Nothing Left to Say

Honestly, I don't have anything to say that I haven't already said ten times over.  Also, I'll be traveling for both work and leisure for the next week, so this blog is officially on a hiatus.

Perspective

Chris forwarded me a pretty good article from Bob Kravitz of the Indy Star today.

Of course, Chris had some of his own comments.  And of course, I had some of my own.  Followed by more from Chris.  That exchange is below.

Chris:
Hey, Kravitz wrote a sensible article in the IndyStar. Pretty much looks like he’s reading your blog.

I don’t know why I read the comments. So many idiots are in love with Painter and Purdue. Its not a fair comparison on any level.

I can’t wait until Crean gets it turned around. There is a reason that he asked for, and got a 10 year contract. Its monumentally messed up.

If he doesn’t have it back by 2012 then maybe you start to question if he’s the guy for the job.

At any rate, we can only get better from here.

You know what I mean?

I just keep thinking that the program must have been more damaged that I even thought. I knew it was bad from Sampson’s sanctions, but when you really think about it (which I do a lot), it must have been decaying from the inside out for much longer that we realized. There’s your book Jeff.

What are the components/ingredients of a successful program? Recruiting pipeline (in-state/out-of-state). Recruiting system/sources (strategy, assistants, high school, AAU, Elite Teams, Foreign).Coach’s name recognition. Offensive/Defensive System. System Continuity Fresh-Soph-Jun-Sr.-redshirt, JUCO, one&dones. Locker Room. TV/Radio/Internet exposure. Facilities. Academics. Athletic Administration. University Administration. NCAA compliance.

You could investigate all of this issues and compare them to best in class, such as UNC/Duke/Kansas to understand the true scope.

Keep in mind, Knight ran the Basketball program autonomously from the Athletic department for 20 or more years. The AD had no skill in running the bball program. There was not succession planning or brain trust in place for post-Knight. Don’t be fooled, RMK wanted it that way. He wanted to be all powerful. I think his secret plan was to hand it off to Pat.

Its all history now, but its certainly a cautionary tale for how to f@ck up an athletic organization.

Jeff:
At least we have our football program to model it after…..oh, wait, we have made sucking at football a tradition.

At the end of this basketball season, I wonder where we would rank among BCS schools for a combined football and basketball record this season. We would have to be last or very close to it. The last two seasons…..definitely last.

I hope Fred Glass is good. I think it is very difficult for fans to judge an Athletic Director. There’s just too many ingredients. Heck, look at all the stuff you listed just for a successful basketball program. For an AD, you now have to mix in multiple athletic programs and add in some type of budget and financial situation.

Speaking of the financial situation, that’s another hangover or black cloud that is still hanging over the IU athletic department. Obviously, we don’t know the exact financial situation, but we know it’s bad. My point with all this is that it is easy for fans to say that Glass needs to get rid of Lynch and bring in a big name coach. But exactly how is he supposed to pull that off. First, I don’t think the program has the dollars to lure a big name coach. And even if we did, why would a big name coach want to come to IU? And even if a big name coach would want to come to IU, he’s not automatically going to start getting big time recruits. It might help a little in recruiting, but it would probably take several years to turn around.

Just like Tom Crean and the basketball program, recruiting is a several year process. As you mentioned, there is a recruiting pipeline and a recruiting system and long-term recruiting relationships with coaches.

I underestimated the recruiting impact and mess when Tom Crean took over. I think most people generally say that IU lost one year of recruiting. That statement is completely inaccurate.

If you really think through it, when Tom Crean took over last year, the entire team was wiped out with the exception of a couple walk-ons (Taber and Finkelmeier). So, with that, you did not have a recruiting class of Seniors, you did not have a recruiting class of Juniors, you did not have a recruiting class of Sophomores, and the entire recruiting class of freshmen went elsewhere (Ebanks, etc.). The freshmen that were in that recruiting class were pieced together at the last minute and it looks like Verdell Jones is the only quality player. So, there’s 4 recruiting classes that were completely wiped away and Crean was lucky enough to land Verdell Jones in the final hour. Then, Crean did a good job to land a quality class with this year’s freshmen, but now that we have seen them play, that class was ranked more on quantity than it was quality. I’m not knocking that class because I still think that class is the foundation of some good teams in 2-3 years, but if Crean only had 3 open scholarships and landed say Creek, Hulls, and Muniru, that would not be a top ten recruiting class.

