2019/2020

[h20pls]

I believe that this team may well surprise some people.

Comments (Greene, others inre team dynamics).
Roster (good depth...playing deeper that six or seven...some really interesting bigs).
Growth (find it hard to believe the players haven't improved in the off-season; Durham, Smith, others).
Emergence (kids stepping up...Anderson...others)
Continuity (Miller building his roster with his assets and those kids who are buying in)

I'm anticipating a fun year. I'm going to enjoy the ride.

 

[kkott]

I believe that this team may well surprise some people.

Comments (Greene, others inre team dynamics).
Roster (good depth...playing deeper that six or seven...some really interesting bigs).
Growth (find it hard to believe the players haven't improved in the off-season; Durham, Smith, others).
Emergence (kids stepping up...Anderson...others)
Continuity (Miller building his roster with his assets and those kids who are buying in)

I'm anticipating a fun year. I'm going to enjoy the ride.

I too think if this team stays healthy, they will surprise. Maybe 4-5th in conference and in the tourney. This is a big year for CAM. Even in down years, a program like IU should still make the tourney. I have always liked Davis when healthy, RP had a good year going until he got hurt and he should be a very good 4 year player. There was some problem with last year's team, and if it left with RL and JM departing, these guys could gel and be solid. We need to be better than solid, but at this point, solid would be an improvement. No tourney and I think Archie should not return, but I think he'll get another year almost no matter what.

 

[TR32]

I will continue to stay somewhat positive on the outlook until I see otherwise, but I do not deny that few IU teams have done well with as little star power as IU has this season.

15-20 wins is the range, in my opinion. Beyond 20 would mean post-season wins.

If TJD plays like Jared Jeffries as a freshman, or if Hunter plays like Robert Vaden, then perhaps they can surprise a few teams. On one hand there are no weak links on the squad, but no one is going to be afraid of IU's roster (except maybe Cassius Winston) this year.

 

[ufo33]

No weak links could be the key.
Smith needs to have improved his shooting and ball handling.
Anderson needs to have improved his defense and regain his confidence in his shooting both 3pt and mid-range.
Green needs to make better decisions with the ball and limit unforced TO's.
The rest of the team needs to stay healthy and improve as the season progresses.
DeRon needs to stay healthy, and be available for the post-season push.
Hunter needs to he healthy enough to play.
TJD, Franklin, and Joey Brunk need to be ready to contribute immediately.
I can't wait to see a healthy Rob Phinisee leading this team again at PG.

 

[Paterfamilias]

I will continue to stay somewhat positive on the outlook until I see otherwise, but I do not deny that few IU teams have done well with as little star power as IU has this season.

15-20 wins is the range, in my opinion. Beyond 20 would mean post-season wins.

If TJD plays like Jared Jeffries as a freshman, or if Hunter plays like Robert Vaden, then perhaps they can surprise a few teams. On one hand there are no weak links on the squad, but no one is going to be afraid of IU's roster (except maybe Cassius Winston) this year.

With our schedule in a probably down Big Ten, 20 regular season wins likely doesn't even get us into the NCAA Tournament. It would be a big-time fail imo, if we don't have an NCAA tourney bid wrapped up prior to the BTT.

I get tempering expectations, considering the pitiful projections by the preseason magazines etc., but I'll lose my patience if this is an NIT team. I just barely even see it as a possibility sans a serious injury bug.

 

[ufo33]

This season could be a glimpse of Archie the coach's ability to take a solid but unspectacular roster, and over-achieve like he did at Dayton. Archie has done it before. Now he needs to do it at IU! We are forgetting the coach factor, when your coach is better than the other team's coach across the floor.

 

[ufo33]

With our schedule in a probably down Big Ten, 20 regular season wins likely doesn't even get us into the NCAA Tournament. It would be a big-time fail imo, if we don't have an NCAA tourney bid wrapped up prior to the BTT.

I get tempering expectations, considering the pitiful projections by the preseason magazines etc., but I'll lose my patience if this is an NIT team. I just barely even see it as a possibility sans a serious injury bug.

