The Minute After: Illinois
I should probably take a solid two hours, calm down, maybe do some Yoga or some breathing exercises or go get a massage … because I’m worried this will be an expletive-laden tirade about how angry and upset I am over this loss.
It’s not that the Hoosiers played bad. They didn’t. It’s not that this was a game they should have won that they let slip away. It wasn’t. It’s that after Bill Cole hit that three to tie up the game, Devan Dumes traveled on IU’s next possession and Mike Tisdale hit two free throws on Illinois’ next trip down the court to put them up two with 3:19 to go — I felt like that was it. The whole second half I kept waiting for the Illini to go on a run, grab a couple-point lead with just a few minutes to play, and for it to be pretty much over. This is how I saw the game going in my mind after tying it up at half : IU playing well enough for 35 minutes or so, but eventually succumbing to the Illini and their screechy coach.
I was OK with this outcome; the other Assembly Hall is an incredibly difficult environment to play in, and for these young Hoosiers to bring it for that long and stay that close — no matter how average this Illinois team has looked at times this season — it was commendable. It was not ideal, but acceptable. It was good enough for me in this season where IU is starting to gain their footing again in the Big Ten conference.
But the Hoosiers had to tease me. Had to make me think, if only for a fleeting instance, that they had taken another step in their maturation process: not just a win on the road against a team that had yet to win a game in conference this season in Penn State, but against a team that holds serve on their home court like few others in the conference.
Verdell Jones hit two free throws to tie it. Tisdale hit a jumper to put the Illini back up by two. Dumes air-balled a three, but the Illini turned the ball back over. Then IU turned it right back over on an inbounds play. Tisdale hit another free throw with a minute to play — on a questionable foul call on Jeremiah Rivers as both went after a rebound – to put the Ilini up three. Jones hit two free throws to put the Hoosiers down one after getting fouled by Jeff Jordan coming off a pick. The Illini, up two with 46 seconds left, had to hold the ball, hit a shot late in the shot clock, and you come pretty close to putting it away. But Rivers came up with a huge steal off Demetri McCamey and was subsequently fouled by D.J. Richardson.
Tell me you weren’t on the edge of your seat. Here was Rivers, a kid shooting only 51 percent from the free-throw line heading into this pressure-packed situation, a kid that missed four free throws in the final three minutes against Loyola (Md), a game IU eventually lost by five. This was dramatic theater.
And he hit them both. With ease. Tie ballgame. From there, we know what happened. The best player on the court — a guy that was hitting big shots and dishing with precision all game — hit the game-winner as the clock expired. Crushing. Heart-breaking. Depressing.
But you know what? This was the most exciting and nerve-racking three minutes of Hoosier basketball in the Tom Crean era. I don’t think there’s any debate on that. I would take this sort of loss over a 20-point blowout, something that could have easily happened when IU found themselves down 13 in the first half. I will take that over never being in the game, a situation last year’s Hoosiers certainly would have found themselves in.
IU has had its slip-ups and letdowns prior to the step forward this afternoon. It’s possible they’ll take another step back at some point, and perhaps come out flat and lose a game they should have won. But on afternoon’s like this, afternoon’s where IU goes on the road and has you riveted with every possession, every bounce of the ball, means this team is relevant again for fans. Miss a game, and you’re not missing some awful effort where a manager suits up and comes in to play, where a baseball player is getting playing time, where you’re looking for what else is on TV with 10 minutes to go; you’re missing a terrific, emotional Big Ten battle. Last year it was hard to care or get too emotionally invested when the Hoosiers were getting rocked game after game after game. Today, that’s all I found myself doing.
It was perhaps Steve Lavin who put it best (I’m paraphrasing here): “You’re getting a good look at the future of this Hoosier program right now with how they’re playing.”
That we were this afternoon. And I look forward to living and dying with this team in the years to come. For as much as today hurt, it’s better than feeling nothing at all.
