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Race and Jerome playing like their rankings

Cavanagh

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Mar 1, 2012
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Other than DD, Jerome and Race were the most highly ranked guys coming into IU (obviously excluding TJD.) Both of them have a new found Cawnnnnfidence about them and are playing some great minutes.

Jerome is wanting to put it up if he has any daylight from beyond the arc, stays ready and I love it. I said a few months back I just want him to shoot 10 a game until he starts hitting. His mechanics look like an NBA sniper, he just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He is gonna be a great three point shooter at IU, little better more athletic version of Cwat is what I predict.

Race is our junkyard dog. He is our Kyle Young. Gonna be that guy that has to try harder than everyone else to stay on the floor. He will have a game where he is bleeding all over the court cuz he caught an elbow in the face. Great knack for getting rebounds and strong enough to bang with the big ten, we desperately needed a guy like him.

We are going dancing, the only question now is what seed and can we actually win a game or two in the B1G tourney. I'm excited for March, god it feels good, been awhile!
 
Other than DD, Jerome and Race were the most highly ranked guys coming into IU (obviously excluding TJD.) Both of them have a new found Cawnnnnfidence about them and are playing some great minutes.

Jerome is wanting to put it up if he has any daylight from beyond the arc, stays ready and I love it. I said a few months back I just want him to shoot 10 a game until he starts hitting. His mechanics look like an NBA sniper, he just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He is gonna be a great three point shooter at IU, little better more athletic version of Cwat is what I predict.

Race is our junkyard dog. He is our Kyle Young. Gonna be that guy that has to try harder than everyone else to stay on the floor. He will have a game where he is bleeding all over the court cuz he caught an elbow in the face. Great knack for getting rebounds and strong enough to bang with the big ten, we desperately needed a guy like him.

We are going dancing, the only question now is what seed and can we actually win a game or two in the B1G tourney. I'm excited for March, god it feels good, been awhile!
I thought Race was a 3* recruit.
 
Other than DD, Jerome and Race were the most highly ranked guys coming into IU (obviously excluding TJD.) Both of them have a new found Cawnnnnfidence about them and are playing some great minutes.

Jerome is wanting to put it up if he has any daylight from beyond the arc, stays ready and I love it. I said a few months back I just want him to shoot 10 a game until he starts hitting. His mechanics look like an NBA sniper, he just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He is gonna be a great three point shooter at IU, little better more athletic version of Cwat is what I predict.

Race is our junkyard dog. He is our Kyle Young. Gonna be that guy that has to try harder than everyone else to stay on the floor. He will have a game where he is bleeding all over the court cuz he caught an elbow in the face. Great knack for getting rebounds and strong enough to bang with the big ten, we desperately needed a guy like him.

We are going dancing, the only question now is what seed and can we actually win a game or two in the B1G tourney. I'm excited for March, god it feels good, been awhile!
I wouldn’t say Hunter's playing like a top 40 recruit yet. He has shown flashes but I think next year he will play more to his rankings.
 
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I wouldn’t say Hunter's playing like a top 40 recruit yet. He has shown flashes but I think next year he will play more to his rankings.

#52 rivals. This is his freshmen year, I would not expect anything more from a player like that. Rob Johnson was ranked higher for example.
 
Other than DD, Jerome and Race were the most highly ranked guys coming into IU (obviously excluding TJD.) Both of them have a new found Cawnnnnfidence about them and are playing some great minutes.

Jerome is wanting to put it up if he has any daylight from beyond the arc, stays ready and I love it. I said a few months back I just want him to shoot 10 a game until he starts hitting. His mechanics look like an NBA sniper, he just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He is gonna be a great three point shooter at IU, little better more athletic version of Cwat is what I predict.

Race is our junkyard dog. He is our Kyle Young. Gonna be that guy that has to try harder than everyone else to stay on the floor. He will have a game where he is bleeding all over the court cuz he caught an elbow in the face. Great knack for getting rebounds and strong enough to bang with the big ten, we desperately needed a guy like him.

We are going dancing, the only question now is what seed and can we actually win a game or two in the B1G tourney. I'm excited for March, god it feels good, been awhile!
I say again: four key players on this team suffered severe injuries last season, missed some games earlier this season and are just now looking like they may be almost fully recovered. They are Robert Phinisee, Deron Davis, Race Thompson and Jerome Hunter. In addition, Green also missed several games this year with an injury and seems to be recovered now, so add him to the same list.

