Was I impressed? No.
Was I happy they won? Yes.
Was I happy they won by more than a handful over Northwestern State? Yes.
Did I expect to be impressed? No.
I actually think this was a HUGE win for this Hoosier team. Not because they won, but just because of what the psyche would have been if they lost.
This game started with NW St taking an 8-2 lead and I actually thought we were going to lose this game. Seriously, how were we to expect that a bunch of freshmen, JuCo's, and Kyle Taber would respond. It's actually a ridiculous question to even be asking yourself when you think about it. We don't even know who these guys are.
But as they game went on, I think we started to see who these guys and Tom Crean are. And not only that, we started to see who they can be.
I'm really excited. I think we got the right guy as our coach and I think these freshmen are going to be the foundation of some great teams in years 3 & 4 of the Crean N Crimson era.
However, as Hoosier fans, we don't want to live in the future, nor do we want to rely on our storied past. It's college basketball season and I think we have plenty to talk about in the now.
So, let's get started with our first report card of the year.
Overall Team Performance: B-
Hey, they won a game that I actually thought they might lose. So, that's good. I thought the rebounding was atrocious. When you only have 3 guys on the team over 6'6" and those 3 guys are two 6'8" un-athletic white guys and a 7-footer who has never seen a basketball, you are going to expect a poor rebounding team. That said, tonight's rebounding was still horrific. Yet another thing I like about Tom Crean.....the first thing out of his mouth was how bad the rebounding was. If you rebound like that against NW St, imagine what will happen against MSU and WI. Crean is going to have to coach all 5 guys to hit the glass.
The other disturbing thing was the turnovers. Yet again, this is expected with an extremely young team.
I did like that they played hard throughout the game. They could have folded like a card table when they went down 8-2 in the early going, but they didn't. They hung in there and eventually turned this thing into an easy victory in the 2nd half.
Tom Pritchard: B+
A double-double (13 & 10) in your first game as a Hooiser.....not too bad. Probably didn't "Wow" too many people tonight, but I was overall pretty impressed with Pritchard. Let's just put it this way, I don't think we are going to have to resort to "Pritcheville" or "Lindetard".
Kyle Taber: C
Wow, what a tough role for Kyle Taber. To go from a guy that came on late last year for some effective spot minutes on a dysfunctional team....to being the leader of the first ever 17 & Under Division I college basketball team. And then, to boot, he injures his knee and this is the first full action he sees.
So, a grade of a C is tough. But I do think we will see much better games out of Taber. I am a big fan, I thank him for sticking with us, and I look forward to what he has to offer this team.
As for tonight, it was a little all over the place. We saw some bright spots that showed us why we started to like this guy late last year. Then we saw some other plays that showed us why he rarely saw the light of day on a legitimate contending team.
Verdell Jones: C
Looking at his stat line of 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks....you wouldn't think that worthy of a C grade. However, I think the stat of 3 turnovers has to be a misprint. I thought Jones had about 8 turnovers and made some extremely poor decisions. When you play the point guard position, these things are magnified. If your turn it over out front, it often leads to a fast break. And then other things that don't show up in the stat line....a great pass is an easy dunk, but I think we saw some lazy passes tonight that caused guys to chase the ball down in the corner. Do you see what I mean -- big difference between an easy 2 versus a bad pass that we have to chase down and re-set. Even though it's not a turnover, it's a missed opportunity.
Don't get me wrong, I like Verdell's game and love the fact that he is a 6'5" point guard, but he didn't look strong enough or quick enough to play against a low major much less the Big Ten.
That said, he did not give up. Even after a couple rough plays, he kept attacking. And I love that! I love that attitude. He could have folded, but he kept at it and still found a way to finish with 18, 5, 4, 3, & 3. That's a pretty damn good stat line for a true freshman who appeared to "struggle".
Nick Williams: C
Hey, the fact is that these true freshmen are going to have to play whether they are ready or not. I think Nick Williams is ready, but he had 6 TOs tonight and got schooled on some back-door cuts.
That said, I REALLY like this guy. I think he is an AJ Moye type of player. I don't think he will lead the team in scoring, but I do think he will hustle his ass off and do whatever it takes to help this team win.
Devan Dumes: A-
To be honest, this is what I expect out of Dumes. He led the team tonight with 21 points and I do expect him to lead this team in scoring. I think his experience of playing collegiate ball already clearly showed over the true freshmen tonight. He looked like he belonged out there. His back-to-back treys in the first half helped the Hoosiers get this game to double-digits and they really never looked back.
