I haven’t been to Hoosier Hysteria (Midnight Madness) since 1996 — is it normal for this many recruits to be scheduled? (I’m not complaining; I’m genuinely curious.) I should print out a list of names if we’re going to be chanting them because I probably won’t remember all 15.
Yogi Kelin Zeller
This is my 3rd or 4th HH and I have not seen a list this long….and I think it is longer, I read Blackmon will be there also and not that it has been confirmed but I expect Perea to be there. The unfortunate part is, everyone won’t get a chant which is ok, I guess, some of these kids are freshmen and new to the IU scene.
superhoops
Demling reported D’vauntes Smith Rivera is also going to be at Hoosier Hysteria. Should he be added to the list? Can anyone confirm his attendance?
I believe DSR has been confirmed for the Saturday football game, but it’s still up in the air if he’ll make it Friday.
get real
He’s talking the talk— let’s now walk the walk. Time will tell. The necessary mindset is that every game is winnable and excusing road losses as acceptable will not be condoned. This has to come from the staff to the players. Hopefully, there will be some late practices after returning from tough road losses. Losing at home should not even be a topic of discussion.
Apparently he IU showed him that we “really loved him” or whatever he was tweeting about at the beginning of the contact period. All I know is that Purdue didn’t make the list, which is awesome (although Ohio State is on there, so I’m cool as long as he chooses any school except OSU).
Anonymous
I am so ready for this year, I am just excited to see everyone playing again. All the players look like they have beefed up. I live in Knoxville TN and I just bought my IU UK tickets at Rupp. I am going to be sporting my Red and White in a sea of blue. I think this could be a good year for IU vs UK. Crean seems to be giving off a different vibe about the team this year, he is not preaching patience. He is acting like the time is now to make major improvements.
I guess 5 of the 15 are already verbally committed, but that’s still 10 recruits. Dang. I like the way Crean works it on the recruiting trail (no diggity).
Anonymous
Hand raised again ! Pretty soon there won’t be a brick wall anywhere that doesn’t have a ” It’s Indiana and I’m freakin’ pumped ” hole in it. Maybe we should start marking the holes with the person’s name that made it and the date and time it was made. LOL
Really like how Crean’s tone and choice of words are noticeably different from the previous years right before HH.
Anonymous
Tomorrow’s atmosphere is going to be electric, I cannot wait. I don’t know how I’m going to chant all these names, but we all definitely need to start with CTC and the early commits. These are the guys that have got our resurgence started, and you can tell from CTC’s demeanor that is has started.
Anonymous
The word is now that Perea will not be there tomorrow. I have to wonder if he is trying to stay away from the public basketball scene until the Baylor drama settles down a bit.
I’m almost positive he was not planning to be there even before the story broke.
Anonymous
Nothing gets me more motivated in the morning than some CTC! Can’t wait until tomorrow night. They have Pritchard and CW in the dunk contest along with Will and VO. Maybe Pritchard has something going on I don’t know about but that entry is interesting. How about a fan challenge at each HH? This year could be a free throw contest against Rivers where all the fans win! Next year they should introduce a bench press contest where people can challenge Elston and lose.
If anyone missed my previous post, it would be great to have an ITH gathering for HH. Go to section D row 20, I’ll be wearing a red shirt that says “It’s Indiana” on the back! Can’t get there until 6:30 or a little before though so hold me 2 seats if it fills up early.
hoosierfansincebirth
I can’t wait to see clips from tomorrow night’s Hoosier Hysteria. I want to go so badly but I have to work a high school football game. Does anyone know if I can get a copy of the Hysteria in its entirety?
CTC has this program headed in the right direction. I absolutely love his passion and will to win. Can’t wait to see the improvements on the court this season!
The IU website says doors open at 6 and it starts off with an autograph session at 7:30? Is that the info that everyone is workign on. So the floor will be flooded with autograph seekers from 7:30 to at least 8:30+ ? Just curious when actual mens introduction and activities are estimated to begin as I am coming down with youngones and have a tighter window.
Yogi Kelin Zeller
At what point do the PU fans start getting pissed or antsy about PU being left off alot of list and missing out a lot of in state talent. If Ferell snubs them it will be ugly as the list of snubs continues to grow…..like Hollowell, Harris, etc.
JerryCT
This interview seemed to be brought to us by the number 3. This told me alot about the deal this year.
1) It takes at least 3 to practice defense against screens/picks so I hear a defensive theme developing for a change
2) takes 3 to practice contested passes so I think he expects tight wing or point denial from opponents which makes sense given 3pt shooters and effective drivers
3) 3 new players are here to play …… sounds like confidence in first year players getting PT
‘ you can’t be the best player if you cannot play defense ‘ ………… this seems like a direct challenge to some or all of the players known as Hulls, Jones, Creek and Watford . In each case CTC indicates he has an alternative player to take the PT if they don’t “bring it”.
