IUBB Summer Thoughts

Saturday, Tom Crean, Tim Buckley, Steve McClain and Chuck Martin spent time all across the country checking out possible future Hoosiers. I spent Saturday checking out the Adidas Invitational. Here’s some thoughts as we head into the teeth of the 2015 recruiting class and beyond. Raymond Spalding. This kid is a flat out stud in the making. Sure he’s young and has to round into his body, but you can’t teach ability like his. He is a consensus top 100 recruit among all recruiting services. I see that ranking changing to a consensus top 50 once this summer season draws to a close. Spalding lists IU, Louisville, and Xavier as his top three. Spalding is a must get for Crean and the Hoosiers. He has a nice floor game, can step out and hit the three and a nice 15 footer. He is legitimately listed on the program at 6’9-6’10 and is someone I would love seeing in the Candy Stripes. Across the gym, The UA Indy Grind 2017 team is loaded. Paul Scruggs, Zach Gunn, Kris Wilkes, Justin Roberts and Gary Trent are all players IU would love to have. If I had to choose 2 at this point it would be Wilkes and Scruggs. These two have Crean’s attention and are high on IU’s radar. The other 3 are just as much, however I feel Scruggs and Wilkes fit the Crean system very well. Again, all 5 are super talented, just my personal opinion. Getting back to 2015, IU needs to be realistic in this class. If you can land a class of Spalding, Juwan Morgan, and Shake Milton, you take it and move on to 2016. We can sit here and wonder if Thon Maker is going to re-classify or if Caleb Swanigan is going to look at anyone other than Tom Izzo. Is Jalen Coleman really interested in IU or is he a Michigan lock? Having said that, give me those 3 I listed and I’m happy. Pair Morgan and Spalding inside with Yogi, JBJ, Stan, Troy and others, I like how we are shaping up. I see JBJ as at least a 2 year player, and Yogi, while talented, is a 4 year player (See Shabazz Napier). This should be a fun summer as IU heads to Montreal and Ottawa in August. Will IU add anyone else or just eat the extra scholarship for this year? If it’s me, I eat it and focus on 2015 and beyond. Seeing what lies ahead in the future is very bright. IU is in on major 2015, 2016 and 2017 players. Let’s not waste the scholarship on a JUCO project big man. Let’s let Hanner, Jeremiah, Devin and Tim take their lumps this year and learn. The future is bright in my eyes.

 

ARCHIE

IUBB Thoughts

Saturday, Tom Crean, Tim Buckley, Steve McClain and Chuck Martin spent time all across the country checking out possible future Hoosiers. I spent Saturday checking out the Adidas Invitational. Here’s some thoughts as we head into the teeth of the 2015 recruiting class and beyond. Raymond Spalding. This kid is a flat out stud in the making. Sure he’s young and has to round into his body, but you can’t teach ability like his. He is a consensus top 100 recruit among all recruiting services. I see that ranking changing to a consensus top 50 once this summer season draws to a close. Spalding lists IU, Louisville, and Xavier as his top three. Spalding is a must get for Crean and the Hoosiers. He has a nice floor game, can step out and hit the three and a nice 15 footer. He is legitimately listed on the program at 6’9-6’10 and is someone I would love seeing in the Candy Stripes. Across the gym, The UA Indy Grind 2017 team is loaded. Paul Scruggs, Zach Gunn, Kris Wilkes, Justin Roberts and Gary Trent are all players IU would love to have. If I had to choose 2 at this point it would be Wilkes and Scruggs. These two have Crean’s attention and are high on IU’s radar. The other 3 are just as much, however I feel Scruggs and Wilkes fit the Crean system very well. Again, all 5 are super talented, just my personal opinion. Getting back to 2015, IU needs to be realistic in this class. If you can land a class of Spalding, Juwan Morgan, and Shake Milton, you take it and move on to 2016. We can sit here and wonder if Thon Maker is going to re-classify or if Caleb Swanigan is going to look at anyone other than Tom Izzo. Is Jalen Coleman really interested in IU or is he a Michigan lock? Having said that, give me those 3 I listed and I’m happy. Pair Morgan and Spalding inside with Yogi, JBJ, Stan, Troy and others, I like how we are shaping up. I see JBJ as at least a 2 year player, and Yogi, while talented, is a 4 year player (See Shabazz Napier). This should be a fun summer as IU heads to Montreal and Ottawa in August. Will IU add anyone else or just eat the extra scholarship for this year? If it’s me, I eat it and focus on 2015 and beyond. Seeing what lies ahead in the future is very bright. IU is in on major 2015, 2016 and 2017 players. Let’s not waste the scholarship on a JUCO project big man. Let’s let Hanner, Jeremiah, Devin and Tim take their lumps this year and learn. The future is bright in my eyes. ARCHIE