Matt Roth: B+
From reading articles, some people expect Matt Roth to be one of the stars of this class. I just don't see that. I see him as a sharp-shooter and not much else. I picture Kyle Hornsby. From what I saw tonight, I stand by my thinking. I thought his shot looked great - he nailed his first trey and then the other three that he shot all looked good and had a chance to go in. When you talk great shooters, their misses are generally "in-and-out" or "half-way down". Think back to Steve Alford -- that guy never missed badly. It either went in or it damn near went in. That is what I saw out of Matt Roth tonight. However, I didn't see much else. For example, I don't think he will ever be a great defender or a great ball-handler, but if he can truly be a pure shooter, then he will definitely find his place on this team and the teams of the next 3 years.
By the way, Roth was 4-4 from the line. Nice.
Daniel Moore: A-
I was incredibly impressed with Daniel Moore (walk-on freshman out of Carmel). I thought the team ran better with him at the point than it did with Verdell Jones. I actually think it will be interesting how the point guard position pans out this year. Verdell's upside is a million times that of Moore; however, Moore may give them a better chance to win and compete this year.
I thought Moore's ball-handling and decision-making were pretty impressive. You kind of feel like he is the type of guy that is going to make it very difficult for Crean to keep him off the floor and that is exactly what you want to see.
Brett Finkelmeier: B-
He was out there, he was hustling, but he didn't leave me with the same feeling as Daniel Moore. But he was ready to play defensively and came away with 3 steals.
Malik Story: B+
I was pretty impressed with Story. He's got a body like Robert Vaden and his game might turn out to be similar. I thought he came in tonight and made some really nice plays and think he could be the sleeper in this freshman class. (Note: that might mean sleeping through class).
Tijan Jobe: D
I've never seen someone that looks like him in an IU uniform. One problem.....he sucks. This is going to sound crazy, but here's what I think you do with Jobe. I think you red-shirt him next year.
Here's why. He has an excellent basketball body, but it's pretty clear that he is still learning the game and learning how to use his body to his advantage. You can't redshirt him this year because you have absolutely no size on this year's team. Next year, you have another player coming in from Africa in Bawa Maniru. At the very least, Jobe gives other big men some size to deal with in practice. But I really think if you can give Jobe an extra year, he might be able to contribute in the following year. And that might be contributing to a team where it actually means something. My fear is that this guy will get things figured out around the end of next year and then our time will be done with him.
Anyway, I wouldn't expect too much this year. This guy has a long way to go.
Tom Crean: A
This grade is not so much for tonight, but just recognition for the job he has done since stepping in. He stepped into an absolute shit-storm and I think he has done a great job thus far. Keep up the good work, Tom.
Go Hoosiers!
Saturday, November 15, 2008
IU 83 NW St 65
Was I impressed? No.
Was I happy they won? Yes.
Was I happy they won by more than a handful over Northwestern State? Yes.
Did I expect to be impressed? No.
I actually think this was a HUGE win for this Hoosier team. Not because they won, but just because of what the psyche would have been if they lost.
This game started with NW St taking an 8-2 lead and I actually thought we were going to lose this game. Seriously, how were we to expect that a bunch of freshmen, JuCo's, and Kyle Taber would respond. It's actually a ridiculous question to even be asking yourself when you think about it. We don't even know who these guys are.
But as they game went on, I think we started to see who these guys and Tom Crean are. And not only that, we started to see who they can be.
I'm really excited. I think we got the right guy as our coach and I think these freshmen are going to be the foundation of some great teams in years 3 & 4 of the Crean N Crimson era.
However, as Hoosier fans, we don't want to live in the future, nor do we want to rely on our storied past. It's college basketball season and I think we have plenty to talk about in the now.
So, let's get started with our first report card of the year.
Overall Team Performance: B-
Hey, they won a game that I actually thought they might lose. So, that's good. I thought the rebounding was atrocious. When you only have 3 guys on the team over 6'6" and those 3 guys are two 6'8" un-athletic white guys and a 7-footer who has never seen a basketball, you are going to expect a poor rebounding team. That said, tonight's rebounding was still horrific. Yet another thing I like about Tom Crean.....the first thing out of his mouth was how bad the rebounding was. If you rebound like that against NW St, imagine what will happen against MSU and WI. Crean is going to have to coach all 5 guys to hit the glass.
