is Romeo hurt again ?
- Thread starter kurt cloverdales
- Start date
Man you should join Romeo’s fan club by the unhealthy amount you talk about him
I hate beating a dead horse, but since you are I suppose I can join in.
I see nobody talking about how great Romeo is. Only that he is still young and has only played 1 single season worth of games so it is possible for him to still turn a corner. I don’t see that as a homer view.
Rob is much the same. Who is saying he is great? I said last season that he should start and others have said that about last year not because he is a great player.... but because we only had below average options at pg and he was the best of the bad options. We did not have a pg on our roster that was BIG starting caliber LAST year.
Next year is a different story all together. With Johnson on the roster it is unlikely that Rob or Lander will start unless there has been major improvements made. Again I don’t see that as a homer view. I just give my opinion of what I would do.
I guess I hold IU fans to a certain level of basketball IQ. I know I am not a basketball genius, but I damn sure understand it a hell of a lot more than the average fan.
Lander should have started all year, I might have morphed my brain into thinking he was better than he was, but he damn sure was a hell of a lot better than Rob.
Lander will start this year, and the annoying take is gonna be he busted his ass in the off season and that is the reason he is now able to start. That will be wrong. He was not given the opportunity to start, get any significant minutes, or play in a free flowing offense. He was hindered by having very small burst opportunities and an archaic system. Archie was one of the worst coaches in power 5 basketball over the last 4 years. I would be shocked if anyone could find a group of recruits in a given time frame that were higher than ours, that failed to make the tourney. His underachieving was monumental, starting with Romeos year.
There was a very good reason why I said he would be fired for sure with 5 or so games left.
I agree that our offensive system last year hendered Lander (and nearly everyone else although most didn’t do themselves any favors by not hitting open shots when they had them).
I can’t speak with any education as to if Lander should have started all year because I didn’t see him in practice. If the reports that he was getting destroyed by every guard on our roster were true, and we all saw what he did in games, then I am on the side of agreement that he should not have started or played much.
I do believe he will have to bust his ass to beat out Johnson for a starting spot mainly because I don’t see Lander’s defense ever being good (I hope I am wrong), therefore his offense will need to be significantly better to make up for it. I don’t see it happening next year but I hope I am wrong because if he is that good next year we are a much better team.
Johnson will 100% start, Lander will be beside him.
I am guessing it is Lander, X, Kopp, Bates, TJD.
The one thing Archie did well at IU was keeping info behind the scenes guarded like fort Knox. Anything that was rumored about practice was BS. We didn't know until day of if guys would be in street clothes or starting.
The one thing we do know is Lander never started, and he got 2-4 minutes for the first 9 big ten games. While Rob continued to struggle with dribbling and passing at a Jr high level.
Agree which is why I certainly don’t want to say definitively that he shouldn’t have started.
Beating out Stewart for a spot would probably be easier than Johnson so maybe. The only thing I would say is for that lineup to work Bates and Kopp better be darn good defensively inside and out and need to rebound at a high rate.
rebounding would be a problem with my lineup, Kopp is not great. They could score like a mofo tho. Woody did coach Mello
.Tamar needs to be a great on the glass, hell he is already a 1st round pick in my mind, go show em TB jr!
I am high on Tamar as well. I am not sure I am ready to say starter yet but with his attitude and work ethic it is going to be hard to keep him off the floor.rebounding would be a problem with my lineup, Kopp is not great. They could score like a mofo tho. Woody did coach Mello
Tamar needs to be a great on the glass, hell he is already a 1st round pick in my mind, go show em TB jr!
No matter what happens and who is right or wrong I am just excited to see an improved competitive team on the floor next year.
I am bullish on next years team, and sure I have been bullish on teams in the past that have sucked, but we have also fired coaches because of it.
Romeos year, Juwan was coming off an all big ten Jr. season. They both played in the NBA the following year. Hard to find many teams that had multiple all conference players that both played in the NBA not to make the tourney. We have underachieved massively and that is causing a lot of caution.
I am buying IU right now. Both figuratively and literally . I like you have a side business, I buy IU tickets. I will spend tens of thousands on IU next year. Maybe I can spend 100k! Got season tiks?
We have underachieved for sure. And I agree with you that it has not been a lack of talent that caused it.I am bullish on next years team, and sure I have been bullish on teams in the past that have sucked, but we have also fired coaches because of it.
Romeos year, Juwan was coming off an all big ten Jr. season. They both played in the NBA the following year. Hard to find many teams that had multiple all conference players that both played in the NBA not to make the tourney. We have underachieved massively and that is causing a lot of caution.
I am buying IU right now. Both figuratively and literally . I like you have a side business, I buy IU tickets. I will spend tens of thousands on IU next year. Maybe I can spend 100k! Got season tiks?
I am trying to temper my own expectations for next year but it is hard not to be excited.
I wish I could get up there enough to need season tickets lol. Between my day job and the farm I don’t get away from home much at all.
Fingers crossed I do well enough to retire to running the farm in a handful of years and make all this hard work worth it. Then I will get up there more.
Everyone was hindered by the offense last season, not just Lander. Lander didn't start for a multitude of reasons.
