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IU is a better team than last year

Cavanagh

Cavanagh

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Mar 1, 2012
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Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
 
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On paper they look good... The big question is: will they play as a TEAM or as a bunch of individuals... Can Tre and X provide the Leadership necessary to mold them into a Contender or will we be watching a bunch of guys just trying to get theirs and move onto the League...

We probably won't know the answer until mid-January... If they haven't jelled as a TEAM by then it probably isn't happening...

It'll be fun to watch if they're able to do it (become a real TEAM),,,

Let's not jinx them this early on in the year...; there's a Lot of work to be done before they become Champions...
 
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To be fair, we never saw what last year's team was all about due to all the injuries.

X stating that he and TJD both didn't practice leading up to the Xavier game due to injury crap, the first real game of the season, convinces me that last seasons high potential and buzz was doomed from the start.
 
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Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...

I don't know that your record on predictions is good enough to buy into the hype!
Like 76 said, lots of work to be done!
 
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Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...
So you'll take Sparks although you say he will "almost positively never start"? What's almost positively mean? Sparks appears to be a natural center, so I think he'll see the floor a lot more than you think, unless Ware turns out to be some mutant human who can play 40 minutes every game. BTW, I'd take Sparks over Thompson too.

Last year's team had too much unproductive/deadwood on the floor an awful lot. Thompson, Bates, Geronimo, even Kopp at times, didn't add anything to the offense. That meant we went through TJD, and the other teams knew it making us easy to defend.

We are solid at center, greatly improved at wing/forward, and have our starting PG back. The talent level is up, and so is the scoring punch IMO. If Banks and Gunn make that sophomore leap and Cupps and Newton give us something, YOWZAAA!

This should be the best/most talented TEAM we have put on the floor in DECADES.
 
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SouthBendJim said:
So you'll take Sparks although you say he will "almost positively never start"? What's almost positively mean? Sparks appears to be a natural center, so I think he'll see the floor a lot more than you think, unless Ware turns out to be some mutant human who can play 40 minutes every game. BTW, I'd take Sparks over Thompson too.

Last year's team had too much unproductive/deadwood on the floor an awful lot. Thompson, Bates, Geronimo, even Kopp at times, didn't add anything to the offense. That meant we went through TJD, and the other teams knew it making us easy to defend.

We are solid at center, greatly improved at wing/forward, and have our starting PG back. The talent level is up, and so is the scoring punch IMO. If Banks and Gunn make that sophomore leap and Cupps and Newton give us something, YOWZAAA!

This should be the best/most talented TEAM we have put on the floor in DECADES.
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Decades?
 
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Once again the talent is there to go far but as stated, team needs to gel. We don’t need to have 1 player consistently carry us with an occasional great game from the supporting cast and I think that’s why we had a lot of players standing around at times. We could be voted to win the BIG10 in preseason polls, when was the last time that happened for us? Patience is needed for this team
 
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I believe that Sparks will be better than Race, think he will play with a chip on his shoulder, will want to prove he can play at this level and realizes this is his best shot to go pro. Race will always be one of my favorite hustle players but think he got caught up in the TJD hype machine and became a spectator last yr
 
Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...
...potentially. No way to know how the team will jell and there appears to be a big hole with shooting. The likely starting center had a very disappointing year for a top 10 5* and our starting PG has been up and down and is coming off a season ending injury. Pump the brakes once in awhile! ... you know you have brakes, right?
 
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Remains to be seen, Race played on one leg and wasn’t 100% late in the season.
X couldn’t even walk …

With both 100%, a number of last year’s losses were likely avoidable.

With the injuries … this roster‘s ceiling is perhaps better than last year’s results … which were certainly refreshing.
 
Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...
We know what we have at 1 and 2, should be better than last year on both ends of the court.

At the 4, I agree Race was disappointing, not sure he should have been starting by March. Expecting we'll be better at the 4.

Really can't see the combination of Mgbako and Banks not exceeding what we got from Kopp. Especially since their role next year won't be limited to spreading the floor.

So how much can we compensate for losing Trayce? All things considered, I can't imagine how we could have done a better job back filling for him.

But don't overlook our front line is young and inexperienced. We can be better than last year (barring injury), if our young guys respond well to the tougher competition they'll face. The January turnaround this past season was amazing, but would be tough to pull off if we get in a similar hole next year.
 
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Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...
Yep, never was worried about team moving forward without TJD.
IU is going to be very good
 
I think Walker's experience and most likely maturity from that Miami squad will add to the leadership provided by Johnson and Trey. The settling of the hopes, aspirations and aggressiveness of all other ballers can be managed with their help.
 
