I view this as a big win. Kids nowadays are basically playing on one year contracts and this is a kid that got thrown into the fire way too soon and didn't complain one bit. He stayed humble, always hustles, and took his medicine. I think he has an opp to make a big leap next year and IU is lucky they get to benefit from it.
Cupps coming back
- Thread starter HoosierinNebraska
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I really do not understand why they all have to announce it. He is an ok player but I would imagine like leal he got a massive raise to come back. Nobody will pay him what IU will pay him. We now have four guards coming back none of which are super athletic or fast. Newton I just assume will not be able to do much after two majore surgeries and two years off. Leal and Cupps are slow. Galloway a little faster but the types of guards IU needs to compete in modern basketball are not currently on the roster.
I'd like to say that he will be much improved offensively because he will work very hard in the off season.......but that's what I thought about Galloway and his shot last year and he somehow managed to get worse.
I like Gabe. He could help with the culture/identity we want — his whole Breakfast Club work hard thing is good, and he seems to be a good kid.
Huge offseason for him.
Huge offseason for him.
If you agree that Woodson isn't coaching the team properly...and isn't running a system that is conducive to good guard play... Do you not think other college coaches see that as well?
Prior to IU, Cupps was a pretty highly regarded point guard.
You might be right that IU will pay him more than anyone else...but I think making that statement implies that few others would be interested in him. And I seriously doubt that would be the case.
The reason I'm excited about him coming back, as much as anything else...Gabe's dad is a pretty accomplished high school and AAU coach. Gabe coming back has to be seen, at some level, as Gabe and his dad's seal of approval on the program as a whole. They know a hell of a lot more about it all than we do...and they just gave a pretty strong vote of confidence in the program. You can reference NIL, and throw out BS about him not being wanted anywhere else...but neither are the case, and likely wouldn't have kept him at IU if the style, program, mood, culture...etc... were as bad as we all say it is regularly on here.
Cupps would probably do great at a place like Purdue or Wisconsin but under Woodson he will be very limited. Woodson is all about one on one play for guards and he is not athletic or fast enough to break down defenders. So far none of the guards coming back are the types that can take you deep into march. Whether or not you want to believe NIL had nothing to do with it if leal got three times as much I am guess cupps did as well. To say that is not a factor is well I dont know what to tell you.
Cupps would be perfect at Butler. But IU can work for him if you put some better guards around him.
I view it as a small win. I am hoping for bigger wins in the portal.
What should Gabe work on this summer? Strength? 3 pt shooting?
Getting his coach to get better guards around him.
If they didn’t announce it we would be left wondering. With team rosters of such fluidity now, it’s more understandable than it was during earlier heydays. Besides, it’s not like they announce a press conference to reveal “Will I go or will I stay?” Someone down the hallway at Wright Quad probably heard it from a friend of a friend and that’s alright by me. I eagerly await the next announcement, until then I fret, tossing and turning at night in gnash of teeth.
This offseason is filled with more uncertainty than IU fans have ever had to endure. The college basketball system is off-kilter and IU has been left to flounder amongst the other bottom feeders (eels, carp, catfish, etc).
Not sure. He is reasonably strong for a freshman. We all see his shot mechanics issues.
Extreme thinking in either direction is just as flawed. It definitely might not have anything to do with getting a fatter bag. And it definitely might not have anything to do with some kind of father/son “seal of approval.”
Imo, I think he needs to be a lot more aggressive with the basketball.
In HS he averaged between 6 & 7 assists /game playing less than 30M/game. At IU, he averaged 2.3 assists for every 40M played. That's awful.
He quite frequently dribbled into the lane and had 10-12 foot shots that he passed up. He just seemed to lack the confidence to take the obvious shots that came his way. His 2 point shot selection was really bad as evidenced by him only hitting about 36% of his 2 point shots. As many have posted on here, he badly needs to fix that leftward drift on his mid-range jump shot.
He averaged 3.4 rebounds per every 40M this year, which shows that he's willing to stick his nose in the action for someone his size.
He only averaged 4.8 points per every 40M played. He needs to at least get that up to 10 or so next year. He ended up hitting 35.6% on 3s which isn't bad at all for a freshman. he needs to shoot about twice as many next year.
Playing to never make a mistake is admirable for this team but he overdid it.
Agreed. And the question that probably can't be answered on this board is whether or not that was Gabe, or the coaches/system? Probably a little bit of both. Too many guards have struggled, relative to what their proven production was coming in to Woody's program, to discount the overall style and program stuff he's running. But I do think Gabe probably has earned more leeway to be more aggressive than he has shown.
They threw him to the wolves, and he hung in. Wasn't supposed to play much. He can be very good. I like the return. Go Hoosiers!
Cupps is the kind of kid that in a year or two...this board laments the "miss" (on recruiting; would that we were not to have signed him outta HS)...
I think this is good news.
I think this is good news.
Good news if he ends up being a 10 minute reserve next season. If he’s counted on to play 30+ minutes like this season it is gonna be a problem. IU needs to significantly increase its guard play - shooting, play making, and D. Cupps is a project in all 3 areas. Yes, he plays hard, but other than low turnovers, he just didn’t contribute much. Not hating on Cupps, just telling it like it is. Perhaps by year 3 or 4 he will be much improved.
I see Cupps as a poor man’s Neil Reed with room…need, if you will, to grow. He possesses warrior attributes, including a tenacity in spirit. He holds much promise and I’m happy he stayed, as he will contribute more in the coming years. He still answers to “Grasshopper”, but that will change for the betterment of Hoosier Nation in a wait/see.
Gone are the days when at semester end we only had to worry about a player leaving because he missed grades.
Gone are the days in the passageways of time.
Gone are the days when at semester end we only had to worry about a player leaving because he missed grades.
Gone are the days in the passageways of time.
Probably a plus..But a small one.
I'd like to see him off the bench. If Indiana gets some real player's ..
He's just small..Like Edey is just big.
I'd take big ..Everytime.
I'd like to see him off the bench. If Indiana gets some real player's ..
He's just small..Like Edey is just big.
I'd take big ..Everytime.
Shooting, for sure. Kid like that needs to be a 40% 3pt and 80% FT shooter. Continue to improve quickness and explosiveness for the defensive side and for some driving opportunities. PG can always work on ball handling and passing.
His shooting mechanics need to be completely rebuilt. He needs to square and stop drifting. Needs quicker release at his size. Gabe needs 10 lbs of upper body muscle.
His defensive footwork and tenacity are very good for a Freshman, but still needs to work on getting over screens and the muscle/strength will help with that. His IQ is high and we can see the leadership qualities.
Gabe is a player I really like and have high expectations for.
Why aren’t their mechanics improved in high school? They have you tube, books, shot coaches, etc.
I think he needs lower body muscle. It could help prevent his drifting on shots.
Cupps averaged 22 minutes per game and only exceeded 30 minutes 7x. No surprise that all 7 times, X was hurt/didn't play.
How do we get as our starting guards two successful coaches' sons with bad shot mechanics?
Leg strength is always good. You can protect your knees & also develop vertical jump. In my case, I developed world class leg strength but jr. high level arm strength. I felt like a weeble wobble.
He probably had good mechanics in HS but adjusting to the speed and physicality of the college game proved to be challenging, as it does for most freshman.
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