Inside the Hall - Latest Comments in Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

iuAlum458 — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 23:40:35 -0000

Biggest Mr. Basketball Indiana flop ever. At least Tommy Coverdale played with some heart and intensity.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

DANE FIFE LULZ — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 10:12:08 -0000

hahahah dane fife.. thats by far the worst person for this job. i saw him on "THE DANE FIFE SHOW" in fort wayne and he was sweating/shaking the whole time. hahah what a joke.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

ray — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:25:20 -0000

i have yet to read any of the linked articles and i am pretty clueless about the whole situation (there's a reason for that...no one is giving any details). but i would like to say that the slamming of ratliff may be a little early. for all we know (family issues) could mean something very devastating is happening in his life...and i would hate to be the one to eat my words under such circumstances. i will not play judge...at least not at this time.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

JamesHardy — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:44:49 -0000

in relation to his BIG ass ears...those earrings weren't that big...just an observation :-P

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

CoveyDale — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 06:05:37 -0000

what a waste.

the 2004 recruiting class:
vaden - transfer
ratliff - washout
hardy - football
steijn - transfer
DJ - all-big ten, big ten POY, possible all-american

i guess one out of five ain't bad...

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

PostmanR — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:30:39 -0000

Hey all,

I just posted on the latest violations debacle, if we want to all cry there together. Ugh.

http://www.insidethehall.com/2008/02/13/katz-an...

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Ryan_Btown — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:22:11 -0000

Tim...the article says we'll address the allegations tomorrow. I'm not sure what they'll do to the team and to the rest of the season...but I have a feeling that we might want to go ahead and bend over...even if we don't impose sanctions on ourselves not allowing us to go to the tournament, this will be a major distraction, even if Sampson isn't canned right away.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

IUPete — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:17:49 -0000

AJ is as Tiger Woods would say "Ranger Rick." He always looked phenominal in practices and seeing him in pick up games. He obviously has the skills and talent to play at a high level. For years he has been arguably the most athletic player on the team. Unfortunately non of his talents ever came to fruition on the court. His vaunted defense skills turned to sluggish hand checking which usually turned into 3 fouls in 10 minutes and he was out. And for such quickness and a great vertical leap he always would settle for jump shots and would never attack the rim. Lets be honest here, Mike Davis was not a "bad" recruiter...he just couldn't develop talent whatsoever. Being a loyal IU fan its hard for me to admit it but for years I have been calling IU the Bermuda Triangle of Talent....it comes in...doesnt come out. I would be very impressed with anyone that could name more than two players that left IU better basketball players than when they came in the last 5-7 years.....and AJ is just another player than falls into that group.....sad.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

TimEOBrien — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 01:04:17 -0000

We're fucked, aren't we?

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Ryan_Btown — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:57:07 -0000

*"I was never a fan of hiring him either." I meant when his name was occasionally mentioned with the head coaching job. I thought it was great when he came this year as Pres. of BBall Ops.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Ryan_Btown — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:55:19 -0000

Annnnddddd....That's all she wrote for Sampson...ideas on the next coach? I say we let Dakich finish out the rest of the season and hire Fife from IPFW...He knows the program, he's young and can really connect with the young recruits, and some call him up and coming...I think we have a hard time bringing in a big name right now after the firing of Knight, the Davis debacle, and now this...Not to mention, if we have to miss a postseason or two, what the hell does someone like Fife care, he's just happy to be here!

Hahaha, I know (at least hope) that there's no way we would hire him, just sayin for fun and to throw out some crazy scenarios. As much as I love Dakich, he has to share some blame with this bullshit too. He was the President of Basketball Operations. Isn't is part of his job to keep tabs on this crap? I was never a fan of hiring him either.

In fact, this whole post is for fun. Who knows what this might mean. Hopefully nothing, but I heard rumors of this when I was in Arizona for the bowl game from some alums. I dismissed it at the time. Anyone else think Greenspans gone if Sampsons gone?

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

ricky — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:52:20 -0000

IU IS SO FUCKED and not cause ratliff is gone. fucking sampson and his phone calls is gonna fuck over this program for a long time

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

hysteric — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:06:31 -0000

check out the story on espn's front page about iu...what a disaster...sampson has got to go...worst mistake in iu sports history hiring him...i tried to support him but he has got to go

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

PB — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:05:37 -0000

A.J. didn't play "thug ball," he just didn't play good ball. ITH doesn't have a man crush on the kid, they just feel disappointed that he couldn't get his priorities in order.

