Note: Due to Ratliff’s departure, some updates have been made (in bold and italics) from the original post I penned last night. Unfortunately, what I forecasted at that time has come true. A.J. Ratliff is no longer a Hoosier.

First, a preface: Prior to the season, if you had asked who my favorite Hoosier was, I would have told you A.J. Ratliff. His success last season led me to believe that he’d be a key piece to a deep NCAA Tournament run this season. I never really paid much attention to those who labeled him as inconsistent because I had faith he’d put it together at some point. In my head, “some point” was going to be this season.

Now I’m just wondering where Ratliff is. Is he attending practice? No. Is he going to play again? No. The last two games he’s been MIA. The details of his absence are sketchy at best. All we really know is that he’s dealing with a “family issue,” according to Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson. And now, according to published reports by the Herald Times, we’ve learned that he’s no longer on the Indiana team.

Oddly enough, he wasn’t brought up on the Big Ten teleconference on Monday morning. It’s shocking to me that nobody asked for an update on Ratliff. The updates provided after Sunday’s game revealed little as Sampson wouldn’t elaborate further on Ratliff’s status. Is there an unwritten rule to not ask Kelvin Sampson any tough questions or pry for more information? Sometimes I feel like more information comes out of a Bill Belichick press conference.

Color me skeptical, but with each day that goes by without an update on what the deal is with Ratliff, the less likely he is to return. Color me correct, A.J. Ratliff is no longer a Hoosier.

Now that Ratliff’s departure is confirmed, what are your thoughts on Ratliff’s career at Indiana? Major disappointment? About what you expected? Thoughts in the comments, por favor.

First off, forgive us ITH’ers. E is still recovering from Super Bowl Sunday. Apparently he was drinking cranberry juice yesterday in an attempt to recover from a particularly debaucherous Saturday. In other words, he was already spent by the game last night.

So this is where you come in: Thoughts from last night’s game and discussion are welcome in the open thread version of “The Morning After.”

If you need talking points for discussion, here are a few:

• What did you think of Kyle Taber’s surprise start? Should he continue to play?
• A.J. Ratliff saw significant action. Did his play justify more?
• Mike White didn’t leave the bench. Did that make you happy, sad or indifferent?
• Eric Gordon looked like Eric Gordon. And that was really nice to see.
• Not that there was any doubt, but D.J. White is an absolute beast.

Also, if you want to express your joy about the Patriots choking away their chance at history, those thoughts are also welcome.

It also helped that IU went to a zone in the second half, negating some of Northwestern’s nifty screening and cutting. At one point, Northwestern didn’t notch a field goal for just about eight minutes. Kyle Taber got the start at the four for the Hoosiers and saw some considerable playing time. (Clearly, Kelvin Sampson — like many of us — is realizing the Mike White/DeAndre Thomas/Lance Stemler combo has been lackluster as of late.)

Though Taber saw considerable playing time, he was just sort of, well, there. He didn’t do anything particularly notable. He didn’t do anything particularly awful, either. (Although, I do remember an errant pass for a turnover in the second half.) It was nice to see Sampson try something else there, even if it wasn’t quite the answer. Taber does have size and if he can play some defense — which he seemed somewhat capable of today — it might be another serviceable option for IU as the season progresses.

Our guy A.J. Ratliff saw the floor for a good stretch this afternoon as well, but it’s clear his shot just isn’t there yet this season. He attempted six threes and only hit one.

Oh and since we’ve all been rather critical of Sampson, his offensive schemes and the way this team has played this year, I highly recommend you read Chris Korman’s article from today. Sampson responded to a lot of that criticism yesterday. (One thing I’ll say: Sampson was able to maximize the talent on last year’s squad: they played well together. Why he hasn’t been able to do that for this year’s team, well, I don’t know. But we’re eight game deep in the Big Ten season, he better figure it out soon.)

The Hoosiers are now 18-3 on the season and 7-1 in the Big Ten. They play Illinois on Thursday night in Champaign, Ill.

After UConn essentially dismantled IU last Saturday, there were two overriding points of view. The first was to assume that IU played poorly, met an athletic team that neutralized its strengths, and suffered a weird blip on the schedule that ended up in a loss. If anything, the loss was a positive; surely the Hoosiers would bounce back even more focused, right?