We aren't worldbeaters yet, but the seeming improvement in our recent effort might be due to our recovery from injuries and the corresponding increase in the ability to practice hard with a full team. I think Thompson, Hunter and Davis illustrate this point best among the five names I mentioned.
 
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I say again: four key players on this team suffered severe injuries last season, missed some games earlier this season and are just now looking like they may be almost fully recovered. They are Robert Phinisee, Deron Davis, Race Thompson and Jerome Hunter. In addition, Green also missed several games this year with an injury and seems to be recovered now, so add him to the same list.

We aren't worldbeaters yet, but the seeming improvement in our recent effort might be due to our recovery from injuries and the corresponding increase in the ability to practice hard with a full team. I think Thompson, Hunter and Davis illustrate this point best among the five names I mentioned.

I agree. I touched on it in a different post that Davis looks as nimble on his feet as I've ever seen him. I think he might have played himself in shape during this season.

If Rob could upgrade his play from what we have seen him show, this is a top 15 team. Unfortunately he is still playing poor IMO. Not at the level he was before his concussion last year, certainly not close to better.
 
I say again: four key players on this team suffered severe injuries last season, missed some games earlier this season and are just now looking like they may be almost fully recovered. They are Robert Phinisee, Deron Davis, Race Thompson and Jerome Hunter. In addition, Green also missed several games this year with an injury and seems to be recovered now, so add him to the same list.

We aren't worldbeaters yet, but the seeming improvement in our recent effort might be due to our recovery from injuries and the corresponding increase in the ability to practice hard with a full team. I think Thompson, Hunter and Davis illustrate this point best among the five names I mentioned.

I think it's due to pulling way back on the overhedging from the post (I wouldn't be surprised one bit if players were bitching about this) as we have gone 'flatter' on our hedges since Michigan.

Archie made a comment that the players were more confident in our defense. That makes me wonder if some guys bitched about it like we did on these boards???

Mainly I give it to Race who has given the team a needed shot of energy that has rubbed off on TJD and Smith.

We went from having two big liabilities on D with Brunk and Durham to only one in Durham. Not only did we eliminate a very poor defender, we replaced him with one that has been Zack McRoberts level of a defender in a 6'8" 240 pound body.

TJD, Race, Smith and Rob are 4 of our best defenders.

Race was +21 vs Minnesota and +13 vs Penn State.
 
I think it's due to pulling way back on the overhedging from the post (I wouldn't be surprised one bit if players were bitching about this) as we have gone 'flatter' on our hedges since Michigan.

Archie made a comment that the players were more confident in our defense. That makes me wonder if some guys bitched about it like we did on these boards???

Mainly I give it to Race who has given the team a needed shot of energy that has rubbed off on TJD and Smith.

We went from having two big liabilities on D with Brunk and Durham to only one in Durham. Not only did we eliminate a very poor defender, we replaced him with one that has been Zack McRoberts level of a defender in a 6'8" 240 pound body.

TJD, Race, Smith and Rob are 4 of our best defenders.

Race was +21 vs Minnesota and +13 vs Penn State.

Al played good d for him yesterday, can’t say he looked like John Stockton on offense tho. My lawwwwwwd.
 
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Al played good d for him yesterday, can’t say he looked like John Stockton on offense tho. My lawwwwwwd.

Al has terrible body language. I hate how he's always hanging his head and slumping his shoulders after every bad play (and yesterday there were way too many of them). I was screaming at the TV to get Phinisee back in the game when we had Green and Durham in there in the last 6 minutes of that game. I had to do a double take when I saw a headline that Durham and TJD led us to a win yesterday, but Al did indeed lead us in scoring.... and TOs. Anyway, I like Al for what he is, but I also think he can improve his play just by being more positive and owning his mistakes and moving on when they occur. Quit slumping, dragging and falling around. You're a captain for goodness sake; act like it!
 
Al has terrible body language. I hate how he's always hanging his head and slumping his shoulders after every bad play (and yesterday there were way too many of them). I was screaming at the TV to get Phinisee back in the game when we had Green and Durham in there in the last 6 minutes of that game. I had to do a double take when I saw a headline that Durham and TJD led us to a win yesterday, but Al did indeed lead us in scoring.... and TOs. Anyway, I like Al for what he is, but I also think he can improve his play just by being more positive and owning his mistakes and moving on when they occur. Quit slumping, dragging and falling around. You're a captain for goodness sake; act like it!
I love Al's energy, and he is a lean fit guy, but he is lacking in body mass and gets pushed around (and down to the floor) often in B1G play. And...between some of the passes that He (and Devonte) tries....a couple of those Durham passes late in the game yesterday would have earned him permanent 'dog house' status with a previous administration. He'd be riding home on the cheerleader bus with Winston Morgan (another old guy reference...if anyone remembers...)
 
