Hey look! It's our very own Greg on TV!!!! (upper left corner of the screen, clapping).
This was BY FAR the most exciting part of the game for me for 3 reasons:
(1) I think it was pretty damn cool to see Greg on TV.
(2) There wasn't a whole hell of a lot to be excited about this game.
(3) This actually was the most exciting part of the game -- Roth had just hit a 3 to give IU a 19-18 lead mid-way through the first half.
And I just noticed another really cool thing about this photo -- not only is it a shot of Greg on TV, it also captures IU leading the game 19-18 (which will be rare this year), but another cool thing is that it includes the bottom line update of Kelvin Sampson receiving a 5-year "show-cause" penalty. This freeze-frame is definitely a keeper.
Greg - I actually spotted you and Vicki about four times throughout the game. Thanks for the comments on yesterday's game, please drop us another comment with your thoughts on today's debacle. I hope you are enjoying the scenery outside the arena!
As for my thoughts on today's game....oh brother, this is going to be a much harder season to endure than I anticipated. I thought I would be mentally prepared for this season, but it really sucks to watch your team get embarrassed out there.
Chris nailed it earlier today when he said we are on the national humiliation tour. I am really glad to see that the NCAA got it right by basically banning Sampson for 5 years and not issuing any further sanctions against IU. Why it took them so long to come to that conclusion, I have no idea. The good news is that we can finally move past all that bullshit and move on with our rebuilding process.
Unfortunately, after watching today's game, it became perfectly clear that this rebuilding process is going to take at least into year three of the Crean era. Yes, we have a Top 10 class coming in next year, but I think next year will still be a struggle with all freshmen and sophomores. Also, I think part of our Top 10 class is based somewhat on sheer numbers. I think the fact that we have 6 players coming influences our overall ranking. A class like that is not necessarily better than a 3 player class that has one 5-star, one 4-star, and one 3-star. That 5-star player can generally make an immediate and significant impact. Don't get me wrong, a class with 6 solid players is exactly what IU needs right now -- we just need to be able to field a full team of true scholarship players so that you have some depth and some options. But at the same time, I'm not sure that this class has that player or two that can come in and dominate. One key to next year will be how good is Jeremiah Rivers going to be as a 4th-year Junior?
Anyway, back to today's game, we'll have plenty of time to talk about the future. It's hard not to think about the future when the immediate past and the present make you want to puke.
Overall Team Performance: D
They played much worse than they did against Notre Dame. If you didn't see today's game, the Hoosiers actually started pretty good. It was a close game with lead changes in the first half, but then IU got outscored 7-0 in the final 2-3 minutes to close out the first half and they went into halftime trailing by 5. Not the way you want to finish the half, but all in all, a pretty good first half.
But then it got ugly in a hurry. To follow-up that 7-0 run to end the first half, IU then gave up a 19-0 run in the early going of the second half. IU did score a couple quick buckets out of halftime, but then that 19-0 run happened and this thing was a laugher. And it didn't just end with the 19-0 run, I think there was a whole stretch that had to be something like 34-5. IU's turnovers during the 19-0 run were horrible -- completely unforced turnovers.
We did not have a single player score in double-digits. There are just no answers when this team starts to struggle. Things start to get rough and your only option is to go to the bench and bring in more freshmen and walk-ons. So, I just don't know how this team is going to be able to weather any storms. Crean did the right thing and took 3 timeouts during the 19-0 run, but they would come out of the timeout with yet another unforced turnover.
Also, the defensive awareness was a joke. IU played mostly zone in the first half for a few reasons. One, St Joe's best player was a big man so the zone was collapsing around him (this actually worked very well). Two, St Joe's came into the game shooting 25% from the arc. And three, Tom Pritchard was in foul trouble.
Unfortunately, one of the St Joe's players (Govens) got hot. I think he hit his first 6 treys. But they were all wide open. After he hit two or three, I was yelling at the TV that they have to stay with that guy, but they would continue to leave him wide open. Crean even said in the postgame that this guy was at the top of the scouting report, but the guys just didn't stay aware of where he was.
And finally, another poor shooting performance by the Hoosiers from the line (15-23) and the arc (3-14).
Nick Williams: C+
He was OK. I noticed him with some hustle plays, etc., but nothing special.
