kentuckians. The floods in the eastern part of the state are no laughing matter. At least 16 dead and the death toll likely to go up . . . steeply.

One of the great things about multi-year Players is watching their evolution. Not always a smooth/impressive trajectory but hard to resist anticipation along the lines of a 'Dipo-esque' ascendance. Additional links on Tamar below the video.
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This has been an extremely busy month for Indiana and an important week to wrap it up.

Indiana is hosting three official visitors this week.

It got started with 2023 wing Jamie Kaiser, went on to 2023 forward Arrinten Page and is wrapping up this weekend with 2023 guard DeShawn Harris-Smith.

So, let's get started with Kaiser.

Kaiser is now for the most part down to Indiana and Maryland. Kaiser was supposed to announce his decision in June, but Indiana's visibility and its priority of Kaiser during the live periods in June slowed things down.

Kaiser is a 6-foot-6 wing who is a tremendous shooter and showed this summer that he can play on the ball and make decent reads off of pick and roll action. Both are skills that Indiana highlighted during the visit when going over film.

“I think my son is a big ten player," Jamie Kaiser Sr told TheHoosier. "The style of play is very important… if you can balance it out where you feel like you’re contributing to a team. Jamie doesn’t need to be a superstar (right now). He wants to be a team player. He wants to win… that’s a driving factor for our family. He wants to compete and get to the next level."

"They see me taking shots, creating off screens. Playing tough, but they know I already play tough," Kaiser said. "Playing a pro style and coming off of ball screens and making reads, making plays."

Both Jamie Kaiser and his dad were extremely impressed with the visit and the way that the coaching staff even made them feel like a priority throughout the entire visit -- not just parts of it.

The entire staff was with Kaiser throughout the visit.

“We were impressed. Coach Woodson, maybe we spent less than 3 hours away from him the entire visit," Kaiser Sr said. "The whole coaching staff was there every step of the way."

Kaiser is transferring to IMG Academy for his senior season. That is a big move. That is one that is getting him college ready to make an impact immediately as a freshman.

“Huge… he had a great opportunity with a great staff at IMG. Jamie is going to get college ready and focus on his craft to try and play at th next level and be college ready," Kaiser Sr. said. "Without being arrogant, he wants to and he feels like he can play at the next level beyond college."

Part of Kaiser's rise this summer has been his sole focus being on Basketball. A two-sport guy and being recruited as D1 schools for football, Kaiser went head first into basketball in the spring. That was a decision that did a lot for his recruitment.

“Right after Easter, he came to me and said ‘I don't think my heart is 100 percent into football’ so then he shifted his focus 100 percent into basketball," Kaiser Sr. said. "People don’t understand Jamie would have to get ready for football and have to pound the weights and put on 10-15 pounds to get ready (in the fall). So he would get sluggish a bit towards the end of the summer (end of AAU season)… His body has changed because he didn’t have to get ready for another sport… he’s all of 6-foot-6, with 6-foot-9 wingspan… coaches are surprised when we go on these visits and measure him because they see him now... I say he was always compact."

Other notable quotes from the recap story up the week:

On Xavier Johnson being from the area --

"I talk to him. Talked to him when they (Indiana) offered. He's in my ear telling me they let you play your game and give you a shot at the pros. That's all you can really ask for as a college basketball player," Kaiser said of Xavier Johnson. "So being from the area, we talk, and I reached out so having someone like that is great. To have that relationship with someone who is willing to give you some advice before you get there."

On post visit reaction --

"I knew it was going to be a big visit because it is such a historic program," Kaiser said. "So I went into it thinking like that and got everything I was expecting and even a little more, I would say, with all of the people that I was able to talk to."

On Assembly Hall --

"It was surreal," Kaiser said about Assembly Hall. "You always see it on tv. It was like 'damn, I'm really here'. It was really sweet and I made sure to soak it all in."

On feeling after they got home --

"When we got home, we were in shock with Mike Woodson and what he was able to do to blend the staff with old and new and how they were coaching the kids," Jamie Sr. said. "The energy he (Woodson) had and compassion coach Walsh had stood out to me and my son. We were impressed."

On decision timeline --

"I''m just gong to talk to my parents. I'm going up to Pennsylvania to chill out with some family so we'll talk there and see what they think about. And we'll go off not just feelings but information and facts that I can think about and how comfortable I can feel with each program," Kaiser said. "If I have to do more, I'll do more and I'll take longer. I just want to make the right decision. I'm in no rush but sometime soon, in the early fall (at the latest)."

More:


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On 2023 top-50 forward Arrinten Page of Wheeler (Ga.) is wrapping up his visit Friday morning.

From early indications, it was a "very great visit". Page entered his visit as the sole big man that Indiana has been heavily involved with in the 2023 class.

He fits the need of a versatile big man and a multi-year big to help bridge the gap after losing Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson.

Page did not play at Peach Jam due to a minor injury. Indiana watched Page in every game during the first live session of July.