Wish I could be there for HH
ArtistFormerlyKnownAs_Aceman07
I only see 4 out of the 15 committed (Blackmon, Lyles, Patterson, and Etherington). Who’s the fifth person that I missed or did you just miscount?
Still, 11 potential recruits is a huge number and I don’t recall this being normal. Of course it’s mostly because the state of Indiana is loaded with talent. I have a theory and that theory is that this was the perfect time for CTC to come in because he is a “Rah Rah” guy who is great at building a head of steam and the state is loaded with talent right now which makes it easier for him to create excitement around the program with recruits. If the state was dry of talent and he was having to go in to other teams backyards it would be harder, although I think he would still be doing a great job. The fact that he can impress and pull in players from his own backyard helps quite a bit in the rebuilding process.
The autographs won’t be taking place on the floor. They’ll be set up around the concourse, I believe.
Yogi Kelin Zeller
I thought autographs start at 6, festivities at 7:30. Given the buzz I am getting around this I may forgo my cook hall visit and just head straight in to get a seat and maybe an autograph.
Whoops, I thought I saw Jurkin’s name on there. Good catch.
I’m not sure the in-state level of talent in ’09 and ’10 (and even ’11) are nearly as great as ’12, ’13, and ’14, so I’m sure that lends a bit to the amount of recruits attending (’10 and ’11 have two or three top-flight talents, but that’s it; the coming years have at least double that). But I also think it’s about Crean being able to establish himself and bringing some stability to the program (albeit one with double-digit losses for two consecutive years). I think his “rah rah” stuff will work even better once we start making the postseason (and make an Elite Eight run — or better — in 2012). And it’s even more amazing that he’s doing it while PUke has a top ten team two years in a row and Butler is coming off a national championship game. That’s simply amazing. I don’t think I’m going to regret signing him to a 10-year contract. At all.
MitchellBMitch
First off, what a great video, watching this confirms to me that CTC has and will continue to put this program first and will not rest until we have hung multiple banners. It is great to hear how he has seen drastic improvements from our players individually and in these small group practices. I like hearing that the three new guys (VO, WS, GMM) are not just here to warm the bench, I think all three have potential to make a large impact as newcomers.
Watching this has gotten me so excited for HH, I hope to make it (still figuring out ride situation from Chi) but I will have it taped on the big ten network (they are airing it around 9 or 10pm on sat night I believe, but don’t hold me to that) to watch for weeks to come until the games start. With all these recruits coming, it places an even greater importance on fan support for our team. For those who are at IU now, encourage your friends to all go, it’s one canned good, I know we all have some tuna lying around that we could donate. We, as fans, are part of what makes Indiana, “INDIANA”, and we need to show these recruits that playing for IU is an honor and something very special.
I know this may be wishful thinking but just to pose the question, who if anyone, do you think is most likely to make a verbal this weekend? (I am not sure one will happen but I am crossing my fingers and feeling the good vibes)
I had dinner with a PUke fan last night. He’s a bit of a casual fan, so I started to explain that they have ONE player to bridge the talent gap (T. Johnson) after their big 3 graduate. I couldn’t contain my excitement when I told him about how the 2011 elite players didn’t pick PUke, how Painter’s 2012 class is filled with players that are “fine” but that the elite talent are leaning in IU’s direction, and how unless Painter locks up the top talent in the 2013 class, then PUke will be lucky to make the NIT after this year. I couldn’t help but hide my glee. He said something about how Painter “develops” players, and I reminded him that the class of Hummel & Co. was highly ranked, and none of the classes since then have even been close.
And I don’t think Yogi will choose Painter and PUke. That’s just a gut feeling, but I don’t see that happening.
Furthermore, how could Painter miss on people like Dawson, Zeller, and the great 2012 kids after two consecutive years of being a top 10 team with a legit Final Four shot this year? How is Crean in with CZ and the greats from ’12 and ’14 while Painter is on the outside looking in? We won 10 games last year; they were co-B10 champs and went to the sweet 16… how is Crean getting these kids to verbal and visit IU? I love our coach.
Guest Mon
Coach, I love you, but stop bouncing in that chair. I’m dizzy.
IU_Fan_99
I’ll be there! wearing a white shirt that says “it’s Indiana”
Excited to see this team improve and defense is the key. Pomeroy ratings in 2010 had us ranked 183 and defense was 167. In 2009 ranking was 212 and our defense was 178 out of 344 teams….for a meager 3% improvement in D the last 2 years. I would hope for at least a 20% impovement this year. Another way to look at it (esp for those who think a ncaa bid is possible) they had allowed 101 pts last year and would need to decrease this to 95 to be in the mix. If CTC can do that he will have exceeded my expectations. I hope to be at <95 by 2012 and in the hunt by then if CZ and a few others fall into place.
ArtistFormerlyKnownAs_Aceman07
It’s Indiana . . . and the name “Purdue” just doesn’t inspire the way the words IU do. That’s just a matter of fact. It’s because we have five NCAA banners hanging while they’ve never been able to get over that hump.