Tom Pritchard: C-
Only 7 minutes in the first half due to 2 fouls and only 17 minutes overall. Definitely his worst performance to date, but still showed some of the things we liked about him in the first 3 games.
Daniel Moore: D-
Moore was horrible today. 7 turnovers and 0-2 from the line. Some really, really bad passes today. I guess he did have 3 assists and 3 steals, both of which led the team. But I really expected to see double-digit turnovers when I checked the box score. I was also surprised that Crean played him 29 minutes even though he was struggling so much. But I guess that just goes back to the point of nobody else to turn to.
Verdell Jones: B-
His lack of strength continues to be a problem when he drives the ball, although he was able to convert on a couple crafty moves. He was 4-8 from the field and only 1 turnover, so there are a couple positives.
Devan Dumes: D+
Dumes needs to be better. Period. He has some experience, so he needs to be the one that can take the ball and make something positive happen. Unfortunately, he can't seem to get his shots to fall on both his drives to the basket and his 3-point shot. Another 0-3 from the arc today makes him 0-7 in Maui and 2-16 in the last 3 games from downtown. Also went 2-4 from the line which makes him 2-6 from the line in Maui. He has to do better than that. Tack on 5 turnovers and it just wasn't a good day.
Matt Roth: B
Hit 2-3 from the arc. That's what we need.
Brett Finkelmeier: D-
Tough day for the walk-ons from Carmel. Finkelmeier had 2 turnovers in just 5 minutes of play.
Malik Story: B
I'm liking what I see out of Story. He was today's leading scorer with 9 points and added 4 rebounds and 2 steals. I was a little surprised that he didn't get more than 17 minutes with the way that most of the team was struggling. However, it's been hard to really notice because the whole team defense is so bad, but I do suspect that defense is his weak spot with this coaching staff and that is why he is not seeing more minutes. On the offensive end, he is active, he can shoot the 3-ball (1-4 today, but at least he made one), and he can get in the lane. It's not always a positive result, but at least it's something. This guy really, really reminds me of Robert Vaden.
Tijan Jobe: B
2 points on 1-1 FG shooting and 3 rebounds.....hey, it was a career day! And maybe now that expectations are so low, anything positive is a bonus. But in all honesty, Jobe came in and was serviceable today. He went after a couple rebounds aggressively. Unfortunately, he is a non-factor defensively and simply does not know how to use his size effectively.
I will tell you one thing, I am fascinated by Tijan Jobe. I wonder if Crean would hire me as an assistant to work solely with Jobe. Heck, that one baseball player is on the team because he won a 3-point shooting contest, so anything is possible this year. If I were to be given the opportunity to coach Jobe, I would simply kick him in the nuts repeatedly until he ripped my head off, dunked it, and tore down the entire basketball goal. At that point, he would finally be ready.
Kyle Taber: B
7 points, 6 rebounds, 3-3 from the line, and an impressive post move. Pretty good, but he did miss one wide open layup.
Tomorrow's Game: IU plays Chaminade at 6pm CT on ESPNU. This will probably be a close game. I'll be traveling to the Hoosier state tomorrow and I'm not sure that I will have access to ESPNU, so I don't know when I will get around to posting about that game. I will be recording the game at home for viewing at a later date.
Stephen Curry: I also just wanted to make note about Stephen Curry in case you have not seen the insane start to his season and then the bizarre twist in today's game.
First, check out these first 5 games from Curry:
Game 1 - 29 points, 10 assists, 9 steals
Game 2 - 33 points, 9 assists, 4 steals
Game 3 - 44 points, 3 assists, 2 steals
Game 4 - 30 points, 13 assists, 3 steals
Game 5 - 39 points, 4 assists, 0 steals
Heading into today's game, he was averaging 35.0 points, just under 8 assists, 3.5 steals, 53% FG, 45% 3-pt FG, and 91% FT.
In today's game, he was held scoreless. But here's the kicker, he was held scoreless while Davidson cruised to an easy 78-48 win over Loyala (Md). The reason it was so easy was because Loyola was double-teaming Curry no matter where he went. So, Curry just went and stood in the corner, 2 defenders went and stood with him, and then the rest of the Davidson team played 4-on-3 for the whole game.
