IU 50 ND 88

Well, the good news is that is exactly what I expected. I fully expected a 30-40 point loss and that's what happened. The bad news is that we are going to have to endure these types of games all season long. There's just no way around it. We are going to have to look (and sometimes look hard) for any positives out of this team that will hopefully carry forward to the next few years. Even though I was fully expecting a loss of this nature, it was still painful to watch. This young and small team is going to struggle on the boards all year long. It's also clear that they are going to really struggle on the defensive end -- not only are they often outmatched physically and athletically, but it is very common for freshmen to struggle defensively. And finally, they are struggling on the offensive end because most of these guys are used to high school where they can get into the lane and then finish with a clear shot at the basket. Now at the college level, every shot is contested and you are often getting pushed and bumped in the process. So, the result has been a lot of nice moves by the Hoosiers but then they end up just chucking something off the backboard after their shot is altered. And finally, young players are always going to struggle with turnovers. So, if you are a team that is a young team without any size that is going to struggle rebounding, struggle on the defensive end, struggle on the offensive end, and have a lot of turnovers.....well then, you are going to have a lot of games like tonight. There are two areas where I think this team can improve and that is FT shooting and 3-pt shooting. They were just 1-12 from the arc tonight and only 7-13 from the line. Other than those two things, it is what it is. To put all of this into perspective, let's take a look at some of the roles on this team. We will look at this 3 ways -- their current role on this team, what I think their role would be in a normal year, and what I think their role will be next year and future years. Kyle Taber (this year) - Senior leader of this team that will likely start most of the year and will see significant minutes. Kyle Taber (normal year) - Well, last year as a junior, he did not even see the floor until last year's team completely imploded. Even then, when he did play and get an offensive rebound, he was under strict orders to dribble it back out and give the ball to Eric Gordon. So, if this was a normal year, Taber would likely be sitting on the end of the bench and we wouldn't hear his name until Senior night. Kyle Taber (next year and future years) - N/A Verdell Jones (this year) - Starting point guard. Verdell Jones (normal year) - I think he would be a candidate for a redshirt year. He is just not strong enough to be ready for big-time college basketball. Verdell Jones (next year and future years) - The point guard position gets really interesting next year. You will have Jones who will have a full year with a lot of minutes under his belt. Jeremiah Rivers who was on the Big East All-Defensive team will enter the mix. Jordan Hulls looks to be a really nice point guard recruit out of Bloomington. And Daniel Moore looks like he could continue to compete for time. So, it will be really interesting how it all shakes out, but that will hopefully be a good problem to have. I do think Jones could be a good player if he can get stronger and improve his jump-shot. Devan Dumes (this year) - The number one scoring option on the perimeter. Devan Dumes (normal year) - I would see him as the first guard coming off the bench. Devan Dumes (next year) - I'm hoping we will see better things from Dumes this year. I feel like he has been struggling to find his groove in these first 3 games. If he can improve all year, then I would think he would start and be a key scorer as a senior on next year's team. Tom Pritchard (this year) - The number one (and only) scoring option inside. In the early going, he looks to be the "go-to guy". Tom Pritchard (normal year) - Probably the first big man off the bench and would see significant minutes. Tom Pritchard (next year and future years) - I think Tom Pritchard is going to be a great Hoosier. Even if IU brings in a couple big-time scorers (and let's hope there are a couple on the way), I think Pritchard will be a major contributor throughout his career. Nick Williams (this year) - Starter with major minutes. Emotional leader. Nick Williams (normal year) - Maybe see some minutes off the bench but not many. Seems like he just needs some time to learn and become more polished. Nick Williams (next year and future years) - He won't ever be the leading scorer, but I think he will be able to do a little bit of everything. I think he might end up being a fan-favorite. Matt Roth (this year) - Will play significant minutes. Matt Roth (normal year) - Probably wouldn't see the floor much as a freshman. Looks to be a pure shooter, but has to improve in other areas, especially on the defensive end. Matt Roth (next year and future years) - I think Roth will normally come off the bench and will be a Kyle Hornsby type of player. Malik Story (this year) - Will play significant minutes. Malik Story (normal year) - Probably wouldn't see the floor much as a freshman. Needs more polishing. Malik Story (next year and future years) - Not sure. Looks like he potentially has a lot to offer -- he has good size, he can shoot, and it looks like he could potentially be a good passer and someone you could give the ball to on the wing to either feed the post, drive the lane, or shoot the 3. He's not there