IU's "glaring offensive challenges" and "flaws"...

[rikki-tikka-tava]

Gladly take the above (see below) over 'glaring defensive challenges/flaws' any day. With Justin and Juwan anchoring the front-line and Evan and Zach in the mix, reason to feel better than okay about IU's interior play at both ends, especially with Race, Clifton and incoming length/raw talent in support. Not expecting De'Ron to play much if at all before 2019/Conference season, but guardedly anticipating Evan's historic performance from deep to be supported by more and greater outside proficiency from Zach. Has/had the shot despite not taking many (which seems to lead to lower percentage), expecting to see a lot of corner threes from those two.

Tougher to know what to expect away from the baseline. Doesn't seem a reach to imagine Romeo playing well enough to earn a starting position, with Aljami, Devonte and Robert P. comprising the remainder of backcourt minutes/rotation. Assumption that Jager, Blackmon and Taylor won't play much but most felt similarly about McRoberts - will happily be surprised to see otherwise as well as any evidence that IU is back to having multiple threats from deep.

Without a proven 'traditional' point guard or any way of knowing how Durham and Greene have developed since March, be interesting to see how Coach Miller and Staff approach the offense. Far from an expert, but packline defense seems more like a 'plug and play' proposition than whatever offense is employed, the latter being more inherently limited/enabled by individual talent/skills. All to say I imagine offense more than defense to be modeled on personnel.

Backcourt still a question - maybe Robert Phinisee pulls a Yogi and starts from day one, maybe Devonte's decision-making catches up to his speed/athleticism, maybe Durham makes an Oladipoesque leap from freshman to sophomore year. All three and the early return of DD 2.0 would be the 'perfect storm', just not a Crimson Storm - DII Southern Nazarene already called dibs.


Indiana: Romeo Langford won't solve all offensive flaws

We all know Archie Miller can coach. In 2014, he led Dayton, a blue-collar squad, to the Elite Eight. Langford's arrival closes the talent gap and changes expectations about the Hoosiers. Now, Miller has a squad that will be led by a player who might vie for the No. 1 slot in next summer's NBA draft.

Langford will join Juwan Morgan (16.5 PPG) and De'Ron Davis, who suffered a season-ending injury and missed the bulk of last season.

Is a team that lost to Rutgers in the first round of the Big Ten tournament worthy of a top-25 spot after adding a five-star phenom? Maybe. But the Hoosiers made just 32 percent of their 3-pointers and 66 percent of their free throws, major problems for an offensive unit that finished in the 90s in efficiency.

Langford is a star. He changes the dynamic of this program. The Hoosiers, however, might need some time to develop chemistry and commence the critical work on some of their glaring offensive challenges.

From: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...op-25-indiana-hoosiers-ucla-bruins-looking-in

 

[MG80]

I think we struggle a bit in November/December as the team gets used to DeVonte and Romeo running the offense, and roles getting sorted. But we have the potential to be very good post January 1. Love our depth and scoring from many places on the floor. If Romeo is as good as we think he is, and Morgan (and Archie) keep developing, what’s not to like? This is a tournament team that could be extremely competitive.

 

[T.M.P.]

Gladly take the above (see below) over 'glaring defensive challenges/flaws' any day. With Justin and Juwan anchoring the front-line and Evan and Zach in the mix, reason to feel better than okay about IU's interior play at both ends, especially with Race, Clifton and incoming length/raw talent in support. Not expecting De'Ron to play much if at all before 2019/Conference season, but guardedly anticipating Evan's historic performance from deep to be supported by more and greater outside proficiency from Zach. Has/had the shot despite not taking many (which seems to lead to lower percentage), expecting to see a lot of corner threes from those two.

Tougher to know what to expect away from the baseline. Doesn't seem a reach to imagine Romeo playing well enough to earn a starting position, with Aljami, Devonte and Robert P. comprising the remainder of backcourt minutes/rotation. Assumption that Jager, Blackmon and Taylor won't play much but most felt similarly about McRoberts - will happily be surprised to see otherwise as well as any evidence that IU is back to having multiple threats from deep.

