Peegs Podcast: Troy leaves, James returns: What it means
- Thread starter KBikoff
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I understand your reasoning and optimism. IU did also lose four of its top seven scorers, three of its five leading rebounders, its top assist man, its best defender, and three of its top 3-point shooters. I feel like people keep overlooking that. But I certainly understand the optimism. On paper, you would hope they would be contenders.
Slow wayyyyy down there chief. Why would you think we will be a top ten contender? We lost Zeisloft, Yogi, Troy, and Max. Top 25 and top 6 in the Big Ten Yes! Top 10 No! Sorry to break it to u.
I would say we will compete for the big ten championship with UW and MSU and should be a top 10 team. I was basing all of this on that Williams was not returning so today did not change anything for me.
Oh yee if little Faith... Yes we lost some... Irreplaceable would be Yogi... The rest Not so much.. Just look at what we have returning and coming in. Big 10 Contenders... Most definitely ... Elite 8 possible .... Final 4.... Let's hope so ... But they will be good and tested early... So we'll just have to wait and see how good...
Lost Top Defender? Gonna have to respectfully disagree with that Ken. OG and RoJo are the two best defenders imo.
You are spot on. And consider how much Nick, Yogi, and Max could extend the D.
We return a lot, but there are huge holes left by the departure of these young men
He very well could be. Microfracture surgery is no joke, though, and there are going to have to be a lot of new people being asked to play new roles. Next year's team has plenty of potential, but there are a lot of questions to be answered, too.
I listened to the podcast and rabby seemed pretty high on next year's team.They should be the favorite to win the btt imo.
Has anybody heard of people stepping up and answering the challenge of the graduate's playing time? Yogi will be missed but JBJ is a much better shooter. RoJo will be a pleasant surprise either at the 2 or point and Newkirk can get the ball to Bryant, OG, Morgan and Davis. Without the me first erratic play of Williams the whole TEAM improves immeasurably. Plus CTC has added an entire roster of supplemental role players. This year's team will be special. Scott is spot on!
You're supposed to lose good players every year if the roster is balanced and the players develop as they get older. What you say above should be said every year. It's cliche, but teams should reload every year, not have to rebuild.
No offense to them but TW was a turn over machine and Nick was as bad as JBJ on D.
Addition by subtraction
Very astute. I think this team can be good and possibly contend for the Big Ten championship, but the losses are huge and the questions are many. The offense will have potential, but losing a 4 year starter at PG is very difficult to replace. And, as always, solid, consistent defense has been an elusive commodity.
Yogi will be tough to replace for sure. But Troy and Max should be replaced by OG, JM, and Davis and TB should be better this year as well. Having JBJ back will more than make up for losing NZ, especially when he focuses on improving his defense. The key is going to be how good our PG play is. We should be as good as last year, and we have the potential to be better.
I agree, this team should be at least as good, if not better. Doesn't mean we will win the B1G, but we should compete for the title and a high seed in the NCAA. No reason we should fall off much.
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Let's hope the NBA told James to work on his D. Good Troy was a game changer. I will miss some of his highlight plays. Good luck to the lad.
I am not that upset with Williams leaving because he just drove me crazy with his out of control plays
You got it. This is a legit top 10 team and maybe even top 5 team.
Bad Troy was a game changer as well. Just not the type you would prefer...
I believe they could struggle a little a little bit at the beginning of the year until roles are defined. We have the players to replace almost everything that was lost, but just have to define roles first to do it. I also believe once this takes place, we could easily be a better team than we were last year.
Yes for sure better then last year. This team is flat out loaded. I expect jbj to come back better then ever.
Yogi is the big loss from last season.
After Blackmon was out for the season with an injury, Yogi seemed to be more comfortable being the man in charge with the ball in his hands.
PG will be by committee, Newkirk, ROJO, CUJO, Green, JBJ
Zeisloft and Yogi were great 3pt shooters, but a healthy JBJ will be back to replace a lot of the scoring lost from last season. I look for JBJ to be IU's leading scorer next season. Robert Johnson, Hartman, and Newkirk should be veteran steady, CUJO and Green add intriguing athleticism and scoring to the IU backcourt.
