DISQUS

MillaRed · 2 months ago

It might help our mental well-being if we stopped clinging to these hopes and just let the chips fall where they may. If the kid ends up with IU, fantastic. We are there for you through thick and thin. If he doesn't, lets find someone who wants to be here.

The KI recruitment result will tell us alot about him and the process. When no one was looking at him Crean was in his back yard. Now that he has national attention, Coach K is on him like stink.

The moral of the story is, if Duke gets involved a year later and gets the ink, we're just not where we need to be on the recruiting front.....yet.

If he signs with Duke, I think it speaks a lot to his character.

BGleas · 2 months ago

I hope KI picks IU, it would be huge for everyone involved, well except the other schools. But, KI picking Duke would say absolutely nothing about his character, other than he got recruited and accepted an offer from one of the most respected and accomplished coaches in the history of college basketball.

MillaRed · 2 months ago

Thanks for your "opinion" Gleas. More times than not you speak as if you are gospel.

This is a sounding board for opinions, and they come in many shapes and forms. It's what makes our country great.

BGleas · 2 months ago

I truly apologize if I offended you, was not my intention. I just tire of often reading fans on various IU sites who think there's some flaw in a kids character if they don't choose IU. I'm sure it's a minority, but I feel like I read that sentiment a lot, and I don't feel it's fair.

GFDave · 2 months ago

I agree.

hoosier07 · 2 months ago

I agree too. I think we would all love for our top prospects to choose IU, but that isn't the case. Any kid getting recruited by Coach K has to feel good about his chances of winning a national championship ... but man I wish KI came to IU and brought one to b-town in 2 years ...

MillaRed · 2 months ago

No offense taken. I wasn't trying to say this was a bad kid if he went to Duke. I'm saying I wouldn't be surprised if he went to Duke. In a "fair" world, I think based on how Crean followed this kid it would be a shame for IU to lose him.

If such is the case I think him going to Duke kinda stinks. But hey, this is the world we live in. We're on the same team Gleas. I'm hoping for the best too trust me.

BGleas · 2 months ago

I'm with you Milla, in a fair world he would choose IU, hopefully he does.

jgongora86 · 2 months ago

I'm more disturbed that he's visiting Kentucky. With the Derrick rose incident, I as a parent would be a little cautious of coach who only cares about winning at all costs.

psvirsky · 2 months ago

I don't know how much more suspense I can take, this is excruciating. Whenever he announces, I'll be drinking, either in celebration or mourning

Diesel · 2 months ago

"I couldn't ask anything more from the coaching staff"

I'm not trying to be negative or anything, but it almost sounds like the break-up line "it's not you, it's me" or "she's got a great personality, but....."

Crean and co should show a little more leg next home visit.

jgongora86 · 2 months ago

Listen I like Irving and I think he will be great but if he doesn't go to IU, I stop caring. I was raised in New York and live in NC, and I know I have a biased point of view but Indiana is basketball. From elementary school to college, people from Indiana breath this stuff. I love IU basketball because they treat basketball like a fine art. I've played pick up games in each state and I love playing pick up basketball at Indiana because players set picks, make the extra passes, and flop trying to get a loose ball. It's beautiful, and if someone can't see this and not think " I really should come hear" then I think there idiots or looking for coin instead of building a legacy.
Thats my cheesy response. I wish Irving the best but in the back of mind I would think " He just didn't get it" and I move on hoping for the next D.J. White,damon Bailey, or A.J. Moye.

Kelin Blab · 2 months ago

J...I agree 100%. I love being in the conversation for KI and other guys. I love what the staff is doing but there was a point in time, when we were not in the conversation and a point in time when the great EJ jilted us, we kinda got over it, but then he changed his mind............I am still going with IU gets KI and I put it at 70/30. I find it hard to believe Crean showing the MOST interest in this kid and the longest will not pay off. It will......