Without a proven 'traditional' point guard or any way of knowing how Durham and Greene have developed since March, be interesting to see how Coach Miller and Staff approach the offense. Far from an expert, but packline defense seems more like a 'plug and play' proposition than whatever offense is employed, the latter being more inherently limited/enabled by individual talent/skills. All to say I imagine offense more than defense to be modeled on personnel.

Backcourt still a question - maybe Robert Phinisee pulls a Yogi and starts from day one, maybe Devonte's decision-making catches up to his speed/athleticism, maybe Durham makes an Oladipoesque leap from freshman to sophomore year. All three and the early return of DD 2.0 would be the 'perfect storm', just not a Crimson Storm - DII Southern Nazarene already called dibs.


Indiana: Romeo Langford won't solve all offensive flaws

We all know Archie Miller can coach. In 2014, he led Dayton, a blue-collar squad, to the Elite Eight. Langford's arrival closes the talent gap and changes expectations about the Hoosiers. Now, Miller has a squad that will be led by a player who might vie for the No. 1 slot in next summer's NBA draft.

Langford will join Juwan Morgan (16.5 PPG) and De'Ron Davis, who suffered a season-ending injury and missed the bulk of last season.

Is a team that lost to Rutgers in the first round of the Big Ten tournament worthy of a top-25 spot after adding a five-star phenom? Maybe. But the Hoosiers made just 32 percent of their 3-pointers and 66 percent of their free throws, major problems for an offensive unit that finished in the 90s in efficiency.

Langford is a star. He changes the dynamic of this program. The Hoosiers, however, might need some time to develop chemistry and commence the critical work on some of their glaring offensive challenges.

From: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...op-25-indiana-hoosiers-ucla-bruins-looking-in

ESPN puff piece.

Counterpoint: Three very low production players have left. Three highly productive players, (DD, JM, JS) still on roster while adding a top ten class to complement them, including a consensus lottery pick.

Conclusion: ESPN sucks. Entertainment news sucks. Their top 25 sucks. That article especially sucks.

 

[IDontWannaLargeFarva]

ESPN puff piece.

But worthy of 400 words.

 

[Upset Alert]

Better increase that free throw percentage, especially in conference play. A good chunk of teams are fairly evenly matched, and I would expect many close games. Could be the difference on whether we finish with a double bye or not, for the BTT.

 

[mobilehoosier]

ESPN puff piece.

Counterpoint: Three very low production players have left. Three highly productive players, (DD, JM, JS) still on roster while adding a top ten class to complement them, including a consensus lottery pick.

Conclusion: ESPN sucks. Entertainment news sucks. Their top 25 sucks. That article especially sucks.

Agree TMP: ESPN totally sucks. They pimp UK hoops because of SEC network. SEC football needs no pimp. They pimped Duke UNC to sell ESPN 2 to cable companies. (Game was a regional matchup at best prior) They undercover BIG because we partnered with FOX. They undercover PAC 12 and Big 12 because they're not the SEC. They are just like FOX News, CNN and MSNBC for sports i.e. your reference to entertainment TV. OK TMP you struck the nerve. I'll walk away from the keyboard. Huge Grin! Go Hoosiers!

 

[T.M.P.]

Agree TMP: ESPN totally sucks. They pimp UK hoops because of SEC network. SEC football needs no pimp. They pimped Duke UNC to sell ESPN 2 to cable companies. (Game was a regional matchup at best prior) They undercover BIG because we partnered with FOX. They undercover PAC 12 and Big 12 because they're not the SEC. They are just like FOX News, CNN and MSNBC for sports i.e. your reference to entertainment TV. OK TMP you struck the nerve. I'll walk away from the keyboard. Huge Grin! Go Hoosiers!

Yea, people have to understand that entertainment news is meant to entertain, create hype and create drama where no real drama exists. It's garbage. Plus, all these early polls and expectations rely entirely on a biased and arbitrary perception of last years results. Only rarely are they data or fact driven. That poll isn't. It's nothing but a subjectively opinionated list created by a sportswriter or writers and then they analyze it like the arbitrary ranking is based on some kind of data. It isn't.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

ESPN puff piece.