NIT is the floor for this year's team
NCAA Tournament with several wins is the ceiling.

 

[hoosierhat]

No weak links could be the key.
Smith needs to have improved his shooting and ball handling.
Anderson needs to have improved his defense and regain his confidence in his shooting both 3pt and mid-range.
Green needs to make better decisions with the ball and limit unforced TO's.
The rest of the team needs to stay healthy and improve as the season progresses.
DeRon needs to stay healthy, and be available for the post-season push.
Hunter needs to he healthy enough to play.
TJD, Franklin, and Joey Brunk need to be ready to contribute immediately.
I can't wait to see a healthy Rob Phinisee leading this team again at PG.

If Smith can just get to the rim with authority. How many time last year did he go in for a potential thunder dunk, and the ball would sail out of bounds. If he can get a handle on the ball, I think it will greatly improve this team.

 

[kkott]

I will continue to stay somewhat positive on the outlook until I see otherwise, but I do not deny that few IU teams have done well with as little star power as IU has this season.

15-20 wins is the range, in my opinion. Beyond 20 would mean post-season wins.

If TJD plays like Jared Jeffries as a freshman, or if Hunter plays like Robert Vaden, then perhaps they can surprise a few teams. On one hand there are no weak links on the squad, but no one is going to be afraid of IU's roster (except maybe Cassius Winston) this year.

Well, I bet on average we have a higher rated roster than UVA did last year and certainly than PU or Tx Tech. There's talent and depth on this roster and Archie's on his 3rd year here. No excuse not to make the tourney this year without severe injuries.

 

[kkott]

If Smith can just get to the rim with authority. How many time last year did he go in for a potential thunder dunk, and the ball would sail out of bounds. If he can get a handle on the ball, I think it will greatly improve this team.

I can help Smith improve his shooting instantly: shoot less from 15'+. A buddy texted me yesterday that Ted Kitchell shot 66% on 3s in the first year they added the 3 pt shot. He took 32 on the season. Justin Smith shot 22% last year... he also took 32 on the season. Play to your strengths son: going to the basket, put backs, run the floor, etc.... Don't shoot from 3. There... his shooting % just improved dramatically!

 

[Chicago-bound Hoosier]

I can help Smith improve his shooting instantly: shoot less from 15'+. A buddy texted me yesterday that Ted Kitchell shot 66% on 3s in the first year they added the 3 pt shot. He took 32 on the season. Justin Smith shot 22% last year... he also took 32 on the season. Play to your strengths son: going to the basket, put backs, run the floor, etc.... Don't shoot from 3. There... his shooting % just improved dramatically!

If I remember correctly, that was around 1982 (?) when they voted to add it as an 'experiment' for a season, then voted again to remove it after one season? Then NCAA made it the law of the land in 1986-87.

Always love me some Ted Kitchel references. Watching him and RMK interact at practices must have been fun...Ted was a hard`nosed tough SOB and I don't think RMK could ever 'break' him. Too bad Ted's back was what finally broke.

I agree with Smith not shooting 3s if he can't make them, but also the offense cannot find him holding the ball out there for extended time while his man backs off 10 feet to clog the passing lanes. If he can't knock down 3s, either slasher or back to the basket. And for a guy with superhero vertical and a greek God body, he gets his shots blocked near the basket more than the average guy.

 

[fkfootball]

I have a lot more faith in Archie Miller than I do Tom Allen. Archie has an actual solid track record with good results.

 

[ufo33]

If Smith can just get to the rim with authority. How many time last year did he go in for a potential thunder dunk, and the ball would sail out of bounds. If he can get a handle on the ball, I think it will greatly improve this team.

Smith was not strong with the ball and would loose the ball going up to the rim on on attempted drives . Unless he has dramatically improved his shooting he needs to be a "Sloan Screen" at the top of the key, but not shoot it on the perimeter, and go to the rim strong for putbacks and dunks with his superior leaping ability. Play to his strengths. Don't try to force a square peg into a round hole. Another big offseason improvement would be if Smith has improved his FT shooting above 50%. I am hoping Smith has made offseason improvements, and if so, he could be a key player for the Hoosiers.

