Season starts today and expectations are...varied. Roster is solid if a bit young but with much improved depth, no injuries or lingering conditions, some fresh coaching blood, couple of five stars along with the New Jersey HS POY, bounty of guards, orange no longer in vogue and the National Tournament is scheduled to take place in the backyard. Sounds good. No exhibitions to pressure test the Team, identify and work on issues against anyone other than Teammates or compare pros and cons of different rotations, first true tests come in road environments and the pandemic (which has already hit over 10% of DI Teams) has yet to reach its third and highest plateau (to date). Not so good.
Until they play a few Games there are really only questions. That won't stop/inhibit many from making sweeping statements, dire prognostications and generally damning the Program before the Season has even really begun, or conversely proclaiming that this year's IU Team is bound for the FF, but it's all gas until there's an actual body of work to judge against real competition. So, what are those questions? For my part:
1) What's the offensive and defensive effect of replacing Justin, Devonte and De'Ron? Justin was great on D, want to believe that Race, Jerome and Jordan are up to the task, De'Ron hardly played enough in relief of Brunk to make a huge difference, and seems that with the backcourt reinforcements and an extra year for IU's veterans, defense should eventually surpass where it left off at the end of last Season which was pretty good. Offensively, expect that TJD takes a solid step forward in production, same for Jerome and Race, and that the backcourt produces much better than last year both in terms of driving and from deep. Not enough to just make up the 20+ pts./game represented by departing Players, this Team needs to score more and more efficiently than last Season.
Miller was talking about limiting TOs as the most important thing for this Team - that in itself could translate into an extra 10-20+ pts. a game.
2) How much off-season improvement is there in individual efficiency? Does anybody make a significant jump (a la VO) from the previous year? Potential is there for almost all the vets, expect it to be something of a given for TJD, but keen to see about Rob, Armaan, Jerome and Reverend Durham.
3) How good are the freshmen out of the gate? By all accounts this is a really solid and maybe even special class. Most of the buzz is about Lander but am intrigued by the others and especially Geronimo. Along with assassin point guards am partial to wings that can slash to the rack and give other Teams fits on defense. Justin mostly only filled half the role despite his hops, should be interesting to see how Jordan (and Jerome & Race) fill the vacancy.
4) Assuming the backcourt rotation is six deep (per Coach Miller), does IU run a lot of three-guard rotation, and more importantly, can they effect the kind of offensive production that was so wanting most of last year? Don't think Franklin and Phinisee are the Players they were last year as both appear much bigger and stronger, Miller says their shooting from range (and Durham's) is improved, and the freshmen all seem to have some proficiency from deep. If true and they can pair that with enough ball movement and penetration (without the TOs) to disrupt defenses could be a lot of fun to watch.
5) Now that he has the personnel, does Archie's Team rise to meet expectations? Unless for some reason(s) the wheels come off by mid-Season and it all ends up in the ditch, think it's absurd to draw any conclusion or pass judgment before the Conference Tourney. In retrospect, have tended to be overly optimistic before Play begins - have reached a point where potential alone is no longer sufficient cause for excitement and any anticipation is of a rather sober variety. Just show me damnit. Want to see a brand of play in line with the best tradition of IU Basketball. If Coach Miller is 'all that', should become apparent this Season given the strength and depth of Roster. See him as a huge upgrade over the last guy, like his grounded in the Game no-nonsense straight-shooter approach, emphasis on defense, general intensity/demeanor and the simple fact that he doesn't sound like a used-car salesman trying to sell something he doesn't fully understand. But it's time. At a minimum want and expect IU to finish the Season ranked Top 20 nationally with some serious momentum. Likely won't be among those calling for his head if that doesn't happen, but any belief that he is 'the one' will migrate from positivity to skepticism.
So can we get to Tip-off already? Go IU!
Until they play a few Games there are really only questions. That won't stop/inhibit many from making sweeping statements, dire prognostications and generally damning the Program before the Season has even really begun, or conversely proclaiming that this year's IU Team is bound for the FF, but it's all gas until there's an actual body of work to judge against real competition. So, what are those questions? For my part:
1) What's the offensive and defensive effect of replacing Justin, Devonte and De'Ron? Justin was great on D, want to believe that Race, Jerome and Jordan are up to the task, De'Ron hardly played enough in relief of Brunk to make a huge difference, and seems that with the backcourt reinforcements and an extra year for IU's veterans, defense should eventually surpass where it left off at the end of last Season which was pretty good. Offensively, expect that TJD takes a solid step forward in production, same for Jerome and Race, and that the backcourt produces much better than last year both in terms of driving and from deep. Not enough to just make up the 20+ pts./game represented by departing Players, this Team needs to score more and more efficiently than last Season.
Miller was talking about limiting TOs as the most important thing for this Team - that in itself could translate into an extra 10-20+ pts. a game.
2) How much off-season improvement is there in individual efficiency? Does anybody make a significant jump (a la VO) from the previous year? Potential is there for almost all the vets, expect it to be something of a given for TJD, but keen to see about Rob, Armaan, Jerome and Reverend Durham.
3) How good are the freshmen out of the gate? By all accounts this is a really solid and maybe even special class. Most of the buzz is about Lander but am intrigued by the others and especially Geronimo. Along with assassin point guards am partial to wings that can slash to the rack and give other Teams fits on defense. Justin mostly only filled half the role despite his hops, should be interesting to see how Jordan (and Jerome & Race) fill the vacancy.
4) Assuming the backcourt rotation is six deep (per Coach Miller), does IU run a lot of three-guard rotation, and more importantly, can they effect the kind of offensive production that was so wanting most of last year? Don't think Franklin and Phinisee are the Players they were last year as both appear much bigger and stronger, Miller says their shooting from range (and Durham's) is improved, and the freshmen all seem to have some proficiency from deep. If true and they can pair that with enough ball movement and penetration (without the TOs) to disrupt defenses could be a lot of fun to watch.
5) Now that he has the personnel, does Archie's Team rise to meet expectations? Unless for some reason(s) the wheels come off by mid-Season and it all ends up in the ditch, think it's absurd to draw any conclusion or pass judgment before the Conference Tourney. In retrospect, have tended to be overly optimistic before Play begins - have reached a point where potential alone is no longer sufficient cause for excitement and any anticipation is of a rather sober variety. Just show me damnit. Want to see a brand of play in line with the best tradition of IU Basketball. If Coach Miller is 'all that', should become apparent this Season given the strength and depth of Roster. See him as a huge upgrade over the last guy, like his grounded in the Game no-nonsense straight-shooter approach, emphasis on defense, general intensity/demeanor and the simple fact that he doesn't sound like a used-car salesman trying to sell something he doesn't fully understand. But it's time. At a minimum want and expect IU to finish the Season ranked Top 20 nationally with some serious momentum. Likely won't be among those calling for his head if that doesn't happen, but any belief that he is 'the one' will migrate from positivity to skepticism.
So can we get to Tip-off already? Go IU!