Counterpoint: Three very low production players have left. Three highly productive players, (DD, JM, JS) still on roster while adding a top ten class to complement them, including a consensus lottery pick.

Conclusion: ESPN sucks. Entertainment news sucks. Their top 25 sucks. That article especially sucks.

Wasn't extolling or refuting the coverage - just musing and imagining we'll get a much more robust version of IU's coaching acumen this Season.

 

[T.M.P.]

Wasn't extolling or refuting the coverage - just musing and imagining we'll get a much more robust version of IU's coaching acumen this Season.

No criticism towards you for posting intended. It's all good .. it starts a conversation and that's what we're here for.

I just hate arbitrary polls. There's so much data currently on basketball analytics that not using them offends me.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

No criticism towards you for posting intended. It's all good .. it starts a conversation and that's what we're here for.

I just hate arbitrary polls. There's so much data currently on basketball analytics that not using them offends me.

I know - your censure has a way of leaving little doubt. Rock on.

 

[Tasmanian Devil]

But worthy of 400 words.

Fill copy. Editors love it,

 

[iubud]

It is easy to imagine our offense will not suffer from the loss of the 4 seniors. We return our best player and add more talent than we lost, a lot more. Romeo and Fitzner are far better than what we lost. Thompson, and Hunter are likely to contribute

I think we struggle a bit in November/December as the team gets used to DeVonte and Romeo running the offense, and roles getting sorted. But we have the potential to be very good post January 1. Love our depth and scoring from many places on the floor. If Romeo is as good as we think he is, and Morgan (and Archie) keep developing, what’s not to like? This is a tournament team that could be extremely competitive.

This concern is a year late. We needed players to take on a bigger role last year. Only Morgan and McBob could be counted on last year Our senior guards played too often like freshman and late in the season we were shooting 30.5% from 3. Rojo wasn't helping that percentage.

I can't remember a senior class I was more happy to see move on. I don't us being worse offensively. I may live to regret that statement, but I truly believe we will see an improvement on offense. I am not sure about defense although we didn't lose much in that area either.

Would anyone rather have Rojo and Newkirk instead of Romeo and Phinisee? How about McSwain instead of Fitzner?

 

[ufo33]

Graduating one of the weakest Senior classes and bringing in one of the strongest recruiting classes, plus a grad transfer, a redshirt, a Center returning ftom injury, a first Team HS All-American, and 3 Indiana All-Stars, with the top players returning. This is a much improved IU Team.

 

[parkerman]

The whole league is going to be interesting, as a lot of teams lost a lot of offense. I think there's no doubt Indiana is going to be improved offensively, and unless the new class is a disaster on defense, the defense should stay at least the same. The one thing last season that may linger is the lack of a "spooky good" shooter. Not that familiar with the new class/high school hoops. Does it have someone that can dominate as a pure shooter from the outside?

 

[UncleMark]

The one thing last season that may linger is the lack of a "spooky good" shooter. Not that familiar with the new class/high school hoops. Does it have someone that can dominate as a pure shooter from the outside?

I hear there's a kid from down south somewhere that might be okay. Has a funny name...

 

[parkerman]

I hear there's a kid from down south somewhere that might be okay. Has a funny name...

There are great players and great scorers who aren't necessarily great shooters. I assumed Romeo was good, is he one of those "Larry Bird good" shooters? As I said, I'm not a big high school follower, so not that familiar with the tools he brings to the table.

 

[ufo33]

Romeo is gifted offensively. Maybe not as pure of a shooter as Steve Alford or Jay Edwards, but Romeo can score in more ways than they did primarily as pure shooters. Romeo is a highly skilled basketball player that is almost impossible to stop from scoring.

 

[UncleMark]

Romeo is gifted offensively. Maybe not as pure of a shooter as Steve Alford or Jay Edwards, but Romeo can score in more ways than they did primarily as pure shooters. Romeo is a highly skilled basketball player that is almost impossible to stop from scoring.

This. Romeo is best called a scorer, not a shooter.