Here is the full article: http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/gamecenter/recap/NCAAB_20081125_LOYMD@DAVID
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
IU 54 St Joe's 80
Hey look! It's our very own Greg on TV!!!! (upper left corner of the screen, clapping).
This was BY FAR the most exciting part of the game for me for 3 reasons:
(1) I think it was pretty damn cool to see Greg on TV.
(2) There wasn't a whole hell of a lot to be excited about this game.
(3) This actually was the most exciting part of the game -- Roth had just hit a 3 to give IU a 19-18 lead mid-way through the first half.
And I just noticed another really cool thing about this photo -- not only is it a shot of Greg on TV, it also captures IU leading the game 19-18 (which will be rare this year), but another cool thing is that it includes the bottom line update of Kelvin Sampson receiving a 5-year "show-cause" penalty. This freeze-frame is definitely a keeper.
Greg - I actually spotted you and Vicki about four times throughout the game. Thanks for the comments on yesterday's game, please drop us another comment with your thoughts on today's debacle. I hope you are enjoying the scenery outside the arena!
As for my thoughts on today's game....oh brother, this is going to be a much harder season to endure than I anticipated. I thought I would be mentally prepared for this season, but it really sucks to watch your team get embarrassed out there.
Chris nailed it earlier today when he said we are on the national humiliation tour. I am really glad to see that the NCAA got it right by basically banning Sampson for 5 years and not issuing any further sanctions against IU. Why it took them so long to come to that conclusion, I have no idea. The good news is that we can finally move past all that bullshit and move on with our rebuilding process.
Unfortunately, after watching today's game, it became perfectly clear that this rebuilding process is going to take at least into year three of the Crean era. Yes, we have a Top 10 class coming in next year, but I think next year will still be a struggle with all freshmen and sophomores. Also, I think part of our Top 10 class is based somewhat on sheer numbers. I think the fact that we have 6 players coming influences our overall ranking. A class like that is not necessarily better than a 3 player class that has one 5-star, one 4-star, and one 3-star. That 5-star player can generally make an immediate and significant impact. Don't get me wrong, a class with 6 solid players is exactly what IU needs right now -- we just need to be able to field a full team of true scholarship players so that you have some depth and some options. But at the same time, I'm not sure that this class has that player or two that can come in and dominate. One key to next year will be how good is Jeremiah Rivers going to be as a 4th-year Junior?
Anyway, back to today's game, we'll have plenty of time to talk about the future. It's hard not to think about the future when the immediate past and the present make you want to puke.
Overall Team Performance: D
They played much worse than they did against Notre Dame. If you didn't see today's game, the Hoosiers actually started pretty good. It was a close game with lead changes in the first half, but then IU got outscored 7-0 in the final 2-3 minutes to close out the first half and they went into halftime trailing by 5. Not the way you want to finish the half, but all in all, a pretty good first half.
But then it got ugly in a hurry. To follow-up that 7-0 run to end the first half, IU then gave up a 19-0 run in the early going of the second half. IU did score a couple quick buckets out of halftime, but then that 19-0 run happened and this thing was a laugher. And it didn't just end with the 19-0 run, I think there was a whole stretch that had to be something like 34-5. IU's turnovers during the 19-0 run were horrible -- completely unforced turnovers.
We did not have a single player score in double-digits. There are just no answers when this team starts to struggle. Things start to get rough and your only option is to go to the bench and bring in more freshmen and walk-ons. So, I just don't know how this team is going to be able to weather any storms. Crean did the right thing and took 3 timeouts during the 19-0 run, but they would come out of the timeout with yet another unforced turnover.
Also, the defensive awareness was a joke. IU played mostly zone in the first half for a few reasons. One, St Joe's best player was a big man so the zone was collapsing around him (this actually worked very well). Two, St Joe's came into the game shooting 25% from the arc. And three, Tom Pritchard was in foul trouble.
Unfortunately, one of the St Joe's players (Govens) got hot. I think he hit his first 6 treys. But they were all wide open. After he hit two or three, I was yelling at the TV that they have to stay with that guy, but they would continue to leave him wide open. Crean even said in the postgame that this guy was at the top of the scouting report, but the guys just didn't stay aware of where he was.