 

[ufo33]

I have a lot more faith in Archie Miller than I do Tom Allen. Archie has an actual solid track record with good results.

Absolutely true!
I believe in Archie's ability as a coach and program leader.

 

[ufo33]

I can help Smith improve his shooting instantly: shoot less from 15'+. A buddy texted me yesterday that Ted Kitchell shot 66% on 3s in the first year they added the 3 pt shot. He took 32 on the season. Justin Smith shot 22% last year... he also took 32 on the season. Play to your strengths son: going to the basket, put backs, run the floor, etc.... Don't shoot from 3. There... his shooting % just improved dramatically!

Yes indeed!

 

[Hatchets7times]

Better roster than Virginia or Texas Tech ?
kkott do you even know college basketball ?

 

[Chicago-bound Hoosier]

Smith was not strong with the ball and would loose the ball going up to the rim on on attempted drives . Unless he has dramatically improved his shooting he needs to be a "Sloan Screen" at the top of the key, but not shoot it on the perimeter, and go to the rim strong for putbacks and dunks with his superior leaping ability. Play to his strengths. Don't try to force a square peg into a round hole. Another big offseason improvement would be if Smith has improved his FT shooting above 50%. I am hoping Smith has made offseason improvements, and if so, he could be a key player for the Hoosiers.

I hope the entire squad shot a lot of free throws this summer. We need guys like RobP to be clutch at the line like Yogi was...helps you in tight games near the end when a guy can drive the hoop, knowing there's a high prob he's either going to beat his man for a layup or get two free ones at the line. But the guy has to be an 80% guy for that to work.

 

[kkott]

Better roster than Virginia or Texas Tech ?
kkott do you even know college basketball ?

Where did I say better? I said higher rated... meaning I'll bet that on average our roster this year, end to end of scholly players has a higher overall average rating than Tx Tech or PU did last year and quite possibly than UVA did. As anyone who follows college bball knows, and as those schools represent, it's not always the team with the higher rated roster who wins the NC. Otherwise UK or Duke would win every year.

Now, which don't you know: college bball or reading comprehension?

 

[wawasee]

This is the first year where the season doesn't depend on a freshman to be a key part of the scoring. The roster is balanced with more upper class leadership. It gives us time to bring players along and up to speed. Tracye should play a lot of minutes. But he won't have the pressure to carry the team..

 

[T.M.P.]

If Smith can just get to the rim with authority. How many time last year did he go in for a potential thunder dunk, and the ball would sail out of bounds. If he can get a handle on the ball, I think it will greatly improve this team.

He was jumping too early and trying to float to the basket.

 

[T.M.P.]

Where did I say better? I said higher rated... meaning I'll bet that on average our roster this year, end to end of scholly players has a higher overall average rating than Tx Tech or PU did last year and quite possibly than UVA did. As anyone who follows college bball knows, and as those schools represent, it's not always the team with the higher rated roster who wins the NC. Otherwise UK or Duke would win every year.

Now, which don't you know: college bball or reading comprehension?

Which rating the one given to them when they were in HS?

 

[iubud]

This is the first year where the season doesn't depend on a freshman to be a key part of the scoring. The roster is balanced with more upper class leadership. It gives us time to bring players along and up to speed. Tracye should play a lot of minutes. But he won't have the pressure to carry the team..

We are in better shape from a balance point of view. The talent in the upper classes will continue to improve as the freshman and sophomore classes return. We will need TJD and hopefully Hunter step in and contribute. People forget how bad the roster was in Archie's first year. It was assembled by a desperate coach trying to compensate for bad recruiting in and not replacing early entries into the NBA..

