I was glad to see Scoop leave, but I was equally disappointed to see JG leave. I really liked his upside and passion for Indiana basketball.
Gonna miss JG.
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JG seemed like a good kid. I wish him well. He's got a future somewhere if he keeps developing.
I did as well. I am also surprised at the decision as I thought he would be in line for heavy minutes.
Even with Sparks and Ware he would have had minutes.
Maybe there was conflict with Woody? Maybe not enough NIL? Maybe had inside info we would recruit guys above him? I have no idea, just speculation.
I hope he does well where ever he goes.
I like both of them an also wish them nothing but success.
Bates has talent but didn’t fit at IU for whatever reason, may thrive in a new environment. We’ll see.
JG was maxed out, great kid, but never will be a good basketball player for a HM program.
JG was maxed out, great kid, but never will be a good basketball player for a HM program.
JG is an awesome person, one of the worst natural feel basketball players I have ever seen.
Agreed. Seemed like good kid. But bad combination of horrible court awareness and painfully slow feet.
Weird sentiment to me. I'm not glad to see anyone leave. Bates committed to IU just like JG and came in and from what I know did all that was asked of him in practice and the classroom and had a baby to deal with to boot. Some guys just aren't as good in games, but I think he sincerely tried, just as JG did. Hate it for both of them and hope both do well going forward.
JG is man without a position at this level. Hope the best for him. Had he developed more of a handle and some kind of mid-range game it would have helped. As it was, his shooting and scoring fell off and worse still he couldn't stop fouling.
"I'm not glad to see anyone leave." Yep - you're right. I should have said that differently. Good catch.
Wish them well but IU needed upgrades. Woody nearly bent over backwards for them while keeping better players (defensively) on the bench.
Geronimo killing every run by fouling will not be missed.
What's his upside? He is going to be a Senior, there was no more upside... it was time to produce, and he didn't.
Jordan was the epitome of what IU's struggles have been under Woody. He's one of the most inconsistent players I've ever watched. And the extremes in his inconsistency were remarkable. NBA level athleticism and skill on the upside...not cracking the court, horrible mistakes, turnovers, can't walk and chew gum at the same time on the downside. And those would happen from week to week.
I sound like a broken record...but while most of that is likely on Jordan, I do lay some blame on Woody too. As our team followed similar patterns overall.
Kids need direction. They need bad habits coached out of them. Most of them won't always be focused or "on" if left to their own. If Jordan can find a coach that will stay on him, and be a part of a program where consistency is demanded, coached, and a part of the culture...he could become someone close to that "Wyoming game Jordan", more consistently.
I sound like a broken record...but while most of that is likely on Jordan, I do lay some blame on Woody too. As our team followed similar patterns overall.
Kids need direction. They need bad habits coached out of them. Most of them won't always be focused or "on" if left to their own. If Jordan can find a coach that will stay on him, and be a part of a program where consistency is demanded, coached, and a part of the culture...he could become someone close to that "Wyoming game Jordan", more consistently.
Kkott is right, you hate to see these kids leave...both TB and JG seemed like very good young men. But our bench was so short by the end of the season...JG was growing cobwebs and TB was playing due to Trey/JHS foul management, and TB went 0 for the last several games. We have to strengthen the bench and play at least 8 deep...and that's 8 who can consistently contribute.
Wish them both the best, hope they turn it around and score 10ppg+ for wherever they go next year.
Wish them both the best, hope they turn it around and score 10ppg+ for wherever they go next year.
or "Michigan State home game Bates"....
We need a stronger bench. We were fortunate this year in one area that doesn't get a lot of mention...for as many blocks and rebounds as TJD put up this year, he was amazingly good at staying out of foul trouble. We rode him hard for a ton of minutes. If I were CMW, I'd have Reneau watch game film of TJD all summer and try figuring out how to stay on the court for more than 15 min/game without fouling out. Would go a long way for Malik next season.
Bates and Geronimo were both a drag on this team last year. Bates never showed his high school promise, Geronimo is just an athlete trying to be a basketball player. Neither one has a high BB IQ, or was a good defender.
Last year's team could have too many unproductive players on the floor in the same stretch, and that included Kopp and Galloway at times.
Where is JG going to play next year with the addition of Sparks and Ware? Where is TB going to play if we add Ludlum and Knecht ?
Hope they find a good landing spot elsewhere, but they topped my "wish they would transfer" list, along with Duncomb who was a big disappointment after two years.
Addition by subtraction as the saying goes.
