I was in Bloomington from 90-94 and remember the loaded IU teams. I haven’t watched any broadcasts on YouTube till the last few days. I forgot how good and deep those teams were. I was shocked how athletic we were too. Cheaney Greg Graham Chris Reynolds could play with anyone in the country. Forgot how long and quick they were. Throw in Bailey, Evans, Anderson, Nover, Pat Graham, Henderson and Leary. All good shooters, rebounders, and smart players. Meeks too. Basketball is different now and it’s about making 3’s and guarding 3’s. I think those teams would hold their own against top teams nowadays. They had such an edge and swagger about them too. Hope we can get back to that mentality under Archie or whomever
Been Watching 92 and 93 tournament IU teams
- Thread starter edub72
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This "edge and swagger" thing you speak highly of... it seems to be a rare gift of coaching seldom found in programs, the discipline of youth lost in a kinder, gentler society today.
Recalling how terrific those teams were, really illustrates just how far Archie has to go. Hard to imagine us remotely getting anywhere near that quality of play again. But we can hope.
The early 90s teams were as talented as they come. Guys like Chris Reynolds, Eric Anderson, Pat Graham were top 20 recruits. They would be five stars in today's recruiting world coming off the bench. Alan Henderson was 1st team all-american, one of the highest rated recruits IU has ever signed.
Watched Todd Leary play in the State-semis and he was best player at Market Square that day. He could play and yet was buried on the bench until his 4th and 5th year.
Like the direction of the program right now, but IU is so far away from a talent perspective from the early 90s.
Watched Todd Leary play in the State-semis and he was best player at Market Square that day. He could play and yet was buried on the bench until his 4th and 5th year.
Like the direction of the program right now, but IU is so far away from a talent perspective from the early 90s.
When u watch, the motion offense is so effective and shredded defenses. We scored so effortlessly and played so hard on defense. Amazing to watch
I still wonder if they would have won the title back in 92 if Henderson would have been healthy. That was a huge injury at the end of that year.
No need to wonder. We definitely would have won the whole thing.
As for the recruiting...I think Trey Galloway would have fit on any of those dominant IU teams. They were filled with guys like him. Caring only about winning and doing all the little things that most don't notice. I think the same can be said of Anthony Leal but I haven't seen him play in person as of yet. TJD is similar to Henderson and Franklin looks like a young Greg Graham. Adding Lander... and hopefully Kaufman...I like the current recruiting.
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I was dumb enough to think iu teams would continue to be like that in the mid ninties and beyond. Yet it was basically the end of our greatness.
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Deron Davis' situation reminds me of Pat Graham. They just couldn't be as good as they could have been because of injuries.
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
One thing I always remember about those Knight teams was when the opponent would start to get on a run and then one of our guys would do something that would put a clamp on it. It would be a steal or an important 3 pointer etc. Getting fouled and going to the line was a major part of IU's offense. It put the players on the other team on the pine and it added points.
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
I really want Kaufman now that we didn't get Caleb Furst. Kaufman would be a very good addition to IU.
I agree Indy Mitchell. Probably every IU fan wonders what if Henderson stayed healthy. Count me in the group that thinks we would have won the championship. IU was dominant that year which was actually the 92-93 season when Henderson got hurt.
my thoughts exactly. Alan was fine in 92...and absolutely dominated Duke in the 1st half along with the rest of the team. Then the starting 5 watched most of the 2nd half from the bench in foul trouble.
If we got to the title game in ‘93, we would have faced Michigan’s Fab 5 for the 3rd time that year. I’ve often wondered how that game would have turned out. Would have been tough to beat them 3 in a row-the first 2 victories both by 1 point.
No way Knight loses to Fisher in a championship game.
Fair point. However, IU had the Fab 5’s number. I believe IU wins that championship.
Hurley singlehandedly kept Duke in it in the first half shooting out his butt. If that does not happen we have a good size lead at half and probably do enough to get the W.
Duke didnt beat iu the the lousy officiating duke mugged us no calls worse called game every.
Fouled out: G.Graham, D. Bailey, A. Henderson, C.Cheaney.
Total fouls called: IU 33. Duke 18
Free throws attempted: Duke 42 IU 16
No one in Duke's starting 5 finished with more than 3 fouls (G Hill fouled out but came off the bench in the game)
Total fouls called: IU 33. Duke 18
Free throws attempted: Duke 42 IU 16
No one in Duke's starting 5 finished with more than 3 fouls (G Hill fouled out but came off the bench in the game)
I like Franklin but he's no Greg Graham. Graham was amazing.
people forget that GG was 1st team all B1G his senior year, a year that included Calbert, the Fab 5, Glenn Robinson and Michael Finley. Conference was loaded that year.
GG was also B1G defensive POY that season. Pretty damn solid.
Get your nomenclature right: Felonious Five, Fraudulent Five, Other F-word Five.
Bitches never actually *won* anything.
EDIT. Dropped “those” before “bitches;” meaning unchanged.
almost went to edit button to revise as Fraud Five. True, loads of talent, loads of hype. Never 'won' anything. And now...aren't all of those games vacated? Webber cut a deal to avoid prison time for lying to fed grand jury.
Yep. They’re unpersons. Banners of their “accomplishments” taken down, poured into the stratosphere.
EDIT. More Orwell allusions.
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Fair enough...Graham was really good! I just see the similar size and games. His potential is there to be a similar player.
While I hope Franklin develops into a great.player at IU, Greg Graham's athleticism was in a totally different league than Franklin. I just watched the 93 game at Ann Arbor. Graham absolutely soars to get rebounds. He made a.couple dunks where it looked totally effortless to get way above the rim. His quickness on D was impressive.
I hope Aarman has a great career but I can't see that comparison.
Keep in mind, I think Greg Graham was one of the most underrated IU guards ever. He was on a loaded team. Bailey, Cheaney, Henderson, and even Pat Graham when coming in. He was awesome!
As for AF, he has similar athleticism but maybe not the ups of GG. They are the same size and length. GG improved quite a bit through his 4 years. We'll see if AF has the drive, work ethic, confidence, and coaching to get to GG's levels. I am a fan...I HOPE. That is what makes it fun. : )
my very thoughts...Graham's entire career flew under the radar, even to many of us faithful, because of the rock stars he played with. But he was as solid on BOTH ends of the court as any 4 yr player we've seen at IU in decades. And his free throw shooting was borderline Alford-esque.
Those were the “glory days”. Sadly most people on this board now don’t even remember those days. Some weren’t even born. When we get back there some day they will be furious that we accepted this level of mediocrity for so long.
Greg Graham had the skinniest legs I've ever seen on a player. Painfully thin. He filled out a little over time, but how he ever got those hops on those legs is a mystery to me.
Had a kid at my high school - knock-knee'd as hell. 5'9". But that kid could SOAR! Never could figure that out, either.
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