 

[T.M.P.]

This. Romeo is best called a scorer, not a shooter.

Effortless scorer.

 

[MtPeter04]

There are great players and great scorers who aren't necessarily great shooters. I assumed Romeo was good, is he one of those "Larry Bird good" shooters? As I said, I'm not a big high school follower, so not that familiar with the tools he brings to the table.

Why does it matter how well he can shoot, if he can score? Roth was a great shooter, but was poor on defense, and couldn't handle the ball. By all accounts, Romeo is a top notch finisher, can shoot well from 3, and finish at the line. Would you rather have Roth, or Langford on your team?

 

[IDontWannaLargeFarva]

Why does it matter how well he can shoot, if he can score? Roth was a great shooter, but was poor on defense, and couldn't handle the ball. By all accounts, Romeo is a top notch finisher, can shoot well from 3, and finish at the line. Would you rather have Roth, or Langford on your team?

Well someone needs to be able to shoot, or you'll get what we had last year.

Romeo shot 35% from three last year. I'll be ecstatic if he can do that for us next year.

 

[indy1203]

Gladly take the above (see below) over 'glaring defensive challenges/flaws' any day. With Justin and Juwan anchoring the front-line and Evan and Zach in the mix, reason to feel better than okay about IU's interior play at both ends, especially with Race, Clifton and incoming length/raw talent in support. Not expecting De'Ron to play much if at all before 2019/Conference season, but guardedly anticipating Evan's historic performance from deep to be supported by more and greater outside proficiency from Zach. Has/had the shot despite not taking many (which seems to lead to lower percentage), expecting to see a lot of corner threes from those two.

Tougher to know what to expect away from the baseline. Doesn't seem a reach to imagine Romeo playing well enough to earn a starting position, with Aljami, Devonte and Robert P. comprising the remainder of backcourt minutes/rotation. Assumption that Jager, Blackmon and Taylor won't play much but most felt similarly about McRoberts - will happily be surprised to see otherwise as well as any evidence that IU is back to having multiple threats from deep.

Without a proven 'traditional' point guard or any way of knowing how Durham and Greene have developed since March, be interesting to see how Coach Miller and Staff approach the offense. Far from an expert, but packline defense seems more like a 'plug and play' proposition than whatever offense is employed, the latter being more inherently limited/enabled by individual talent/skills. All to say I imagine offense more than defense to be modeled on personnel.

Backcourt still a question - maybe Robert Phinisee pulls a Yogi and starts from day one, maybe Devonte's decision-making catches up to his speed/athleticism, maybe Durham makes an Oladipoesque leap from freshman to sophomore year. All three and the early return of DD 2.0 would be the 'perfect storm', just not a Crimson Storm - DII Southern Nazarene already called dibs.


Indiana: Romeo Langford won't solve all offensive flaws

We all know Archie Miller can coach. In 2014, he led Dayton, a blue-collar squad, to the Elite Eight. Langford's arrival closes the talent gap and changes expectations about the Hoosiers. Now, Miller has a squad that will be led by a player who might vie for the No. 1 slot in next summer's NBA draft.

Langford will join Juwan Morgan (16.5 PPG) and De'Ron Davis, who suffered a season-ending injury and missed the bulk of last season.

Is a team that lost to Rutgers in the first round of the Big Ten tournament worthy of a top-25 spot after adding a five-star phenom? Maybe. But the Hoosiers made just 32 percent of their 3-pointers and 66 percent of their free throws, major problems for an offensive unit that finished in the 90s in efficiency.

Langford is a star. He changes the dynamic of this program. The Hoosiers, however, might need some time to develop chemistry and commence the critical work on some of their glaring offensive challenges.

From: http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...op-25-indiana-hoosiers-ucla-bruins-looking-in

Just curious, do you think A. Miller is a small ball coach?

 

[ufo33]

Romeo shot a lot of 25ft+ 3ptrs last season. That likely brought his 3pt % down . I expect Romeo's 3pt % increases at IU over his HS mark. Romeo scores so easily that his points rack up in the flow of the game, you look up and he has over 40.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

Romeo shot 35% from three last year. I'll be ecstatic if he can do that for us next year.

