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I understand some of these guys built a bond with McCallum, but the drop off from IU to Detroit-Mercy is not worth that bond, as far as I'm concerned.
I can see transferring to a mid-major like Butler or Gonzaga that competes every year, but why go to mid-major that is also rebuilding?
That was after just one year with Gillispie. So maybe the Crawford family was impressed by Joe's turnaround and want the same with Jordan? I don't know that. I think Jordan might fit the "lead guard" type responsibilities Gillispie wants, but I'm not for sure about Jordan's assist and court management ability. And Kentucky has plenty of depth at the 2-guard spot.
Edit: I forgot to mention one thing. If Jordan comes to UK, I honestly fear for his life in 2009-10 when we return to Assembly Hall. I don't see how he makes it from the bus to the locker room without two gunshot wounds. (I keed, I keed!)
So, a couple of tasteless jokes as I part:
* You think CBS is trying to shuffle this year's UK/IU game off national TV? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
* Those chants of "Jor-dan's Bet-ter" back in Assembly Hall will be really, really stinging if Jordan chooses UK. Just sayin'.
Stay strong, Hoosier faithful. I may passionately want your team to lose, but I take no joy from you guys suffering from the aftershocks of a cheater.
BigA: Can you start a new poll on the homepage that reads "Will Indiana win more than 12 games next season?"
...i think that whole 20 games poll is now so far out of reach we should re-tally
Subject: Tom Crean on Jordan Crawford
Body: "Jordan Crawford and his family informed us today that he will not return to Indiana University."
Not.good.
I've always been of the opinion that Crawford could have developed into a Big Ten POTY candidate and am truly sad/angry to see him go. It seems to me he'll be a highly coveted transfer candidate and should have his pick of quite a few select programs that could use help at the 2... I'm very curious to see where he ends up.
Crawford is a victim of circumstances and I harbor no ill will towards him whatsoever. Considering those circumstances I think he displayed a lot of the "Hoosier values" that people on this board (myself included) feel define the identity of the program. I plan to follow his career closely and hope he succeeds wherever he lands.
I also am refreshed that we are on a new page completely, unfortunately that page is now the preface instead of chapter one.
No need to question Crean's abilities on this one .
"Bassett is great, I really think he can be a leader and has All Big-Ten potential". Then Bassett gets kicked off and the sentiment is, "good ridance, he was KS trash".
"Holman has real potential, Crean will teach him and really maximize it", then Holman transfers and, "Holman is trash, I didn't want him anyways."
Now with Crawford. I might be wrong, but I remember the vast majority of the recent posts commenting how much potential Crawford has, and how he is better than Gordon.
When you're a freshmen on a college basketball team, especially the level of Indiana, it's very easy to get caught up in the hysteria and the partying. You see upperclassmen skip classes (you know we all skipped classes at some point) and you think it's ok for you to do to and before you know it your grades are in the crapper.
I think there were one or two bad seeds on this team, and the younger guys got caught up in it. There not bad people or bad kids, and with the proper leadership would have been great players at IU.
The problem with to many college athletes today is that they feel they are entitled to something. They are not entitled to anything, they must put in the work and go by the rules just like everyone else, if that is to much to ask then CYA.
For anyone that has played a sport in college, you know that 2 or 3 bad apples can influence the whole team. I've seen freshmen that were good kids and probably would have been good players, end up kicked out of school because they got caught up in what a couple disgruntled upperclassmen were doing.
We all know Sampson did not run a tight ship, which makes kids even more prone to this happening. I'm not trying to give them a free pass. Every kids can make their own decision. When I was in similar situations I chose not to let the bad apples derail me, but that's not an easy decision. I lay most of the blame on Sampson, and think calling the kids trash uncalled for.
Yes, because we all know that adults never ever get misled. Peer pressure ends shortly after middle school, right?
"The problem with to many college athletes today is that they feel they are entitled to something."
They are entitled to something: not having to suffer the insults of morons on the internet with whom they've never had any contact and who hide behind assumed names, insulting them for making a decision that they feel is right because it doesn't fit in with anonymous poster's archaic view of the world.
yours truly
w. bowling
I don't think he was as good as some comments over the last months have made him seem, but I understand where everyone was coming from...when you are the only known scoring commodity on the roster, you start to look irreplaceable. Remember, he was sloppy at times, and played lethargic defense. But, all in all, this is a big loss...another one. I can't say I'll be rooting for JC wherever he goes, but I won't root against him (unless he goes elsewhere in the Big 10 or KY). I certainly don't blame him for getting out of this mess.
"Huh?"...just about sums up my thinking on the whole IU B-ball sitchiation right now.
JC shooting % was better than Gordon from 2pt or 3 pt areas. More rebounds, more assists and fewer turnovers per mintue played than Gordon. Which one is sloppy and lethargic ? Based on performance that woud be Gordon.
And the entire team was sloppy and lethargic, not just Crawford or Gordon. That's a coaching failure more than a failure in the player. And I think we'll all agree that the coaching situation was suboptimal this year.
Lets all forget about the Sampson era while we still can and embrace what is now the Crean and Crimson era
GO HOOSIERS!!!
# Forward Emmanuel Negedu: Rated No. 31 in Class 2008. Gained release from letter to Arizona following coaching changes. Lists Georgia Tech, Indiana, Memphis, Tennessee.
# Center/forward Gus Gilchrist: Transfer from Maryland. Lost appeals for length of in-league transfer redshirt time. Was once set for Virginia Tech. Considering South Florida, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia.