One other thought:
Dumes had a bit of bad Devan tonight — an air-balled three to go along with his travel late in the game — but his play just before halftime was something I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before: a steal that led to a half-court heave that went in as time expired to tie up the game going into the locker room. Real cool.
And that’s how IU was able to stay close in this game: doing all the little things good teams are supposed to do. It was not only Rivers hitting those two important free throws; it was the team hitting 19-of-23 — including 13-of-14 in the second half — good for 82.6 percent. It was when they couldn’t get anything going down low, hitting six threes in the first half to keep it close, and finishing the game with nine makes overall from 3-point land, their highest total of the season. It was, with the shot clock at one second and IU getting a chance at an inbounds play, Verdell finding Tom Pritchard on a lob, Pritchard getting fouled in the act of shooting and hitting one of the free throws.
It was IU turning the ball over 13 times, not great, but below their season average.
OK, lest I run on forever, that’s about it. Your turn now.
Video via SB Nation.
January 30th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
You could tell that after Dumes hit the half court shot, he thought he was going to have a good night, and took some questionable shots anyway, including the 3v1 transition 3 that went in.
January 31st, 2010 at 12:30 am
i thought elston did some really good things but back on the bench again–what a puzzle
January 31st, 2010 at 12:35 am
Yeah, the final play was a stomach punch, but I can't feel too down overall. The team came out and stood toe-to-toe with Illinois, and could have easily pulled out the game if a few plays here or there went the other way.
I know the good, bad, and ugly is gone, but the ugly today was definitely the Illinois unis.
January 31st, 2010 at 12:47 am
I know it was noticable progress but it was some very bad tasting progress. Oh well better bad tasting progress than a bad tasting blowout.
The Good: Free throw shooting. Even JR hit both of his and at a very critical time. It was the main reason we were within one possession of overtime or a even a victory. Rebounding. 17 offensive rebounds only 1 less than our defensive total and actually outrebounded them. Different line up. Spreading more minutes around to some of our other bigs. It was the first time out for this type of line up and I think it can only make us better as we practice it and acquire actual game time with it. This was about the right amount of minutes for TP in my opinion. Illinois. We are in just year one of our major rebuilding and they are only one lucky basket better than us.
The Bad: The foul called on JR towards the end of the game. Just a horrible horrible call and that about says it all on that subject. Defense: Everybody knowing who was going to take the last shot and not forcing someone else to take it or forcing him to take a more time consuming route to get that close to the basket. Why was JR not on him and why did Jones or espcially Watford not slide over when he first started to drive to the basket or for that matter why didn't we play him different when the shot clock was running down numerous times and everyone knew that there was a very high probability that he was going to be the one to take those shots too. Our bigs were out of position way too many times when we played zone and allowed them to get the 3 to 5 foot shots along the baseline/under the basket too many times.
The Ugly: Only 1 field goal for Watford the whole game. Dumes' turnover towards the end of the game and his airball 3 point attempt around that time with alot of time left on the shot clock and the game clock (as far as shot attempt like that goes anyway) in his defense though it would not have been as close as it was at the end had he not stole the ball and made the shot at the end of the first half. How raw Bawa still is. If he is our future at the 5 he has got to get minutes though and this new kind of line up allows for that. Jones needing 20 shots to tally 12 points from the field but at least he was money in the bank from the free throw line tonight.
January 31st, 2010 at 12:50 am
I fully feel “teased” as well. I had just settled into lookign for progress and not caring about a W when we came back and fought our hearts out.
Yes, I congratulate Crean for a great coaching job I am proud of him and yes I hope it is the future:
1) Team played hard with sustained effort the entire game – good
2) big lineup was innovative and effective and reduced Hulls/Moore from over 40/gm to 27 minutes – all good
3) high post offense through Elston actually looked good – reduced Jones dribble drive – good
4) everybody incl Jobe contributed – good
Instead of trying to blame Dumes ( yes a few shaky moments ) who had 11pts, 3 steals, 3 rebs and 3 assists and defended well you need to review the defense on McCamey by Jones………it cost us the game…..not just at the end when Dumes tried to bail him out with the switch.