And finally, another poor shooting performance by the Hoosiers from the line (15-23) and the arc (3-14).
Nick Williams: C+
He was OK. I noticed him with some hustle plays, etc., but nothing special.
Tom Pritchard: C-
Only 7 minutes in the first half due to 2 fouls and only 17 minutes overall. Definitely his worst performance to date, but still showed some of the things we liked about him in the first 3 games.
Daniel Moore: D-
Moore was horrible today. 7 turnovers and 0-2 from the line. Some really, really bad passes today. I guess he did have 3 assists and 3 steals, both of which led the team. But I really expected to see double-digit turnovers when I checked the box score. I was also surprised that Crean played him 29 minutes even though he was struggling so much. But I guess that just goes back to the point of nobody else to turn to.
Verdell Jones: B-
His lack of strength continues to be a problem when he drives the ball, although he was able to convert on a couple crafty moves. He was 4-8 from the field and only 1 turnover, so there are a couple positives.
Devan Dumes: D+
Dumes needs to be better. Period. He has some experience, so he needs to be the one that can take the ball and make something positive happen. Unfortunately, he can't seem to get his shots to fall on both his drives to the basket and his 3-point shot. Another 0-3 from the arc today makes him 0-7 in Maui and 2-16 in the last 3 games from downtown. Also went 2-4 from the line which makes him 2-6 from the line in Maui. He has to do better than that. Tack on 5 turnovers and it just wasn't a good day.
Matt Roth: B
Hit 2-3 from the arc. That's what we need.
Brett Finkelmeier: D-
Tough day for the walk-ons from Carmel. Finkelmeier had 2 turnovers in just 5 minutes of play.
Malik Story: B
I'm liking what I see out of Story. He was today's leading scorer with 9 points and added 4 rebounds and 2 steals. I was a little surprised that he didn't get more than 17 minutes with the way that most of the team was struggling. However, it's been hard to really notice because the whole team defense is so bad, but I do suspect that defense is his weak spot with this coaching staff and that is why he is not seeing more minutes. On the offensive end, he is active, he can shoot the 3-ball (1-4 today, but at least he made one), and he can get in the lane. It's not always a positive result, but at least it's something. This guy really, really reminds me of Robert Vaden.
Tijan Jobe: B
2 points on 1-1 FG shooting and 3 rebounds.....hey, it was a career day! And maybe now that expectations are so low, anything positive is a bonus. But in all honesty, Jobe came in and was serviceable today. He went after a couple rebounds aggressively. Unfortunately, he is a non-factor defensively and simply does not know how to use his size effectively.
I will tell you one thing, I am fascinated by Tijan Jobe. I wonder if Crean would hire me as an assistant to work solely with Jobe. Heck, that one baseball player is on the team because he won a 3-point shooting contest, so anything is possible this year. If I were to be given the opportunity to coach Jobe, I would simply kick him in the nuts repeatedly until he ripped my head off, dunked it, and tore down the entire basketball goal. At that point, he would finally be ready.
Kyle Taber: B
7 points, 6 rebounds, 3-3 from the line, and an impressive post move. Pretty good, but he did miss one wide open layup.
Tomorrow's Game: IU plays Chaminade at 6pm CT on ESPNU. This will probably be a close game. I'll be traveling to the Hoosier state tomorrow and I'm not sure that I will have access to ESPNU, so I don't know when I will get around to posting about that game. I will be recording the game at home for viewing at a later date.
Stephen Curry: I also just wanted to make note about Stephen Curry in case you have not seen the insane start to his season and then the bizarre twist in today's game.
First, check out these first 5 games from Curry:
Game 1 - 29 points, 10 assists, 9 steals
Game 2 - 33 points, 9 assists, 4 steals
Game 3 - 44 points, 3 assists, 2 steals
Game 4 - 30 points, 13 assists, 3 steals
Game 5 - 39 points, 4 assists, 0 steals
Heading into today's game, he was averaging 35.0 points, just under 8 assists, 3.5 steals, 53% FG, 45% 3-pt FG, and 91% FT.