GFDave · 2 months ago

Kelin, could you please scroll down below and share some of your thoughts about Coach Crean with stevealford. I would appreciate it.

mitchelltatum · 2 months ago

Great, great points jgongora...I love the thought of I.U. getting 4 and 5 star recruits, but if they are just comming to show off for pro scouts and then jet to the NBA, who needs them. I'd much rather have a roster full of kids with potential who want to be part of a "team" and build this program back to where it should be.

Hoosiers1111 · 2 months ago

Fortunately we will probably know something within the next 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. I'll be glad when its over so I can stop speculating over everything. My hope is that he made the glowing comments about Duke because as he says 'he likes to keep everybody on their seats'. We shall see. If he goes to Duke though, I will probably throw up because I hate them.

stevealford · 2 months ago

I think it is about time to start demanding more out of a coach at Indiana. A 6 win season and then a recruiting class so far of David Williams and Victor Oladipo. If it wasn't for Wade, Crean would have no accomplishments to speak of.

GFDave · 2 months ago

You skipped over an entire recruiting class ranked in the top ten in the country. But you wouldn't know that because you're most likely not a Hoosier and named yourself after the one player you could remember.

stevealford · 2 months ago

It is a top ten recruiting class because of the numbers (6). He has a bad habbit of oversigning which will lead to disaster as far as transfers. Elston was brought in by Sampson. Muniru may not even be eligible which I kind of hope he is not. He is just a slightly better version of Jobe. I am a huge Indiana fan and always have been. I just do not get the hype of Crean. He has proven nothing and I believe he has left a lot to be desired so far. He is a great guy and the kids will work hard and go to class which I love, but I am not sold on the X's and O's or the recruiting.

GFDave · 2 months ago

There are tangible reasons for the hype about Crean and he's going to be around for a long time. The kids battled hard last year and he gave them chances to win. He's in on many of the best players in the state and country and landed a great class for this year. As far as evaluating the class of 2010, nobody has signed yet. I guess we disagree about Crean, but I think you might be in the minority here.

GFDave · 2 months ago

Over at the Hoosier Scoop they are reporting that Irving is going to visit pUKe. Cal must have been his smooth self during his in home visit.

I think this throws things more up in the air. I was sensing that KI was leaning Duke but now I think he hasn't made up his mind. I don't know when the visit to pUKe visit is going occur, but knowing that we come after Duke I hope we are also after the Wildcats.

I also sense that KI loves this drama and being courted.

CutterInChicago · 2 months ago

I think you are correct GFD w/r/t the KI is up in the air and the courting aspect. Once he makes his decision, then a lot of excitement will fade for him. Plus, right now, he's holding all the cards. Once he lays his bets on a school, well, the others aren't exactly going to care about him anymore. If I were a kid being recruited aggressively by IU, Duke and pUKe, then I'd feel very, very cool about myself. I don't begrudge that one bit.
If he commits to Texas A&M, well, there will be the sounds of jaws dropping all over the country...

Ben_M · 2 months ago

I love Tom Crean. He is one of the best, if not the best, up and comming coaches in America. I don't think hoosier nation could ask for anything more. I love, and encourage all, to watch all his youtube videos. It just delivers a great message that our beloved program is in good hands. A lot of schools have gone through down times when they changed coaches including UNC, Duke (when coach K was injured), Kansas, UCLA, and Kentucky. But when you look at it we are in the best shape out of any of them now because we have a young, motivated, energetic leader that wants to do things the right way. I am so excited about our line up too. I'm totally stoked about Creek and Wataford. Everytime I see these guys they have an Indiana hat or shirt around them. I love Jordan Hulls. This guy is the real deal. He maybe not be listed as a top 10 player, but this kid can lubercate and offense with silky smooth passes and still hit the 3 ball. Rivers brings experience which is something we desperately need right now. Our big guys are there too. I mean Eltson seems tough and motivated. Bobby has a great body to build on to toughen us up. Pritchard is a great post passer, and really guys he didn't have anyone in the post to pass it to last year. Bawa is who I'm anxious to see. There isn't much to read or see about him. He is a nice size and he could really take this team from a good team to a great team depending on what he can contribute to this team. Then we have Roth. This guy could be as dangerous as any role player in the country, and adds to a three point arsenal with Hulls, and Creek that could be as deep as our final four team had. Victor Oladipo.....if this kid is #133 in the country than #1 better be able to jump over the back board. I mean has anyone watched this kid on you tube? Outstanding and loves to dunk, which in college, can really fire up a crowd and makes things happen that don't show up in the stats. I think we have a core group of guys that can contribute different things which would make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Now with 2 schollys left....we can throw Irving into the mix. A guy that can do it all. A dominate factor in the back court that would takes us to another level. If he commits we will have an awesome backcourt. Now with the last scholly, lets stay away from 6'6 or 6'5 and lets go for 6'10 and above. Lets get a knock out big man that would make our front court dominant and deep. Then hoosier nation would be back for good.

