DISQUS

Gary · 10 months ago

I have to disagree with you. For me it has been VERY easy to root for this team. Have I been disappointed and discouraged at times--sure. But these kids (and coachs) have played their hearts out. Everytime I thought they could just give up (after UM, Minn, NW) they come back the next game with the same enthusiam and drive to win. Hard to root for??? You're nuts!!!!!

JerryCT · 10 months ago

Agree. I think he just hasty in his choice of words. I think he meant difficult to "cheer for" since we have had so few things to cheer about .....but we are all rooting for the team.

I happen to like this team better than last year's ( except for DJ ). I also think Taber is going to be missed next year more than I ever thought possible. The attitude this team shows will be the foundation for the future development of our program

Dale · 10 months ago

ESPN said we stormed the court and made fun of us for it! Well, that definitely didn't happen! ESPN simply showed a clip of the boys celebrating with the fans in the student section after the game (not on the court!) and one of the announcers drew a VERY wrong conclusion!

dale11 · 10 months ago

Dale! nice to see there are more Dales out there. We are a dying breed.

MikeyD · 10 months ago

IU will be featured on College Gameday Sat @11. Should be interesting. Isn't Bobby on that program now? Either way, it will be interesting to see which angle they take. BTW, I love this team. Could be an interesting B10 tourney...seriously (no rose colored glasses here). I really feel IU will be at least a "light-heavyweight" contender in 2 more seasons.

Abs · 10 months ago

I feel fine, too. FWIW, IU's offensive efficiency in conference games is actually better than those 91 points per 100 possessions. It's right in line with their whole season adjusted efficiency of 96.7 (per kenpom).

Tempo-Free Big Ten stats for conference games only can be found here: http://statlernwaldorfarena.blogspot.com/2009/0...

Triple · 10 months ago

You say that IU this season has "struggled to inspire much of anything in the way of interest, or intrigue, or emotion, really". Have you not experienced the five stages of grief, from denial all the way to acceptance, with regards to this IU team? I felt a lot of emotion early in the season as I passed through denial (wins), anger (losses) and bargaining (coming to terms with reality) stages. I continued to watch, but admit I did lose some interest for a span of five-six games, which I now recognize was my depression stage. But somewhere along the way in mid-late January I must have experienced acceptance. It's true I no longer get as emotional (relative to past seasons) when IU loses, but my interest level is recovering and as far as intrigue...it's actually a great word to describe my IU state of mind.

cooper · 10 months ago

Great game by Dumes, Williams has shown he is a very goodrebounder and all around player. He just has to show up and be more consistent which will happen with time. I don't think IU will miss Taber much at all. He played decent last night but IU needs more talent down low and needs someone athletic to complement Pritchard who is not.

BFowler · 10 months ago

This team, I root for because they have met my criteria for a succesful season (and the fact that I need IU basketball in my otherwise mundane life). They have played extremely hard, they have improved, and they have had a great attitude the entire season. I see glimpses of talent and it looks like Coach Crean holds them accountable.

I think Taber will be missed in that he seems to be in the right place at the right time quite a bit. When Kyle was guarding Gatens, Gatens did not play well, then Matt went off in the 2nd. But hopefully, some of the talent coming in next year (Elston, Capo, Watford) will make up for that intellgence, and some of the leadership next year will come from the elder statesmen (Dumes, Rivers, etc.).

Pritch was not great last night, but he not a good matchup with anyone on the floor, and a smaller line-up was called for against that team anyway. That being said, I think Iowa is similar in terms of talent to IU, and had Tate been on the floor, it may have been a different game.

I want to end this rant but complementing Devan Dumes. That shot he hit with about a minute to go took moxie (I would have used a different word here, but it is a family site). That was the kind of non-verbal leadership that instills confidence in the entire crew and you could feel the team in the minds say "we've got this now." I will also say that he used screens better than anyone else on the floor and that was by far his best floor game overall. The only thing I could have done without is the chest-pounding after making a shot. I still don't get that "look-at-me" mentality when it was Nick Williams (screen) and VJIII (assist) who set you up.....just my 2 cents.

tsell · 10 months ago

Pritchard not playing as much equals more usage for better offensive players (at least last few games) Roth and Dumes.