What is the linch pin to this team?

[Hatchets7times]

Is this a serious thread? I haven’t seen one person say our All American big guy TJD. He’s the key. Everything runs through him. He is the focal point of EVERYTHING. I know everyone wants to praise the new guys in preseason but get real…this team goes as TJD goes.

He needs to be able to hold his own against..Cockburn..Williams....Dickinson......
Like if they go 22/10..He needs to go 20/9......
Last yr ..He didn't look like he he wanted their physicality. Imo.
I honestly think he could rim run them the whole game ..And get dunks on just running hard !!!

 

[T.M.P.]

I honestly think he could rim run them the whole game ..And get dunks on just running hard !!!

yup .....

 

[TR32]

When I think "linchpin", I think hand grenade.
The linchpin of this team is outside shooting. Or possibly shooting discrepancy.
Knight teams worked to get the ball to shooters in good shot positions. It sounds so simple but still to this day I see people talking about everyone shooting outside. We need to see good movement without the ball to get shooters into positions where they can hit 3's. Everyone else can shoot when those guys get doubled or leave someone else wide open. That's when a Race or a Trayce needs to knock one down.

So really, the linchpin is how well the team works to get the right guys open looks.

We assume those guys are Stewart, Leal, Koppel, and possibly Geronimo.

 

[TR32]

TJD is the linchpin. He is the centerpiece. Open shots will be the byproduct of defenses keying on stopping TJD and everything on offense should be based around him.

I bet they start TJD on the perimeter a lot this year and force defenses to figure out how far to extend. Drive, ball reversal, interior feed to Race, inside outside pass to a wing....swish...I hope.

 

[Al Bino]

Lynch pin?! The what? Is that something one drives through someone's heart as an alternative to hanging? This is how language degenerates. Linchpin. Lynch means to murder without trial though it's probably misused so frequently that it will eventually become acceptable usage.

That being said, and in response to the intent of your query as opposed to how it was expressed, probably Denesex.

Actually, Merriam-Webster has the spelling as Lynchpin. Go figure.

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

Actually, Merriam-Webster has the spelling as Lynchpin. Go figure.

Not so. It's actually listed as a "less common spelling of linchpin", which when translated signifies that rampant misuse has resulted in surrender/capitulation on the part of linguists.

 

[T.M.P.]

I bet they start TJD on the perimeter a lot this year and force defenses to figure out how far to extend. Drive, ball reversal, interior feed to Race, inside outside pass to a wing....swish...I hope.

Also gives him room to use his quickness to drive around bigger players but the rest of the guys have to hit shots to keep the lane open.

I think we'll see more versatility on his part. High post, rolling for dunks. Hopefully pick and pops. Weak side baseline in the dunker spot. He'll be good in all those areas. If he runs the floor and picks up easy transition baskets and put backs, hits the offense boards like he should .... he's going to be a very serious matchup problem.

 

[kkott]

TJD is the linchpin. He is the centerpiece. Open shots will be the byproduct of defenses keying on stopping TJD and everything on offense should be based around him.

I think everyone recognizes that without TJD the engine is gone from the team. But I think both are true. The fact remains that we've had TJD for 2 years and he's been excellent, and yet our results have still lagged, so I think TJD is a given, and the question is what's the key ingredient in addition to him that will get us satisfactory results.

 

[kkott]

Not so. It's actually listed as a "less common spelling of linchpin", which when translated signifies that rampant misuse has resulted in surrender/capitulation on the part of linguists.

No one argues minutiae better. Policing grammar on a bball free board. There will always be more windmills to tilt Don!

 

[hatchetdad]

Hip flexor. Just precaution. Will play Tuesday.

Thanks Cav

 

[rikki-tikka-tava]

No one argues minutiae better. Policing grammar on a bball free board. There will always be more windmills to tilt Don!

Nowhere close - that would be a fulltime and fruitless proposition. But living near the Ohio sometimes prompts reactions that one imagines will diminish the potential threat of Hoosiers coming to more closely resemble their Southern neighbors. Unchecked, stupid tends to beget more of same...

 

[Courtsensetwo]

rolleyes

 

[hatchetdad]

I have a practice itinerary and part of it has the two scrimmage teams and their subs listed.

TJD does not start on either team but comes off the bench for both teams.

red team white team
X.Johnson K. Lander
R. Phinisee T. Galloway
P. Stewart A. Leal
M. Kopp J. Geronimo
R. Thompson L. Duncomb

TJD - both M. Durr
M. Shipp N. Childress
S. Burke S. Scott

I got the practice Itinerary from a family member that was at practice #25. Very interesting stuff that does not need to be shown on internet.

Three players surprised, Race Thompson hit 13-16 threes in a drill, Duncomb may not get much time this year but will get a lot of time next year. I was told he doesn't back down from anyone. Geronimo from what i hear will surprise us all.

As Cav stated Bates is out with hip flexor.

 

[Cavanagh]

I have a practice itinerary and part of it has the two scrimmage teams and their subs listed.