I thought Malik was better at not fouling towards the end of the season. I think that can be developed and improved. For one, I think he really needs to work on his foot speed and coordination so he can get in position without reaching and fouling. He commits a lot of silly fouls. Honestly, I thought TJD could have afforded to be more aggressive most of the time. If a player has fouls to burn, I'd always like to see a hard foul to prevent a layup and make them earn it at the line.
The coaching staff has to take responsibility for Geronimo not getting to where he needed to be this year. At least from reports, he was considering the portal last year. If that's true he probably shouldn't have been recruited back. After a guy has been here 2 years the staff ought to be able to assess whether he can help us.
Looking back, JG should have been 99% focused on improving his defense. Getting him to the point where he could guard guys like Murray and Pickett would have been huge for us.
I think defending without fouling should be a primary focus and concern for Woody, as a foundational thing for everyone in his program. I fear, and hope I'm wrong, that he very well might focus more on teaching Malik, or any other individual guys, "Pro tips" on how to play without fouling. "When you get beat, swing you arm across and down this way, refs are less likely to call it. We can't have you picking up silly fouls." Instead of..."This is how you won't get beat in the first place, and since you're moving your feet correctly, they won't call many fouls. Do it, or you aren't playing."
Its just a perception I have, maybe a gut feeling, obviously I have no way of knowing what Woody is trying to teach them from August to November...and then through the season too. But solid defensive principals like defending with your feet, beating your man to spots, etc... sure don't jump out consistently enough in games...to make me think he's spending a ton of time on those things with everyone.
We will be just fine without him. Yes he had some raw talent but he never really developed and seemed clueless on the court most of the time. I believe he would be in his fourth year if he had not shown much promise by now it was never going to happen. We needed upgrades plain and simple.
I would hope and assume they're taking stock on what they could have done differently with him. In the end, I'm sure JG himself deserves much of the blame. But for sure, its also a failure on the coaching staff's part, not getting him to be consistently better.
I think Bates was a little different situation. Bates's shooting was up and down, but many other things were more consistent and even trended upwards as the season wore on...namely his defense. On the flip side of my many posts questioning Woody's efforts on such things, Bates improvement defensively would go against my worries that the staff isn't focusing much on it. Because while his shooting was horrendous the last month or so of the season, his defense was actually consistently really good. Jordan wasn't consistently anything, for that long.
I think JG being late to the game of basketball was his biggest obstacle. Trying to learn the game while playing at the highest level has to be really challenging. If he were a true big that could contribute based on size alone, or if he were super athletic ( aside from just being a leaper) it would have been easier. As it is, at 6'6" he isn't big enough to play or guard the post. He isn't instinctive enough or skilled enough to play on the perimeter. I think that JG could be a major contributor for a lot of teams in a lower-level conference ( or a DII program) where his size would allow him to be a legitimate post player and defender. IMO, it's pretty simple. He just isn't big enough or skilled enough or savvy enough to find a spot at this level. I hope he finds a place where he can be effective.
He has a building block problem, BB IQ. Add poor lateral movement, his tweener size and always prioritizing physical talent to ability over honing BB skills to fit the P5 needs. All hat no cattle but I liked him. Best of luck.
If you go of the portal ranking on 247 Ware is #2, Ledlum like #25, and Dalton K was lik #7. Bates and JG were way down the list in like the 70's so not really that highly sought after it looks like but I am sure they will catch on with some power team just may not play much.
I hated to see Bates go. He seems like the type of player who will suddenly put it all together when his perimeter shot gets consistent. Who knows if that will happen or not. I don't know maybe Gunn was outplaying him in practice but hadn't earned the trust of Woody to take bates spot in rotation.
Passion?! Did you not watch his body language all year? Obviously not, that was his problem
Yes...
Tons of workouts aimed towards it.
And more importantly, technique, recognition, teaching proper angles and approach will help dramatically as well.
poor place to lay blame... Hell, under archie we were much more consistent... just bad all of the time. You've totally overlooked what Woody has been able to accommplish with basically the same guys.
JG was super nice to my son at the IU bball camp this summer. I'm sorry it didn't work out for him here.
I personally think the Elon game time scratch with the dislocated finger pain on his non-shooting hand was probably the beginning of the end. Woody seemed like it surprised him that JG decided not to go with TJD already out with the back.
He'll be a basketball junior (Covid), but you're right; his hoop skills just aren't there ... and I don't see that changing much in the next two seasons, regardless of team.
I've acknowledged, countless times, that he's improved our program since he got here. But that consistency has been what has held his teams back.
I'm not sure Woody has actually "accomplished" a ton more than Archie did, at this point, but it can't be argued whether IU is in a better spot now than at any time in Archie's tenure.
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