Page told TheHoosier.com he was shocked at the Indiana fan base after he received the offer, how much love they showed him.

"I love the fan base. As soon as I got the offer, they blew up my DMs saying I would look good in a Hoosier uniform."

Page has shown the ability throughout different events this summer to hit shots from the outside. He is best near the rim, but the flashes that he's shown gives Indiana the option to play him alongside a true center.

"They've (Indiana) been saying my athleticism and ability to stretch the floor excited them," Page said. "... (They said) like a stretch four."

“He’s a guy that can do a number of things," Wheeler head coach Larry Thompson told Rivals of Page. “Good with his back to the basket, face guy that can shoot the basketball out to the three-point line, catch lobs, play in space, play with the ball in his hand, play off the ball. He’s one of those guys who is continuing to develop into that Swiss Army Knife kind of guy, he can do a little bit of everything.”

Indiana sits in a good spot with Page as it currently stands.

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As for the final visit, 2023 four-star DeShawn Harris Smith of Paul VI (Va.) is in the middle of his visit.

He arrived last night in Bloomington and there has been some overlap with Page and his family during the end of Page's visit and the start of Harris-Smith's.

Harris-Smith came into this visit as the one guy who was probably looking to make the 'earliest' decision regarding his recruitment. That's not to say the others aren't going to make one before their senior season -- which is what they've indicated -- but Harris-Smith was aiming for an August decision.

Xavier, Maryland, Villanova and Penn State are the other programs heavily involved. He has received offers from Iowa and West Virginia over the last week.

Indiana made sure he felt like a priority last week by going 4-deep for his opening game of the live period. The Indiana staff had at least one member at each of his games last week.

Harris-Smith was terrific at Peach Jam, leading Team Takeover to a runner-up appearance with a one-point loss in the title game.

Harris-Smith is a 6-foot-5 guard who can play both on and off of the ball. His biggest asset, and something Indiana is searching for, is the ability to get downhill and turn the corner into the paint on the offensive end.

TheHoosier.com watched all of Harris-Smith's games at Peach Jam last week. Here are our scouting notes:

Harris-Smith is a very physical guard who does a tremendous job using his body to force contact and finish through contact. He is such a good offensive player with the ball in his hands and is a powerful and strong guard who can turn the corner and get in the paint. He has a good ability to create plays for his teammates and his passing ability is very good.

At 6-foot-5, he has good size on the perimeter and is often used as a primary ball handler. Though he is not a true point guard, he has very similar tendencies as one. He is a tremendous rebounder on the offensive end and always finds himself in the middle of the action. One part of his game that is different from others when it comes to rebounding the ball is the fact that he goes after the rebound and doesn't let the ball just come to him.

Defensively, Harris-Smith has good length and that physicality to play up in someone and showed a good ability to be a lockdown defender throughout this week. At times, he got a bit too aggressive and would overshoot a passing lane. His motor, however, makes up for any mistake he would make as he never takes a play off and always recovers immediately after any blown assignment.

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No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2023 Xavier Booker announced a list of 10 earlier this week -- Indiana was on it.

At this point, I wouldn't pay too much attention to Booker -- obviously things can change, but there isn't much chatter for IU behind the scenes.

Rivals national analyst Travis Graf entered a FutureCast for Michigan State to land Booker earlier this week.

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On to the class of 2024 --

The big news came out this week that Indiana offered 2024 five-star center and the No. 6 overall prospect in the class, Flory Bidunga from Kokomo (Ind.).

Things were a bit hesitant on Bidunga for a while but because of playing alongside 2024 four-star forward Raleigh Burgess (IU offer), 2024 forward Cooper Koch (former IU target) and 2024 four-star guard travis Perry (IU interest) on Indiana Elite, they have seen a lot of him during the Adidas Live Periods this summer. At that point, there was a feeling of 'hey, why don't we at least get involved'.

TheHoosier.com spoke with John Peckinpaugh, head coach of Kokomo, and he says Bidunga is in absolutely no rush with his recruitment. It's been a quiet one up to this point with just a few programs really looking to get involved.

Purdue offered this week as well.

More on Bidunga:


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Two other 2024 prospects to receive offers this week were forward Jesse McCulloch of Lutheran East (Oh.) and Indy Heat 16U and wing Caleb Williams of Sidwell (D.C)

Here is more on both:



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This was the final week that rising seniors could take junior year official visits. That changes on Aug. 1.

Aug. 1 is also the first day that rising sophomores can take unofficial visits.

Indiana is hosting two right away with class of 2025s Jalen Haralson of Fishers (Ind.) and Trent Sisley of Heritage Hills (Ind.).

Haralson is visiting on Aug. 1 and then going to Purdue on Aug. 2

Sisley is visiting Purdue Aug. 1 and then Indiana Aug. 2.

More on each:



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The media spoke with second-year guard Tamar Bates on Thursday and he had a lot of really, really good things to say.