TJD does not start on either team but comes off the bench for both teams.

red team white team
X.Johnson K. Lander
R. Phinisee T. Galloway
P. Stewart A. Leal
M. Kopp J. Geronimo
R. Thompson L. Duncomb

TJD - both M. Durr
M. Shipp N. Childress
S. Burke S. Scott

I got the practice Itinerary from a family member that was at practice #25. Very interesting stuff that does not need to be shown on internet.

Three players surprised, Race Thompson hit 13-16 threes in a drill, Duncomb may not get much time this year but will get a lot of time next year. I was told he doesn't back down from anyone. Geronimo from what i hear will surprise us all.

As Cav stated Bates is out with hip flexor.

Race hitting threes! Get use to it!

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Race hitting threes! Get use to it!

I hope we do.

 

[jsig]

The team Li(y)nch pin should be FT shooting. Who do we want on the line closing games?

 

[hatchetdad]

The team Li(y)nch pin should be FT shooting. Who do we want on the line closing games?

Kopp!

 

[Indiana_1993]

Probably obvious, but it is the three point shot. I have a lot of confidence that Parker will be very good from deep in a lot of games. He is able to create his shot whenever he wants. However, he is much better when he is not forcing it or the focal point from three. If he is having to force, like devonte did sometimes, that could easily be a 2-12 night.

Miller is the best shooter on the team IMO, but will not be able to create his shot as much. Great set shooter, and could easily be a sniper for us. Race and Geronimo are in my next category right behind Miller. They will be great shooters, but need to be wide open getting a kick from someone before they take a three. IMO Race and Jordan will have a high 3pt% but would be shocked if either broke 100 attempts.

Now that brings us to the PGs, and I’m gonna throw Tamar in here as well. If IU wants to be a top 10 team this year, and they have the talent, one of these guys needs to be a high 30s/low40s volume shooter from deep. X, Rob, KL, Tamar. IMO if one of those guys can get 100-150 threes up at a high margin that will separate us. Having a guard that demands that respect from deep opens it up for the rest of the team.

Agree 100%. Look at the first three games and you'll see where we were blowing them out until we went to our second string or they started to force pressure on the ball at the point. Once the point has a hard time running the offense, we get stale and look for the three.

 

[go_iu]

Probably the free throw shooting, but it seems as if they're all going to need do Petyote and camp out in AH, for like a month, shooting free throws for that to actually get fixed. I'd suppose they could multi-task and work on TO's too during their journey

 

[TomEric4756]

Well a few games in, the linchpin appears to be ball security… too many turnovers have cost a lost game already.

It will keep other teams in games until it gets fixed.

 

[go_iu]

Recruiting, it is what it is for now, but hopefully help is on the way. Woodson doing as good as he could so far, wins will help

 

[SoccerSammy]

I read these posts and realize a hell of a lot of people don't know what a linchpin actually is

 

[abraxis]

First, I had to say to myself, "Self, what is a linchpin?" I knew the physical object, but wasn't 100% sure of the metaphorical one. Hence:
linch·pin
/ˈlin(t)SHpin/

noun
1.
a person or thing vital to an enterprise or organization.
"regular brushing is the linchpin of all good dental hygiene"
2.
a pin passed through the end of an axle to keep a wheel in position.

I wonder if a word has ever proceeded the object it represents metaphorically. In other words, has #1 ever preceded #2 in meaning through time and usage? Was it ever said in a smoke filled room, "Let's call this contraption our employee, Joe, just invented a linchpin because it is so vital to keeping this wheel in position, much like our company"?

That said, I think the linchpin of this team is mental toughness. "Mental is to physical as 5 is to 1." ~ RMK (correct me on this ratio, if need be-I take constructive criticism well after my second cup of coffee.)

Edit - Ironically, the first post I read after sending this is the one directly above. I was the dreaded, "that guy" no one wants to be.

 

[Cavanagh]

First, I had to say to myself, "Self, what is a linchpin?" I knew the physical object, but wasn't 100% sure of the metaphorical one. Hence:
linch·pin
/ˈlin(t)SHpin/

noun
1.
a person or thing vital to an enterprise or organization.
"regular brushing is the linchpin of all good dental hygiene"
2.
a pin passed through the end of an axle to keep a wheel in position.

I wonder if a word has ever proceeded the object it represents metaphorically. In other words, has #1 ever preceded #2 in meaning through time and usage? Was it ever said in a smoke filled room, "Let's call this contraption our employee, Joe, just invented a linchpin because it is so vital to keeping this wheel in position, much like our company"?

That said, I think the linchpin of this team is mental toughness. "Mental is to physical as 5 is to 1." ~ RMK (correct me on this ratio, if need be-I take constructive criticism well after my second cup of coffee.)

There are a few folks on this board I would like to be in a smoke filled room with. You are at the top of that list!

 

[abraxis]

There are a few folks on this board I would like to be in a smoke filled room with. You are at the top of that list!

Hopefully, the word "donnybrook" wasn't the second thing to come to your mind.