How Bad is the Hoosier Defense?

The Indiana football defense has been much maligned during the 2013 season, and rightfully so. The Hoosiers are fresh off a record breaking performance at Michigan. A record breaking performance they don’t want to be associated with.

Michigan quarterback Devn Gardner notched over 580 total yards and 503 through the air vs. the Hoosier defense. Wide Receiver Jeremy Gallon set the Big Ten single game receiving record with 369 yards, second all time in NCAA history (408 yds by Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech in 2007).

It’s been more than one game, or even the seven games of 2013. This has gone on for three years. There are 123 teams playing division one football. Let’s take a look where the Hoosiers rank out of 123 teams in the following categories.

SCORING DEFENSE (110th) – 37.1 ppg
TOTAL DEFENSE (119th) – 498.1 ypg
RUSHING DEFENSE (110th) – 221.0 ypg
PASSING DEFENSE (107th) – 227.1 ypg

OPPONENT STATISTICS (ONLY DIVISION 1 OPPONENTS)

WHAT DO THE STATS SHOW US ?

The stats show us two different things: GOOD & BAD
1.) If you want to have your best offensive day, schedule Indiana
2.) There is potential on defense and they have proven they can stop good teams, so these alarming stats are inexcusable

In our four losses we have allowed our opponent their biggest offensive output of the season. We are getting pushed around like a FCS defense. Is it scheme, players, or both?

I have to think it is more scheme than anything because it has gone on for three years. We have good players on the defensive side of the ball. Some will play on Sundays. It’s inexcusable for teams to consistently gain 120+ yards on our defense over their season averages.

Even in our two wins against division one opponents we still gave up over 400 yards of offense. The good news is we won those games, mainly because we played with a lead and kept the defense off the field 2:31 on average more than the losses.

KEVIN WILSON’S THOUGHTS ON THE SITUATION

Coach Wilson on having confidence in defensive coordinator Doug Mallory:
“I better, and the players better too.”

Coach Wilson on why he still has confidence in Doug Mallory:
“As head coach, I’m in charge of everything. I do spend a little more time on offense. There have been some times where I go over there and suggest ideas. But I’m not gonna tell them how to do that. That’s their job. They’re hired to do that. What I’m doing is trying to give them the resources, time and the practice commitment they need, and I’m trying to give them all the energy I can to give them positive reassurance of effort, attitude.”

Coach Wilson on who is to blame for Saturday’s loss at Michigan:
“To me, that game’s on the offense.”

MY THOUGHTS

I want to give Kevin Wilson the benefit of the doubt but I am on record saying that the maximum you are going to get from Wilson is 7 wins. Wilson has done a good job after taking over for Bill Lynch in getting the talent level up, improving the win total, and making us more competitive. However, I just think the maximum we will ever get is to 7 wins. I don’t think Wilson can take us to the next level.

I am not calling for Wilson’s job. He has only been given three years and should at least get a fourth. I hope he proves me wrong and wins 6 this year and comes out with 8-9 wins next year but I am not going to hold my breath waiting.

Coach Wilson’s quotes show us that he knows he is the head coach and in charge of everything. That is my philosophy as well, I don’t want to give all the blame to Doug Mallory because I believe that the head coach has the final say and gets the ultimate responsibility. I am disturbed by Coach Wilson’s quote of “I am not going to tell them how to do it, that’s their job.”

I think it is time for Coach Wilson to step up and tell them how to do it if he has the answers otherwise it will cost their job, and ultimately his. When you rank last in the Big Ten in all three defensive categories like we did in 2011 you expect some improvement. No improvement was shown as IU finished last in all three categories in 2012 and presently rank last in 2013 in the same categories.