In today's game, he was held scoreless. But here's the kicker, he was held scoreless while Davidson cruised to an easy 78-48 win over Loyala (Md). The reason it was so easy was because Loyola was double-teaming Curry no matter where he went. So, Curry just went and stood in the corner, 2 defenders went and stood with him, and then the rest of the Davidson team played 4-on-3 for the whole game.
Here is the full article: http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/gamecenter/recap/NCAAB_20081125_LOYMD@DAVID
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7 comments:
Greg:
Jeff, thanks for the picture. The game sucked as you noted. The repeated turnovers early in the second half resulting in multiple breakaway dunks by St. Joe's demoralized the team. Again, the atmosphere is great, and I would highly recommend to any IU fan attending this event in the future (of course when we actually have a chance of winning the tournament) The venue is smaller than most Indiana high school gyms. The Hoosier fans have been loud and enthusiastic despite our poor play. I think Crean needs to start trimming the rotation. I would not play Finkelmeier at all. I would reduce Moore's minutes and give Jones more experience handling the ball. I would definitely give more minutes to Story. Roth seems to have decent ball handling skills and needs to be more active instead of just hanging around the 3 point line. In other words I think he can give us more than just perimeter shots. Devin Dumes unfortunately never saw a shot he didn't like. However, he does have the strength, experience and skill that the other guards don't right now. So, I would concentrate the minutes to Dumes, Jones, Roth, Taber, Pritchard, Williams, and Story. Moore has basketball instincts, but not the physical tools or scoring threat to make him the prominent point guard on this team. I have low expectations for this team. I only want to see consistent effort and some improvement throughout the year. I don't expect us to really compete for anything until year 3 of the Crean era. We saw the players leaving the locker room and I took a picture of Viki with Matt Roth. He seemed like a good kid. Unfortunately, I also noticed that I am slightly taller than Nick Williams. Anyway, we must beat Chaminade tomorrow. I'll send another report after that game.
cook:
maybe people are starting to see that as much as we love danny's effort he is overwhelemed talent/size-wise? still like pritch a lot. i think williams will be fine if he'll stop passing up open shots(other than 3's-he can pass those up). nice to see roth hit a couple-notice they weren't from 30 feet. my next post will address the 3 year thing...
cook:
i know we won't be great next year, but i still think an 18 win season is realistic. think how much better we'll be at each position: current PG-Moore(walk-on)-next year: Rivers-big east experience, big PG, great defender or Hulls-4 star recruit. SG-Dumes-next year: Dumes-a year better and not having to be the go to guy. SF-Williams-3 star recruit-next year: Creek-4 star recruit with more offense than anyone we currently have on our roster. PF-Story-next year: Watford-4 star recruit with more offense than anyone on our current roster. C-Pritchard-next year: Pritchard a year better and they won't be able to double him (or Muniru) or 6-8, 4 star elston will be good enough to knock one of those guys out!
Greg, thanks for the write up and I agree with your thoughts on the rotation. Also, I think you should head to Bloomington and join the team....we could use the size.
Cook, I agree that Nick Williams is passing up some good looks. I specifically recall one instance where he passed up a 10-footer (which is his specialty) and passed it to Taber for a 10-footer.
My final thought is that I think this type of tournament with consecutive games is not exactly what this team needs right now. I think there could have been a lot of benefit from having 4 or 5 days off after the Notre Dame game so they could review the film, learn from that game, practice, and then prepare for a new team. More expereinced teams get an even bigger upper-hand when there is no time to prepare. So, I guess we better watch out for Chaminade today.
Great photo of Greg! I think it's hilarious how he is sitting on Viki's shoulders to get a better view.
Anyway, this tean obviously has a long way to go. But I think they will be fine if they can improve in the following simple areas: 3-point shooting, free throw shooting, defense, rebounding, turnovers, depth and experience.
The non-sarcastic positives are: hustle, energy, team spirit, coaching, Sampson 5 year show cause (although a life time ban would have been nice) and the fans. It appears that the fans are staying upbeat and behind this team - even when they are getting throttled by 30 points (Greg - can you confirm this?). Also, 7 players scored at least 6 points but none in double figures. They really need someone they can go to when they need a bucket. Hopefully Dumes and Pritchard can quickly develop into that guy.
Let's hope they can beat Chaminade.
Andy,
The fans here are very supportive even when we are being crushed.
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