Comments on: Good, Bad and Ugly: UK – Open Thread

By: silkyslim

silkyslim — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:43:13 +0000

Young inexperienced teams can often get blitzed & struggle at the beginning of games especially on the road.
Though I was disappointed by IU's start (especially against KU, a team I love our boys to beat,) I was impressed by the 2nd half performance & I am encouraged by the progress of IU.
I suggest all to view the games with more REALISTIC expectations as they cheer for the glory of ol' IU & show some patience as the team struggles through the growing pains.

By: TomCoverdaleIUHero

TomCoverdaleIUHero — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 09:20:06 +0000

And ill be proud to walk around evansville in 2008 with my IU gear on everyday

By: silkyslim

silkyslim — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:43:13 +0000

By: TomCoverdaleIUHero

TomCoverdaleIUHero — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:20:06 +0000

And ill be proud to walk around evansville in 2008 with my IU gear on everyday

By: HoosierSmitty

HoosierSmitty — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:07:52 +0000

I agree.

I try to look at the silver lining...and just remember that a majority of those turnovers were very early in the game, so at least we got it under control eventually.

I'd like to see us get down to under 15 a game. That's something to shoot for in these next two games...slow it down and play under control...eliminate the unforced turnovers.

Crean wants these guys to get out run when they can, but you just can't be a running team when the teams you're playing against are twice your size and speed.

By: SteveEyl

SteveEyl — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:55:50 +0000

I understand they are totally overmanned, and can't play d on real div one athletes, and that they play hard and all that.

But I don't really see why all that means we should be turning the ball over 20+ times a game.

I hope I'm "allowed" to say that.

By: MikeyD

MikeyD — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:50:34 +0000

The thing is, most of us weren't upset…just the opposite…what an effort!

By: HoosierSmitty

HoosierSmitty — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:16:23 +0000

You know what...it was definitely all those adjectives...

However, I've seen more experienced teams completely fold after a start like that. We could have lost this game by 50 points had the team not continued to fight.

As others have already said, we "won" the second half and made the final result look respectable to those who didn't watch. We also only turned the ball over 5 times in the second half, which is great.

I'm sure Kentucky's players lost their intensity in the 2nd half, but that's not the point. The point is that IU made halftime adjustments and looked much better after that horrendous stretch to open the game.

I predicted 7-5 to open the non-conference season and with a couple of home victories, that's still possible. I would say that's very respectable for this team so far.

By: taweaver

taweaver — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:51:39 +0000

You need to get a grip. No one is saying you can't criticize and no one is being pollyannish here. The point is you have to have perspective and context when criticizing this team. Did we play poorly at the beginning? Sure. No one is arguing otherwise. But the point is, while Kentucky may not be a great team — they are a TEAM. Meaning they've got a lot of experience and talent — while we're fielding a team that's played a grand total of NINE games together. How can you possibly expect them to play without issues after nine games? Some people give lip service to being “patient” and expecting “rough patches” but then when it actually occurs you revert back to being an impatient fanatic with unreasonable expectations.

Look we played poorly at the outset in one of the toughest venues in the country with a bunch of freshmen and walk-on's against an experienced team. But we bounced back, made it respectable, and showed some grit. Any reasonable fan of IU should recognize this.

By: MikeinNC

MikeinNC — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:50:55 +0000

I would really like to see Crean pick one upcoming game against a heavily favored opponent where we have nothing to lose (that doesn't narrow it down much, I know) and say this to the team: “guys, our goal for this game is to have less than 10 turnovers, shoot 70% from the free throw line, and have as many rebounds as the other guys. I literally don't care how many points we score, how many they score or anything else, in fact I don't even want to pay attention to the score or talk about it – we are only going to focus during the game on those 3 measures and nothing out, and let the chips fall where they may.”

Personally, I'd be curious to see what would happen.