And I think we are still seeing the recruiting impact for the next two classes. IU has gotten in late on a couple 5-star point guards in Kyrie Irving and Josh Selby, but both have now decided to go elsewhere and it sounds like IU was never truly in the running. As for big men, there just aren’t many quality big men that are not committed for the next two years. So, I think you are looking at the class of 2012 that will be the first opportunity that Crean and staff were probably able to fully execute their recruiting strategy.

So, that is 3 recruiting classes that were completely wiped off the face of the earth, 1 recruiting class that was pieced together at the last minute after that original entire recruiting class bolted (Ebanks out, Verdell in), and 3 recruiting classes hampered by nothing in the pipeline and the current staff not able to execute their full recruiting process. Now, that’s a mess that is going to take time to re-build.

I am extremely busy right now and honestly had intentions of only responding with that first sentence, but I just can’t help myself. Like you said, I think about this stuff a lot. A LOT.


Chris:
Totally on the money, JD. When Crean says its unprecedented, he’s really saying “you can’t really understand this until you immerse yourself in it and then you still can’t believe the size of the job.”

What bothers me is all the negativity in the chat rooms and in some media outlets about Crean. If anything, this guy should be commended for stepping into a minefield. I can only believe that he wants it more than anyone because he’s the one who stepped up when he got the call. He’s taking a beating on behalf of IU fans everywhere. I think it confuses people when you see quick turnaround jobs at Kentucky, Kansas, and UNC (Calipari, Self, Williams) and we think we’re in that class. Its different in every way. Those were easy transitions and Calipari smells. I can’t believe all the IU fans who are admiring Purdue right now. I liked how Crean said “I'm not here to be close to Purdue,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “I'm here to beat them. We just didn't do it.” Doesn’t that say what we need to know about Crean?

I never admired Purdue even during the Keady days. I hated them. Felt a little sorry for them when they recently sucked. Liked that Davis and Sampson owned them. Admire? Nope.

Kravitz finally at least got part of this story out in the mainstream media. He could probably write a 5 part series about the situation.

Anyway, I can see why people look at the way the team is losing and wonder if TC’s getting the most out of them. You can wonder if another coach would get more. How much more could you really get from this group? How can anyone say he sucks at recruiting when 2 of his guys are out with injury and the rest of the team is comprised of young guys who aren’t NBA bound players?

I mean, I’m not surprised that MSU and OSU and UW, all ranked NCAA bound teams with upperclassmen and some NBA talent, are MOWING down a team that’s at the bottom of the league.

Isn’t that what we used to do with cellar dwellers? I mean, there never was any magic in the INDIANA name. It was talent, great coaching, and solid recruiting. Nothing mystical there.

None of this makes me feel any better about it, but at least I understand the gravity of it.

If Creek, Watford, and VJ3 continue to improve on their trajectory.
If Hulls and Elston gain strength, wisdom, and confidence.
If Roth, Capo, Pritchard, Rivers, and Bawa learn how to play their role confidently.
If they learn to trust each other on defense.
If you sprinkle in a couple new faces with legitimate D-1 talent.
We’ll emerge to be a team and a program once again.
We’ll never be this bad again. The guys will improve over the summer.
The league, as a whole, will cycle down over the next two seasons and we’ll be cycling up.

A Slightly Less Embarrassing Loss

Well, at least the Hoosiers competed a little bit in this one, but it was another ass-kicking none-the-less.  IU played pretty good in the first 10 minutes of the game, but then let the margin slip to 10 points at halftime.  The second half mostly stayed in the 10-16 point range with the Hoosiers never truly threatening to make a game of it.

IU's defense and general resistance was again pathetic.  Michigan State was easily getting layup after layup after layup.  IU allowed the Spartans to shoot 60% from the field and forced only 8 turnovers.  Everything was easy for Michigan State and everything was difficult for IU.

The only thing that kept IU hanging around was an impressive 25-28 effort from the free throw line.