The defense did respond after a bye week when taking on Penn State. Let’s see if the same can be done this week in preparation for Minnesota next week. It’s obvious Mallory isn’t the answer as the D.C. The improvement is non-existent in three years. I don’t see anything changing in year 4. It’s time for heads to roll in Bloomington on the defensive side of the ball. I am just shocked that a change wasn’t made during this bye week.

BY: Dee-Bee

Coach Wilson Speaks at Practice Today

Coach Wilson and the Hoosiers are on a bye week before playing host to Minnesota next Saturday. It will be homecoming in Bloomington, lets see what Coach Wilson had to say today at practice. Coach Wilson discusses self evaluation, healing up injured players and touches on recruiting.

 

Yogi Ferrell Player Preview – RushTheCourt.net

Our friends over at rushthecourt.net are evaluating the Big 10 Conference sophomore class. The Big Ten Conference is loaded with potential in this class. LaQuinton Ross (Ohio State), Nik Stauskas (Michigan), and Indianas Yogi Ferrell are three of the nations elite sophomores.

Lets check out rushthecourt.net evaluation of Yogi.

A point guard who is rated among the top 30 players in his class by various recruiting services should expect to play a significant role in his team’s offense as a freshman. But Yogi Ferrell had a different set of rules for his first season in Bloomington because Tom Crean’s team already had All-Americans such as Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo as well as other talented upperclassmen like Christian Watford and Jordan Hulls on board to carry the load. Nonetheless, Ferrell made the most of his rookie campaign by cracking the starting rotation and averaging 7.6 PPG while playing a strong 28.1 MPG. Deferring to his teammates to score in a high-powered offense may not have been easy for the freshman point guard, but his patience will pay off next season when he will be responsible for running Crean’s offense and will by necessity become one of the primary scoring options for the Hoosiers. He will have the opportunity to shine as a sophomore but let’s evaluate the parts of his game that will need to improve in order for him to make the leap next season.

What did we learn from him last year?

Last season proved that Ferrell is a great fit for an offensive scheme designed to push the ball up the court and create opportunities for the wings to either drive to the basket or pull up for shots from beyond the arc. He displayed tremendous speed in transition, leading to plentiful open looks for sharpshooters such as Hulls and Watford. Without such a speedy point guard pushing the ball upcourt, Crean’s offense wouldn’t have led the Big Ten in tempo at 65.7 possessions per game. The freshman averaged 4.6 APG with an assist to turnover ratio of 2:1, not at all shabby for a player navigating a conference that boasts numerous elite defenses. After 30+ games in his career, we now know that he is great in transition, but we haven’t seen as much from him in the half-court. Considering the talent on last year’s roster, there were no plays called for him but in key spots his jumper looked decent even though it wasn’t very consistent (30% from beyond the arc). Despite his middling shooting percentage, he showed a quick release and was not hesitant to pull the trigger if there was an open look from outside. In summary, Ferrell has proven that he has the fundamental skills to succeed in Crean’s offense, but he will need to be more judicious with his shot selection going forward.

What can we expect from his game next year?

More shot attempts and more minutes will definitely increase his scoring average into the double figures, but Ferrell needs to be efficient on the offensive end. The roster turnover can be viewed as something of a gift for Ferrell to show his leadership, but at the same time it could also backfire if the players around him do not have a polished offensive game. Will Sheehey will provide some stability on the wing, but he is limited to a open looks from beyond the arc and isn’t known for his ability to create off the dribble. Incoming freshman Noah Vonleh will help Ferrell carry some of the offensive burden, but he needs to show that he can hit a mid-range jumper consistently or he won’t be effective with pick-and-roll action in the half-court. As a result, there may not be much structure to the offense during the first 15 games of the season while Vonleh and sophomore Jeremy Hollowell become comfortable playing heavy minutes against tough competition.

