• N71

    I’m sure going to miss Yogi once he moves on. He really made Jordy’s departure doable, I NEVER worry about ball pressure when Yogi is in charge (although he does turn it over from time to time). Currently we’re worried about our front line, fouling, rebounding, recruiting. I’m not sure how we’re going to fill Yogi’s shoes. Perhaps Rob is that guy and we go big at the point, not sure. Congrats to Yogi for being voted 1st team Big Ten.

  • AnonymousDave

    “Hard to find a basket after practice.” That dang near brought a tear to my eye lol

  • NateMH

    I wonder how many media guys were trying to figure out who this Zeisloft character is…I bet Zeisloft is in the top two in minutes this year. Crean will keep referencing his leadership.

  • AnonymousDave

    Reading espns NBA preview yesterday and then watching this video when Yogi was questioned about overcoming adversity and Crean talking about making the simple play made me think of something. In the preview it said IN THE NBA the last 20 teams to win a championship were higher rated on defense than offense. Too many times last year a team would go on a run and we’d try and hit a homerun instead of buckling down on defense and letting the offense come to us. That’s a sign of immaturity and one of the biggest things I think that held Hollowell from succeeding here. So how mature will our young squad be this year?

  • Alford Bailey

    Crean brought him to media day? Teachers pet? At least he let Yogi come too.

  • Alford Bailey

    Those guys who harp on Yogi are gonna realize how good he is when he is gone. I’m starting to get concerned about who will be his replacement.

  • Alford Bailey

    I’m not worried about offense this year. Defense is another story. We were so undisciplined on D last year. Can we be sound and stay in front of our man consistently?

  • NateMH

    Lol no kidding..figure he’ll eat up a lot of minutes that would have went to RJ & Stan & one of the two will end up transferring

  • OhioHoosier

    I’m hoping for Rawle Alkins

  • AnonymousDave

    Exactly we have all the tools to be a solid defensive team despite the lack of height, but the understanding and discipline are absolutely crucial to this teams success. We have tremendous athleticism and length, but we need to adjust our stances so we push guards away from the basket and play the passing lanes. Ya know the fundamentals? It’s gonna take a lot more than that though. We need some talkers cause were gonna have to help a lot this year especially in the post. We have the speed to recover in a lot of situations but our awareness and knowing when we can and can’t help are essential.

  • mckillio

    Can we take this Yogi and put him on the 2012 team?

  • AnonymousDave

    And we can’t bite so much or we need to know when to bite. I don’t know how many times last year we went for steals that weren’t there and ended up fouling or giving up an open basket or both.

  • CreanFaithful

    More like the two most experienced players… CTC wants/expects Zeisloft to be a leader and he is treating him as such.

  • Alford Bailey

    Well, that’s kinda my fear too. Oh geez I hope not.

  • ForeverIU

    LOL!

  • NateMH

    You know if Thomas Bryant is still visiting this weekend? Rumors circulating he committed to Cuse

  • HoosierGrampy

    I don’t know if anyone out there will be able to replace Yogi, but Tyus Battle or Kyle Guy would be able to keep the fire burnin’..

  • AUKevin

    “It’s a race to find a basket after practice”-NZ
    Can’t say how much that says about the cohesiveness and competitiveness of this team. That’s awesome.

  • MK

    i dont think anyone “harps” on yogi, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be better then he was last year….

  • SCHoosier

    Al…was that second petty comment necessary? Yogi was guaranteed a position at Media Day. So TC select’s Nick as the second guy? So what? Maybe he’s trying to tell the players…look at this man..he’s new to the program but acts, plays and conducts himself with poise, character and is what this program will consider a leader! Maybe u were just being sarcastic??

  • CreamandCrimson

    I’m with you…I thought it was a cheap shot at Nick Zeisloft. Why call him a teacher’s pet? Plus, NateMH sarcastically implying that Nick would only get minutes because of Tom Crean’s perception of his leadership. Every player I’ve heard speak about Nick has said that he has been a very positive influence and every writer that saw him play in Canada had good things to say about him.

    Like you wrote though, maybe we were just misinterpreting the posts.

  • IUMIKE1

    One of the best parts of Yogi’s interview was when he said that he wanted to really concentrate on making fewer turnovers. That was one of the best parts and the best five words were, “like not making jump passes”. I guess that’s nit picking when it comes to him cause he does so many things so well, but I think I, as well as a lot of others, was glad to hear those words. I see him totally justifying his first team B1G selection and then some.

  • Alford Bailey

    I’m not buying we go to a mid major to buy us a “leader”. At least not yet.

  • TomJameson

    I think he’ll be better, but more than that I think he’ll be different. IMO he will be in the perfect world for how he plays, a facilitator that can score outside and drive as well. He improves like he wants (turnover/assists) and he could very easily get some movement on the draft boards.

  • TomJameson

    Nah, that’s not going to happen. All those young men are too important to the team, this team and next years team. LOL With a 3-guard lineup, all those guys will be happy with their minutes. IMO – the top minutes will go to Yogi, JBJ, RJ, Troy, then it starts to even out … LOL

  • NateMH

    Hope ur right, you know sometimes the Creanster gets crazy like a fox & starts thinking everybody on the roster has to get minutes.

  • TomJameson

    I share your hesitation in a lot of things, but I temper it with unbridled optimism. LOL Seriously though, Illinois State is pretty well coached, even for a mid-major. IMO Nick has had good coaching on the basics and is ready to thrive, at least that is my optimistic point of view. 🙂 My realistic point of view is that, as CTC said, we have a 60% new team. Lots of unprovens to overcome. Either way, I am soooo ready to watch some IU basketball!!

  • TomJameson

    A good stiff defensive player, and team, takes attitude. I think we have some defensive pieces in place. I think Yogi, RJ, and JBJ all will be better defensively than most think. More than that, even though this team is young I think in some ways it’s more mature than last years team. AND, I think the attitude is there. I certainly hope so anyway. I also think we’ll see a lot more of a zone than ever before under CTC. Another reason we’ll need lot’s of guards.

  • TomJameson

    Yeah, but I think he was just hunting for an effective lineup. hahaha I can be all wet, but I think his recruiting classes have all been affected by how he had to start by recruiting basically an entire team. His big classes were decimated by turnover because (in part) better players started coming in all the time. Well now that the talent level is leveling out, as well as the skills that this coach wants, IMO the recruiting will now start to level out some. Hard to swallow with 2 or 3 oversigns, but I think last year was a setback year because some of the recruits didn’t work out … a perfect storm of sorts. I truly believe that the recruiting, and performance, will level out at a higher level in the next couple of years. All very speculative, so ya’ll feel free to rip it up. LOL