DISQUS

AJ · 1 year ago

You should post you commentary to awfulannouncing.blogspot.com - - nice work crucifying the btn announcing

T · 1 year ago

Typically I get very nervous if teams I like are good 'close game teams.'

Games decided by five points or less, especially in basketball, generally come down to chance. It's more luck than skill if you keep winning close games, and it will eventually catch up to you.

That being said, the Hoosiers are a great free throw shooting team, which certainly will bold well come tournament time.

HoosierSmitty · 1 year ago

I got reamed by a fellow blogger the other day for questioning Jamarcus Ellis' basketball IQ, but I would really like to know what is up with him? He's taking horrible shots, making poor decisions, and does not look like the same player that came up big in earlier games.

If my adding skills are accurate (and I'm not saying they are) I show that over the last 6 games, Ellis has only had 10 assists combined with 13 turnovers. The turnover total isn't too bad (6 were against Purdue with 0 assists), but it's not great, especially given that he's not getting many assists anymore, which means he's making less and less plays for this team. It just seems like he's looking for his shot more and has forgotten about being the distributor that was averaging 4.5 assists per game midway through the Big Ten season. I want more of those alley oop passes to DJ like we saw last night.

Instead we saw more of the thug side of Ellis with the technical foul, which really wasn't that big of a deal, but the way he acted afterward was. Jawing with players, disrespecting Dakich AND McCallum on the sidelines. I hope he gets his head on straight, because we need him. Has he been rattled? Is he pressing? What's the deal?

Mark · 1 year ago

Ellis has the lowest basketball IQ on the team. I call him "rock boy" for the stupid things he does during a game. Rock refers to his IQ is about the same as a box of rocks. He needs to sit and let the bench talk to his butt, butt talk to his brain and then figure out he can contribute by distributing and playing within the offense. He gave up at least 7 points last night due to bonehead things. 2 on the technical, 3 by leaving Coble wide open because he was out of position in the zone and another two by leaving another player open because he was out of position. When he's on, great, but he needs to stop trying to do it all. Leave the 3 point shooting to Basset and Gordon. I also think Dakich should have benched him right after the T and not left him in the game when about a minute later he fouled someone. But I'll take the win and let's get OSU on Tuesday!

Raymond · 1 year ago

Going Back to The Wisconsin game he has had at least 4 or 5 wide open threes and double clutched and ended up dishing the ball. I have no problem with this, but he also too often just puts up plain stupid shots.
The guy is great at driving, second only to Gordon, but He would be so much better served dishing on some of those drives. Gordon doesn't have a midrange game and if he starts at the hoop you know he's going all the way. If Ellis could start to dish on the drive it could definitely help us open the perimeter and give us an option EJ doesn't.
He also seems to be very out of position far too often on defense and I too agree he should have been riding the pine after that T and the yelling in the huddle during the timeout.

HoosierSmitty · 1 year ago

What really bothered me last night was DJ and EJ not getting touches. (Other than our lethargic defensive effort...but I'll chalk that up to lack of preparation as noted above)...

is Dakich to blame for the fact that EJ and DJ ONLY had 14 combined shots last night? That's ridiculous and SHOULD NEVER EVER happen...especially against a team like Northwestern that we could have dominated. Those two average between 23-24 shots per game combined. It's not like Dakich hasn't been around the team all year. Don't tell me Northwestern is so talented defensively that they were able to shut down both DJ and EJ so they got a combined 14 shots.

I know EJ had plenty of FT attempts and that had a factor, but most of his FTs came off on the floor fouls and not potential shot attemps on layups, jumpshots or 3 pointers.

Dakich needs to figure that out quick and get these guys involved and in position to put that ball in the hoop.

ALH_00 · 1 year ago

Good recap E. It was a struggle, but in the end a W's a W. at 73-73 with 4 to go, I really thought IU was in danger of losing the game because they simply could not muster any defensive intesity. I guess that goes to show you how good this team is at scoring the ball, because the O didn't look real inspired either...just making shots.

One additional comment/question...was I seeing things or did the game look as poorly called on TV as it did at Welsh-Ryan. I think they called 20 fouls in the first 12 min. of the second half...seriously, like one EVERY possession. If I recall, IU was in the double bonus with 9 min. left. And there didn't really seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. They were calling fouls for hand checking a guy playing with his back to the basket, but would no call some real collisions. I really think some late calls (no foul/traveling on EJ, fouls before inbounds, etc...) were made purposefully to keep the game interesting. Astounding really. Or, am I making too big a deal of this? At the very least, it made the game difficult to watch.