The other disturbing thing was the turnovers. Yet again, this is expected with an extremely young team.
I did like that they played hard throughout the game. They could have folded like a card table when they went down 8-2 in the early going, but they didn't. They hung in there and eventually turned this thing into an easy victory in the 2nd half.
Tom Pritchard: B+
A double-double (13 & 10) in your first game as a Hooiser.....not too bad. Probably didn't "Wow" too many people tonight, but I was overall pretty impressed with Pritchard. Let's just put it this way, I don't think we are going to have to resort to "Pritcheville" or "Lindetard".
Kyle Taber: C
Wow, what a tough role for Kyle Taber. To go from a guy that came on late last year for some effective spot minutes on a dysfunctional team....to being the leader of the first ever 17 & Under Division I college basketball team. And then, to boot, he injures his knee and this is the first full action he sees.
So, a grade of a C is tough. But I do think we will see much better games out of Taber. I am a big fan, I thank him for sticking with us, and I look forward to what he has to offer this team.
As for tonight, it was a little all over the place. We saw some bright spots that showed us why we started to like this guy late last year. Then we saw some other plays that showed us why he rarely saw the light of day on a legitimate contending team.
Verdell Jones: C
Looking at his stat line of 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks....you wouldn't think that worthy of a C grade. However, I think the stat of 3 turnovers has to be a misprint. I thought Jones had about 8 turnovers and made some extremely poor decisions. When you play the point guard position, these things are magnified. If your turn it over out front, it often leads to a fast break. And then other things that don't show up in the stat line....a great pass is an easy dunk, but I think we saw some lazy passes tonight that caused guys to chase the ball down in the corner. Do you see what I mean -- big difference between an easy 2 versus a bad pass that we have to chase down and re-set. Even though it's not a turnover, it's a missed opportunity.
Don't get me wrong, I like Verdell's game and love the fact that he is a 6'5" point guard, but he didn't look strong enough or quick enough to play against a low major much less the Big Ten.
That said, he did not give up. Even after a couple rough plays, he kept attacking. And I love that! I love that attitude. He could have folded, but he kept at it and still found a way to finish with 18, 5, 4, 3, & 3. That's a pretty damn good stat line for a true freshman who appeared to "struggle".
Nick Williams: C
Hey, the fact is that these true freshmen are going to have to play whether they are ready or not. I think Nick Williams is ready, but he had 6 TOs tonight and got schooled on some back-door cuts.
That said, I REALLY like this guy. I think he is an AJ Moye type of player. I don't think he will lead the team in scoring, but I do think he will hustle his ass off and do whatever it takes to help this team win.
Devan Dumes: A-
To be honest, this is what I expect out of Dumes. He led the team tonight with 21 points and I do expect him to lead this team in scoring. I think his experience of playing collegiate ball already clearly showed over the true freshmen tonight. He looked like he belonged out there. His back-to-back treys in the first half helped the Hoosiers get this game to double-digits and they really never looked back.
Matt Roth: B+
From reading articles, some people expect Matt Roth to be one of the stars of this class. I just don't see that. I see him as a sharp-shooter and not much else. I picture Kyle Hornsby. From what I saw tonight, I stand by my thinking. I thought his shot looked great - he nailed his first trey and then the other three that he shot all looked good and had a chance to go in. When you talk great shooters, their misses are generally "in-and-out" or "half-way down". Think back to Steve Alford -- that guy never missed badly. It either went in or it damn near went in. That is what I saw out of Matt Roth tonight. However, I didn't see much else. For example, I don't think he will ever be a great defender or a great ball-handler, but if he can truly be a pure shooter, then he will definitely find his place on this team and the teams of the next 3 years.
By the way, Roth was 4-4 from the line. Nice.
Daniel Moore: A-
I was incredibly impressed with Daniel Moore (walk-on freshman out of Carmel). I thought the team ran better with him at the point than it did with Verdell Jones. I actually think it will be interesting how the point guard position pans out this year. Verdell's upside is a million times that of Moore; however, Moore may give them a better chance to win and compete this year.
I thought Moore's ball-handling and decision-making were pretty impressive. You kind of feel like he is the type of guy that is going to make it very difficult for Crean to keep him off the floor and that is exactly what you want to see.
Brett Finkelmeier: B-
He was out there, he was hustling, but he didn't leave me with the same feeling as Daniel Moore. But he was ready to play defensively and came away with 3 steals.