Here's a full recap of his Q&A -- touching on the birth of his daughter, improvements this summer and more:


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Small note...

Summer workouts have officially wrapped up for Indiana this week.

Story on how Indiana's newest tradition came about and how they're going to honor one of the greatest trailblazers in college sports.

His last name is gray but I can’t remember the first name. I think it was David or Daniel

In congressional baseball game 10-0. A prelude to November Midterms.

Nothing new but nice to see UGA covering IU BB.

WASHINGTON — Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a key centrist Democrat, announced on Wednesday that he had agreed to include hundreds of billions of dollars for climate and energy programs and tax increases in a package to subsidize health care and lower the cost of prescription drugs, less than two weeks after abruptly upending hopes for such an agreement this summer.

Lol 800 billion in new spending in a recession. Its clear manchin will not run in 2024 he would get crushed. Its obvious the dems know it's their last stand before losing the house and the 2024 senate map is horrible for them. They will lose ohio, montana, and west virginia at a minimum in 2024. They will ram through what they can now. Repubs will have 55 plus seats after 2024 and the house.

FRIDAY'S SHOW:

🚨 Dustin Schutte
🚨 Alec Lasley
🚨 Zach Osterman
🚨 Mitchell Paige
🔥 More on #iubb official visits
🔥 Conference & CFP expansion discussion
🔥 Tamar Bates talks about fatherhood
🔥 Mitchapalooza with Mitchell Paige

Audio - Login to view embedded media

FRIDAY'S SHOW:

🚨 Dustin Schutte
🚨 Alec Lasley
🚨 Zach Osterman
🚨 Mitchell Paige
🔥 More on #iubb official visits
🔥 Conference & CFP expansion discussion
🔥 Tamar Bates talks about fatherhood
🔥 Mitchapalooza with Mitchell Paige

Audio - Login to view embedded media

Jack Perkins was taken in the 5th round (154th pick overall) by the Oakland As. The bonus or slot value for that pick is $361,000.

Per multiple reports and confirmed, David Ellis is leaving the program for health reasons.

Was injured most of 2021 but had a successful career before that in smaller roles for Indiana.

Gonna be the guy for IU out of this class. Already turning heads…

Better pin this one. ☝️

I will link the story, but it is behind a paywall. Some of the highlight:

The team leaders and captains asked to meet with Allen the day after the PU game. “They wanted to discuss what went wrong and bring to light some things they weren’t sure he’d seen or noticed, and they wanted to make sure that what happened in 2021 would never happen again.”

“Allen and players involved described the meeting as an unsparing, respectful but heated discussion in which both sides challenged the other to look in the the mirror and soul search.”

“There obviously was a problem,” (Cam) Jones said. “We wanted to fix the problem as fast as we could. We knew there was going to be an uncomfortable conversation, but a conversation that we needed to have. During that conversation, we talked about what we wanted to see changed.”
What they wanted was more accountability, particularly at practice, because they saw teammates lose their fire and didn’t see enough done about it.

“It was more overall like I said, a sense of accountability,” McFadden said. “It think all of us wanted to talk about that. There were definitely a few more things we talked about. It was just that feeling that guys were giving up and it was OK. And we were all pretty uncomfortable with that being the case.”

“I wanted names,” Allen said. “I wanted to know who they thought wasn’t all in. I wanted the honest truth about everything

Allen said. “If you don’t tell people the truth, you don’t get to the core of what you want done. It’s always the little stuff, little subtle things. There was something that happened, I won’t share it with you, but it was the summer before. It was just a little thing, but it caused me to have a little bit of a pause then, and it showed that something what it wasn’t needed to be. Minor things that when things go wrong, they get a little bigger. That crack in the foundation can grow over time and get a little bit bigger.”


Tuttle and Cam Jones put together a presentation for a players-only meeting and Tuttle was put in charge of making sure workouts operated at a high level and Jones was put in charge of off-field issues.

Here’s the link

Liberal scumbags and their cancel culture have stopped students at George Washington University from learning the poverty Justice Thomas rose from to become a Justice and wisdom imparted by Thomas. By all accounts he cared deeply for his students and the class was sought out by non liberal scumbag cancel culture students.

An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied that it only took a little while. The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish. The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, señor."

The American scoffed. "I am a Wharton MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then L.A., and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "Fifteen or 20 years."


"But what then?"

The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."

"Millions? Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."







and a chick....

Please note how the media report does not address the most relevant point, i.e. whether/how graphic sex is depicted in the book.

Is it allusions to sexual activity for the imagination or Deep Throat?

“If you have 2 QB’s you don’t have one.” (I have never agreed 100% but this is the accepted conventional wisdom.)

Now coach says we have 30 players on a leadership council.

Do we really have a leadership council? Is there too much of this? Too many voices? Too many favorite sons?

Is Aaron Casey, who will wear George’s number 44 this season. Sounds like a good idea..

https://hoosierhuddle.com/hoosier-b...ecipient-of-george-taliaferro-award/2022/7/26