yet, but I do see that potential in him. Daniel Moore (this year) - Significant point guard minutes and maybe even the starter. Daniel Moore (normal year) - In all honesty, a walk-on freshman at IU normally wouldn't ever see the floor (whether he deserves it or not). Daniel Moore (next year and future years) - As noted above, the point guard position gets a lot more crowded next year. However, I see Moore as the type of guy that is going to make it hard on Crean not to play him. He will be ready if any of those other guys have their head up their ass. Tijan Jobe (this year) - He's going to have to play. Tijan Jobe (normal year) - Would not be on the roster of a major D-1 school. Tijan Jobe (next year) - Will be used in practice to "uncurl" the net. Brett Finkelmeier (this year) - Going to see some minutes. Brett Finkelmeier (next year and future years) - Back to the end of the bench. Other walk-ons (next year and future years) - Grab some water bottles because being a manager is going to be the best you can do. So, when you add it all up, you really only have Pritchard and Dumes and maybe Williams that I would see significantly contributing in a normal year. That makes it very difficult on all these guys because they are all being asked to play roles that are much larger than they are capable of. And that can make a big difference. I think Devan Dumes could be much more effective as a 2nd or 3rd option on the perimeter than he will be as the 1st scoring option on the perimeter. Well, that is basically what I typed up the other night before my internet connection went down and I lost my whole post. So, I hope that was worthwhile. Now, back to today's game. With all of the above having been said, we will do our best to try to find some positives. Overall Team Performance: B- What can you say, that was what we expected and you certainly can't blame these guys. So, I give the team a B- and Kelvin Sampson gets an F- for putting us in this situation. Sure, you can analyze that the got outrebounded by 10, they had 20 turnovers while only forcing 10, and they were often out of position time and again on the defensive end. But again, that is where you expect this team to be against a very good and experienced Notre Dame team. Tom Pritchard: A- I wanted to start with Pritchard because he really impressed me again today. He was going up against last year's Big East Player of the Year and a national Player of the Year candidate this year and he held his own. After a solid first two games, I really thought that Pritchard was going to end up looking foolish in this one. Although he did look foolish on a couple possessions, he also had some really nice moves and more than held his own against Harongody. In fact, statistically, it was pretty much a dead heat with Pritchard having 14 & 6 and Harongody having 14 & 5. Of course, Notre Dame had this game in hand and didn't really need to rely on Harongody, but I was still impressed with Pritchard. Malik Story: B- Hit IU's only 3, but didn't do much else. Like many of the Hoosiers, he will make a nice move, but then seems to be in unfamiliar territory when a 6' 10" dude slides over and he'll end up with a poor shot or a turnover. Matt Roth: D Ok, wise guy, let's step in to 21 feet or less and start making those before you continue to launch from 26 feet and beyond. Daniel Moore: C+ I thought he started really good by running down loose balls and running the offense, but as the game went on, he was completely outmatched on the defensive end and also ended up having 4 turnovers. Devan Dumes: C+ Need some consistency. He would make a few really nice drives and pull-up jumpers, but then would make a bad play. This team really needs him to be hitting from downtown (0-4 tonight). Also, coming in as a junior and quoted as "loving to play defense", I think I was hoping for more on the defensive end. He really looked bad on several plays on defense, but then again, when your team defense is that bad, it's often hard to tell who screwed up. Dumes was also 0-2 from the line, that just can't happen. Verdell Jones: C Played a little better late in the game. There were several times that he just looked foolish trying to drive into the teeth of the defense. He better work on his Reggie Miller flops so that he starts getting more foul calls or else he just gets pounded to the floor and turns it over or throws up a bad shot. He did go 4-4 from the line, so there's a positive. Nick Williams: B Williams had a good night on the offensive end by going 5-9 from the field. He had a nice mid-range jumper going today. Only 2 boards though. Even though he is only 6' 4", he has to use his energy to be all over the boards. Kyle Taber: C- Only played 11 minutes, which was a little surprising. Didn't even attempt a shot. Tijan Jobe: C- Well, I thought it was going to be Jobe's night. He pulled down 2 rebounds within the first minute of being in the game. But then he played another 8 minutes and did absolutely nothing. At 7-feet tall, he was a total non-factor on defense even as Notre Dame drove right down the lane. The term "project" would be an understatement and the fact that IU only has 2 years on this project probably won't yield much in results. Tom Crean: A I have absolutely no complaints of what Crean has done since becoming IU's head coach. By the way, tomorrow's game is at 12:30 CT on ESPNU, so I'm not sure how many people will be able to catch that one. I don't think that game will be as ugly as today's, but I still expect it to end up in the 'L' column. Hopefully, I'm wrong. Go Hoosiers!