The Hoosiers put together some more impressive statistics in this one.  Here were my three favorites:

• When IU took the 2-0 lead in this game, it was their first lead in 120 minutes.  ESPN kindly pointed this one out, but if you watched the previous 3 IU games, you were very well aware that IU not only trailed wire to wire in those games, but the double-digit deficits were immediate.
• IU went the first 12 minutes of this game without a defensive rebound.  Amazingly, IU was only down by 2 points at that point.
• IU went 13 minutes and 14 seconds without a field goal.  The streak included the last 10:16 of the first half.  This statistic is not quite as bad as it sounds because IU did go 15-16 from the line during this stretch, so it wasn't like they weren't scoring at all.  However, the game was tied at 19 at the 10 minute mark and then 40-30 at halftime, so it was still a costly stretch.

All in all, this one wasn't as embarrassing as the previous games, but still had a blah feeling to it.

Downward Spiral

Well, it's only halftime of the game right now, but I can't imagine anything happening in the 2nd half that would be worth talking about.  So, I thought I would go ahead and get this post out of the way.

Yet another blazing start by the Hoosiers.  The only thing that I am struggling with is exactly which score to throw out there to best illustrate the hot start by IU.

Should I go with WI taking an 8-0 lead to start the game? 

Or how about 14-2 after 5 minutes?

Maybe 17-3 after 6 minutes would be better?

27-7 has a nice even 20-point margin after 7 1/2 minutes of play.

Ooh, I know, I could point out the 28-point deficit at 46-18 with 3 minutes to go in the half.

Any way you go, you can clearly see the Hoosiers came to play in this one.

Look out, Michigan State.  You're next!

MAJOR MIND DUMP by Chris

Man, the Hoosiers are having a tough go of it. As bad as this is, I’m not down on these guys or the coach.

Here we are, missing two major pieces of the recruiting class, full of freshmen who look like their starting to tire mentally/physically, and its hard to see the light.

Look at the message boards. Holy crap do people like to pile on when things are tough. The posters on these sites are F’d up. They take it out on 18-22 year old men who are trying to represent Indiana Basketball.

So many people complaining that we don’t have motion offense.

Why don’t we move?

Why don’t we have inside-outside game?

Where’s the Defense?

Looks like HOF coaches don’t grow on trees, huh?

Well, I go back to my season long premise that Tom Crean is the right guy. I think I feel for this guy more now than ever.

I don’t think people, and even journalists, truly appreciate what he has to do to build this program.

Gut an entire class of players.

Recruit, extremely late in the recruiting calendar, to field a team.

Recruit, extremely late in the recruiting calendar, with NCAA sanctions that limit scholarships, athlete visits, number of scouts/recruiters, official visits, etc.

Negative Press.

10 or more years of damaged recruiting pipeline from Knight’s final years to Mike Davis’s failures In-State.

Excellent competition in the conference at all levels: Play, coaching, recruiting, fan frenzy on the road.

The weight of Indiana tradition.

Prospective Players don’t look at Indiana like 30 year old and older FANS do. I think the idea of players “dreaming” of playing at a particular school is vastly overblown by the imagination of fans. I think players are smart consumers when it comes to their college choices. I think there is so much variety for them to consider. Frankly, Indiana Basketball has been ailing at selling itself for over 10 years. This decay started at the tail end of the Knight years, and falls on the various Presidents, AD’s and coaches who have been in charge over that span. It all crashed and burned with the Greenspan/Hebert/Sampson era.

This whole business of recruiting is not going to rebuild quickly. The ENTIRE enterprise was scrapped and then we have Crean operating under sanctions…how many players really want to attach themselves to such bad press? Why would they? We didn’t just lose 1 recruiting season. We lost several, at least 2-3 classes and perhaps as many as 10 b/c Davis sucked at building a pipeline.

“Yeah, but Crean has had two seasons and I don’t see the kids getting better! The coach sucks. Bobby Knight would have done better.” – He might have won a couple more games, but don’t kid yourself, these players don’t match up with ANY of Knight’s teams when it comes to basketball talent and skill. Its not like there were coaches lining up to leave their multi-million dollar positions at other schools to take on the rubble of Indiana Basketball. No, no, no, the Calipari’s of the world were waiting for easier places to land, like UK, where there is decent starting talent, tradition, and no sanctions. Remind me, who the F@ck was hammering at the Sample Gates saying “let me put my career on the line at a school that’s on probation.” Calipari? Pitino? Matta? Few? Huggins? Alford? Sean Miller? Billy Donovan? Nobody but a couple Knight disciples like Wittmann (zero collegiate coaching experience), and Dakich, who earns respect for stepping in and cleaning house like a true Hoosier, but isn’t the guy you want as the face of the program.