-Most importantly, he physically wasn't ready. Lander would have been better off playing against Wabash or DePauw, not Wisconsin or Rutgers. That was evident from the start. Wasn't a threat to take anyone off the dribble and couldn't get to the rim if he tried. Not sure if he airballed more 3's or missed more layups last year.
-Lack of basketball IQ. Terrible shot selection. Constantly lost on defense. Just looked like a deer in headlights 95% of the time he was out there.
-I have no clue what went on in practice last year, but outside Franklin and Durham every third game, our guards were putrid. Galloway had no problem seeing the floor last year when healthy and Leal got some decent run in games where Franklin was out so its not like there was an anti-bias from Archie in regards to playing freshman. Lander simply was low man on the totem pole.
In regards to starting guards next year, I think XJ is the one you can pencil in as a sure fire starter. Outside that it's a toss up but Lander has miles to go to catch guys like Stewart, Galloway, Bates, and even Phinisee. Lander needs to do much more than bust his ass next year in order secure a starting spot in the lineup.
I do not disagree with many of your points. I think some of Lander’s offensive problems can certainly be blamed on the offensive system. However, he shot so incredibly poorly that you can’t put that all on the offense. Also his defense was as bad as I have seen at IU for large stretches of games. I gave up trying to keep track of the number of times a 8-12 point swing could be laid entirely at his feet.
I will say this about Lander though. He seems to have elite vision and speed which could be a huge impact for us next year in a more wide open offense. My personal opinion is that he has to find some way to play average defense and shoot an average % both from 2 and 3 to see the floor a significant amount of time.
I hope it happens because you can’t teach the attributes that Lander could bring to the table for us.
Have you ever seen him play?rebounding would be a problem with my lineup, Kopp is not great. They could score like a mofo tho. Woody did coach Mello
Tamar needs to be a great on the glass, hell he is already a 1st round pick in my mind, go show em TB jr!
reasonable assessment of the guard situation, he must be related to lander because I don't think I've ever seen a kid over his head more than lander. poor shooting is one thing but he was shooting air balls that missed by 5 feet, that isn't Archie's fault, and strength wise him going to the rim was just as futile. I hope he is a all-american 1 day but ifs ever more than a back up pg i will be shocked
I think there are three starting locks....TJD, Xavier and Race.
I'm going to be surprised if Stewart isn't a near lock.
Which leaves one open starting spot which I would guess would go to Kopp or Bates.
Xavier
Stewart
Kopp
Race
TJD
I know the argument for 4 out and 1 in offensively but Woodson has already stated he wants Race as his four and is challenging him to extend his range.
Durr is the backup 5. Race will start at the 4. I can't see him going down to a 15 min a game player as there is a massive gap between production between him and the next guys (Geronimo, Kopp who has never been any kind of rebounder).
One distributor (Xavier), 2 shooters (Parker, Kopp/Bates), one physical goon (Race) and one active post (TJD).
Race can hit enough threes to keep defenses honest and give TJD space.
If Lander was a no doubt starter than Kenya wouldn't have gone after Xavier. Lander has a ton of development to do (shooting mechanics are a mess, he can't finish in traffic and is a defensive liability. That's a bad combo.)
Sorry if my last post read wrong. I don’t think lander is 100% a starter. X, Bates and TJD are. Bates is gonna start, he is way better than people realize. It is no hype either.
Coaches and other guys on IMG have been quoted saying Tamar is top ten in this class, the leader, and considered the top player on the team. They produced 5 of the top 30 guys. 5 stars from IMG start.
And of course I have no clue who is starting, I just have a hard time based on production, that he came back and how much Woodson has directly talked about Race that its to back up TJD.
With Hunter leaving I don't see anyone really challenging him other than maybe Geronimo (who I think is still one year away). Kopp to me is more of a 2 than a 4 or has been for his career.
So my posts are more for Race as I think the fan base in general is writing him off because of spacing on offense.
Which I get, but you're benching a guy who is a massive possession gainer (off rebounds, blocks, steals) who should be able to shoot enough to keep defenses honest (Juwan Morgan shot what, 25% from three. We're not benching him for Miller Kopp).
I would be surprised if Woodson talked Race back into the fold by saying he doesn't fit into his 4-1 system and will back up TJD at the 5 (as I think Trayce came back before Race did).
We'll see.
If I ever found myself agreeing with any of the dumb shit you say, I would have to take a deep look and seriously consider killing myself.
I mean your takes from Luke Brown to political nutjob conspiracies are legendary in their idiocy.
Not much he can do against KD. Giving up six inches. That’s more on Stevens. In fairness though, he doesn’t have a lot of options on the second unit
I don't remember the last lottery pick that hasn't had his 3rd year option renewed. 6 points 6 rebounds on 2-7 shooting in 27 minutes, while his best game ever, really shouldn't be something that is celebrated. Even I didn't think his NBA start would be this bad.
god I would love to bet you on that. Sadly I know you have 0 confidence and are talking out your ass. If not, please, name your price.
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Don't put Luke Brown down. He is a good kid and was an exciting high school player. What is he fourth in scoring all time for Indiana?
I'm not putting Brown down, I'm putting down the people who watched him play at a certain competition and then obsessively equate it to playing division one, particularly IU.
You are betting that Romeo will only play in the NBA for 4 years , and I am saying he will be in the NBA for a fifth year (plus more IMO). $100 you are on .
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