IU to #19 per Sagarin

[rikki-tikka-tava]

https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaab/sagarin/

Right. Sounds good anyway. KP has IU at #34. Thinking IU will need Jerome to really blossom and Devonte 4.0 to make any real noise. Hardly out of the question.

Liked IU's second-half defense last night. Pushed pressure out above the arc following the break - held them to under 10 pts. for the first ten minutes of the second half and didn't allow a score from deep over the final twenty. Justin sort of disappeared, but kind of impressed/surprised by Race. Seems IU has three athletic bigs (TJD, JH & JS) that at any given moment can simply throw down and take it to the rack (as in pOWer forward) - lot of highlights waiting to happen. Also thinking IU's 3-pt. shooting may become pretty crisp before it's all said and done - Aljami, Devonte, Jerome, Rob, Damezi and Armaan all have the potential to light it up - still haven't ruled out Justin but maybe not in the cards.

Definitely looked good enough to beat kY last night. Oops. Yuk-yuk, chortle-chortle, guffaw.

 

[oldcougar77]

https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaab/sagarin/

Right. Sounds good anyway. KP has IU at #34. Thinking IU will need Jerome to really blossom and Devonte 4.0 to make any real noise. Hardly out of the question.

Liked IU's second-half defense last night. Pushed pressure out above the arc following the break - held them to under 10 pts. for the first ten minutes of the second half and didn't allow a score from deep over the final twenty. Justin sort of disappeared, but kind of impressed/surprised by Race. Seems IU has three athletic bigs (TJD, JH & JS) that at any given moment can simply throw down and take it to the rack (as in pOWer forward) - lot of highlights waiting to happen. Also thinking IU's 3-pt. shooting may become pretty crisp before it's all said and done - Aljami, Devonte, Jerome, Rob, Damezi and Armaan all have the potential to light it up - still haven't ruled out Justin but maybe not in the cards.

Definitely looked good enough to beat kY last night. Oops. Yuk-yuk, chortle-chortle, guffaw.

I think this team is going to surprise people so long as players remain healthy. The effort is good, depth questions seem to be answered and perimeter shooting is improved (at least thus far). Last year's M*A*S*H* unit would have won four or five more with a healthy roster and made the NCAAT. I think this team has more true scoring options (though no individual as good offensively as either Morgan or Langford) and appears to have no ego problems. I think there is tremendous potential for in-season improvement for Hunter, Jackson-Davis, and Franklin. We have legitimate post defenders and the improvement of Durham from year to year has been huge.

Phinisee has to stay healthy because this team needs him to play huge minutes, and hopefully when Green returns the addition of his talent takes us up a notch - assuming he has matured beyond his previous knucklehead self. We've seen flashes, but not enough consistency with him.

A lot of unknowns and some obvious limitations to overcome but unlike the Crean years, this team will improve from in-season coaching. It also is led by a guy who can win with defense and a controlled offense.

Most important to me personally, I see a brand of basketball I recognize and like to watch. I see players who understand defensive principles and who get called out for mental errors or lack of focus. I see a team that has been taught to take away other teams' strengths defensively and that has a plan offensively beyond playing as fast as possible - or pounding the ball waiting for a desperation one-on-one move as the shot clock winds down.

The results the last two years have not been what any of us hoped for, but I see a culture and a program building for the long term and that makes me excited for the season. We still need to upgrade the offensive talent (especially perimeter shooting), but I like the direction.

 

[Chicago-bound Hoosier]

I enjoy not having to watch CTC's brand of spaz ball. And counting deflections. And seeing how many IU players were in last weekend's campus police report.

 

[iubud]

I was thinking about Romeo's impact vs TJD. They play different roles and aren't the same players. I believe we are going to see more impact from TJD. Scoring may not be as much as Romeo, but blocks, rebounds and the chemistry he seems to bring to the team may be more important at the position he plays. We will make up the points from Romeo. We are already seeing players like Hunter and Thompson along with TJD more than replacing Morgan's production. TJD might be doing it all by himself.

This team has a lot of potential. They have the talent but need the experience. The key is how well it develops and can they improve faster than the teams we will face after this early part of the season.

 

[turney333]

I think this team is going to surprise people so long as players remain healthy. The effort is good, depth questions seem to be answered and perimeter shooting is improved (at least thus far). Last year's M*A*S*H* unit would have won four or five more with a healthy roster and made the NCAAT. I think this team has more true scoring options (though no individual as good offensively as either Morgan or Langford) and appears to have no ego problems. I think there is tremendous potential for in-season improvement for Hunter, Jackson-Davis, and Franklin. We have legitimate post defenders and the improvement of Durham from year to year has been huge.

Phinisee has to stay healthy because this team needs him to play huge minutes, and hopefully when Green returns the addition of his talent takes us up a notch - assuming he has matured beyond his previous knucklehead self. We've seen flashes, but not enough consistency with him.

A lot of unknowns and some obvious limitations to overcome but unlike the Crean years, this team will improve from in-season coaching. It also is led by a guy who can win with defense and a controlled offense.

Most important to me personally, I see a brand of basketball I recognize and like to watch. I see players who understand defensive principles and who get called out for mental errors or lack of focus. I see a team that has been taught to take away other teams' strengths defensively and that has a plan offensively beyond playing as fast as possible - or pounding the ball waiting for a desperation one-on-one move as the shot clock winds down.

