Happy New Year, everybody. I get reflective at the beginning of the year, so I thought I would share five questions I have. I'm still optimistic about, and holding out hope for, Arch, but it would help if I knew the answers to the following questions about our program:
1) The Pack Line Defense: Arch was supposed to be a defensive-minded coach, yet, here we are again, not even in the top 50 in defensive efficiency.
https://kenpom.com
In a world where the three point line means so much, is the pack-line defense the best option to guard the three?
https://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasketballPackLineDefense.html
Even more pressing, if the whole point of the pack line is to clog the middle, why are so many of our opponents still able to dribble drive and back-screen us for layups? (See the Wisconsin game) What, exactly, is happening?
2) What, exactly, is our "brand" and what is the recruiting strategy that goes with that?
We aren't a one-and-done school. There are only two of those (UK, Duke) and perhaps a third one building in Memphis. So, what is our "brand" against the rest of the college basketball world? The "Inside-Out" philosophy is nice and I get it to some extent. But with respect to basketball skills, what, exactly are we trying to recruit? Being from Indiana doesn't represent a basketball skill.
3) Shooting: What are we doing to teach/coach/improve shooting? Arch has made several references to it: "when I was playing we just shot a lot and didn't do a lot of drills", "guys need to step up and make some shots," "we just kept missing free throws that slowed the momentum", etc. We are currently 253rd in the country in 3p%.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/indiana/2020.html
What, if anything, is our staff doing to help kids shoot better other than just telling them they need to shoot better? Nothing was more galling to me than last year when Juwan Morgan was standing sideways at the FT line and, apparently, no one was telling him to stop doing that.
4) Skill Development: If we can't recruit the best players, then we had better develop them better than anyone else. Arch hasn't had a lot of time with these kids, but I'm having trouble seeing marked positive improvement in our guys. Devonte is still a head case, Al is still wildly inconsistent, Deron is a shell of his former self. Justin has improved as a defender, so I guess there's that. The Sophomore class doesn't appear to have made many strides at all: Phinisee, Hunter are hurt all the time. Damezi, our shooter, still can't shoot. I wish I understood what the goal state is for each of these guys. In other words, if player Y does X, then we, as a team, could compete for a national championship.
5) Mental/Emotional Development: As has been documented on this board ad nauseam, this team is s-o-f-t when it comes to the mental part of the game. What, if anything, can be done/is being done to toughen these guys mentally? We still see the same long droughts, the same deer-in-headlight looks. I think most Indiana fans would still appreciate kids who played really hard, really tough, really sound basketball regardless of the results. In today's world, the question really is, how do you get guys, specifically these guys, to care enough to compete for a national championship (not just make it to the friggin' tourney). What are we doing to make guys tougher?
We haven't won a national championship since 1987. It's 2020. I would like to see another banner at IU before I'm in the grave. Arch, someone, anyone - please tell me how you're going to accomplish this.
1) The Pack Line Defense: Arch was supposed to be a defensive-minded coach, yet, here we are again, not even in the top 50 in defensive efficiency.
https://kenpom.com
In a world where the three point line means so much, is the pack-line defense the best option to guard the three?
https://www.coachesclipboard.net/BasketballPackLineDefense.html
Even more pressing, if the whole point of the pack line is to clog the middle, why are so many of our opponents still able to dribble drive and back-screen us for layups? (See the Wisconsin game) What, exactly, is happening?
2) What, exactly, is our "brand" and what is the recruiting strategy that goes with that?
We aren't a one-and-done school. There are only two of those (UK, Duke) and perhaps a third one building in Memphis. So, what is our "brand" against the rest of the college basketball world? The "Inside-Out" philosophy is nice and I get it to some extent. But with respect to basketball skills, what, exactly are we trying to recruit? Being from Indiana doesn't represent a basketball skill.
3) Shooting: What are we doing to teach/coach/improve shooting? Arch has made several references to it: "when I was playing we just shot a lot and didn't do a lot of drills", "guys need to step up and make some shots," "we just kept missing free throws that slowed the momentum", etc. We are currently 253rd in the country in 3p%.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/indiana/2020.html
What, if anything, is our staff doing to help kids shoot better other than just telling them they need to shoot better? Nothing was more galling to me than last year when Juwan Morgan was standing sideways at the FT line and, apparently, no one was telling him to stop doing that.
4) Skill Development: If we can't recruit the best players, then we had better develop them better than anyone else. Arch hasn't had a lot of time with these kids, but I'm having trouble seeing marked positive improvement in our guys. Devonte is still a head case, Al is still wildly inconsistent, Deron is a shell of his former self. Justin has improved as a defender, so I guess there's that. The Sophomore class doesn't appear to have made many strides at all: Phinisee, Hunter are hurt all the time. Damezi, our shooter, still can't shoot. I wish I understood what the goal state is for each of these guys. In other words, if player Y does X, then we, as a team, could compete for a national championship.
5) Mental/Emotional Development: As has been documented on this board ad nauseam, this team is s-o-f-t when it comes to the mental part of the game. What, if anything, can be done/is being done to toughen these guys mentally? We still see the same long droughts, the same deer-in-headlight looks. I think most Indiana fans would still appreciate kids who played really hard, really tough, really sound basketball regardless of the results. In today's world, the question really is, how do you get guys, specifically these guys, to care enough to compete for a national championship (not just make it to the friggin' tourney). What are we doing to make guys tougher?
We haven't won a national championship since 1987. It's 2020. I would like to see another banner at IU before I'm in the grave. Arch, someone, anyone - please tell me how you're going to accomplish this.