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Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...

Undisputed champs every summer as long as I can remember reading on here.
 
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IU has the POTENTIAL to be very good, and *maybe* better than this year’s team. Maybe. There are too many unproven players with extremely high potential that need to prove their quality next year. Ware is number one guy that needs to be way better than what he showed at Oregon. I’m not saying he can’t. But he didn’t make enough noise last year to make a reliable prediction about his contributions next year. Mgbako is a freshman, and needs to make a huge jump. of course he’s capable.

Too many unanswered Qs, but I like the optimism.
 
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Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...
You think Woody goes after one more in the portal? We still could potentially add one more key piece that would solidify them being a much better team than last year’s.
 
Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...
The question which needs to be answered is who is getting a bucket when it is really needed? You had TJD and JHS last season and those guys were the answer to that question.
 
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Harry Hondo said:
You think Woody goes after one more in the portal? We still could potentially add one more key piece that would solidify them being a much better team than last year’s.
Click to expand...
There are still some good players in the portal who are testing the NBA waters and have until the end of the month to stay in the draft
 
Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...

What do you know about the defensive abilities of Ware and Mac? Can Ware guard the 3? Mac the 2? Banks the 2? We seem so long and athletic that I'd be interested in a Sparks, Malik, Ware, Mac, and X lineup. Full court diamond or 2-2-1 press would be interesting. Pitino Louisville type of D.
 
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ribbont said:
What do you know about the defensive abilities of Ware and Mac? Can Ware guard the 3? Mac the 2? Banks the 2? We seem so long and athletic that I'd be interested in a Sparks, Malik, Ware, Mac, and X lineup. Full court diamond or 2-2-1 press would be interesting. Pitino Louisville type of D.
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lol .......
 
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8Stars5Banners said:
Ain’t no dickhead like a local dickhead
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Oh look at you trying to make friends... I get that you need help, but seriously the two of you combined don't equal a zit on my ass ... you need to find a smart person and this guy sure in the f*** isn't it. lmao.

You only like him because he's actually dumber than you are. fwiw - You've fallen to third on the moron list .. be proud.
 
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If Xavier gets hurt early like last year, last year's team is better. Hopefully that won't happen again, because he is essential to having a great year. Maybe even as important as having a knockdown 3 point shooter is having a 2nd ball handling shot creator. We had that last year with X and JHS at the beginning of the season. Maybe someone already on the roster can be that 2nd creator.
 
T.M.P. said:
Oh look at you trying to make friends... I get that you need help, but seriously the two of you combined don't equal a zit on my ass ... you need to find a smart person and this guy sure in the f*** isn't it. lmao.

You only like him because he's actually dumber than you are. fwiw - You've fallen to third on the moron list .. be proud.
Click to expand...

I've read your post for years and the zit on your ass produces more interesting content than you ever have. Dumb.
 
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Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...
Really hoping X is going to be fully rehabbed by this summer. For me, his health is the key to our success. And if Newton gets over the leg injuries and Woody gets an experienced outside shooter from the portal, this team could be really good. That front court depth is going to help big-time, especially going down the stretch when teams can wear down some. Really looking forward to how quickly the team jells.
 
Cavanagh said:
Would you rather have Sparks or Race for next year? I am taking Sparks. Race had a tough go of it with injuries, but he just wasn't that good last year TBH. He had some games where he caught fire, but just was not a factor far too often to be a starting 4.

Why I ask is because Sparks will almost positively never start next year unless we just get F***** with injuries. And that aint happening damnit, we are due for a healthy season. Sparks will likely be a solid 7-8th man, him and Walker will battle for it I would imagine.

Even tho we lose TJD, we have a better front court. TJD was almost the player of the year!! He couldn't shoot..... Need to shoot to win big, everyone on the floor will have the green light this year from beyond the arc, and they all will be better shooters than JG, TJD and Race. The floor is gonna open a shit ton because of that.

X is gonna lead the B1G in assists. I will bet anyone that right now. He is gonna have a field day with this talent. ALL ABOARD train is starting up early this year.
Click to expand...
Sparks needs to lose 20# , he was quicker his freshman year.
 
T.M.P. said:
Oh look at you trying to make friends... I get that you need help, but seriously the two of you combined don't equal a zit on my ass ... you need to find a smart person and this guy sure in the f*** isn't it. lmao.

You only like him because he's actually dumber than you are. fwiw - You've fallen to third on the moron list .. be proud.
Click to expand...
You still get zits on your ass?
 
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