The results the last two years have not been what any of us hoped for, but I see a culture and a program building for the long term and that makes me excited for the season. We still need to upgrade the offensive talent (especially perimeter shooting), but I like the direction.

Definitely am happy with the depth. Only Phinisee and TJD look like they'd be competing for starting spots on top teams in the conference (maybe Durham, although 6th man might be his ideal spot on those teams). However, I think everyone else on IU's roster (on scholarship) would have a legit shot at being a core rotational player on those top teams.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

I think everyone else on IU's roster (on scholarship) would have a legit shot at being a core rotational player on those top teams.

Devonte. Even without a summer's worth of value added, the guy that closed out last Season starts for anyone in Conference. So I imagine, and also that we've only glimpsed what Jerome can do.
Same goes for Aljami - would anyone really be surprised if he went off for 20 in a half? Much better ball-handler/defender than last year as well.

Aljami, Devonte, Rob Justin/Jerome & TJD strikes me as something of a wicked starting Five (+1). Next five aren't too shabby either. Now, if De'Ron could just work his way into that coveted yellow practice jersey, well who knows?

Anyone else find Coach Miller's unhappy sideline visage and occasionally terse media responses reminiscent of a previous IU Coach?

 

[ORG]

I was thinking about Romeo's impact vs TJD. They play different roles and aren't the same players. I believe we are going to see more impact from TJD. Scoring may not be as much as Romeo, but blocks, rebounds and the chemistry he seems to bring to the team may be more important at the position he plays. We will make up the points from Romeo. We are already seeing players like Hunter and Thompson along with TJD more than replacing Morgan's production. TJD might be doing it all by himself.

This team has a lot of potential. They have the talent but need the experience. The key is how well it develops and can they improve faster than the teams we will face after this early part of the season.

Hopefully TJD doesn't suffer the injuries that Romeo had to deal with.

 

[ORG]

Devonte. Even without a summer's worth of value added, the guy that closed out last Season starts for anyone in Conference. So I imagine, and also that we've only glimpsed what Jerome can do.
Same goes for Aljami - would anyone really be surprised if he went off for 20 in a half? Much better ball-handler/defender than last year as well.

Aljami, Devonte, Rob Justin/Jerome & TJD strikes me as something of a wicked starting Five (+1). Next five aren't too shabby either. Now, if De'Ron could just work his way into that coveted yellow practice jersey, well who knows?

Anyone else find Coach Miller's unhappy sideline visage and occasionally terse media responses reminiscent of a previous IU Coach?

YES! He does have some mannerisms similar to CTC's.

 

[h20pls]

https://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaab/sagarin/

Right. Sounds good anyway. KP has IU at #34. Thinking IU will need Jerome to really blossom and Devonte 4.0 to make any real noise. Hardly out of the question.

Liked IU's second-half defense last night. Pushed pressure out above the arc following the break - held them to under 10 pts. for the first ten minutes of the second half and didn't allow a score from deep over the final twenty. Justin sort of disappeared, but kind of impressed/surprised by Race. Seems IU has three athletic bigs (TJD, JH & JS) that at any given moment can simply throw down and take it to the rack (as in pOWer forward) - lot of highlights waiting to happen. Also thinking IU's 3-pt. shooting may become pretty crisp before it's all said and done - Aljami, Devonte, Jerome, Rob, Damezi and Armaan all have the potential to light it up - still haven't ruled out Justin but maybe not in the cards.

Definitely looked good enough to beat kY last night. Oops. Yuk-yuk, chortle-chortle, guffaw.

While I wish(ed) that Justin would show...statistically...super happy to see that others stepped up...lot's of options on this team...a good thing. The free throw shooting was good...

It this team embraces the defensive schema...and (I have not re-watched the game so going on a "live" impression) and I believe something akin to the motion offence (our weak side has been standing around and it's painful to watch)...I think we could do a thing or two.

The defense needs to get really stubborn and soon. Even the second half of last night wasn't B1G ready.

 

[Chicago-bound Hoosier]

Thinking about what I've seen so far this season, and how this might look next year. The Seniors- Green hasn't played a minute yet and we're not getting much from De'Ron. Add a year's experience and 15 pounds to Hunter, TJD, Phin, with the shooters we have coming in. We have top 10 potential next yr regardless of Garcia's decision. Long way to get there but if everyone stays healthy and plays as a team, this season could be better than expected and next year could be more. At least I'll think that now until we lose the first game and go back into Fire CAM mode again.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

What I see early on is a team deep with good not great players. They don't lose much from 5 - 9. Some of the youngsters may develop to great, that is to be seen.

Assuming we don't see the over the top injury levels we saw last season this should be a fun bunch to watch grow.

 

[TR32]

Thinking about what I've seen so far this season, and how this might look next year. The Seniors- Green hasn't played a minute yet and we're not getting much from De'Ron. Add a year's experience and 15 pounds to Hunter, TJD, Phin, with the shooters we have coming in. We have top 10 potential next yr regardless of Garcia's decision. Long way to get there but if everyone stays healthy and plays as a team, this season could be better than expected and next year could be more. At least I'll think that now until we lose the first game and go back into Fire CAM mode again.

I have been thinking about the seniors at this point as well, but IU will absolutely need another big guy for next year one way or another. Also, I think when Green finally gets back, we will see a difference. Plus, Davis is a critical piece against teams with bigs.
If they don't land Garcia, all it takes is a rolled ankle by Brunk in February 2021 to derail the season.