This game was the best example of Jones failure to get through or under picks , forcing big time hedging which only Pritchard is reliable at …….and TP could not sustain minutes again. So IL was merciless at exploiting this and thus ….they win.
Crean says Rivers can hit FT's if he relaxes. the best thing that happened to him was the IL timeout to let him calm down then hit both shots.
All in all I really liked what I saw
January 31st, 2010 at 12:55 am
Actually think it was a perfect set up game for PU. Do they game plan for our big lineup, offense run thru Elston on the high post ?
January 31st, 2010 at 1:00 am
Great game, they have nothing to hang their heads about in this one. Disappointing, sure everyone would have liked another W on the road, but they hung in there for a solid 40 minutes. Really I dont have much to say except really proud of the effort today. As long as they continue to play like that IU will eventually get one going there way, actually they already have at Penn State. GO IU, great game, great effort!!!!!!
January 31st, 2010 at 1:29 am
I thought it was an excellent showing for having no inside game. I have never been happier than when I saw Bawa on the court. I just think he should of gotten some more playing time early on because one can't expect him to be really effective in a big ten road game like this. None the less, it was nice to see him in the game. I am really disappointed in Tom Pritchard. 3 fouls in the first half. 1 missed free throw (like always). I'm sorry but his 4.6 points a game are just not going to cut it. Eltson must take his minutes because this is what happens when Elston plays. We compete. I can not see how Tom Crean can look at this basketball team and not see a need to bring in a quality big (hopefully Ricardo Ratlieff). Verdell Jones is by far the most improved Indiana basketball player I've ever seen. When he got laid out last year and was down for what seemed like forever I never thought this skinny kid from Illinois would ever be a worthy D1 ball player, but I will have to admit, he put on some weight and has become a real go to guy. Thus another reason I don't feel the need for more gaurds.
Today was a great day for Indiana basketball. I've seen a lot better teams go in that gym and not keep it as close as our Hoosiers did today. These kids should be proud because today was the first time in a long time I was feeling like the old days of always having a chance to win.
One more thing. If we would of won today, held on to win against Illinois at home, and beat the Iowa like we should of; our young hoosiers would be an out right second in the Big Ten right now withough Creek or Roth. People would be singing Coach Crean's praises and we would of been the talk of every college basketball show. Hopefully the guys understand this and finish out the year strong and then come back next year and show the world what hoosier basketball is all about.
January 31st, 2010 at 1:30 am
He did show some progress but continues to make errors on defense and attempting to create off the dribble which causes turnovers. I think he could be a great player with time but Crean lacks confidence in him for now.
January 31st, 2010 at 1:31 am
Solid effort today! We will get some more wins this season if that continues.
January 31st, 2010 at 1:38 am
Prior to this game I thought PU would come into AH and manhandle IU….Now …..my IU could possibly win o meter just went up a notch or two. That would be a reason to storm the court…..
January 31st, 2010 at 1:46 am
Steve Lavin said it best when he pointed out after the late bogus Rivers foul (I'm not sure many of us heard it well while yelling and screaming at the TV)! He stated that the official may have blown that whistle in anticipation of an over the back foul but the ball bounced to where it created a loose ball situation and that was a loose ball, not a foul because neither player had a better play on the ball. I freaking hate it when a game like this goes the way of the team I'm not rooting for because of a late mistaken call by an official, especially when it's in the Big 10 because every end of game situation tends to be a rugby match where nothing's called short of a blood drawing punch!!! Man that call made a huge difference in how that game played out!
Okay, enough complaining about the referees. IU played well today and both the players and Tom Crean deserve some credit for a much improved effort and improved game plan, especially the offensive tweaks. The defensive effort was excellent and the offense was not nauseating to watch!