The second point of view was the sinking feeling of despair that maybe, just maybe, the Hoosiers weren’t nearly as good as most of us have given them credit for. That maybe the schedule is that bad; that maybe IU couldn’t stand up when the competition fought back; that maybe the Hoosiers aren’t destined to play late into March like most of us dreamed they would since Eric Gordon put his pen to paper.

Last night, we found out which of these approaches is more accurate. And it definitely isn’t the first.

– First, the injury. For all of the Belichickian skulduggery by IU’s media relations department — and the curious way EJ’s father dodged telling Erin Andrews exactly what the injury was — it’s pretty obvious that the left wrist is in bad shape. A typical bump or bruise doesn’t require a bandage. To think that the bandage will be on for “a few weeks”, but that there’s no swelling or a break or anything wrong, nope, nothing to see here, move along … well, that’s just silly.

And it deeply affects the Hoosiers. All year this team has struggled to play a cohesive offensive scheme. Instead, it’s relied on D.J.’s efficiency in the post, Gordon’s creativity from the perimeter, and fill-in-the-blanks stuff from a constant rotation of bit players (some more effective than others). With Gordon’s left wrist clearly limiting some of the things he can do — like, say, move to his left — IU loses a vital piece in the one-on-one scheme it’s been thriving in against lesser opponents.

— While we’re on the topic, can last night serve as the final indictment that that scheme just doesn’t work? Against lesser talent, yes. It does. Watch Memphis. But for a team like IU, a team that is severely limited athletically, the limited movement on offense just isn’t going to get it done.

I don’t claim to be a basketball scholar. I’m not a schemer. But please, for the love of God, draw up anything. Have Lance Stemler start barking at Erin Andrews, for chrissakes. If I have to see one more possession of ineffective high screens I swear to God I will start researching the death of the Louisville-IU rivalry. That’s how bored I will be.

– I’ll admit, in the process of writing this, that I’m trying to find a way to discuss how disappointing IU was without rambling on for 3,000 words. So I think the best way might just be to make a list. Here are the things Wisconsin is better at than IU, in no particular order:

• Shooting
• Dribbling
• Passing
• Moving
• Offense
• Defense
• Rebounding
• Tempo
• Discipline
• Free throws
• Fouls, and the prevention thereof
• Patience
• Cohesion
• Being boring
• Having big tall goofy-looking white guys on the team … and having them actually be effective
• Basketball
• Having a scary coach
• Jumping around, getting up, getting up, and getting down. Jumping around
• The manufacture and distribution of dairy

And there have to be things I’ve forgotten.

– For all the disappointment though, the second-half push was incredibly welcome. It made the game at least interesting again, and made me think that IU cared about winning the game. That was fun.

It also proved that D.J. White is, without a doubt, the soul of this team. As he goes, we go, Eric Gordon or no.

– I mentioned just above that Wisconsin is boring (the team, not the state, though let’s not head down that path), but I mean that in a complimentary way. Whereas IU fans this year it is our sentence to watch a madly inconsistent team, a team that defends as an afterthought, turns the ball over prodigiously, and has one legitimate rebounder … it is the plight of the Wisconsin fan to watch an ethereally consistent, but deathly boring, team.

It’s not just that the swing offense is boring, thought it is. It’s also the fact that the Badgers play at a slow pace, do the exact same thing every time down the court, and have no flash or flair whatsoever. When Brian Butch is your “showiest” player, well, you’re not exactly going to wow anyone aesthetically. Right now, though, I’d take Wisco’s brand of effective ugly over IU’s inconsistency any day.

– Memo to Brent Musberger: Dude. It’s “Eric Gordon,” “EJ,” “Gordon,” or “Eric.” Not, for the love of God, “Young Gordon.” Eric Gordon is not a southern rapper, thus he need not precede his name with some variation of “Young.” Please be advised. Thanks.

– Finally, one more minor, none-too-original, gripe: What does A.J. Ratliff have to do — or, rather, what do his teammates have to not do — for the man to get some consistent minutes. Give him something.

And with that, I’m all vented out. Leave your anger in the comments. Grrr, people. Very grr.