The IU front line will be solid and longer with a Sophomore Bryant, Freshman DeRon, Sophomore OG, Sophomore healthy Morgan, Transfer McSwain, and Senior Hartman. I look for DeRon to do big things his Freshman year, he could be an impact player in the B1G with similar skills to Bryant. And I look for OG to take off right where he left off with his ultra athletic plays defensively and offensively.Morgan to continue his improvement as he should be fully healthy in an IU uniform. McSwain to gain experience in the B1G and add his high flying athleticism to IU's front court and wing players.
Troy's biggest issue as a Junior was his continued poor decision making with the ball in his hands resulting in a low percentage drive directly into traffic or a full high speed sprint that ended in either a spectacular dunk or a high degree of difficulty shot that many times resulted in a turnover or missed shot that led to an easy basket on the other end. And his lack of consistent perimeter scoring will be replaced by wing players who will be less flashy, but more consistent, with higher percentage plays with the ball, and better defensively.
I loved the spectacular plays by Troy, but after 3 years he still looked for the over aggressive spectacular play over the fundamental, steady play that was not as aggressive but would have resulted in a higher percentage shot, and not resulted in an unforced turnover and easy points for the other team.
From CBS Sports during the NBA Combine Scrimmages:
Troy Williams | SF | Indiana
Instead of trying to show scouts he can play within an offense and make good decisions, Williams was his wildly unpredictable self. He was out on the floor chucking shots with abandon, not particularly looking for teammates and generally tried to do too much. He also didn't test at the elite level athletically many around the league anticipated and has relatively short arms.
There's definitely a player within his package of skills but he must get his more wild tendencies under control. But right now, it's tough to see a team investing a draft pick in him.
After Blackmon was out for the season with an injury, Yogi seemed to be more comfortable being the man in charge with the ball in his hands.
PG will be by committee, Newkirk, ROJO, CUJO, Green, JBJ
Zeisloft and Yogi were great 3pt shooters, but a healthy JBJ will be back to replace a lot of the scoring lost from last season. I look for JBJ to be IU's leading scorer next season. Robert Johnson, Hartman, and Newkirk should be veteran steady, CUJO and Green add intriguing athleticism and scoring to the IU backcourt.
The IU front line will be solid and longer with a Sophomore Bryant, Freshman DeRon, Sophomore OG, Sophomore healthy Morgan, Transfer McSwain, and Senior Hartman. I look for DeRon to do big things his Freshman year, he could be an impact player in the B1G with similar skills to Bryant. And I look for OG to take off right where he left off with his ultra athletic plays defensively and offensively.Morgan to continue his improvement as he should be fully healthy in an IU uniform. McSwain to gain experience in the B1G and add his high flying athleticism to IU's front court and wing players.
Troy's biggest issue as a Junior was his continued poor decision making with the ball in his hands resulting in a low percentage drive directly into traffic or a full high speed sprint that ended in either a spectacular dunk or a high degree of difficulty shot that many times resulted in a turnover or missed shot that led to an easy basket on the other end. And his lack of consistent perimeter scoring will be replaced by wing players who will be less flashy, but more consistent, with higher percentage plays with the ball, and better defensively.
I loved the spectacular plays by Troy, but after 3 years he still looked for the over aggressive spectacular play over the fundamental, steady play that was not as aggressive but would have resulted in a higher percentage shot, and not resulted in an unforced turnover and easy points for the other team.
From CBS Sports during the NBA Combine Scrimmages:
Troy Williams | SF | Indiana
Instead of trying to show scouts he can play within an offense and make good decisions, Williams was his wildly unpredictable self. He was out on the floor chucking shots with abandon, not particularly looking for teammates and generally tried to do too much. He also didn't test at the elite level athletically many around the league anticipated and has relatively short arms.
There's definitely a player within his package of skills but he must get his more wild tendencies under control. But right now, it's tough to see a team investing a draft pick in him.
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I've maintained all off-season that this teams success will depend largely on how good Newkirk is. All the other pieces are there. Thomas should be one of the best bigs in the country next year. Assuming a full recovery, James should be one of the best shooters in the country. Robert and Colin are rocks, who bring a load of experience. OG should step well into a larger role, like the one he took on at the end of last season. All of this could be derailed if we don't have someone to run the point effectively. I love Robert at the 2-guard and I think he did a great job spelling Yogi when needed last year, but the idea of him taking on lead guard responsibilities in any significant role is dubious. He doesn't have to be Yogi, but he has to be able to distribute just as effectively.