It still does suck to think that even 1 win in PR, a win against Loyola, a win at home against Iowa (which should have been a win), and just 1 of 2 against Illinois and we're sitting at 5-3 in the Big Ten and 13-7 overall and we're all talking about a potential NIT bid instead of all this progress crap!!! I totally agree that there has been progress and I'm definitely not ready to drop the ax on CTC but man that would have been a much more enjoyable “progress”.
January 31st, 2010 at 1:48 am
why was dumes, not rivers, guarding mccamey on the final play?
January 31st, 2010 at 2:12 am
Well said Ryan. My thoughts exactly.
January 31st, 2010 at 2:36 am
Elston was also the leading rebounder with 6. I thought Watford's technical was a killer, too. We had the ball……….instead they hit 1-2 FT and got the ball. Our free throw shooting was much improved.
Toooooo many errors down the stretch.
January 31st, 2010 at 3:37 am
Great Game! If you ask me the 1st have killed us. We were slow in transition and our forwards missed their defensive assignments down low. We kept get caught on the high trap and didnt get back leaving a man open under the basket. Once this was cured in the 2nd half we pulled ahead. All in All I myself was pleased with the progress!
January 31st, 2010 at 3:39 am
As JerryCT correctly points out Jones started out on him and then he and Dumes switched and Ilike I said above I don't know why Jones or Watford either one didn't slide over and try to stop him or at least make it a more time consuming thing but I'm like you why would you not have your best defending guard on the guy who everybody knows is going to try and take the shot. JR may have had 4 fouls but that means nothing if McCamey makes the shot.
January 31st, 2010 at 6:21 am
Ugh. IUHoosiers.com said the game was on ESPN, but it was on ESPN2. Had to DVR it and recorded Oklahoma State and Missouri.
Frustrating.
January 31st, 2010 at 7:27 am
Might be able to catch it late night, not sure though.
January 31st, 2010 at 11:48 am
We have a nice group of players! They showed alot of heart yesterday! We'll never be back on top until we find an inside game. Coach C, find someone who can play a power position inside! Watford is never going to be a power forward and there seems to be little hope the any one we have now will be able to develope in to a top 10 quailty power player. In 2 years the excuses won't work. No more projects that take scholarships and set on the bench! Big Ten=Big Inside, no way around it!!
January 31st, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Great point and a coaching error
January 31st, 2010 at 1:55 pm
I asked myself the entire game ” why is Jones on McCamey and not JR or Dumes ” ? Then today it finally dawned on me. Isn't Richardson the 2nd best 3 pt shooter in the B10 ? If so that was a nice coaching move even if a calculated risk.
I say its a good move because it is easier to find help in defending Mcamey( ie TP or Capo on the high ball screen ) than it is RIchardson, thus you have to play Richardson with someone as quick and athletic who needs less help ie DUmes and JR.
I read where some think I want Hulls/Moore to sit the bench. Not true. I like both players and especially Moore on dfense. My point is that 40+min/gm is too much from guys who have liabilities on defense that should make their playing time more “situational”.
I think Hulls benefited from only 27 min becasue he was in the game in “situations” that favored him ie when Jeff Jordan was playing and also in the zone defense. The exchange is to play bigger w Elston and more minutes from Dumes….both of which worked IMO yesterday.
January 31st, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Correct IUMIKE. McCamey inbounded the ball w Jones on him. Dumes was extraordinary in bothering the shot w/o fouling.
We have to defend RIchardson from the perimeter in this situation so somebody had to be defending him ie either JR or Dumes. IF coach assumed MCCamey would in bounds the ball, get the ball back on a rub off , and called for the switch off on defense then we lined up perfectly unless you want to exchange JR for Dumes.
I think Watford's hesitation is just experience related
January 31st, 2010 at 2:36 pm
The Watford technical was questionable as was the Rivers foul (over the back of Tisdale). Wasn't too impressed with the refs in the 2nd half. Can't blame the loss on them, but it sure is frustrating not to get any help from them.