harvo45 · 2 months ago

Hey, if the kid wants to go to Duke.... so be it. He's a 1 and done player, and with the talent we have right now that won't make us a championship team. Indiana has 5 championships and i'll bet you can count the number of players who would have been considered 5 star on 1 hand.

BGleas · 2 months ago

This is false, Knight's championship teams had plenty of McDonald's All-American's and high rated recruits on the them.

Beside, we need to stop modeling ourselves after championships won 20-30 years ago, and start looking at how you win in college basketball today, if IU wants to win again.

GFDave · 2 months ago

Somebody help me out here. Crean just Tweeted that today is the first day for full team basketball workouts. I know real practice doesn't start for a few more weeks. So what is the difference in what you can do and for how long you can do it between real practice and team workouts?

tg1438 · 2 months ago

Without DWade, Crean would have an accomplishment. Winning 6 games last year with that team. You cannot tell me that whoever you think is the best coach in the nation could have done a much better job with that group. There was no talented experienced players on that team, and he won 6 games, and had them fighting to the wire in many other games (if you remember they were a defensive rebound away from beating the National Runner-up last year). The other accomplishments would be reuniting IU's past with it's present, reigniting the fire in the fans, and making IU a name that high level recruits think about before making their decision.

stevealford · 2 months ago

I do not look at winning 6 games as an accomplishment. I think coach K is the best active coach in the nation and I believe he could have won more than 6 games if he takes over the same time as Crean did. I do agree that they put up a fight, and Crean reunited the fan base and also has high level recruits looking at the program which is great. The problem is that he cannot close on them. We settle for 2 star guards/wings and still cannot close on the elite Indiana talent (Deshaun Thomas, Dominique Ferguson, Marquis Teague). Hopefully we can get Zeller if some 2 star from the South hasn't already taken it.

tg1438 · 2 months ago

Many of these recruits you are talking about were not landed by IU, but that is no fault of Crean. Thomas and Ferguson had already commited (at least for the 1st time) before Crean was hired and had a chance to recruit them. Although Teague looks like a hug LVille lean, IU is in the mix. He has huge inroads with the 2012 class, which is absolutely stacked with homegrown talent. This is where you will see his impact, but you have to realize that when he took over he was 2 years behind most programs recruiting for 08,09, and in some cases players in '10.

Diesel · 2 months ago

Come on Stevie, I know it's been a long time since we laced up the shoes together, but you're acting like I just gave you a patented DD elbow to the jaw.

Let's get some facts out there. Elston was recruited by Sampson, but any time there is a coaching change a player must be re-recruited and this was the case with Elston. Elston is not Sampson's player.


Using players like DeShaun Thomas and D Ferg as examples that Crean cannot close on a recruit is paper thin at best. Thomas has shown no interest in IU and had given his verbal to OSU before CTC ever came on the scene. D Ferg was never offered a scholarship by IU and for good reason. And Marquis Teague has not made a decision on where he will be playing next year. Most IU fans including myself would take Jeremiah Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Cody Zeller over that bunch every time.