 

[Cavanagh]

Hopefully, the word "donnybrook" wasn't the second thing to come to your mind.

lol no, "donnybrook" never entered my mind!

 

[abraxis]

lol no, "donnybrook" never entered my mind!

I didn't think so, either, but for some reason it came to my mind. Think about that one in our smoke-filled room (cough, cough).

 

[.Gerdis]

I read these posts and realize a hell of a lot of people don't know what a linchpin actually is

It’s pretty obvious what the linchpin to the team is. The more interesting question is what (or who) is the key to the teams success? That’s how I responded.

TJD is going to get his.

 

[Victorbmyboy]

There are a few folks on this board I would like to be in a smoke filled room with. You are at the top of that list!

Some need the smoke in that room.

 

[Brewskie]

Probably obvious, but it is the three point shot. I have a lot of confidence that Parker will be very good from deep in a lot of games. He is able to create his shot whenever he wants. However, he is much better when he is not forcing it or the focal point from three. If he is having to force, like devonte did sometimes, that could easily be a 2-12 night.

Miller is the best shooter on the team IMO, but will not be able to create his shot as much. Great set shooter, and could easily be a sniper for us. Race and Geronimo are in my next category right behind Miller. They will be great shooters, but need to be wide open getting a kick from someone before they take a three. IMO Race and Jordan will have a high 3pt% but would be shocked if either broke 100 attempts.

Now that brings us to the PGs, and I’m gonna throw Tamar in here as well. If IU wants to be a top 10 team this year, and they have the talent, one of these guys needs to be a high 30s/low40s volume shooter from deep. X, Rob, KL, Tamar. IMO if one of those guys can get 100-150 threes up at a high margin that will separate us. Having a guard that demands that respect from deep opens it up for the rest of the team

Probably obvious, but it is the three point shot. I have a lot of confidence that Parker will be very good from deep in a lot of games. He is able to create his shot whenever he wants. However, he is much better when he is not forcing it or the focal point from three. If he is having to force, like devonte did sometimes, that could easily be a 2-12 night.

Miller is the best shooter on the team IMO, but will not be able to create his shot as much. Great set shooter, and could easily be a sniper for us. Race and Geronimo are in my next category right behind Miller. They will be great shooters, but need to be wide open getting a kick from someone before they take a three. IMO Race and Jordan will have a high 3pt% but would be shocked if either broke 100 attempts.

Now that brings us to the PGs, and I’m gonna throw Tamar in here as well. If IU wants to be a top 10 team this year, and they have the talent, one of these guys needs to be a high 30s/low40s volume shooter from deep. X, Rob, KL, Tamar. IMO if one of those guys can get 100-150 threes up at a high margin that will separate us. Having a guard that demands that respect from deep opens it up for the rest of the team.

IMO, the 2 cogs that are going to run this engine are TJD and Xavier. Getting good deep looks is going to come from TJD kicking out of a double or penetration drive and kick out. From what I've seen Parker can't really create his own shot off the dribble and neither can Kopp, except a few times he puts it on the floor for a base line jumper. We don't run sets that have them coming off screens to create their shot. They're spacing the floor and waiting for a kickout/ball reversal. Nothing wrong with that, Xavier needs to get better running this team and make consistently good decisions. It seems he'll do that, then have to sit for 20 minutes due to foul trouble and when he comes back in, his decision making falters. I think(hope) that will improve. we've got guys that can put it in the bucket in different ways, just need to point guard play to be more consistent. Oh, and yeah, play good D.

 

[rocketo]

Probably obvious, but it is the three point shot. I have a lot of confidence that Parker will be very good from deep in a lot of games. He is able to create his shot whenever he wants. However, he is much better when he is not forcing it or the focal point from three. If he is having to force, like devonte did sometimes, that could easily be a 2-12 night.

Miller is the best shooter on the team IMO, but will not be able to create his shot as much. Great set shooter, and could easily be a sniper for us. Race and Geronimo are in my next category right behind Miller. They will be great shooters, but need to be wide open getting a kick from someone before they take a three. IMO Race and Jordan will have a high 3pt% but would be shocked if either broke 100 attempts.

Now that brings us to the PGs, and I’m gonna throw Tamar in here as well. If IU wants to be a top 10 team this year, and they have the talent, one of these guys needs to be a high 30s/low40s volume shooter from deep. X, Rob, KL, Tamar. IMO if one of those guys can get 100-150 threes up at a high margin that will separate us. Having a guard that demands that respect from deep opens it up for the rest of the team.

Not sure if there is any one thing. Definitely need to keep shooting well, but valuing the ball has been a real thorn in our side. With a good defense, we really need to limit our turnovers. I think we have enough good shooters that we should have 1 or 2 each night hitting shots. We have good defense every night, though a full game worth isn’t occurring every night. But giving away possessions will crush us against good teams. I think we are setup to compete with anybody, but if we turn the ball over too often, that’s going to deny us any chance against top teams, regardless of how shots are dropping. JMO