The Hoosiers don’t need Ratliff for his offense. They need his senior leadership and his tenacity on defense. Two seasons ago, he held Adam Morrison to 5 of 17 shooting in IU’s second round NCAA Tournament loss to Gonzaga.

Ratliff’s addition will allow Eric Gordon to share the defensive duties on the opposition’s best player. While Kelvin Sampson doesn’t expect Ratliff to start, he has said that Ratliff has been playing extremely well in practice and should fit right into the rotation.

Since that time, Ratliff regained his eligibility by earning a 3.0+ grade point average the first semester, injured his right ankle in practice and battled a 101-degree temperature that limited his minutes in the Minnesota game.

His contributions on the court have been, for the most part, non-existent. During Saturday’s 68-63 loss to Connecticut, Ratliff played five minutes and his body language suggested that something just wasn’t right. In total, he’s averaging 11.3 minutes and 1.7 points per game.

So that begs the question: What happened to A.J. Ratliff?

Sampson really hasn’t been pressed by the media about Ratliff and where he fits on this team and I’m not sure why. A season ago, Ratliff was one of the most productive players on the team. Under a more disciplined coaching staff, Ratliff was in the best shape of his career and finally seemed to find his confidence. He led IU to their biggest win of the season, a 71-66 upset of then No. 2 Wisconsin.

And now, he’s lucky to stay in the game for more than two minutes at a time. I’ve brainstormed some possible ideas for the substantial dropoff in playing time for Ratliff:

– Sampson is down on Ratliff: Perhaps A.J. missing the first semester was a bigger deal that we initially were led to believe. Kelvin said he was playing well in practice and that he expected A.J. to be a solid contributor. Was that really the case? Obviously not. No one knows what goes on in practice besides the players, but Sampson doesn’t see Ratliff as a player that can help this team right now. If he did, he would be playing more often. It’s as simple as that.

– The other options are better than A.J.: It was a foregone conclusion that Eric Gordon would eat up a majority of the minutes at the shooting guard position and that Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis would get their fair share of run. Ratliff’s primary competition for playing time: Jordan Crawford or as many of you like to call him, the undisciplined one. Crawford’s versatility gives him the nod over Ratliff because he can score in more ways and he can also handle the ball more effectively (some of you might argue this point). Until Ratliff can get into a game, make a few shots and get on a roll, he’ll likely remain the fifth option in the backcourt behind the aforementioned parties.

– Has Ratliff has packed it in?: A few of you suggested that Ratliff’s body language on Saturday looked to be, and I’m quoting you, not me: “cancerous.” While I’m not going to go that far, I will say that I did notice a visibly frustrated Ratliff when he was yanked after not really getting a chance to prove himself. And I don’t blame him. I was frustrated too. While chatting with PostmanE during the game, I commented that I was baffled at how quickly Ratliff was taken out. But is there more to this story? Is this body language a carry-over from how Ratliff is practicing and carrying himself around his teammates? Again, it’s hard to say and at this point, the evidence is inconclusive. If we see this behavior again, there could be something to this.

Now that I’ve throw my theories out there, it’s time for you to weigh-in. What’s the deal with A.J.? Are his days as a productive player in an IU uniform over? Can he still turn his season around? Your views are appreciated in the comments.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – On Saturday, Jan. 26, against non-conference foe Connecticut, the Indiana men’s basketball team will welcome its second and final “White Out” this season. All fans are encouraged to wear white to the game, which will be televised by CBS at 1 p.m. EST.

Also, Coach Kelvin Sampson addressed the media to talk about the UConn game, A.J. Ratliff and more:

On what to expect from Connecticut:

“Speed, rebounding. Their size, obviously, with (Hasheem) Thabeet inside. They’re just a much more mature team than when we played them last year. They’ve grown up and (A.J.) Price is what Jim (Calhoun) thought he’d be. He’s really good. Price, (Jerome) Dyson, those two guards have great quickness. They play in great bursts. Thabeet I think has improved in every area. He’s 70-for-100 free throws. I think that is significant. I don’t have his stats from last year right in front of me, but I know that is just an example of how he’s improved. He’s more comfortable. I think he see himself as a great low post player now. Whether he has the ball or not he controls the lane defensively. (Jeff) Adrien is just a tough kid. He’s a warrior. And they are playing good now. I think early in the year…we all are what we are early in the year. The win over Marquette and they went in a won a great road game last night where just about everybody struggles is at Cincinnati. They will come in here with a lot of confidence.”

