First of all, who can stay in front of Lucas and Wall? Two potential All-Americans. I do get your point. I just don't think Hulls wasn't brought in to dish out 7 assists a game and play tough on the ball defense as a FR. He'll get better when he gets stronger. Did he even see the court as a FR in high school? Let's not get too hasty with this kid.

If CTC hasn't gotten pressure to play Bawa yet I see the flares are flying and I agree. Hell, I'm starting to wonder if we should start him! If our three guards are going to chuck 50 shots a game who cares? Perhaps he would clog the lane on the five straight layups Ole Miss had against our zone. “Pritchard plays below the rim” You ain't kiddin' brother. TP has ZERO shot blocking ability and Bawa would beat him by 3 seconds in a 50-yard dash.

At least Bawa has the length to catch the ball within five feet of the basket. Whether he has the skills to finish from there isn't the point. It FORCES the defense to sag. All of us that have played perimeter defense know you instinctively turn your head when the ball is behind you. It opens up the floor. The only time Pritchard touches the ball is above the free-throw line to bail out a guard. TP could, however, be a more than adequate back-up and that's important too.

Kelin, I saw that Dumes wasn't himself when he elevated about 6 inches for that blocked layup. No way is he healthy. It's too bad because he really can light it up when he's ready. I still think he will win a few games for IU this year. But by playing him now are we delaying recovery?

By the way, CTC isn't going anywhere guys. There's a lot going on in this program right now. I think we'll get a W tonight and by mid-season have a respectable squad.

So there you have it.

PG – J Davis
SG – VIII
SF – Mo (dude can score, who need defense?)
PF – Watford
C – Bawa

Maybe they should start letting us coach. We clearly have all the answers.

either Dumes is still hurt or feelings hurt cause I don't see that “senior” leadership in his play. He seems to have digressed.

Free Throws and TO need to improve.

Substitutions: IU completely lost momentum around the 12 minute mark of the 1st half with the subs made. Rivers was controlling the game, getting VJ and Creek or Waterford involved (I still get confused which is which). All of a sudden Crean brings in 3 new guys and the wheels fall off and IU never recovered. Not saying it cost IU the game, I think it just would have delayed the inevitable but still. Not sure why Jobe is playing, I could care less what happens in practice or if he is better than Bawa. Point is, and Crean must realize, Jobe is gone next year, why play him? He isn't helping win games. Get Bawa some experience for next year and 3 years after that. Ditto for Moore, he should not be on the court unless its mop up duty. If Hulls isn't cutting it and Rivers needs a blow, let VJ play point. I understand the need to reward players who practice well but not when they are such a huge liability. Remember Rudy was a practice stud but he only got in two plays his final game.

Hulls: Sorry for all the lovers of this guy, but he didn't look much better than Daniel Moore in this game to me. Completely over matched when he was on offense. He couldn't get any penetration and couldn't get IU set up at all. Once he dribbled past half court their PG was all over him. Does not bode well that at points Crean saw Moore as a better option than Hulls in the 2nd half. As of now he isn't athletic enough to cut it. Imagine him trying to cover John Wall or Lucas from MSU? God help us. he has 4yr back up written all over him right now.

Pritchard: He tries hard, he sets quality screens, but thats about it. Certain times he looked completely lost on D and he continues to play below the rim. He is beyond bad in zone, I've never seen a team consistently drive down the middle of a zone like they did with no one stepping up. His inside game is power, but without hops ineffective. Another guy not athletic enough.

Capo: Looks like Pritchard junior.

Dumes: For me, he is in the same boat as Jobe and Moore although 100x more skill. Wont be around after this year, so he should lose the majority of minutes to guys who will. Not fair but reality. He should be a Ben Gordon type of player. Bring him off the bench let him bomb a few threes and drive to the lane. If he is hot leave him in, if not he should sit. Let others get the experience. With that said he played ok on D this game, and he looked like he belonged athletically. One of the few players on the team not intimidated.

Creek Was not good on D but this will happen with a frosh playing a more experienced team

Rivers: One of the only players who looks like he belongs on the court. You can tell he came from the Big East. Has no problem with contact and no problem putting his head down and getting to the rim. Without him on the court, the offense was stagnant and lost. His TOs are high but I'm not convinced its all his fault.

Elston: I like his game. I think the 1st half he struggled with the athleticism of Ole Miss. Once he got used to it he played very well. I think he could become a guy who averages 10 plus points and 7 rebounds a game. Seems pretty tough too.

I think the way for IU to win right now is to go small, with Rivers, Jones, Creek, Waterford and Elston starting. IU should press as much as possible. It will be the best way to stay in games.

You can tell I took a Friday off, way too much time to devout to my comments

The first team has great potential. When Rivers, Jones and Creek are running the break, they look like a high level college team. Next year will be fun to watch as they get stronger.

We keep talking about turnovers, but the thing that really kills us is “un-forced” turnovers. The turnovers are coming whether we like them or not. But just throwing the ball around senselessly is unexcusable.

Jordan Hulls in not even close to being ready. I'm talking NOT READY. Even the shortest passes are nearly picked off routinely. They smelled blood every time he brought it up the court. Until he improves he minutes are garbage time and Verdell needs to move over to the point when Rivers sits. It's downright embarrassing. Sorry.

Dumes should not be on the court until his knee is ready. Everything he did turned into a negative. Turnovers, missed shots turning into fast breaks, jacking up 25 footers. Ugly, ugly, ugly. Get him healthy.

CTC. Look coach, inserting the 2-3 zone really changed the game. It got IU back in it for sure. But they figured it out! Why stick with it? Change it up. If we would have juggled man to man and zone a bit I think they were very uncomfortable. But once they figured it out, it was really hard to watch. How many times can they split the guards and dish for a layup before you mix it up? Very frustrating.

This team is much better than last years. But last night they looked a lot alike for 30 minutes of the game.

As far as the offense, Crean himself said the team wasn't going to run as many set plays this year, but more based on principles. Can the team have a chance to learn the principles in a game situation? Growing up playing ball in Indiana you should have first hand knowledge that playing against another team is completely different than practice. I'm not arguing with your points. My point was simply, give a little time, let them learn, and let's not be so negative after 1 game. Amazing how people can bash a team as young as they are after only 3 games. Now if we still look like this going into the Big 10 season, that's a different story.