 

[Wall2Boogie]

I think Indiana will surprise some people this year. I think tjd will have a damn good yr. if smith can be the player he was in high school, that will be huge. Davis down low with tjd is a nice combo. Factor in phinisee at the point and Indiana could surprise the big 10 this year. Especially if they aren’t taken seriously. Look at Michigan state last year

 

[IDontWannaLargeFarva]

Well, I bet on average we have a higher rated roster than UVA did last year .

You would lose that bet. And Same with Texas Tech.

 

[OhioBoiler51]

He was jumping too early and trying to float to the basket.

It worked in space jam

 

[kkott]

Which rating the one given to them when they were in HS?

Yes, high school rankings. Rivals, et al. I think many have forgotten that Brunk was around 100 I believe and DeRon was top 50 at one point, although I can't remember where he finished. Race was top 100. Ratings don't mean a ton obviously, but my point is, this roster has some talent and also experience. I'm quietly optimistic about how this season might play out. It also doesn't hurt that this should be a down year in conference.

 

[h20pls]

If I remember correctly, that was around 1982 (?) when they voted to add it as an 'experiment' for a season, then voted again to remove it after one season? Then NCAA made it the law of the land in 1986-87.

Always love me some Ted Kitchel references. Watching him and RMK interact at practices must have been fun...Ted was a hard`nosed tough SOB and I don't think RMK could ever 'break' him. Too bad Ted's back was what finally broke.

I agree with Smith not shooting 3s if he can't make them, but also the offense cannot find him holding the ball out there for extended time while his man backs off 10 feet to clog the passing lanes. If he can't knock down 3s, either slasher or back to the basket. And for a guy with superhero vertical and a greek God body, he gets his shots blocked near the basket more than the average guy.

Two of my favorite Kitchel stories.

The first came from Randy Wittman. Kitchel had a knee problem and couldn't practice. Kitch and Wittman were sitting on some bleachers chatting when Knight shows up out of nowhere and starts giving Kitch some grief about not being tough and says to Kitch "you know, when I was at Ohio State, Havlicek would play with two bad knees." And he walks off. Kitch is laughing...almost hysterically. Wittman says "why are you laughing you just kinda got your ass handed to you"... and Kitchel says "well come on...if you had were Fred Taylor and had no choice but to play a hurt Havlicek or a healthy Bob Knight...who would you play?"

The second came from Chuck Franz.

Knight was pissed with the team and threw them out of practice. The team knew the drill and went into the locker room to wait for coach and staff. Knight come in and every player's head is down. Except for Kitchel. Knight and Kitchel proceed into some kind of staring contest. Knight loses his mind and does a couple thousand dollars of damage to the locker room. He's tearing things apart. Somebody tells Kitchel to stop...and Kitchel drops his head. Finally. To the relief of his teammates. Knight then proceeds to get in Kitch's face and say "why did you quit staring at me" and Kitch says "Because you would've killed me." and Knight says "Kitchel is right. I would've grabbed something in this room and I would've beaten him with it."

And a last little memory for good measure.

Knight believed at the time of the 3-pt experiment that it was simply the league trying to challenge his teams. Knight was not a fan of the three-point experiment and had mocked the rule change several times saying something to the effect "They implement this experiment and we've got the only two people (Kitchel and Wittman) in the league who can shoot it."

 

[NCPurplecat]

The no weak links thought is critical as is staying healthy. With Brunk and a healthy Deron IU can mix it up inside and rebound well. Good Rebounding is the core piece of good defense. Smith brings the elite athlete piece and can be a great story of developing a player. Getting scoring from all 5 positions including offense rebound put backs makes up for a lot. The college and NBA games require 3 point shooting .. do that well or better and IU wins more. This team is where coaching is still relevant. There will be a lot of close games and this is the year that Archie needs to win more than his share of them. WILL BE INTERESTING TEAM TO WATCH.

 

[SouthBendJim]

This is the first year where the season doesn't depend on a freshman to be a key part of the scoring. The roster is balanced with more upper class leadership. It gives us time to bring players along and up to speed. Tracye should play a lot of minutes. But he won't have the pressure to carry the team..

