• Courtney Graber

    Sounds like his feet and vertical are improved via stories I’ve read here over the summer.

  • sarge

    He has also improved his squat by 200 lbs since arriving in Bloomington too. That should help in the post with his balance and defense this season.

  • SCHoosier

    Given the new rules on “establishing post position” you can expect TB and other bigs to have foul trouble early in the season. Fans not gonna b e happy.

  • can you explain please? first I heard. and do they need to come out with new rules every year now? why?

  • BL4IU

    Good analysis and establishes why TB didn’t enter the draft; he wasn’t ready. However, keep in mind, many of the negative, out-of-control plays were early on last year when he was really raw. Looking forward to seeing him play after an off season working on his lower body strength. If he’s acquired more agility and lift, he’ll make it in the NBA. If not, we’ll be happy to have him for another year or two.

  • TomJameson

    There are new rules about establishing position in the post, both offensive and defensive. Has a lot to do with arm-bars, or position of the arms in relation to verticality. There was a thread somewhere with a link explaining the rules, with video examples of legal & not legal. My very first thought was that TB may still be getting in foul trouble early.

  • TomJameson

    Exactly right. Fans are not going to be happy, especially when “home calls” are being made. A lot of those “post position” calls are going to be “not made” at places like Wisconsin and Minn.

  • AJ_IU_ColtsFan

    As in he added 200 lbs? Holy #[email protected]*. Just where is this kid’s ceiling, somewhere around Jupiter?

    My goodness, he’s going to be a monster in the paint, isn’t he?

  • Bill Graham

    I tend to be more critical of our bigs but I love TB
    Positive points:
    1. Truly the heart and soul of this team
    2. Fantastic at establishing position
    3. Runs the floor well

    Negatives:
    1. About a year ago I criticized TB’s mobility and everyone lit me up and said things like, “look at his highlights he run’s the floor perfectly.” – valid point. But mobility isn’t just about running the floor. Even though TB’s legs are skinny he plays like they are heavy. He doesn’t cut well (got in a ton of early season foul trouble – blocking calls on hedges). He also isn’t an explosive post player.
    2. He needs Anderson’s weight training more than anyone we have. For him to be a starting NBA center he needs to develop more explosion in his legs.
    3. I still worry about his skinny lower frame being injury prone.(I know thats a blasphemous comment- and I shouldn’t speak of such things- but its honest). If you watch old Greg Oden highlights. He is built almost exactly like TB. He moves almost exactly like TB…and look what happen to Greg Injured Oden…Hopefully I’m wrong and obviously people are different and this is a limited comparison…but at the same time its a concern.

  • sarge

    Yes, he is! He already was good, but could be great this year. He had never done advanced weight training until he got to IU, so he is making some serious gains in strength. Can’t wait!

  • Chi-Town Hoosier

    I love these breakdowns. It reminds me of how solid TB was last year and all of the opportunities to grow. I loved seeing him sprint the floor – on one break he was the first guy down there and that is awesome. Will be very intrigued to see how his explosion is coming along and I can only imagine there will be benefits for him going against DD in practice, another guy with significant length.

  • SCHoosier

    Try googling 2016 college basketball rule changes. Info i think was on U-tube i think Fans will not be happy..lot o f “discretion” given the officials..gonna take the players some time to adjust.

  • SilentBob

    Well if the rule works as intended, then it should come to the benefit of lengthier players like Bryant who are also a littler quicker than their opponets. The problem, obviously, is it never goes to plan cause you have a half a million different rules and only 5 fouls lol.

  • TomJameson

    I just thing the officiating will make these new rules all “subjective” and call some and not others. Like travels, moving screens, charges/blocking, carrying the ball, etc. Just gives officials more room to be wrong! lol

  • CreamandCrimson

    I was on the same team as Greg Oden in high school (“teammate” for two years although I never really saw the court). He was a great guy and a very dominant defensive force but, unfortunately, the injuries were no surprise. He needed special shoes in high school and had a number of foot/ankle discomfort issues. I was really rooting for him in the pros and I think he could have had a very nice career but he had issues/red flags with his feet and lower frame well before the NBA…issues I’m not aware Thomas Bryant has had yet. I understand the comparison and I think it’s valid but, thus far, Bryant hasn’t had the problems Oden had, at the same point in their respective careers.

  • SilentBob

    Hahaha. A true fan you are. But officiating has and always will be subjective as long as it’s done by the human eye. Still think at the end of the day, they get most of the calls right. Not really worried. If things go that deep, everyone will be effected. It’s still the same game on the same court. We’re more talented than most, and honestly I could see these rules coming to benefit our offense quite a bit at times. Cause on the flip side, most college centers can’t handle 6’11 255 lbs with a 9’4 stand and reach. I could see this putting Thomas on the line a lot.

  • TomJameson

    I agree with most of what you’re saying, Bob. I really am a fan of college BB, and IU BB more specifically, but am NOT a fan of officiating and the “home court” advantage. I am really jaded in that regard. I really do think most officials at least try to get it right, but again, when you see somebody like Hayes shoot 150 free throws in a game, something ain’t right. (forgive the exaggeration please. 🙂

    Every highlight I see now, I look for that arm bar that’s “perpendicular to the floor”, and how it’s used … offensively and defensively, in the post. It’s used a ton, and if called “correctly”, there will be a lot of whistles. I know the game needs officiating, I just don’t like it when the officiating controls the game, or changes the outcome.

    I hope you’re right about TB getting to the line a lot, but I fear the home calls might get him into foul trouble at times.

  • SilentBob

    IMO this won’t have much effect on home leaning officials. And really on net, it should flow both ways. I’m sure we get plenty of “home” calls to. Plus the NCAA at least understands to have the best product it’s best schools have to have the best players on the floor and the best competition.

  • IUBizmark

    Smiling as I watched the weaknesses as almost all of those clips were in the first half of the season. Bryant improved leaps and bounds by the end of the season. Going to be a beast with OG and Bryant guarding guys.

  • TomJameson

    I believe strongly that when you add rules that are subjective, the home leaning officials will interpret them favorably in their home teams direction. That’s what they do now, and I don’t see anything changing in that regard.

    I will not defend the NCAA in much of anything when they penalize 2 players 1/3 of the season because somebody bought a bumper sticker 2 years before they were even born, and yet lets a school get away with having fake classes for their athletes, or another school gets no NCAA punishment for furnishing hookers and liquor to recruits. I don’t think the NCAA understands much of anything.

  • SilentBob

    Tom, I won’t ever disagree that the NCAA has been a poor on administering justice, but honestly that just plays into my point. They slap the big boys on the wrist, when they can, because they offer more value. Yea it can be ridiculous, but more often than not. Fans as a whole end up with what they want.

    As far as the rules goes. We’re just gonna have to agree to disagree. If the ref is for what ever reason biased, I find it inevitable he will ring us up for a bad call regardless. I mean fouls in basketball are just like holds, false snaps, and defensive offsides in football. They happen pretty much every play to some degree. It really just comes down to how obvious/bad it is.

  • TomJameson

    Good point about just slapping the big boys on the wrist, but that kind of makes my point too. For whatever reasons, the biased and different treatment for different schools filters down (sometimes) to the biased and different calls for different players/schools.

    Bob, we may not totally agree all the time, but I can always count on you to make me think a little harder about things. Thanks for the perspective.

  • that’s horrible, but thanks. (why is this rule change needed? fans clamoring for officials to be a bigger part of the game and for the best players to foul out more? jeeeeeeeeeez)