I believe newkirks father said he will be able to step right in an fill yogi's shoes. I like the sounds of that.
Bryant
DeRon
OG
JBJ
Newkirk / RoJo / CUJO
Morgan
Hartman
McSwain
CUJO
Green
IU is loaded!
DeRon has the skillset to be an immediate impact player in the B1G
Start both Bryant and DeRon and be big on the boards like North Carolina, if one gets in foul trouble slide the other into the post.
OG is a stud!
JBJ will be IU's leading scorer.
CUJO and Green could also be a big surprise and make IU very deep at guard.
A healthy Hartman and Morgan make IU very deep.
Morgan is going to finally show what he can do!
OG and Morgan play D!
Bryant and DeRon together as rim protectors, and rebounders is absolutely scary, a Tolbert and Turner combo if Crean plays them together!
DeRon
OG
JBJ
Newkirk / RoJo / CUJO
Morgan
Hartman
McSwain
CUJO
Green
IU is loaded!
DeRon has the skillset to be an immediate impact player in the B1G
Start both Bryant and DeRon and be big on the boards like North Carolina, if one gets in foul trouble slide the other into the post.
OG is a stud!
JBJ will be IU's leading scorer.
CUJO and Green could also be a big surprise and make IU very deep at guard.
A healthy Hartman and Morgan make IU very deep.
Morgan is going to finally show what he can do!
OG and Morgan play D!
Bryant and DeRon together as rim protectors, and rebounders is absolutely scary, a Tolbert and Turner combo if Crean plays them together!
I think this team is no where near as good as 2013. Nonetheless, I think there are enough pieces to get back to the NCAAs and finish top half of the Big Ten --- but only if everyone stays healthy.
Just as a comparison to 2013:
PG: Yogi Ferrell > Rob Johnson/Josh Newkirk
SG: Jordan Hulls = James Blackmon Jr. (Hulls a slightly better shooter and a much better ball handler, Blackmon with a height advantage, but neither plays defense.)
WG: Victor Oladipo >> Collin Hartman (I love Hartman, but ... )
PF: Christian Watford > Og Anunoby/Deron Davis (This could be close if Anunoby remains on his trajectory...very different players...Watford was a great shooter and scorer ... i.e. 29 against UK in the tournament. But Anunoby has athleticism and defense superior to Wat.)
C: Cody Zeller > Tom Bryant (This could be close also if Bryant remains on his trajectory. Cody was more skilled overall, but Bryant plays with incredible passion. He also dares to step out and shoot a jumper which Zeller for some reason never did. But Bryant needs to get into much better shape to be on par with Bryant.)
Just as a comparison to 2013:
PG: Yogi Ferrell > Rob Johnson/Josh Newkirk
SG: Jordan Hulls = James Blackmon Jr. (Hulls a slightly better shooter and a much better ball handler, Blackmon with a height advantage, but neither plays defense.)
WG: Victor Oladipo >> Collin Hartman (I love Hartman, but ... )
PF: Christian Watford > Og Anunoby/Deron Davis (This could be close if Anunoby remains on his trajectory...very different players...Watford was a great shooter and scorer ... i.e. 29 against UK in the tournament. But Anunoby has athleticism and defense superior to Wat.)
C: Cody Zeller > Tom Bryant (This could be close also if Bryant remains on his trajectory. Cody was more skilled overall, but Bryant plays with incredible passion. He also dares to step out and shoot a jumper which Zeller for some reason never did. But Bryant needs to get into much better shape to be on par with Bryant.)
This team is,going to have three NBA first
round drat picks on it and OG of
has the potential to be an all American if he keeps progressing. This us a top two big ten team period despite what some say.
?3 NBA first round draft picks???? Maybe one. (Bryant.) And maybe 2 late second rounders (Og if he progresses and Blackmon if he learns how to play defense.)
Won't be as good as last year either. People are vastly underestimating the loss of Max Bielfeldt and Nick Zeisloft, in addition to the loss of our 2 top players.
Some are saying our front court is sick with talent