I wouldn’t say Hunter's playing like a top 40 recruit yet. He has shown flashes but I think next year he will play more to his rankings.
I agree, but Jerome is getting better. He is moving better and appears more sturdy. His injury really set him back. I hope he continues to improve and to have confidence. Hitting that 3 yesterday was big because of the timing of it. He helped IU get back.
 
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I love Al's energy, and he is a lean fit guy, but he is lacking in body mass and gets pushed around (and down to the floor) often in B1G play. And...between some of the passes that He (and Devonte) tries....a couple of those Durham passes late in the game yesterday would have earned him permanent 'dog house' status with a previous administration. He'd be riding home on the cheerleader bus with Winston Morgan (another old guy reference...if anyone remembers...)
Green made quick moves then stopped faking out Al on the one lob pass out of bounds. I would have benched them both.
 
I love Al's energy, and he is a lean fit guy, but he is lacking in body mass and gets pushed around (and down to the floor) often in B1G play. And...between some of the passes that He (and Devonte) tries....a couple of those Durham passes late in the game yesterday would have earned him permanent 'dog house' status with a previous administration. He'd be riding home on the cheerleader bus with Winston Morgan (another old guy reference...if anyone remembers...)

Hey, I'd love it if we had such talented players that Al didn't see many minutes, but obviously that's not the case this year and I doubt will be next year. The good news is that I think some of the things that would help Al are actually attainable. The first being a new attitude and to own your mistakes and quit hanging your head and dragging your feet when things go bad. Secondly, he's got to improve his lower body strength, balance and flexibility. It's not like saying he's not athletic enough, or is just an awful shooter and needs to become a great shooter. Those are things that he should be able to make strides on over the summer. I've said on here many times, if he hasn't been, he should be committed to doing yoga a few times a week.

I do like what I see out of Franklin and maybe one of next years recruits comes in and sets the world on fire, but for us to take a step in getting better, there's no doubt we need better guard play whether that's Al or someone else.
 
Green made quick moves then stopped faking out Al on the one lob pass out of bounds. I would have benched them both.

That is all on Al who should of taken the shot. I think the shot clock was around 5. A lob pass to another guard in the corner who had a defender on him reeks of not knowing the shot clock situation. Very doubtful Green could of done anything useful with ball had he caught it. He was probably think Al should shoot it also and was going to try for the rebound.
 
the bounce pass from Al to Race on the fast break....just don't know what to say....threw it 3 feet behind him. Not sure how you miss that badly on a short range bounce pass...that's the 3 on 2/2 on 1 fast break drill we teach middle school kids. Between the passes and missed FTs, we did our best to keep PSU in the game late.
 
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Other than DD, Jerome and Race were the most highly ranked guys coming into IU (obviously excluding TJD.) Both of them have a new found Cawnnnnfidence about them and are playing some great minutes.

Jerome is wanting to put it up if he has any daylight from beyond the arc, stays ready and I love it. I said a few months back I just want him to shoot 10 a game until he starts hitting. His mechanics look like an NBA sniper, he just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He is gonna be a great three point shooter at IU, little better more athletic version of Cwat is what I predict.

Race is our junkyard dog. He is our Kyle Young. Gonna be that guy that has to try harder than everyone else to stay on the floor. He will have a game where he is bleeding all over the court cuz he caught an elbow in the face. Great knack for getting rebounds and strong enough to bang with the big ten, we desperately needed a guy like him.

We are going dancing, the only question now is what seed and can we actually win a game or two in the B1G tourney. I'm excited for March, god it feels good, been awhile!
No offense but hunter is not playing like a top 50 recruit. He is currently a nice role player.
 
No offense but hunter is not playing like a top 50 recruit. He is currently a nice role player.
agree, Hunter is slowly coming along...stress on 'slowly'. Race has made some huge strides recently. I love how he plays high energy yet seems to remain under control. His future at IU looks very solid. That spin move he pulled on Stevens yesterday had Daryl Thomas written all over it.
 