People say that all Crean does is clap and stomp on the sideline. What the hell is he supposed to do over there? What does Rick Pitino do on the sideline? Scratch his nuts? C’mon!

Where is the offense?

The offense and defense is running like crap because the players are:

1. Still learning it.

2. Not skilled enough to actually execute it.

3. Freshmen who are not physically built enough for the Big Ten (they almost all start this way).

4. Not at a talent level that makes this system, which is run all over in Top 25 programs, effective.

5. We lack size. (Why don’t we have it? Probably missed some of them b/c of recruiting pipeline destruction/sanctions (noted above). I can’t imagine the TC isn’t looking for big men. If he’s not, then that would be stupid.

“Look at Bo Ryan!” – Yes, lets look at Bo Ryan’s roster side by side with Tom Crean’s. Top to bottom, clearly better players at all age groups (FR – SR). I think Ryan is great, but he’s got his guys and it’s a stable program that he took over from Dick Bennett. Bo’s not coaching the Sisters of St. Mary’s.

Brucie Webber – Huge Front line and tough as nails guard.

Painter: We all know.

Matta: Possible national player of the year on the roster. Hmmm, look at their record with and without Evan Turner. Injuries do matter.

Izzo: See OSU. Great guard. Look at B4 and After losing Lucas.

Carmody: Seems like this team has been together for 10 years, but it always seems that way with them. True team and LIGHTS OUT shooters who fit a system. Key words, players are selected for the system and they know their roles.

Tom Crean DESERVES the benefit of the doubt and a heck of a lot more time AND understanding in what he’s doing. It’s more complicated than finding 5 guys to run the picket fence. The Indiana Media has failed to present the Hoosiers with any kind of perspective. Its not a bunch of excuses, its the situation on the ground.

Good news: We have the right coach. We have injured players coming back. We have updated facilities. Probation will end. We will get the talent and this offense will resemble the same thing you see at Uconn, Duke, UNC, Kansas, MSU, etc….

Make It Stop

I gotta tell you, this rebuilding process is really starting to wear on me.  I found this game completely uninteresting.  I wasn't looking forward to watching it like I normally do and I certainly did not enjoy actually watching it.  There was no resistance, no fight.  I think Tom Crean has done miracle work to keep this team fighting over the last two years, but the team seems to have lost their fight this past week.  It was not surprising to lay an egg at NW after those good efforts and tough losses at Illinois and versus Purdue.  However, they have typically avoided the lackluster performances in back-to-back games.  Unfortunately, after tonight, that is exactly what has now occurred.  A telltale sign in tonight's game was that IU forced just 3 turnovers in the first 36 minutes of the game (OSU did also have 3 unforced turnovers by their bench players in garbage time at the end).

Once again, the Hoosiers got off to a horrible start and went down 9-0 in the first 4 minutes of the game.  Then they played solid for the next 9 minutes and outscored OSU 20-13 to cut the lead to 22-20.  After that, it got just plain ugly and OSU went on a 12-0 run over the final 7 minutes of the half for a 34-20 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Hoosiers showed some brief signs of life, but any signs of hope were short-lived and this one turned into an ass-kicking.  It actually got to that embarrassing point where OSU was constantly dunking on us, blocking our shots, and laughing at us.  They were even trying fancy dunks and missing, but nobody cared because it was already a beat-down.

Some additional thoughts:

• Jordan Hulls played well and had a career-high 13 points including a perfect 3-3 from the arc.  He added 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and only 1 turnover.
• Christian Watford's jumper looked good as he was 2-3 from the arc and had a couple nice mid-range jumpers, but he looked rediculous trying to take it to the rack.  He was flat out teeing them up for Dallas Lauderdale to swat them out of there.  Eventually, you want Watford to develop that true inside outside game, so he can be difficult to defend.....however, I think this was poor coaching and preparation.  Watford should have been coached to stick to his pull-up mid-range game and his outside game rather than taking it right at Lauderdale.  By the way, Hulls also served up a couple easy ones to Lauderdale.
• Verdell Jones struggled tonight. Started very slow from the field and had 5 turnovers.  It's pretty clear that IU is going to struggle when Verdell struggles.
• Jeremiah Rivers just needs to be better.  Coming into this game, you had to believe he was going to be tasked with guarding Evan Turner.  Instead, he commits 2 stupid fouls in the first minute of the game and had to sit down.  Fortunately, Turner picked up his second foul just a couple minutes later and sat the rest of the half.  Regardless, they were dumb fouls by Rivers.  On the offensive end, he just needs to be better.  I could go into more detail, but I just don't feel like it right now.
• Pritchard continues to not add much to this team.
• Capobianco was OK.
• Dumes stayed ice cold.
• Elston went back into the dog-house.