I don't know anything about his personal life, and personally I don't give a sh*t. He's gone and I agree we should all move on without A.J. and his big ass diamond earrings.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Ryan_Btown — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:25:10 -0000

There's no good place to put this right now, so I'm just throwing it here. I've never had such mixed emotions when watching our enemies...on one hand, damn purdue once again managed to piss off the next good team we have to play by beating michigan state tonight. On the other, Vandy beat UK by 41...Almost outweighs the purdue win, but not quite!

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Sherron Wilkerson — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:14:56 -0000

Actually that was funny, get a sense of humor bro

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Sherron Wilkerson — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:14:01 -0000

Good! Maybe we will see him on the And1 tour with the other thugs who were too stupid to realize that playing organized basketball is a lot better that partying and playing street basketball (Apparently AJ would rather be like Hot Sizzle than Rafer Alston, good choice bro). Weird, I never took him for the typical dumb thug basketball player. I guess you cant read a book by its cover. Oh, and finally ITH can stop writing about this bum, stop your man crush, he is officially gone.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Chuck — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:13:25 -0000

Question, does anyone know how Ratliff's attitude was? Could he have been bringing the team down? I hate to see a kid with so much potential end his B-ball carreer like this. I was just thinking that in the 2 games without him with the team, they seem a little different... just a thought I am throwing out there.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

HoosierSmitty — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:06:35 -0000

I liked AJ. I remember seeing him at Kings Island one time at one of the basketball shooting games (I won a prize by the way, and he didn't win squat...he just couldn't handle pressure). He seemed like a really nice kid and I'll miss the moments when he was a happy member of this team.

For the 2007-2008 team, however, it makes no difference. He was a non-factor and we didn't need AJ in the lineup to win games. Had he not had academic problems, maybe it would have been different. I was encouraged when he made grades for the second semester, but he just never clicked with this unit. It's sad, but AJ was a major disappointment for the Hoosiers.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Nathaniel — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:52:12 -0000

It really sucks to see him go but the hoosiers dont really have a need for him. I wish he could be there for his stellar defense but eric gordon and armon play defense well enough to win.

It is sad to see him go

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Jay — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:30:19 -0000

Anyone remember Glen Grunwald? He was a 6' 9" top-10 recruit out of Chicago in the 1970's. As an IU freshman, he damaged his knee in a HPER pick up game. Was never a factor again. Question, Btown: were they playing in the HPER building, and do those horrible sticky artificial courts still exist? They should have been removed decades ago. By the way, I believe Glen is now a General Manager in the NBA.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:46:08 -0000

Weird. That's really all I can think to say.

But also, what exactly happened? In the herald times it said he didn't get kicked off the team, so does that mean he quit? The HT said it was 'mutual' isn't that what couples who stay friends tell people to avoid one of them being embarassed?

What were these 'personal issues?' Is he going through them? Is someone in his family? More answers need to come out of this I feel like.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

MLOVE — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:27:58 -0000

Too bad ti really is, but at the end of the day i think his off the court problems and his nightlife got the better of him... And i truly believe this was well known amongst teammates and i think it began to take its toll on the Young guys. Especially bc they probaly felt that they needed to hide things from one another and even from KS. So, i am sad and i hope he can get his life back together and graduate. But this could help the team bond well.. AJ looked on the bench half the time like he was coming off a bender. I am not saying he did this or did that I am just saying the way he looked and this is all speculation

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

tacojohn — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:52:33 -0000

Completely star crossed. Ratliff simply lacked a mental toughness to fight through adversity. He went through a ton during his time at IU. Coaching changes, myriad injuries, getting too involved in the nightlife.

In hindsight, the writing should have been on the wall with that quote Sampson gave last year about how he had to coddle Ratliff while Wilmont was the whipping boy. We should have known that when AJ was going to be asked to jump back into a team that had formed and bonded after his academic problems, it was going to be extremely difficult for him.

In my opinion, he was the centerpiece of the "Help is on the way" class once Josh Smith entered the draft. Here was Davis' line in the sand. He had kept Mr. Basketball in state after losing the last two (plus Chris Thomas to ND). AJ was the fan favorite with the exciting game and puppy dog good looks. In the end, that whole class amounted to DJ and nothing more. AJ was kind of a microcosm of that class. Flashes of brilliance (DJ/21 points against Kentucky) highlighting overwhelming mediocrity and disappointment.

Re: Is A.J. Ratliff done?

Quincy — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:41:33 -0000

Move on Hoosier Fans... He wasnt a big part of this years team, We have bigger fish to fry... 1st up badger on the grill....We owe em.... This game is going to be a war on the boards, Lets get em one game at a time...!