Al has terrible body language. I hate how he's always hanging his head and slumping his shoulders after every bad play (and yesterday there were way too many of them). I was screaming at the TV to get Phinisee back in the game when we had Green and Durham in there in the last 6 minutes of that game. I had to do a double take when I saw a headline that Durham and TJD led us to a win yesterday, but Al did indeed lead us in scoring.... and TOs. Anyway, I like Al for what he is, but I also think he can improve his play just by being more positive and owning his mistakes and moving on when they occur. Quit slumping, dragging and falling around. You're a captain for goodness sake; act like it!
Very good analysis of Al. He seems like a player who doesn't recognize his limitations. The falling down, passes to no one, and just plain bad passes. If he didn't try to do too much he'd be a bigger asset to the team. I like Al. He's got fight in him and is a warrior.
 
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Hunter should be scoring a bunch more .imo.
Like avg 8-10.
But ..Honestly just glad he's playing again.
He has alot of potential..
I saw him in high school..
LIke others here..Think we'll see it more next year.
 
I don’t believe he was ranked that high. 97 yes to 135, can’t find a 70s ranking
https://247sports.com/PlayerSport/Race-Thompson-at-Robbinsdale-Armstrong-182394/RecruitRankHistory/

You're looking at the composite history. If you click on Top247, you'll see that 247's in-house ranking had Race at #76 in July of 2017. No telling what may have happened had he not reclassified. Maybe he would have slid some, but I typically think of the reclass guys as on the upswing.
 
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Our freshman and sophomores will be really good next season.

I don’t know what to say about Durham. I feel like he should work ridiculously hard on his 3 pt shooting and just become a guy next season that hit spot up 3s. He is not an explosive guard at all.
 
Very good analysis of Al. He seems like a player who doesn't recognize his limitations. The following down, passes to no one, and just plain bad passes. If he didn't try to do too much he'd be a bigger asset to the team. I like Al. He's got fight in him and is a warrior.

I don't even know if it's doing too much. Just does a lot of things that he should recognize and stop himself from doing. The lob to the corner for Green??? What was Green going to do catching the ball moving towards the corner with the shot clock winding down? Looked like a fade route for a TD in the corner, but not a bball play. And then the bounce pass that was so far behind Race? I'm fine with pushing it and taking a bucket at that point, but I'm also fine with pulling it back and running your offense and time off the clock. I have no explanation for what he did. If the defender was in position to disrupt the pass that much, then Al should have had an open drive. Careless is the only explanation I have and that accounts for many of those plays. This team has the talent and is close, but they've got to limit that carelessness (I'd include missed FTs in that too; no reason for us to continue to struggle like we do there) and loss of focus. A team psychiatrist would probably have made an excellent asst coach over these last few years.
 
Hunter should be scoring a bunch more .imo.
Like avg 8-10.
But ..Honestly just glad he's playing again.
He has alot of potential..
I saw him in high school..
LIke others here..Think we'll see it more next year.

Hunter just needs to show his versatility on offense. Right now he's just a chucker.

Once he gets comfortable scoring in traffic, posting up smaller defenders, etc then he'll be a guy we can't keep off the court.

Right now he's just a three point shooter though.
 
agree, Hunter is slowly coming along...stress on 'slowly'. Race has made some huge strides recently. I love how he plays high energy yet seems to remain under control. His future at IU looks very solid. That spin move he pulled on Stevens yesterday had Daryl Thomas written all over it.
Yes agreed. Race is much more advanced than humter at this stage imo. Hunter for now is a role player. Race should start.
 
I kind of disagree, Hunter needs to play, he should be the star of this team and he needs minutes to get back there after what he's been through. This team is not probably better than one and out in the NCAAT, assuming they can get there. I think Hunter should play as much meaningful minutes as makes sense. If he returns to form, Rob gets healthy, and TJD stays, this is a team that should be a force next year
 
IMO, Hunter is probably what he is until he has another off season away from what derailed him for a year. I think it close between Hunter and Race right now. Their minutes have been pretty close in recent games. I think a case could be made for Hunter as a starting forward who shoots 3's with some success. I think as long as they are both playing minutes in the 20's it doesn't matter as long Archie goes with what is needed with an in game adjustment.
 
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No offense but hunter is not playing like a top 50 recruit. He is currently a nice role player.

So true but many including myself see glimpses of what earned him that lofty status.

Obviously his injury/condition was very serious. You don't take a year off of playing or practicing and just jump back to where you were.

I think he is coming along quite nicely.
 
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So true but many including myself see glimpses of what earned him that lofty status.

Obviously his injury/condition was very serious. You don't take a year off of playing or practicing and just jump back to where you were.