No way, not disciplined enough. Just look at his hair.

 

[gulcherboy]

I think we struggle a bit in November/December as the team gets used to DeVonte and Romeo running the offense, and roles getting sorted. But we have the potential to be very good post January 1. Love our depth and scoring from many places on the floor. If Romeo is as good as we think he is, and Morgan (and Archie) keep developing, what’s not to like? This is a tournament team that could be extremely competitive.

I haven't set any "magic dates" in my mind but, I agree with you that this team will get better as the season goes along and by March, they could easily be a dangerous tourney team that no one wants to play.

 

[T.M.P.]

Just curious, do you think A. Miller is a small ball coach?

No, he coaches using the regulation sized basketball it would be silly to use a smaller ball.

 

[indy1203]

No, he coaches using the regulation sized basketball it would be silly to use a smaller ball.

10 thousand comedians out of work and you are trying
to be funny.

 

[T.M.P.]

10 thousand comedians out of work and you are trying
to be funny.

No he's not a small ball coach, he's versatile in his philosophy. We'll play with both small and big lineups this year, when one or the other is an advantage.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

10 thousand comedians out of work and you are trying
to be funny.

Well it is a misnomer. Imagine Coach Miller will work with what he has to put the best line-up on the Floor given circumstances, ever mindful that a shorter Team may be less effective employing packline D.

 

[indy1203]

Well it is a misnomer. Imagine Coach Miller will work with what he has to put the best line-up on the Floor given circumstances, ever mindful that a shorter Team may be less effective employing packline D.

Just thinking how IU was dominated by the Purdue
big men. There seems to be no answer in the
recruiting pattern.

 

[T.M.P.]

Just thinking how IU was dominated by the Purdue
big men. There seems to be no answer in the
recruiting pattern.

derp

 

[T.M.P.]

Well it is a misnomer. Imagine Coach Miller will work with what he has to put the best line-up on the Floor given circumstances, ever mindful that a shorter Team may be less effective employing packline D.

Small ball uses multi positional defenders in the 2/3/4 positions who tend to be tall and long. Only the post players are smaller than the standard lineup counterpart, no plodders. It would have no effect on the packline's effectiveness and lends well to it. If the matchup is effective.

 

[ItsMillerTime]

Small ball uses multi positional defenders in the 2/3/4 and 5 positions who tend to be tall and long. Only the post player are smaller than the standard lineup counterpart, no plodders. It would have no effect on the packline's effectiveness and lends well to it. If the matchup is effective.

Would 4 out/ 1 in offenses fall under the small ball umbrella?

 

[VanPastorMan]

Just curious, do you think A. Miller is a small ball coach?

I do not think so. He used Davis pretty good prior the injury. You actually saw the ball being passed down low.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

Small ball uses multi positional defenders in the 2/3/4 positions who tend to be tall and long. Only the post players are smaller than the standard lineup counterpart, no plodders. It would have no effect on the packline's effectiveness and lends well to it. If the matchup is effective.

Thanks for the lesson.

 

[T.M.P.]

Thanks for the lesson.

Didn't mean to lecture, just trying to inform.

 

[T.M.P.]

I do not think so. He used Davis pretty good prior the injury. You actually saw the ball being passed down low.

But you know nothing... so why do you post?

 

[T.M.P.]

Would 4 out/ 1 in offenses fall under the small ball umbrella?

Depends on who the one in is .. if it's Dray Green, yes. If it's Cousins, no.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

Didn't mean to lecture, just trying to inform.

I know. Your 'lecture' prose is also distinctive.

 

[mazz]

No he's not a small ball coach, he's versatile in his philosophy. We'll play with both small and big lineups this year, when one or the other is an advantage.

Agree, but I really believe he'll go with RL, Josh Smith, JM, and Fitzner alot. Fitzner can guard the 5 and he opens the floor on offense so much. Whomever is at Point and RL, JS, slashing to the hoop. JM in the post. I think this team is going to be much improved!!!!