Portal Kombat
- Thread starter Pryght
- Start date
They still have to “gel”. “I gotta get them to gel”. How many times did we hear that excuse last year?
You are so full of hate for CMW, NOTHING HE can do would please you.
I really hope we don’t hear that again. College bball, especially in this era, means every team has to get new players playing well together quickly (duh).
We have the chance to, which is good. But yes, we have to be competitive on their NIL and they need to be happy with how things are going in the court.
True. For example, if we underperform this year and Woody gets fired, then... Also, we're gonna lose some blue chip players of our own in the future, we're not immune to reality. Thus far though, our staff and NIL contributors, have done an excellent job in that department.
We had all kinds of issues last season. One of the primary issues was roster construction and lack of quality guards. I am not familiar enough with any of these new players. Regardless of "who" we bring in, they have to have a strong system to play in. TJD covered up a lot in Woody's first year. JHS and TJD were a great combo in year 2. But we still had a glaring need for shooters and a legit PG. In year 3, TJD and JHS were gone and we still did not address shooters and a PG. Now, year 4 is upon us. I am not overly confident we are significantly improved to the level that we expect IU to be. From where we have been, the bar is extremely low to improve. The gap from where we have been to where we want to be is vast. Call me skeptical that this coach and these players have the ability to fill that gap. We still don't have a pure shooter. We have young athletic guys who still aren't prolific shooters. I do believe that our best shooter is MM. If we have capable guards that can run the offense and not have two bigs constantly plugging the paint so we can space it out, the offense will be better. But again, the bar is so damn low and the gap is extremely wide to where we want / need to be. The past two seasons, even with TJD and JHS, our IU teams got bitch slapped by better teams in Kansas and AZ. Yes, we beat Purdue. That was great. But again, we need the talent and we need a great system and we need a coach that can get the players to buy into and execute the system. Huge question marks for me.
Edit: related to coach getting them to buy in is these players coming with a mindset to compete and get better and win championships and get paid doing it, or operate with a mindset to simply get paid and if they win then that’s a bonus.
Last edited:
You're both right, Woodson is a liability. Yet, as we saw with Mike Davis, if you surround a coach with enough good players, they can compensate for their coach's deficiencies. Also, as a fan, there's really only two times we can be happy: (1) When we win & (2) When we are hopeful that we will win. Enjoy the ride we've been on this April, it's been fun.
To your point though, Woody does need to change. I wish he would do what Hurley did, have one of his assistants binge watch Euro Leagues and steal their offensive sets. Maybe assign Brian Walsh as our new Offensive Coordinator and put Jordy in charge of Analytics. Between the two, I'm sure they could develop a style of basketball that we would all enjoy watching.
There is far more proven talent on the roster than last season. Six high major players who averaged double figures in scoring and a top 20 recruit will all see significant playing time this coming season. This is the best roster Woodson has had so far.
...and took an obvious underachieving talent and turned him into a 1st round product...in 1 year...
Excellent ideas but Woodson isn’t changing one thing. The only thing he learned from Knight is “my way and f off if you don’t like it”. Big problem is Woodson isn’t Knight and he has no ability to coach College Basketball.
I get sick of you and others saying IU fans that don’t think Woodson is the guy to coach IU, hate him.
I don’t hate him. I think he’s not been a good coach the last three years. When he said I wasn’t a “real fan”, I’ll be the first to admit he pissed me off.
He better win big this year. If you want to know what “win big” means for me, see my answer to Org.
I don't think we knew Newton would be out all year, nor that X would suffer such a catastrophic injury that it made his year virtually worthless.
It made me happy as hell. Last game I'll ever get to watch my Dad was the Mackey smackdown JHS put on them. I'll remember that game fondly for the rest of my days. Not sure if Woody and crew hoodwinked Painter, but it was very enjoyable. This year? Not so much.
For as much blame as Woodson got for everything that went wrong this year, I'll give him credit for the Purdue sweep last year.
I will too. Most obviously will. But those of us at a certain age have slightly higher goals than simply sweeping little brother. We saw it with our own eyes and know it can be done again.
I did not say it was or was not the best roster he’s had. I am specifically referring to a balanced roster with a scoring threat. More specifically, having a system, a team that plays into and executes a system including guards who can make shots and a coach that can make it all work. This season will be the most telling of all. IMO.
I agree, which is why Woody needs ridiculously high talent to compensate for his low coaching ceiling.
It really makes me wonder if the money behind all this didn't tell Woody to "get whoever you want and we'll back you" thereby throwing down the gauntlet of expectations for this season. Put up or shut up Woody.
Agreed, I remember all three of Knight's titles. I'm not quite so optimistic; I think it's harder now than it was then, and I would not be surprised if IU doesn't win another one in my lifetime, but it would be great if they did.
As NIL wages continue to increase, many teams will be unable to keep pace. Other teams, like us (hopefully), will be among those who can. Though cringe as F***, I think this bodes well for IU fans. Pay to win.
My thoughts exactly. Seems like it should be much easier now than during the Knight era. Of course the great equalizer is (and always will be) coaching ability.
The rules have changed also. RMK didn't have a shot clock or a three-point line in 76 or 81, and I think it was still 45 seconds in 87. In that era if Knight got a decent lead it was game over, he'd just run the clock and make you foul.
Today you don't have long to set up your offense. Knight's classic motion just doesn't work. And you must have players who can hit from deep, the three point shot can swing the score in a few posessions.
What is it about Knight's motion offense that wouldn't work? Interesting read on UCONN's motion offense.
Let's get Liam to rethink his decision and come back--he could get the ball into Oumar B.and pretend he's Derik Queen!
Wouldn’t that be a kick in the acorns! Woody should call and introduce himself. Tell him he’ll double his earlier offer. Surely he’s got a stack or two left.
We have discussed the crap out of this. UM will only transfer up to sophomore credits or take graduate transfers. So you can transfer but you lose most of your major. It’s policy not grades. Dusty has an uphill battle getting some players.
Stanford transfer gave his credits up.
Lineman finding place at Michigan despite Stanford credits not transferring
After years watching his brother play for Michigan football, transfer Myles Hinton got his chance
Michigan is a top 5 Public College in America. Globally, top 20. One of the country's best research institutions.
Similar threads