IU does not recruit 2 star players.

There is no bad habit as to oversigning. Teams can overrecruit by 1 each year per the rules and given the makeup and dynamics of the team, this is a smart move by IU.

Stating that Bawa is only slightly better than Jobe is an opinion. No one has the Bawa mystery figured out, and hoping that he is inelgible is just wrong.

You are not a huge IU fan or you wouldn't be making idiotic statements like those above.

Julian · 2 months ago

i agree

stevealford · 2 months ago

Look I hope I am wrong about Crean's abilities because I do think he is a great guy. You may be one of the many of our fans who bragged how good Mike Davis and KS was until they got canned. Why are we using all our scholarships on mid major talent with the state of INDIANA loaded in 2011 and 2012. I do give props for Carlino and Etherington in 11 so far but would like to have scholarships available for bigs like Zeller and Plumlee. Van Treese was good enough for Louisville but not for IU?

Kelin Blab · 2 months ago

Steve ....a six WIN team is in the conversation for some of the TOP recruits in the country vs top teams like KY, Louisville, PU, and Duke....lets examine why that is.....I conclude it comes down to two things..(tom crean and Indiana is a basketball school)

1. The banners mean a lot to me, but I am an sniffing 40.....to recruits those banners don't carry much weight....maybe it is Crean

2. In ONE season Crean has made up a ton of ground vs PU and our border enemies, to the extent I would say IU is more in play in state than PU. Crean would not have lost 3 in state guys to PU like KS did......maybe it is Crean

3. If you base Crean's recruiting efforts on losing Dom Fergunson to Florida Int., Deshaun Thomas who committed 3 years ago to OSU, and Marquis probaly going to play for his dads old coach....well then blame Crean for global warming, the deficit, and the curse on the cubs too.....

4. Coach K is a great great coach.....but is being out recruited right now by UNC and is battling across the country.....and battling a 6 win team for one of the top 2010 PG...maybe it is Crean.

5. Closing the deal.....Creek, Wateford, Elston, and Hulls............???

Alex · 2 months ago

I've had to remove some comments on this post due to name calling and profanity. I'm all for the discussion, but let's keep it civil.

Diesel · 2 months ago

Serena Williams was on here? Didn't know she was an IU fan.....

Speaking of profanity, here is Coach Knight at his best

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0od7spyth_I&feat...

Taskmaster75 · 2 months ago

Hehe, trolls tend to bring out the worst in people.

GFDave · 2 months ago

Darn, I missed it. Must have involved stevealford.

MillaRed · 2 months ago

Apparently the Irving recruitment is bringing out the worst in IU fans..........

hoosiergal · 2 months ago

In Crean I trust - the future of IU Basketball. Period.

GFDave · 2 months ago

Atta girl. Cute kid. I've got two applying to IU right now. It looks like about 15 or 16 years for yours.

hoosiergal · 2 months ago

That is my grandaughter and that was taken at her first Hoosier Hysteria. This year will be her second! The only two letters she can read are IU much to the chagrin of her "other" Pawpaw who is a Kentucky fan!!!

Taskmaster75 · 2 months ago

It would be great to grab Kyle, and if he commits, awesome, but let's be take a look at Duke (As much as I love Duke....). They are going to have a huge lack of guard depth in 1-2 years when Scheyer and company graduate, so Irving is looking at plenty of playing time should he commit there. The ACC is probably the best basketball conference in the nation(Opinion, very open to discussion), and playing for a team that's always in the top 2 is a very good motivator.

Now, Irving is also from New Jersey, and that's a long ways away from Indiana and Duke. i think a major factor here is McLeod. You can't underestimate the effect of having someone you know when you are far away from home. it just creates that feeling of security. Now, I could be wrong and he could commit to Duke or UK, making me look moronic, but hey, just my 2 cents,

MillaRed · 2 months ago

What affect if any has McLeod had on recruiting? Was he heavily involved with Creek?