# Guard Tyree Evans: Asked for release from letter to Maryland after media attention to off-court problems. Had yet to be admitted.
# Guard Malik Story: Rated as Super Prospect. Once set for Southern California. Lists Georgetown, Wake Forest, Marquette, Oregon, Indiana.
# Forward Leonard Washington: Once set for Southern California. Lists USC, Indiana, Kentucky.
Of course, if it wasn't for the situation in Bloomington, Maryland's defections would be more in the spotlight.
Let's see what he can pull off with his remaining scholarships and root for the IU team that steps on the floor next year. Now we just have to wait to see what the NCAA committee decides and we can finally move on in Hoosier Nation....
Go Hoosiers!
The guys we have coming in are no slouches on offense. Defensively I have no idea because you just don't see many defensive mixtapes floating around. I've seen Verdell Jones go toe-to-toe with some of the best guards in the country and put up 25+ points. Nick Williams was a hell of a scorer at LeFlore High School (albeit he had Demarcus Cousins to take some attention away from him). We all have known for awhile that Matt Roth is deadly from downtown. Devan Dumes is a great shooter, too. Tom Pritchard, although kind of undersized, can score on the block in bunches, too.
My point is, we may be okay. We have to keep in mind that we aren't building a program overnight. We're building from the ground up with decent basketball players, and hopefully even better young men. If this team can start to put the wheels of change into motion, then they may go down in the annals of IU Basketball history with the greats like 76, 81, and 87.
Luke Harangody - Notre Dame, Big East Player of the Year
Tory Jackson - Notre Dame
Curtis Jerrells - Baylor
AJ Abrams - Texas
Jeremy Pargo - Gonzaga
Derrick Brown - Xavier
Shan Foster - Vanderbilt, SEC Player of the Year
Devon Hardin - Cal
Joseph Jones - Texas A&M
James Mays - Clemson
Sean Williams - Boston College
Josh Heytvelt - Gonzaga
Derrick Low - Washington State
Trent Plaisted - BYU
Chris Lofton - Tennessee
Paul Millsap - Louisiana Tech
Aaron Gray - Pitt
These are just a few that I caught when I was skimming through the Top 150s from past years.
I wonder when Crean will hold try-outs...
*clap.clap.clap* - "Never daunted, we cannot falter..."
I was hoping this would not happen but if IU is going to start a new era then hell lets get it started.....sooooooooo my new starting lineup is....
G-Devan Dumes
G-Matt Roth or Verdell Jones
F-Nick Williams
F-Tom Pritchard
C.-Tijan Jobe
i definitely agree about the the culture needing to change and as a result i'm not all that upset, but i think its unfair to single out anyone not named Kelvin Sampson. i really don't want to comment on the integrity, attitude, or worthiness of any of these kids, and i don't think it's fair for anyone else to. let's face it--everyone who got recruited by kelvin sampson was mislead and conned in some way or the other, and i don't blame any of those kids for souring on school/basketball/life at IU. it's not only the IU program that needs a fresh start, but kids like crawford and holman too.
Again, I'm not trying to give the players a free pass, but I've seen this first hand as a college basketball player. Freshmen come in all excited about college and being a big man on campus. The first thing they do is begin hanging out with the upper classmen and going to parties and all of that stuff. All of a sudden everyone loves them and is asking them to go out every night.
If a team doesn't have a strong head coach and leadership on the team that explains to them how to not get get caught up in it all, then young players can easily take the wrong path. Doesn't mean they're bad people, and if they had proper leadership they may have even been great players that normally would have followed the rules and done things the right way.
GO HOOSIERS!!!!!!
BTW Roth cannot possibly start. Jones has more facets to his game and every bit as good a scorer but from almost anywhere. Roth not so much
Dumes, Jones, Pritchard, Taber, Williams - 1 st half of season
I think some of those guys could have flourished under a real coach that actually cared about them instead of just wins. I really think Crean could have rehabilitated some of these guys, but I also understand his thought process of wanting to just start fresh on a clean slate and rebuild. Also, his hands might have been tied on some of these guys with their academics.
Also......where is Bassett, McGee, and DT going to land, UDM doesn't possibly have that many scholly's
Predictions......
Bassett-UAB
McGee-UIC or Chicago St.
Deandre-Div. III school
I cannot wait for the kids to start working out together to find out:
1. who will be their leader ------> Dumes ? Taber ? Jones ?
2. who will get the points ------> Dumes, williams , Jones, Pritchard
3. who will lead our defense ------> Jobe , Jones , Dumes ?
4. what will the team be good at ------> ball pressure ?
5. What will we be bad at ------> rebounding ?
6. How does TC handle losing -------> with optimism ?
Returning scholarship players: former invited walk-on Kyle Taber (Sr.).
Incoming scholarship players who will be eligible in 2008-09: Tom Pritchard (F/C from Ohio, freshman); Matt Roth (G from Illinois, freshman); Devan Dumes (guard from Decatur Central/Eastern Michigan/Vincennes, junior); Nick Williams (guard from Alabama, former Marquette recruit); Verdell Jones (Illinois); Tijan Jobe (center from Olney Central JC, junior).
Returning walk-ons: Brett Finkelmeier (sophomore guard).
Incoming walk-ons: Daniel Moore (guard from Carmel); Kory Barnett (guard from Rochester); Broderick Lewis (guard from Lafayette Jefferson)
Yep, time to fire Tom Crean. This man just cannot connect with the types of athletes Indiana needs in order to become once again one of the top programs in the nation. Hey...I hear Sean Sutton's not doing much these days.