Ferrell won’t be asked to do anything differently this year — he will remain responsible for pushing the ball up the court, dishing to his wings in transition and hoping that they rely on their quickness to get to the basket for easy buckets. Without a true post threat inside, though, he will be forced to handle the ball for more possessions as a scoring threat and will need to pull up for shots off the dribble. If Ferrell can develop a semi-decent floater in the paint, he can use his quickness off screens to collapse the defense, finishing or drawing fouls to get to the free throw line. He is built physically to take hits in the paint if he goes this route, but Big Ten defenses will make him earn his points from deep before allowing him to penetrate into the paint – just ask NPOY Trey Burke about the second half of last season. Expect several hand-off plays where Vonleh or Hollowell will retreat to the perimeter to receive a quick pass from Ferrell, but quickly dump it off to him on the side for a quick pull-up jumper.

What is the best case scenario for his sophomore season?

If Ferrell can rack up a handful of easy assists by dishing to Vonleh, Sheehey or Hollowell on fast break opportunities, it could help him become more efficient with his shot selection in the half-court because he won’t need to look to score. Transition opportunities won’t come easily, though, and they will largely depend on his specific ability to get a couple of steals every game — therefore, defensive focus will be important. Overall, if the young Hoosiers turn out to lack offensive discipline, then Ferrell will be forced to take on a greater scoring role which is not the recipe for another Big Ten title. Nonetheless, it says here that he will have a better sophomore season than his freshman campaign, and the fortunes of the Hoosiers will largely rest on his shoulders throughout the season.

{Yogi Ferrell Sophomore Evaluation}

 

 

 

 

ESPN Ranks the Top 500 NBA Players

ESPN has ranked the top 500 NBA players, three Hoosiers made the list. Let’s take a look at the top 5 players in the NBA, where the three Hoosiers ranked in the NBA and a look at how each rank on their respective teams.

NBA PLAYER RANKINGS – THE TOP 5

1.) Lebron James – Miami Heat
2.) Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
3.) Chris Paul – Los Angeles Clippers
4.) James Harden – Houston Rockets
5.) Russell Westbrook – Oklahoma City Thunder

WHERE DID THE FORMER HOOSIERS CHECK IN AT?

69.) Danny Granger – Indiana Pacers
70.) Brandon Jennings – Detroit Pistons
71.) ERIC GORDON – NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
72.) Danilo Gallinari – Denver Nuggets
73.) Bradley Beal – Washington Wizards
_  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _

112.) Enes Kanter – Utah Jazz
113.) Danny Green – San Antonio Spurs
114.) VICTOR OLADIPO – ORLANDO MAGIC
115.) Jarret Jack – Cleveland Cavaliers
116.) Aaron Afflalo – Orlando Magic
_  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _

164.) Glen Davis – Orlando Magic
165.) Amir Johnson – Torono Raptors
166.) CODY ZELLER – CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
167.) Patrick Patterson – Sacramento Kings
168.) Gary Neal – Milwuakee Bucks

HOW DO THE FORMER HOOSIERS STACK UP ON THEIR TEAMS

{ESPN TOP 500 NBA PLAYERS}

JaQuan Lyle MixTape

Good Wednesday Hoosier Nation! Hump day is upon us, but don’t worry we are going to help you out today.

We all know that talks have been heating up over the last week between Indiana and 2014 electrifying guard, JaQuan Lyle. Take a moment and start your day with some JaQuan Lyle highlights from this summer on the AAU Circuit.

In case you have missed the latest news on lyle, you can find the information here:

{Crean Visits Lyle at Huntington Prep}

{Lyle and Crean still in Communication}

Al Golden Presents the Tuesday NightCap

Al Golden, head football coach of the Miami Hurricanes, delivers the nightcap for Tuesday Night. Golden and his Hurricanes received their punishment from the NCAA after 800 plus days of investigations into improper benefits claims from convicted ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro. The Hurricanes lose nine scholarships over three years in addition to the time served of self imposing post bans on three games over the last two seasons. The Hurricanes are ranked 7th currenlty,Al Golden and the []_[] have a message for the NCAA.

REST OF THE NEWS AROUND THE COUNTRY

* Alabama star defensive back, Vinny Sunseri, will miss the remainder of the season for the Crimson Tide with a torn ACL. This could become a costly injury for the Tide. If they have any weakness what so ever, it is in the defensive backfield.