I agree. I think CAM has all the pieces he needs to match up with any team we will face. He can go big if he needs to, or go fast and small.

Interested to see how Anderson and Hunter are going to perform this season. They both might have helped a lot last year. Have always been optimistic about Thompson, who showed some potential in the few minutes he played. Expecting good things from TJD and Brunk.

CAM got some bad karma (or whatever you want to call it) his first two years, but I think things are finally lining up for us to have the kind of season we've all been wanting and expect.

I predict 13-0 before we face Maryland on Jan 4th. Haven't read much about the other B1G teams, but it seems like a down year for the league. We could surprise/do well. No way we finish 10th in league play as some have prognosticated.

 

[MG80]

Where did I say better? I said higher rated... meaning I'll bet that on average our roster this year, end to end of scholly players has a higher overall average rating than Tx Tech or PU did last year and quite possibly than UVA did. As anyone who follows college bball knows, and as those schools represent, it's not always the team with the higher rated roster who wins the NC. Otherwise UK or Duke would win every year.

Now, which don't you know: college bball or reading comprehension?

What do you mean, higher average rating? Their *stars coming out of high school? That’s mostly meaningless. How you actually perform at the college level is what counts and sadly our personnel doesn’t remotely compare with what UVA or Purdue had last season. It’s why Archie is working his tail off on the recruiting trail. He knows our talent has to be way better for us to become elite again.

 

[Aloha Hoosier]

Two of my favorite Kitchel stories.

The first came from Randy Wittman. Kitchel had a knee problem and couldn't practice. Kitch and Wittman were sitting on some bleachers chatting when Knight shows up out of nowhere and starts giving Kitch some grief about not being tough and says to Kitch "you know, when I was at Ohio State, Havlicek would play with two bad knees." And he walks off. Kitch is laughing...almost hysterically. Wittman says "why are you laughing you just kinda got your ass handed to you"... and Kitchel says "well come on...if you had were Fred Taylor and had no choice but to play a hurt Havlicek or a healthy Bob Knight...who would you play?"

The second came from Chuck Franz.

Knight was pissed with the team and threw them out of practice. The team knew the drill and went into the locker room to wait for coach and staff. Knight come in and every player's head is down. Except for Kitchel. Knight and Kitchel proceed into some kind of staring contest. Knight loses his mind and does a couple thousand dollars of damage to the locker room. He's tearing things apart. Somebody tells Kitchel to stop...and Kitchel drops his head. Finally. To the relief of his teammates. Knight then proceeds to get in Kitch's face and say "why did you quit staring at me" and Kitch says "Because you would've killed me." and Knight says "Kitchel is right. I would've grabbed something in this room and I would've beaten him with it."

And a last little memory for good measure.

Knight believed at the time of the 3-pt experiment that it was simply the league trying to challenge his teams. Knight was not a fan of the three-point experiment and had mocked the rule change several times saying something to the effect "They implement this experiment and we've got the only two people (Kitchel and Wittman) in the league who can shoot it."

Kitchel was as tough as they come and a hell of a shooter. He might be the last Hoosier to have deliberately made use of the old bank shot from distance. He was deadly with it,

 

[h20pls]

Kitchel was as tough as they come and a hell of a shooter. He might be the last Hoosier to have deliberately made use of the old bank shot from distance. He was deadly with it,

I met him a few times in the mix. He was super self-assured, really kinda cocky. Not in the negative way...in the "damn I wish I were Joe Namath too" kinda way.

 

[Paterfamilias]

Virginia was actually a pretty talented group by HS rankings. I had them ranked #12 in my rankings which are a combination of recruiting rankings and experience (probably still skewed a bit too much toward the recruiting rankings). Our roster this year would've ranked #18 last season, but comes in at #23 this year. Looks like a tougher year nationally, but a couple of notches weaker in the B10... at least by my stuff.

 

[hgdownunder]

This season could be a glimpse of Archie the coach's ability to take a solid but unspectacular roster, and over-achieve like he did at Dayton. Archie has done it before. Now he needs to do it at IU! We are forgetting the coach factor, when your coach is better than the other team's coach across the floor.

