I guess he does not realize that we can actually see through his post and see what they are really are.
Peegs Podcast: Troy leaves, James returns: What it means
- Thread starter KBikoff
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Fairly good assessment but I do disagree on a couple of points.
Yogi definitely will end up being the better player than RJ but in terms of production his freshman year Yogi was not all that stellar. RJ's numbers last year were already similar to YF's freshman year so I have to believe RJ will put up better numbers on next years team than YF did on the 2013 team. Not to mention RJ is already a seasoned veteran so you will get a leadership role from him next year that Yogi lacked in his freshman, and sophomore, campaign.
Also, I don't think Hulls and JBJ are a wash. The edge definitely goes to JBJ. Again, JBJ had numbers his freshman year that mirrored or passed Hulls his senior year. JBJ should be much better if healthy. JBJ is a pure scorer as well where Hulls was not though he could score when needed.
Agree with the rest of your assessment though.
L
We are Vastly better then last year. Point guard is the only spot we take a step back.
Let's be honest, did anyone think those two would contribute like they did?
We are Vastly better then last year. Point guard is the only spot we take a step back.
Whether it was expected it or not doesn't matter when evaluating what you lost. Unexpected production counts the same as the expected
Point guard and outside shooting are where we are taking the steps back
Bench play is also a possible step back, depends on the frosh
You think our bench takes a step back?? We could beat a few big ten teams with just our bench, next year.
I said a possible set back...it depends on the freshman. People underestimate Max's contribution, and moving OG into the starting line up weakens the bench by default.
I love me some NZ, but he was a system player. Bielfeldt was a tough gritty senior, but our front court is still better this year.
Things we lost that can't be replaced.
1. Yogi....
2. Troy's first step. Troy almost always had the quickest blow by on the court.
3. NZ and Bielfeldt' senior leadership, but not necessarily their on court skills.
How we can lesson those losses.
1. RJ and Newkirk combined do a serviceable job at point.
2. Troy's first step cannot be duplicated, by anyone on the team, exept maybe Mcswain.
3. Newkirk, to provide locker room and on court leadership.
1. Yogi....
2. Troy's first step. Troy almost always had the quickest blow by on the court.
3. NZ and Bielfeldt' senior leadership, but not necessarily their on court skills.
How we can lesson those losses.
1. RJ and Newkirk combined do a serviceable job at point.
2. Troy's first step cannot be duplicated, by anyone on the team, exept maybe Mcswain.
3. Newkirk, to provide locker room and on court leadership.
I think Hartman could have a special senior year also, if healthy. He could really fill the leadership/scoring void from the loss of Bielfeldt, in addition to the things he already does well.
Agreed. I'd also say RJ should help fill the leadership role as well. He's been on a down team (14'-15') and an up team (15'16) so he's seen a lot. He won't be an on-court general but he should certainly be a solid leader on the team.
This very well could be his best IU team ever. Why wouldn't it be? We are better than last year. This team vs 2013 is about even in my book. What other years would be better than 2017??
If we don't get good pg play 2017 will likely be his 4th best team at IU. Right now we are hoping that pg is on the team, but it's a huge ?
RJ needs to cut down on his turnover rate, which was higher than TWs
JN needs to recover from a normally devastating surgery and take a huge leap forward from where he was at Pitt
I have more confidence in RJ
I agree that point guard play will be critical. It could potentially be this teams weakness. Ask yourself this, would you rather have Freshman yogi or both this years RJ and Newkirk. I just don't see any of Crean's other teams, that have this level of talent and experience. Except Vic.....Vic trumps everybody, LOL.
Yogi as a Frosh played with four 1000 point scorers plus Sheehey off the bench on a team that was ranked number 1 for a lot of the year and was a number 1 seed. I'm not making a case either way but I think you might have to overlook his production that year especially in the scoring dept. He just wasn't relied on much for the scoring. The rest of his game was really solid. He still played 28 minutes per game on a top 5 team in the country and averaged 4 ast per game.
For what the team needed that was Yogis second best season. If we have a guy that can guard like he did that year, along with run the team...we will be fine
Zeller over TB
CWat over Colin
VO over OG
JBjr over Hulls
Yogi equal RB
The bench is probably going to 17
I agree with this for the most part.
I think TB and Zeller may be closer to equal. Definitely Wat over Hartman. Vic over OG, But if OG can be even close to Vic, It's a bonus. JBJ over Hulls. I give RJ the nod over fresh Yogi.
I think we're just splitting hairs here. 2017 is not significantly more or less talented then 2013. I am of the opinion that 13 was a title contender. So if 17 is just as good, it should be a fun year. We may also have a group that values defense for A change.
You could be right. By any definition this is a talented team. Which puts pressure on Crean. No excuses, this year. It's make or break time.
There's something we all may be overlooking -- is it possible the coach of the 2017 team is going to be better than the coach of the 2013 team? What do you think the last three years have taught him?
Maybe. If we can play some D like last year I'll say your right. Would we have been as good on D if JBJ didn't get hurt?? I will say this in Creans favor, he did sit Troy more often last year. Maybe he is improving as a coach. I'll need to see it two years in a row first.
nobody has any idea who will be the starting or backup PG , let alone replace yogi, and it could be the best team ever!!
Ayup. I'm far from won over, but last year showed me it's possible for a CTC coached team to play halfway decent defense, that he'll use the bench as a motivator if necessary, and that his substitution patterns can actually make sense in the flow of the game. Word was he also backed off in practice later in the season, and they did seem to be more energetic than in years past.
I'm of the opinion that this season could be the best we've had in the Crean era. Lots of things have to go right, but none of them are far fetched and all of them should be expected of a top tier program. Most of them are the direct responsibility of the coach. If we're a top tier program with a top tier coach, last year needs to be built upon and bettered. If we take a step back, then what little benefit of the doubt I've given to Crean will be gone.
I get what you're saying and it's a valid point, however RJs position on the team last year wasn't all that dissimilar to Yogis position his freshman year, and they still put up similar numbers. Without the personnel around him I'm sure Yogi would have put up higher scoring numbers but his assists would have gone down and his 3pt shooting wasn't anything to write home about. In fact, I'd contend that if Yogi didn't have those players around him he may not have played as well as he did being a freshman and all. That was a ton of leadership and experience around him which he benefited from and helped him grow quickly.
My point is I expect, or at least hope, RJ will produce all around better numbers on next years team than Yogi did on the 12'-13' team as RJ has already put up similar numbers in a similar role (YF, TW, TB main focus on last years team). RJ also gets the benefit of two years experience going into his role which Yogi did not have.
Crean's best team ever. It just has to be better then 12,13,16.
That's three years, an elite 8 would make it his best IU team Ever.