* Missouri coach Frank Haith has been suspended five games for the upcoming season as a result of his involvement in the Miami scandal. Haith was the head coach of the Hurricanes basketball team at the time the scandal was released in 2011.

* Mike Vick is back! Vick will start for the Eagles in week 8 after missing the last two games with an injury. Vick’s replacement, Nick Foles, stunk up the joint over the weekend passing for a mere 80 yards against the Cowboys.

* Heisman trophy winner, Johnny Football aka Johnny Manziel, is expected to play this weekend as the Aggies will host Vanderbilt. Manziel injured his shoulder over the weekend against Auburn.

* Ladies, patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, is having a football clinic for women on November 11th. The Gronk’s camp is $99 bucks. That fee will get you an autograph, a pic with the Gronk, and his own drink, THE GRONKTINI. The camp will take place at Harvard Stadium in Allston, Massachusetts. Maybe some lucky lady can be linked to the Gronk next, just like adult film star, BiBi Jones.

AND NOW FOR SOME HOOSIER NEWS

Gametime for Indiana and Minnesota has been scheduled for 3:30 EST. This will be homecoming in Bloomington, game can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

Yogi Ferrell was named to the Bob Cousy watch list today. The Cousy award goes to the nations top point guard. The watch list consists of 45 names which will be narrowed to a final list of 20 in February.

Indiana Freshman Safety, Antonio Allen has been lost for the season. Allen suffered a torn ACL during the 63-47 loss at Michigan this weekend. Allen has 35 tackles on the season to date.

T.J. Simmons was named Big Ten freshman of the week by Athlon. Simmons recorded 7 tackles in Indiana’s loss at Michigan over the weekend.

Tom Crean was in Huntington, WV today visiting five star recruit JaQuan Lyle. He is of the class of 2014, a native of Evansville, he transferred to the prestigious prep school over the summer for his senior season.

Tom Crean Working Hard on the Recruiting Trail

Coach Tom Crean and the Indiana staff have one maybe two more scholarships to give out for the 2014 class. Many think Devin Robinson will join fellow Virginia native, Robert Johnson, in Bloomington.

Coach Crean isn’t assuming anything, he is going hard after five star recruit JaQuan Lyle. Coach Crean was in Huntington, West Virginia today to see Lyle according to Lyle’s twitter.

 

This is the second tweet that Lyle has sent out in regards to Coach Crean in a week. Last Wednesday, Lyle sent the following out via twitter.

 

Lyle is set to be in Bloomington next weekend for homecoming. The Evansville native is one of the best unsigned seniors in the country. The one time Louisville commit opened up his recruiting about six weeks ago. The Hoosiers were thought to be out of the running but I feel that they are back in.

As stated on the podcast today, I feel that Lyle doesn’t know what he wants to do for college yet and is still up in the air. I won’t be shocked if doesn’t sign until the late signing period in the spring. There are no indications when Lyle will make a decision, it would be great to see a kid from the Hoosier state stay home and wear the Cream and Crimson.

Biggest Challenges for Tom Crean

The boys at Bleacher Report love to talk Indiana basketball, frankly, who can blame them?

They recently took a look at Indiana Basketball coach, Tom Crean. Kyle Grand examined the Biggest Challenges for Tom Crean in 2013-2014.

WHAT IS YOGI FERRELL?

“The thing is, should Crean have Ferrell focus on being a creator or a scorer? There are valid points on both sides of the argument.

Indiana lost its top four scorers from a season ago. Ferrell, being the only returning starter, is one of the more seasoned players on an otherwise inexperienced team. 

He’s more than capable of creating his own shot, and with a full offseason under his belt, his shaky jumper should be better.

On the other hand, Ferrell is going to be surrounded by new faces, mainly freshmen. In order to play well, these young players need confidence. A great way to build confidence is through making shots. Ferrell is an excellent distributor and will be able to get them great looks at the basket.

How to best use Ferrell is something Crean will wrestle with throughout the year.”

HOW DOES HE REPLACE CODY ZELLER

“For the past two seasons, Cody Zeller was the main cog in the Hoosiers’ wheel. The talented big man was arguably the best post player in the country. He could score, rebound and defend the lane.

