Like almost everyone on this site, I really wanted Archie to succeed. He was on my short wish list of coaches to replace Crean. Given that Brad Stevens and Billy Donovan were not realistic options, Archie, along with Gregg Marshall, were who I wanted. I loved the fact that Archie was only 38 years old. I envisioned that he would duplicate and improve upon his success at Dayton, and maybe be our coach for the next 25 years. Archie had a solid pedigree prior to IU. He had been as Assistant Coach for nine years at five schools before he took over a Dayton program that had been to the NCAAT only one time in the previous seven seasons. In his third year, he lead the Flyers to the Elite Eight. This started a string of four straight years of making it to the NCAAT before he departed for Bloomington. Unlike last year with Obi Toppin, Archie's four NCAAT teams at Dayton were not lead by a superstar. His success wasn't tied to one breakout player. As a matter of fact, glancing through their rosters, I don't recognize a single name from those four teams. He was winning with well-constructed rosters and (apparently) great coaching.
We all know that Archie inherited a very flawed roster at IU. However, he did have the services of two 1,000 point career scorers (senior, Robert Johnson - 1,413 points and junior, Juwan Morgan - 1,374 points). In a shocking inauspicious start, Archie lost his first game as IU's coach to the Indiana State Sycamores (a 90-69 beatdown at Assembly Hall). IN State would finish that year with a 8-10 record in the Missouri Valley conference. Later that season, Archie lost at home to the Ft Wayne Mastodons, 92-72. Ft Wayne would finish with a 7-7 record in the Summit League. Wow, Archie, how can this be?
Archie's B1G results:
2017-2018 9-9 6th place
2018-2019 8-12 9th place
2019-2020 9-11 10th place
2020-2021 4-5 I sadly predict we'll finish 6-14 or 7-13 and in 10th+ place
Archie did earn a NIT bid after the 2019 season (a year which over one stretch we lost 12 out of 13 games). IU was seeded #1 and lost at home to 6th seeded Wichita State. The Shockers then lost their next game to the Lipscomb Bisons.
Look again at Archie's B1G record. No way, no how is that anywhere close to acceptable. At Minnesota, sure, but at IU? No, not even close.
Not that at this point the writing isn't clearly on the wall, but the final straw for anyone still holding on to the Archie dream has to be recruiting. Giving credit were credit is due, he has had some significant wins - Romeo, TJD, and Lander. But to me the most damning is that after four years, Al Durham (a 3 star recruit Archie inherited from Crean and the lowest ranked player of his class) is starting as a senior and playing 30+ minutes a game. As I've posted previously, I don't blame Al. The kid plays hard. I blame Archie and how he's put this roster together. For three years many on this board posted ad nauseum that "just wait until Arche gets rid of Crean's players." Those comments have disappeared this year. Teams such as Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Illinois are cleaning our clock on the recruiting trail. What is now bad, is going to get worse.
I know that there is virtually no chance that Archie will be fired this year. I highly doubt that he'll be let go even next year even with another double digit finish in the B1G. But that doesn't change the fact that it is time for a change. A few weeks ago Texas football fired Tom Herman after four seasons. He finished this year with a bowl win, his 4th straight, and a 7-3 record. Texas hired his replacement six hours after firing Herman. I'm no fan of Texas football, but it is obvious that the powers to be there are not OK with mediocrity. Which team would you guess will return to national prominence first, Texas football or IU basketball?
Enough is enough.
We all know that Archie inherited a very flawed roster at IU. However, he did have the services of two 1,000 point career scorers (senior, Robert Johnson - 1,413 points and junior, Juwan Morgan - 1,374 points). In a shocking inauspicious start, Archie lost his first game as IU's coach to the Indiana State Sycamores (a 90-69 beatdown at Assembly Hall). IN State would finish that year with a 8-10 record in the Missouri Valley conference. Later that season, Archie lost at home to the Ft Wayne Mastodons, 92-72. Ft Wayne would finish with a 7-7 record in the Summit League. Wow, Archie, how can this be?
Archie's B1G results:
2017-2018 9-9 6th place
2018-2019 8-12 9th place
2019-2020 9-11 10th place
2020-2021 4-5 I sadly predict we'll finish 6-14 or 7-13 and in 10th+ place
Archie did earn a NIT bid after the 2019 season (a year which over one stretch we lost 12 out of 13 games). IU was seeded #1 and lost at home to 6th seeded Wichita State. The Shockers then lost their next game to the Lipscomb Bisons.
Look again at Archie's B1G record. No way, no how is that anywhere close to acceptable. At Minnesota, sure, but at IU? No, not even close.
Not that at this point the writing isn't clearly on the wall, but the final straw for anyone still holding on to the Archie dream has to be recruiting. Giving credit were credit is due, he has had some significant wins - Romeo, TJD, and Lander. But to me the most damning is that after four years, Al Durham (a 3 star recruit Archie inherited from Crean and the lowest ranked player of his class) is starting as a senior and playing 30+ minutes a game. As I've posted previously, I don't blame Al. The kid plays hard. I blame Archie and how he's put this roster together. For three years many on this board posted ad nauseum that "just wait until Arche gets rid of Crean's players." Those comments have disappeared this year. Teams such as Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Illinois are cleaning our clock on the recruiting trail. What is now bad, is going to get worse.
I know that there is virtually no chance that Archie will be fired this year. I highly doubt that he'll be let go even next year even with another double digit finish in the B1G. But that doesn't change the fact that it is time for a change. A few weeks ago Texas football fired Tom Herman after four seasons. He finished this year with a bowl win, his 4th straight, and a 7-3 record. Texas hired his replacement six hours after firing Herman. I'm no fan of Texas football, but it is obvious that the powers to be there are not OK with mediocrity. Which team would you guess will return to national prominence first, Texas football or IU basketball?
Enough is enough.