Plane1972
Would anyone be willing to get two autographs for me? I live in OKC and can’t get there, but I would desperately love to have Jimmy Rayl’s and Archie Dees’s autographs on a nice, frame-worthy IU publication. I obviously would pay for the publication and sharpie and would be happy to foot the bill for a few drinks at Nick’s for anyone who could step up to do this for me.
Please email me at [email protected] if you are willing to accept this mission.
Thanks in advance!
IU_Fan_99
will coach Crean be having an open practice after the football game again this year on Saturday? anyone know?
Yes, but … it’s an Indiana team that won 10 games. I attest the development of recruiting turning in IU’s favor to Crean rather than to IU. Most of these kids weren’t even born the last time IU had a top 5 team, and they were only 5-10 years old when we made our deep tourney run in ’02. Since most of them have been in high school, we suffered a phenomenal meltdown after a shady coach got fired, and then back-to-back double-digit loss seasons (while Purdue was going the opposite direction). Painter had — past tense — the opportunity to build PUke into a powerhouse with all the in-state talent, but has failed in the past 3 years. (I mean, since when was Florida basketball a big deal? Billy Donovan turned it into a big-time program … and unless Painter wins the national championship this year, I think his window will have closed — somewhat in part to Tom Crean.)
If “It’s Indiana” was all that was needed, then Mike Davis wouldn’t have struck out on May, Oden, etc. IU is bigger than Coach Crean, but he is redefining the institution right now and has a chance — if he ropes the big talent from ’12, ’13, and ’14 — to hang up the first banner in nearly 25 years.
Anonymous
I will try to get those for you if no one else hasn’t already volunteered. Do you just want those, or would you want others on there?
I can email you afterwards if I’m successful.
Anonymous
A) we have way better facilities, so that doesn’t hurt, especially with gym rats. B) remember when CTC said, “some of these guys wake up on 3rd and think they hit a triple.” I think he was talking about PU. I know they have been bad mouthing us since Tyler Zeller’s recruitment, and a few other people have said they are/were making dispairaging remarks about IU. Kids don’t like the negativity, plus I have always thought Painter seemed like a creep.
Anonymous
How much would you pay to hear him deliver a Final Four pre-game speech? It would be Rockne, Gehrig, and Herb Brooks all rolled into one.
Yogi Kelin Zeller
Yea I really want to know what Crean is telling some of these kids, because you sit down in front of a kid after stevens has gone to the final 4, Painter has built a successful program and roy williams a few years removed from winning a title….and here is Crean and his 16 wins in two season….. is it really “Indiana” that these kids are buying into. I also believe the fanbase has something to do with it as well as far as support for the program….
Anonymous
Awesome!
Outoftheloop
Where did you get the shirt?
Outoftheloop
CTC also said that (in no order) Hulls, Watford, Elston, Jones and Pritchard have really improved on defense and that Creek was a week or two from being the #1 defensive player on the team when he was injured.. Leaving out the 3 new guys of Vic. Will and Guy, (and probably Matt) since we did not have them last season to see their “improvement” now, we need to light a fire under Capo and Rivers. I am pretty sure that Roth and Capo will put out the effort. But Rivers MUST bring a total commitment to hustle, effort and team-not individual-glory to play significant minutes this year!
I surprised myself with the stats that I discovered comparing Moore to Jones and Creek based upon last season (in a post yesterday under Moore as All-Big 10). I think that Moore is very good (but not top 5 All-Big Ten). But in the comparison Creek came out slightly on top and Jones was very close to Moore in production. I agree that stats are not “everything” and hard really to “compare”. But if IU’s Big Three of Creek, Watford and Jones can get close to Purdue’s Big Three, at crunch time in the big games, then I like IU’s depth and strength over Purdue: Elston, Hulls and Guy are better than T Johnson, Jackson and Barlow; while Pritchard, Capo, Roth, Vic and Will are better than any of the Purdue subs including Hart, Byrd, Smith and Bade, excepting only A Johnson (whom I have never seen play and may be quite good). That is this year 2010-11. After this season, IU will dominate Purdue in talent for years to come!
Plane1972
No one has volunteered, Sallad. So, if you could do it I’d be grateful. Thank you.
Rayl and Dees are the only ones I want. As living legends, I think that would be a cool piece of Hoosier hoops history to have them both signed on an IU basketball publication and hanging up next to RMK, Isiah, Alford and Sweet Cal. I don’t mind paying for a media guide or if they have something fun for HH. Just something worthy of framing.
I’ll understand if it doesn’t work out. Thanks again for offering.
millzy32
You hit the nail on the head. The Fan Base is a BIG DEAL. Purdue’s is much smaller and their arena is also smaller. Butler’s fan base is non existent.
It does come down to the coach though. Kentucky was in the toilet when Calipari came and he got the number one class his first year and second and so on and so forth.
The coach has to be a great salesman but he does need something to sell. Indiana’s brand can be sold to recruits because of the history and the fan base that hasn’t forgotten even if the kids are too young to remember.