On the play of A.J. Ratliff:

“I think with A.J. it is just finding his niche. Missing all the games he did, he’s behind when he started. We’re not playing games where I have the luxury of giving him 10-20 minutes so he can get his confidence back. These are games that when you get in the conference season or you are playing against a great nonconference opponent like Connecticut, my emphasis is to put in the kids I’ve got that I think we can win with.”

A full transcript is available here.

On the status of Eric Gordon:

“Eric has been good in practice this week. I fully expect him to play. He had not done anything to break a sweat since Monday night (vs. Tennessee State). I don’t think he went full court Tuesday; yesterday he went full court pretty good. It is just a matter of time. There were no broken bones. It was more discomfort and a really, really deep contusion. I think the more muscular you are, the more those hurt you.”

On the overall team effort in practice this week:

“Jordan, Jamarcus, all our guys, everybody has been practicing well. It will be interesting to see how we practice today and tomorrow because we have not worked on Western Carolina at all. But we will today. Coach Meyer has the scouting report. We will go over that today and break them down and see if we can’t play better Saturday.”

On the status of Eli Holman:

“I can tell you that he hurt his wrist. I don’t know (how bad the injury is). I know he went to get it x-rayed and it was not broken. But there may be some ligament damage in there. It is in a brace. We went early yesterday, I think it was 12:30, and it was toward the end. I worked him out individually before practice started for about 45 minutes, just he and I. And he had a really good practice. I didn’t see the play. I know that after practice Tim (Garl) took him to the hospital and then Tim text me after to say it is not broken but thought he had some ligament damage. We just have to wait and see how serious it is.”

On the suspension of Armon Bassett:

“Game to game. We’ll see. He had got some work to do. He won’t play Saturday and we will just have to wait to see about the following Saturday.”

On whether or not A.J. Ratliff will play on Saturday:

“Depends on if he gets his classes in. He has a lot of stuff that has to be in. The academic part of it, through the NCAA and forces that be up on campus with the registrar and get all his grades recorded, we just have to wait on that. You know, I talked to our academic people a long time this morning. I would be the wrong guy to try and explain that.”

Anyways, on the podcast we talk about Coach Sampson’s suspensions and what that means for his general control of this team as well as what A.J. Ratliff will bring to the Hoosiers with his return. (Hint: It’s just not his defense.) Also, don’t miss our Bob Knight sound bite! Give it a listen if you’d like.

Enter A.J. Ratliff. While he’s primarily a streaky shooter on the offensive side of the ball, he’s probably the best perimeter defender that Indiana has on its roster. And he’ll return (assuming his grades come in as expected) this Saturday against Western Carolina.

We’ve already seen enough of offense from this team to know they’ll be able to put up the points to win games. The Hoosiers don’t need Ratliff for his offense. They need his senior leadership and his tenacity on defense. Two seasons ago, he held Adam Morrison to 5 of 17 shooting in IU’s second round NCAA Tournament loss to Gonzaga. Ratliff’s addition will allow Eric Gordon to share the defensive duties on the opposition’s best player.

While Kelvin Sampson doesn’t expect Ratliff to start, he has said that Ratliff has been playing extremely well in practice and should fit right into the rotation.

So, what are your thoughts on Ratliff’s return? How much playing time will he get? Do you agree that he’s Indiana’s best perimeter defender? Is he the missing piece that can mold Indiana into a championship caliber team?

A.J. Ratliff has not been kicked off Indiana’s basketball team, according to IU basketball spokesman J.D. Campbell.

Ratliff is still part of Indiana’s basketball program, Campbell said, and will be on the bench for tonight’s season-opener against Chattanooga.

Campbell did not explain Ratliff’s absence from the bench for IU’s exhibition game Saturday against Pembroke, saying that is between coach Kelvin Sampson and the team.

Ratliff will be on the bench in street clothes. As previously reported, he is academically ineligible to play during the first semester.

Welcome news for all Hoosier fans. It still doesn’t explain Ratliff’s absence on Saturday, but it’s good to know he’s still with us. His defense will be key on the perimeter the second half of the season.