January 31st, 2010 at 4:40 pm
If we can't blame the refs in this game I suppose we never can.
Three huge momentum changing calls that I feel cost us the game…..
The non-shooting foul on VIII's 3 point attempt? One of the worst, strangest calls you will ever see.
I watched the Watford technical 4 times. He was moving through heavy traffic which happened for 40 minutes. Watford was just as shocked as anybody. It wasn't malicious at all.
The call on Rivers was another example of absolute confusion and was the dagger. Giving them two points on that call killed the Hoosiers.
Great team effort and great coaching.
January 31st, 2010 at 4:48 pm
We never get to see the coaches' tape and understand the tendencies that they see. Its hard for us to know the chess match (Crean chess/Brucie checkers) that goes on. Hence, perhaps, this quote from McCamey as provided in the IndyStar:
“The play was for us to go back-door, and (Indiana) did a good job of switching on it,'' McCamey said. “That forced me to go to the basket, and once I got there, I just threw it up, tear-dropped the shot.
So we took away what they wanted to do primarily. You can't take everything away in basketball.
I wanted to post this under IUMIKE1. Sorry.
January 31st, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Love Crean and what he's doing. All Hoosier fans understand the kinda of work he has to do to bring us back where we belong. When RIvers was called for the questionable foul, he was so frustrated and Coach calmed him down and made him move on. The result? 2 made free throws to tie the game. I texted my friends, “He's missing both” and he proved me wrong. I love the progress, Coach. To me, this season is already an improvement. Baby steps, people. We will be back.
January 31st, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Learning how to 'close-out' games is a big part of growing up. Our Hoosiers are getting better!
January 31st, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Absolutely right.
January 31st, 2010 at 8:22 pm
GFDave: Good point and Crean doesn't have the luxury of sitting down and thinking about certain situations at great length before making a decision like we do. Like you said you can't take away everything in bball. Now that I have used that luxury to a great extent and read the Star article and read other people's thoughts I'm thinking Coach for the most part got it exactly right and to quote McCamey he ” just threw it up” and it went down for him. Once again taking advantage of the luxury we have I'm wondering if he reasoned that we should be able to keep him from getting to the basket in enough time to get off a good shot and with JR on Crean's best guess as to who else the play might be drawn up for to shoot they would have to use too much time trying to even get him the ball and that ladies and gentlemen is why he makes the big bucks. One of the few things that stuck with me right away that my dad said to me was ” if fore sight was as good as hind sight we would all be better off by a damn sight”
P.S. Read your post over on The Hoosier Scoop about all of the IUMIKE s out there. That was me that posted the one way ticket thing about stevealford. I have always used just IUMIKE there. I have never posted anywhere until I started doing it here and so I am not the most savvy person when it comes to the name thing probably should have come up with something more original than the name I chose or should consider changing to something else. I will start putting the 1 with my name over there too. Guess I should broaden my internet expercience beyond IU bball posts………somewhat…………after March Madness………maybe.
January 31st, 2010 at 8:39 pm
Agreed. Think that Hulls should only be replaced “by Moore” if and when he needs a rest. His defense is pretty much the same as Moore's and what little he gives up in defense, compared to Moore, is more than made up for by his decision making on offense and his shooting plus he has much more future potential than Moore. But………you gotta love a kid that is willing to do whatever it takes to live out his dream of putting on the candy stripes. I'm not saying you dislike him just saying that I respect the hell out of him for having that dream and doing whatever it takes to make it come true.