I think he is coming along quite nicely.
I watched him play a couple games in high school. He's getting his skills back and he's only going to get better.
 
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Other than DD, Jerome and Race were the most highly ranked guys coming into IU (obviously excluding TJD.) Both of them have a new found Cawnnnnfidence about them and are playing some great minutes.

Jerome is wanting to put it up if he has any daylight from beyond the arc, stays ready and I love it. I said a few months back I just want him to shoot 10 a game until he starts hitting. His mechanics look like an NBA sniper, he just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He is gonna be a great three point shooter at IU, little better more athletic version of Cwat is what I predict.

Race is our junkyard dog. He is our Kyle Young. Gonna be that guy that has to try harder than everyone else to stay on the floor. He will have a game where he is bleeding all over the court cuz he caught an elbow in the face. Great knack for getting rebounds and strong enough to bang with the big ten, we desperately needed a guy like him.

We are going dancing, the only question now is what seed and can we actually win a game or two in the B1G tourney. I'm excited for March, god it feels good, been awhile!
Guess Romeo has been forgotten about....
 
So true but many including myself see glimpses of what earned him that lofty status.

Obviously his injury/condition was very serious. You don't take a year off of playing or practicing and just jump back to where you were.

I think he is coming along quite nicely.

He is gonna be a beast. Even when he misses in the mid range on a pull up or drive it looks so natural. Like a true scorer. I have seen too 50 freshmen play way way worse. He looks like every bit of a top 50 recruit IMO.
 
I agree. I touched on it in a different post that Davis looks as nimble on his feet as I've ever seen him. I think he might have played himself in shape during this season.

If Rob could upgrade his play from what we have seen him show, this is a top 15 team. Unfortunately he is still playing poor IMO. Not at the level he was before his concussion last year, certainly not close to better.
Davis has really been playing great. He’s a pretty good passer from and into the post.
 
He is gonna be a beast. Even when he misses in the mid range on a pull up or drive it looks so natural. Like a true scorer. I have seen too 50 freshmen play way way worse. He looks like every bit of a top 50 recruit IMO.
Most people would disagree. He is one dimensional currently and averages 4 a game.I get rose colored glasses but going by that standard race and rob would both be every bit of 5 star top 25 talent.
 
Cavanagh said:





Other than DD, Jerome and Race were the most highly ranked guys coming into IU (obviously excluding TJD.) Both of them have a new found Cawnnnnfidence about them and are playing some great minutes.

Jerome is wanting to put it up if he has any daylight from beyond the arc, stays ready and I love it. I said a few months back I just want him to shoot 10 a game until he starts hitting. His mechanics look like an NBA sniper, he just couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He is gonna be a great three point shooter at IU, little better more athletic version of Cwat is what I predict.

Race is our junkyard dog. He is our Kyle Young. Gonna be that guy that has to try harder than everyone else to stay on the floor. He will have a game where he is bleeding all over the court cuz he caught an elbow in the face. Great knack for getting rebounds and strong enough to bang with the big ten, we desperately needed a guy like him.

We are going dancing, the only question now is what seed and can we actually win a game or two in the B1G tourney. I'm excited for March, god it feels good, been awhile!

No offense but hunter is not playing like a top 50 recruit. He is currently a nice role player.
[/quote]
Hunter just started coming on in the past couple weeks or so, and remember he couldn’t even go full until right before the season started, so he’d been out a full year due to injury. I don’t expect we’ll see the real Hunter until next season.
 
Hey, I'd love it if we had such talented players that Al didn't see many minutes, but obviously that's not the case this year and I doubt will be next year. The good news is that I think some of the things that would help Al are actually attainable. The first being a new attitude and to own your mistakes and quit hanging your head and dragging your feet when things go bad. Secondly, he's got to improve his lower body strength, balance and flexibility. It's not like saying he's not athletic enough, or is just an awful shooter and needs to become a great shooter. Those are things that he should be able to make strides on over the summer. I've said on here many times, if he hasn't been, he should be committed to doing yoga a few times a week.

I do like what I see out of Franklin and maybe one of next years recruits comes in and sets the world on fire, but for us to take a step in getting better, there's no doubt we need better guard play whether that's Al or someone else.

Well we are coming to the end of his Junior year. He's running out of time to make the improvements you mention.

The fact is, he's not really a Big Ten level talent. That he is starting for Indiana is a big reason why the team is in the lower half of the conference.
 
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