Well, you have pretty much left me speechless. I like facts. I now know more about IU BB than ever before.There's not enough ammo to counter your findings.I do appreciate the time you spent in order to post the facts. Impressive. All I can do is share a little insight into Vanderbilt BB program. First, I was going to reply to
@TommyCracker. He had some worthwhile comments, but only have time for this extended essay.
Bryce Drew is different from his brother. that's common among brothers. Vanderbilt has a niche recruiting pool. Admissions for athletes is troublesome. They don't realize that excellence in athletics is complimentary to excellence in academics. To sell Vanderbilt you have to first ID recruits and their parents who appear serious about academics. All say they are, so you spend time courting kids & parents to see which ones stick. CBD catered to several top fifty recruits and ended up with 3 guys-DG, Simi, and Nesmith (4*,rivals #69). It is that simple. CBD is not dirty. He just aims high and hopefully connects with a few. Our previous coach lasted 17 yrs. and never really went hard after top 25 - 50 guys, with only a few exceptions.
Now, as fans, we are excited about the future.We have a common denominator in RL, so a few of us come to your site because it is relative to us.
Now, for the chips on my shoulder: We have a high school gym, a crazy arena, a weird gym. Actually we have a historic gym that seats just under 15,000. The coaching boxes were extended down the sideline since CBD's arrival. Most all analysts compliment the gym. That might be the result of regional coverage of sports. Sounds like you all might have the coolest new arena. That's great! We have the coolest, old gymnasium in the country. It's a great place to watch a game! We respect Memorial Gymnasium and those it honors.
Next,I mentioned regional coverage of sports. Some IU fans have said we don't get any tv coverage. The vast majority of our games are televised each year. So far this year we have been on CBS, CBS Sports network, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPN News, SEC network and SEC alternet. I believe we get the same amount of coverage as Big 10.
Vandy had a historic BB program from the mid- 60's into the early 80's. If not for kentucky, our name would be more recognizable, IMO. Back then, most people only had knowledge as to their conference teams. Outside the SEC I remember UCLA and Houston in the 60's. During the 70's I remember IU, UCLA, Marquette, UNLV. After that came all the other blue-bloods that are household names today. In all, for SEC fans, I would guess the two most highly regarded teams historically would be UCLA and Kentucky (but Kentucky fans would list them in the
wrong order) After that I think IU fans could best list the remainder. For younger folks, UCLA might be replaced by- pick your choice.
Gotta end this. I cherry picked some stats related to your last natty and Vanderbilt vs Indiana since the beginning of this century. My facts are true, but not whole. Still, I feel my facts carry a little weight, but not so much when compared to the "whole" facts I learned this evening from the post quoted above. Kudos to
@HoosierDave09.
Final thought: From the mid-sixties to the early 80's, I attended BB games at a packed house of 15,000 inside Memorial Gymnasium when you could literally yell into the ear of the person next to you and they couldn't understand a word you said. There would be a big smile, a shaking of the head- no, along with a palms up posture indicating they had no clue as to what was said, then immediately back to both yelling as loud as possible. I think we have that in common. And I understand you guys had to shop for hearing aids at a younger age than us down in Nashville! Have a good evening.