There aren't any signs of hope in the near future as the Hoosiers head to the Kohl Center this weekend and then Michigan State comes to town next week.

This nightmare of a massive rebuilding effort continues and doesn't look like it will end any time soon.

I just re-read this post before publishing it and realized that my performance on this blog is reflecting the Hoosiers performance on the court....lackluster.  Fuck it.

Them Smart Kids Sure Do Make Us Look Stupid

I don't know why, but this team completely stinks up the joint every 3 or 4 games.  Unfortunately, today was one of those stink-bombs as IU falls to NW by a score of 78-61.

It should be noted that Mick was at this game.  I point this out because this poor guy sees nothing but painfully bad performances by his teams when he attends live.  Trust me, I know because I am usually with him.  I sat today out to get ready for the Super Bowl, but Mick and I (and a few others that read this blog) have become way too familiar with IU losses at Northwestern.  This trend actually started way before Sampson tore the program down.  Mick and I also saw the Packers lose their first playoff game ever at Lambeau Field several years back.  Not only was that one a loss, it was a 41-7 beat-down to that dog-fightin' ring-leader and the Atlanta Falcons.  So, Mick, sorry I couldn't enjoy today's gem with you.  Better luck next year.

This game started with NW taking a 21-6 lead in the first 8 minutes of the game and this one was never a contest.  The closest the Hoosiers were able to get was 9 points very briefly and they found themselves down by as many as 20 in the second half.

Verdell Jones was very impressive.  Verdell had 28 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, and went 12-13 from the line.

Unfortunately, Verdell was really the only guy that showed up.  The Hoosiers shot 2-17 from the arc and that just ain't gonna get it done.

I thought one player that could have made a difference was Dumes.  We often talk about good Devan and bad Devan.  Well, it was nothin' but bad Devan today.  Dumes was 0-7 from the field, including 0-5 from the arc with one of those 3-pointers looking like a Scott Norwood field goal attempt on Super Bowl Sunday.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, I say we go ahead and forget about this game and focus on the Super Bowl.

Prediction:  Colts 34  Saints 30

Go Colts!

Hanging On By A Very Thin Thread

I wish that title meant that the Hoosiers hung on by a very thin thread to win, but unfortunately it is merely a reference to my sanity (and of course, Jerry Maguire).

I really can't gather any meaningful thoughts at this point.  I am just devastated.

So, I'll try for some quick hits and leave it at that.

• Obviously, missing all three one-and-ones in crunch time was costly.  In fact, it likely cost them the game.  In case you missed it, the culprits were Elston, Hulls, and Jones.  This wasn't Rivers, Pritchard, and Jobe.  Tough to swallow when you leave 6 points at the FT line in the closing minutes when you are trying to upset #7 in the country.  Empty possessions at the worst possible time.
• What a great first half.  47 points and a 4-point lead at half.  Beautiful.
• This team desparately needs one of these close games to go their way.
• No moral victories, but I do like the elevated brand of basketball that we have seen at Illinois and tonight against Purdue.  Sucks to lose these close games, but honestly, these last two games have been two of the best and most complete games that the Hoosiers have played this year.
• So great to see Tom Pritchard in the first half.  He was outstanding.  Yes, he didn't do as much in the second half, but I prefer to focus on the positive because he was truly great in the first half.  If Pritchard can play at that level, we will continue to compete.
• If you think about the plays and possessions that we are giving away due to youth and freshmen mistakes, we win this game next year.  Think about it.  Hulls, Elston, and Watford all made some great plays during this game, but they also made many bonehead plays.  Experience doesn't make ALL of those foolish playes disappear, but it usually does make some of those plays disappear and that can be the difference in winning and losing in the last two games.
• It's going to be tough for Tom Crean to keep these guys up, but I sure hope he can do it because I truly think they are playing pretty good basketball right now.

Go Hoosiers.