Tom Crean has options to replace him, but all of them are surrounded by questions.

Hanner Mosquera-Perea was a high profile recruit but had a subpar freshman year. Did he improve enough in the offseason to finally live up to the hype?

Peter Jurkin has great size (7’0″), but very little experience. Is he ready for the big stage in one of college basketball’s toughest conferences?

Luke Fischer is only a freshman, but is very skilled. His game is similar to Zeller’s. The problem is, he’s been battling injury throughout the preseason. Will Fischer be healthy enough to contribute when the games begin?

The final and most interesting option is freshman Noah Vonleh. Vonleh, the highest ranked recruit in this year’s class, has the skills of a guard but the size of a post player (6’10, 240 lbs).

Playing him down low would certainly be a nontraditional idea, but having a quicker, “small ball” lineup might just be what the Hoosiers need. 

Which direction Crean will go remains to be seen. “

CAN WILL SHEEHEY SHOULDER THE LOAD

“The one concern is, he’s never been the centerpiece of Indiana’s attack. 

Sheehey’s made his mark as Indiana’s spark plug off the bench. Is he ready to carry the offense? Should he even be the primary option?

If Tom Crean builds the offense around Sheehey, he must preach efficiency to the senior. Sheehey’s a capable player, but him being an effective volume shooter remains to be seen. 

Sheehey must take the right shots at the right time.

If he isn’t the right choice to be the primary option, Crean must figure out who is.”

Tuesday October 22, 2013 – Animated Gif of the Night

It’s time for the Animated Gif of the Week, OF THE NIGHT!

POWERRRRRR!!!!

Eric Gordon Looking Vintage for Pelicans

Eric Gordon made his pre-season debut for the new look New Orleans Pelicans last week. Gordon was held out the first two weeks by the Pelicans organization as a precautionary measure as he recovers from off-season ankle surgery.

Gordon has played two games for the Pelicans and exceeded expectations. Gordon has only played a total of 45 minutes in the first two games but his production has been excellent. Gordon is shooting 60% from the field and over 55% from the three point line. Eric is averaging 18.5 points per game. The 18.5 points per game are coming in only 22.5 minutes per game.

With the new additions to New Orleans it was a question on how Gordon would fit in with Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans in the back court with him. So far so good for Gordon as it looks like he is going to be asked to do what he does best, SCORE.

Evans has been out with injury for New Orleans, look for him to return soon so he can mesh with Gordon before the regular season begins next week.

BY: Dee-Bee

T.J. Simmons Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week – Athlon

Indiana freshman linebacker, T.J. Simmons was named freshman of the week by athlon sports. Simmons had eight tackles, two for a loss, a sack and a QB hurry in the Hoosiers 63-47 loss at Michigan.

Simmons is one of the top freshman defensive players in the nation. Simmons has 49 tackles on the year. The 49 tackles ranks him in the top 10 nationally for all freshman defensive players

All weekly awards by athlonsports for week 8 can be viewed here: Athlon Sports Week 8 Awards

Antonio Allen out for Remainder of Season

Former U.S. Army – All American and current Indiana Hoosier, Antonio Allen , will miss the remainder of the 2013 season with a torn ACL. Allen suffered the injury over the weekend in Indiana’s 63-47 loss at Michigan.

Antonio has played a backup role most of the season but did make his first start of the year at Michigan. Allen finishes his freshman season with 35 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery for the Hoosiers.

Ferrell Named to Cousy Award Watch List

The Bob Cousy award is named after former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross Crusader point guard, Bob Cousy. The award is given annually to the nations best point guard. Today 45 collegeiate point guards were named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list.

Indiana point guard, Yogi Ferrell, along with three others from the Big Ten are on the list. Below are the Big Ten nominees for the award, you can view the entire Bob Cousy Award watch list here: Bob Cousy Award Watch List.

YOGI FERRELL – Indiana
Keith Appling – Michigan State
Aaron Craft – Ohio State
Tim Frazier – Penn State

Yogi would become the first Indiana Hoosier to win the award and third from the Big Ten. Other recipients from the Big Ten in the past are Michigan’s Trey Burke (2013) and Illinois Dee Brown (2006).