Let’s face it, he did overachieve with his first IU team.

 

[TR32]

Two of my favorite Kitchel stories.

The first came from Randy Wittman. Kitchel had a knee problem and couldn't practice. Kitch and Wittman were sitting on some bleachers chatting when Knight shows up out of nowhere and starts giving Kitch some grief about not being tough and says to Kitch "you know, when I was at Ohio State, Havlicek would play with two bad knees." And he walks off. Kitch is laughing...almost hysterically. Wittman says "why are you laughing you just kinda got your ass handed to you"... and Kitchel says "well come on...if you had were Fred Taylor and had no choice but to play a hurt Havlicek or a healthy Bob Knight...who would you play?"

The second came from Chuck Franz.

Knight was pissed with the team and threw them out of practice. The team knew the drill and went into the locker room to wait for coach and staff. Knight come in and every player's head is down. Except for Kitchel. Knight and Kitchel proceed into some kind of staring contest. Knight loses his mind and does a couple thousand dollars of damage to the locker room. He's tearing things apart. Somebody tells Kitchel to stop...and Kitchel drops his head. Finally. To the relief of his teammates. Knight then proceeds to get in Kitch's face and say "why did you quit staring at me" and Kitch says "Because you would've killed me." and Knight says "Kitchel is right. I would've grabbed something in this room and I would've beaten him with it."

And a last little memory for good measure.

Knight believed at the time of the 3-pt experiment that it was simply the league trying to challenge his teams. Knight was not a fan of the three-point experiment and had mocked the rule change several times saying something to the effect "They implement this experiment and we've got the only two people (Kitchel and Wittman) in the league who can shoot it."

Those were great! Thank you. Kitchel was frigging awesome. That baseline J he had was butter.

 

[kkott]

Virginia was actually a pretty talented group by HS rankings. I had them ranked #12 in my rankings which are a combination of recruiting rankings and experience (probably still skewed a bit too much toward the recruiting rankings). Our roster this year would've ranked #18 last season, but comes in at #23 this year. Looks like a tougher year nationally, but a couple of notches weaker in the B10... at least by my stuff.

The experience factor is an interesting one. Something I noticed as I looked over UVA's roster is that they were experienced, and how many players they had who had redshirted. Seems to have fallen out of favor with most programs, but something UVA had used extensively last year, intentional or not.

Regardless, I feel like my original point stands: our roster this year is more talented than most "experts" seem to be giving us credit for. I think our program needs higher expectations again and I hope our AD holds that view.

 

[rocketo]

We are in better shape from a balance point of view. The talent in the upper classes will continue to improve as the freshman and sophomore classes return. We will need TJD and hopefully Hunter step in and contribute. People forget how bad the roster was in Archie's first year. It was assembled by a desperate coach trying to compensate for bad recruiting in and not replacing early entries into the NBA..

I agree. If we make the tourney this year, we should be set for a good run next year. I like how the roster is coming together.

 

[dbmhoosier]

This is the first year where the season doesn't depend on a freshman to be a key part of the scoring. The roster is balanced with more upper class leadership. It gives us time to bring players along and up to speed. Tracye should play a lot of minutes. But he won't have the pressure to carry the team..

Who and the blank was the freshman we depended on in Archies 1st year? That was RJ, Deron, Juwan, Newkirk, and Mcswains team.

 

[iubud]

Who and the blank was the freshman we depended on in Archies 1st year? That was RJ, Deron, Juwan, Newkirk, and Mcswains team.

You forgot Priller and Hartman. Worst senior class ever.

 

[wawasee]

Who and the blank was the freshman we depended on in Archies 1st year? That was RJ, Deron, Juwan, Newkirk, and Mcswains team.

The first year Archie was screwed because the three best players left for the league. And Creans last class sucked.. Last year they needed freshmen to play a major role in the offense. This year there is plenty of options in the upper classes. Trayce will be important but doesnt have to score a game..