January 31st, 2010 at 8:59 pm
You are right. My feeling on Watford getting T'd up is that kind of contact happens on every play on both teams and if there was some things being said then stop play and bring the two running their mouth together and tell them if they continue whoever is still running their mouth will get T'd up. Don't recall the last time I seen a set of officials have to use replay as many times as they did. Now I'm all for getting the correct call made but when a ref has to go to the replay to see if Elston's feet were behind the arc or not on his made 3, well I have to question their ability as a ref period as he was clearly behind the line. Nothing pi$$es me off more when it comes to reffing than when a ref anticipates a call and blows the whistle and then there ends up not even being a foul committed and as bad as I hate to agree with Lavin I totally think that is what happened with that call against Rivers.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:38 pm
I totally agree! You are absolutely right. I watched this game with my old man (who used to be a high school referee and is a life long IU fan) and he couldn't believe the number of times the officials had to use replay. He also pointed out, like an old school basketball fan would, that when the referees took a few minutes to review the three pointer by Elston (which was freaking obvious cause he was a foot behind the line) they gave Whiny-butt Weber basically a full timeout and time to talk to his team and let them gather themselves during a very key IU run! It's true that things like that go unnoticed often times during games but he then called a timeout less than a minute later so in a sense he received 2 timeouts to calm his team down and kill IU's momentum. They need to do a better job of watching the freaking game and stop relying on the monitor to bail them out. It was just as bad during the Duke/Georgetown game yesterday!
January 31st, 2010 at 9:40 pm
If you were watching the previous trip down the floor, the refs through VJ3 the ball on the free throw line then blew the whistle and made him wait. Then the very next trip they did the exact thing to Dumes. They let Illinois call a timeout after they had thrown the ball to Dumes. I think Jones was just complaining about that and the referee probably got lippy because they all seem to be egotistical blowholes anymore and it ticked VJ3 off. That was my take but it's just a guess.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Yes, much better! I thought as I'm sure many of you did that the game was over when Dumes traveled and the Tisdale hit the two free throws to put them up by 2. I thought we would fade at that point but these guys are getting better and apparently getting used to the grind of a 2-period 40 minute game instead of 4 eight minute quarters. They're getting tougher and conditioned, or at least it seems that they are.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:44 pm
My post about IUMIKEs was supposed to be totally satirical. I hope you didn't take anything to heart.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Watching that video clip it's obvious that Watford reacted late. He should have stepped over sooner because there wasn't enough for a pass then shot but that's just a freshman reaction. Reaction time will get better and better as he gets older and older. It's too bad though but most of us would probably have reacted just as slowly.
January 31st, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Nahhh……..We both view stevealford to much alike for me to do that and just admitting that my internet skills leave something to be desired.
January 31st, 2010 at 11:20 pm
Many good things came out in this game. More bigs allowed for better match ups with Illinois. Better execution with less turnovers Better rebounding effort. More disruption on the defensive end. It appears that players are beginning to trust each other on the offensive end.
They still need a true go to guy. By that I mean someone who cannot be handled without a constant double team from the opponent . They need to improve their team defense. If you take away some of the layups and dunks by Illinois , this game isn't that close at the end of the game. Our current players are not five star player and most are not even four star so that tells you that they are not necessarily strong in all facets of the game. This doesn't mean that they won't develop, its just that it may take longer than someone with more natural ability coming out of high school. Youth can win as Purdue showed two years ago when their junior class were freshman and I will bet Ohio State will be competitive for the upper part of the big ten next year with their 6 man freshman class. Iowa started the same youth as Indiana last week and outplayed them to get their win. We have a great nucleus and a great coach, some good bigs who will develop so there is a lot to look forward to, lets just hope one of our current players or a recruit from our next recruiting class turns into something special.
January 31st, 2010 at 11:30 pm
I hope we finish .500
February 1st, 2010 at 12:06 am
I only got to watch the second half, and have little desire to go back and watch the full game. Overall, I thought this was a perfect game for the team to see how the “process” works. they played well and didn't seem afraid to lose like the team often does in the 2nd half.
Rivers should have been guarding McCamey for the final play but whatever it happens. Still not enough production from the front line on offense. At least Elston pulled down 5 boards. Pritchard has get more than 1 rebound or he shouldn't play. You can complain about Jones on D but without him IU isn't in the game especially with Watford not scoring.