Malik Story: B+
I was pretty impressed with Story. He's got a body like Robert Vaden and his game might turn out to be similar. I thought he came in tonight and made some really nice plays and think he could be the sleeper in this freshman class. (Note: that might mean sleeping through class).
Tijan Jobe: D
I've never seen someone that looks like him in an IU uniform. One problem.....he sucks. This is going to sound crazy, but here's what I think you do with Jobe. I think you red-shirt him next year.
Here's why. He has an excellent basketball body, but it's pretty clear that he is still learning the game and learning how to use his body to his advantage. You can't redshirt him this year because you have absolutely no size on this year's team. Next year, you have another player coming in from Africa in Bawa Maniru. At the very least, Jobe gives other big men some size to deal with in practice. But I really think if you can give Jobe an extra year, he might be able to contribute in the following year. And that might be contributing to a team where it actually means something. My fear is that this guy will get things figured out around the end of next year and then our time will be done with him.
Anyway, I wouldn't expect too much this year. This guy has a long way to go.
Tom Crean: A
This grade is not so much for tonight, but just recognition for the job he has done since stepping in. He stepped into an absolute shit-storm and I think he has done a great job thus far. Keep up the good work, Tom.
Go Hoosiers!
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11 comments:
cook:
that poll is tough because i'm right at that 8-10 mark of wins. if you look at rivals rankings of 343 teams we are favored to win 4! bottom line is i want to see them play hard, fastbreak, move the ball well, and see who's going to be solid after this year. i think watford and creek will be impact freshmen starters next year. then will jones/dumes/williams/story/pritchard hold their own or will other fresh pass them right up? go hoosiers!
cook:
happy with dumes. jones looks pretty good. pritchard was better than i thought. williams and story were a little disappointing. i think dumes and pritch will probably start next yera. other than that i think it will be new guys.
One thing I forgot to mention is that we have a better record than Kentucky! In case you missed it, KY out-did themselves....after losing to Gardner-Webb in last year's opener, this year they managed to lose to VMI.
I love it!
cook:
i forgot the 13 missed FTS. i would think that is jitters and will improve. i would expect us to be pretty good there. i've heard others say they were impressed with story, but i'm not so sure. i know i'm guilty of living in the future, but i could see him falling out of the rotation next year.
Yep, 13 missed FTs was bad. However, I think they started 1-6, so it wasn't too bad for the rest of the game after that.
Yes, you are guilty of living in the future -- you left 3 comments and all 3 of them mentioned next year. But that is how we are going to have to watch this team this year, who is going to help us win in the future.
I agree with being pleasently suprised by Moore. He had two or three plays towards the end of the first half where he seemed like he was the quickest guy on the floor. Keeping in mind the fact I'd never heard of Northwestern State before last light you have to like when I walk on freshman who can't be six foot tall can get to the rim when he wants. It was good to finally see them play last night and for the most part they were what I expected them to be, except Moore, b/c other than knowing he was on the team I didn't expect anything from him.
Greg;
I thought the team passed well and played with a lot of energy, but rebounded poorly and had a lot of turnovers. It will be fun to watch this team improve throughout the year. I was most impressed with Dumes, but then again he has most experience. I agree with Jeff that unfortunately, Jobe looks like a waste. I think Jones has a lot of potential, but will need to get much stronger. Overall, I was happy with the result. Thanks for the hard work, Jeff.
Greg - thanks for being true to your word in Vegas and commenting on the blog. You could have used two different excuses -- either "what is said in Vegas stays in Vegas" or "I was drunk".
Enjoy the Maui trip and please do give us a recap. It might be ugly for the Hoosiers, but hey, you'll be in Maui!
Chris Writes:
I missed the game. I was partying with the family for my brother's 40th birthday.
The K-town paper was very complimentary of the game...for players and coach.
Credit Crean for setting the expectation bar so low that the media is treating them with kid gloves. I think that is the right thing to so anyway.
The paper said that the only bad call Crean made all night was showing up in a blue shirt with red tie...too Sampson-esque.
That's all from me. Will have to catch the next game.
Benny P:
Any win is a good win! I actually think this team has a chance to "overachieve" this year...12 wins baby.
Also, I did some extensive research and since joining the Big 10 as a head coach, Tom Crean now has the highest winning % of all Big 10 Head coaches. (100%) How bout that!
Greg
Thanks Jeff. I will definitely post my impressions from Maui. It will likely be ugly.
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