Rivers got screwed on the rebounding call, I watched with a Illinois fan and he even said the call sucked. Interesting to see if hitting those 2 big free throws will give him more confidence for the rest of the season
February 1st, 2010 at 12:29 am
Heartbreaking but encouraging…that's all I got…
February 1st, 2010 at 2:19 am
Can we get some info on Ricardo Ratliffe? This guy seems to be the missing piece to our puzzle. A starting line up with Ratliffe, Elston, Watford, Creek or Jones, and Hulls or Rivers….scream NCAA tournament. This guy is the answer. I really hope we get him. Plus being a juco leaves us with scholly opening at just the right time.
February 1st, 2010 at 4:09 am
I think it was related to one of the refs trying to break up the IU huddle at the end of a timeout. It looked like whatever the ref said to break up the huddle annoyed Verdell, looked like VJ turned to the ref saying something along the lines of “Come on, man” because the IU huddle was about to break up, they just were all putting their hands in the middle. Then VJ says something else to another ref about what the first ref said, and then the first ref hustles up to Verdell and gets in his face. It was weird.
February 1st, 2010 at 4:20 am
Sallad I hope what you say is the truth. I wasn't sure what actually went down, but when was the last time you saw a Hoosier player stand up for the team? Verdell seems to be the leader this team needs.
Would anyone have been dissappointed if Crean got a technical in this game? Players have bad games, coaches have bad games, and unfortunately refs do too. I would argue they have more control over the game than the coaches.
I'm not crying in my beer. My point is, every team needs the one kid that will open his mouth if things are not going favorable. It looks like VIII is the guy. How could you not like this kid? Imagine what IU will be like if/when he and Mo Creek are both on their games. Wow…….
February 1st, 2010 at 4:20 am
Many good things came out in this game. More bigs allowed for better match ups with Illinois. Better execution with less turnovers Better rebounding effort. More disruption on the defensive end. It appears that players are beginning to trust each other on the offensive end.
They still need a true go to guy. By that I mean someone who cannot be handled without a constant double team from the opponent . They need to improve their team defense. If you take away some of the layups and dunks by Illinois , this game isn't that close at the end of the game. Our current players are not five star player and most are not even four star so that tells you that they are not necessarily strong in all facets of the game. This doesn't mean that they won't develop, its just that it may take longer than someone with more natural ability coming out of high school. Youth can win as Purdue showed two years ago when their junior class were freshman and I will bet Ohio State will be competitive for the upper part of the big ten next year with their 6 man freshman class. Iowa started the same youth as Indiana last week and outplayed them to get their win. We have a great nucleus and a great coach, some good bigs who will develop so there is a lot to look forward to, lets just hope one of our current players or a recruit from our next recruiting class turns into something special.
February 1st, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Very, very possible!
February 1st, 2010 at 3:21 pm
I think Watford's mouth got him the T, not physical play.
February 1st, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I will do a brief 'Good, Bad & Ugly' Good: IU hung tough against as solid team on the road and found ways to score. Good #2 FT % was over 50%- bonus! Bad: Interior Defense- awful. Really terrible. Ugly: Officiating- I don't think it was completely against IU as they benefited a couple of times too- but it was poor overall. Ugly #2 Rivers shot….
February 1st, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I wish I were influential enough to give my words of encouragement to the team. They should have won, but, the larger point is that their improvement is fantastic. Hoosiers are coming back.
February 2nd, 2010 at 2:24 pm
I'm hearing alot on this site about Ratliffe, but when you look at his profiles on other sites, IU is nowhere in the discussion. Not sure, but this may all be wishful thinking. UK and Louisville are already starting to show him some attention.
February 4th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Didn't Damon Bailey hit a three from the midcourt line at the halftime buzzer of the game at Ohio State in…92…93…that tied the game and helped rally the team for the second half?