Mark · 1 year ago

Agree on the officiating.

Basketwonk · 1 year ago

Don't weep for Carmody or his players. They get to live in Chicago metro and are at an institution where the AVERAGE SAT of this years' freshman class is 1422. Coble will be talking about laying 37 on IU for decades while pulling down a few $mil annually as an investment banker.....oh well. The Hoosier crowd at W-R was amazing. Hopefully we take down MSU -

kelin · 1 year ago

Ofcourse thanks to the BTN I didn't see the game last night and maybe it was for the better given the announcers. As far as Jamarcus.....I was begging for him to get pulled from the game against PU, it just seems he is playing out of control.

Yesterday I will just take the win....and chalk EVERYTHING else up to the nonsense of the week. Need a good win and showing against OSU. EVERYONE needs to be at practice.

I was thinking last night if you look at the guys who left the team, which one could we use right now if any?
1. AJ Ratliff
2. Xavier Keeling
3. Joey Shaw
4. Ben Allen

Interesting question......not sure if any of them.....I would say Ben but Taber is doing a solid job......but I will say Ben for his size.

Phillip · 1 year ago

I'd take Joey Shaw. He was athletic and quick, and he could score.

b_side · 1 year ago

Ben would certainly help spread the floor and create some extra space for DJ to work with in the paint. Although I wonder if Dakich would have Allen camp out in the lane and stay clear of the perimeter a la Sampson. Either way, Ben never did the little things well -- setting good screens, offensive tap outs on the glass and most importantly playing defense. We have enough offensive firepower that a solid role player like Taber is really able to carve his niche.

Matt J. · 1 year ago

Cem Dimc

Nick · 1 year ago

What about Robert Vaden? Do you miss him too?

Matt J. · 1 year ago

Me? Not so much.

TXHoosier · 1 year ago

Anybody else worried that Dakich is going to completely abandon the zone? It seemed to be working relatively well for the last couple weeks, but I don't remember seeing any last night.

dabig · 1 year ago

Yeah, the clips I've seen here show a lot of backdoor cuts. If you're gonna use M to M, you need to understand help side defense.
Otherwise, I'm hoping this game and this whole situation will make these kids tougher.

ALH_00 · 1 year ago

They played zone last night. It wasn't working either. Just no defensive focus last night.

Matt J. · 1 year ago

Given Northwestern's offense (backdoors and 3s), is Zone really the answer to that? Man-to-man with more helpside seems better, but then, I'm a chemist and not a basketball coach.

kelin · 1 year ago

Someone needs to beat Wisconsin.....

robweber2 · 1 year ago

On a side note, has the game time been set for IU/MSU next weekend?

b_side · 1 year ago

Was watching the Wisky-Buckeye game on CBS and they mentioned our game will be Sunday at 2pm as part of a triple header. Thankfully no BTN to deal with.

Chuck · 1 year ago

Ok, I know the BTN is a monopoly, but that non-see-through scorebar that leaves an eighth of the screen blacked out above it is excrutiating! I have emailed the BTN about it and they said they would pass it along to their production manager. Come on! Who are they kidding! They definitly don't care about the fans! I hate the BTN. Why do they insist in wasting an eighth of the TV screen... because they can and we can't do anything about it... UGH!!

Brett · 1 year ago

I am truly sick of this BTN garbage.. I go out of my way to watch IU play now -- which is absolutely ridiculous -- and have to put up with garbage broadcasting. I mean for the love of all things holy can I please get a stat!? JUST ONE!? It is flipping amazing to me.. how do you not show the normal stats of the game?? I didn't even see a RESET when the game was coming down to the closing minutes!! I don't know about any of you and how you watch a basketball game but I can't stand not knowing what is going on.. who has the ball if there is a jump ball, what our team free throw pct. is that night, what the hell does this white guy (coble) avg. per big ten game etc... I can't understand how this network operates.. I think your analysis on them is spot on E. They need to clean house though, it doesn't start and end with the analysts.

Ryan_Btown · 1 year ago

Just wanting some feedback here. I just read the latest from Katz and he asked Coach Dakich if he would pursue the job past tis season and about recruiting. On the job, Dakich responded "Absolutely." On the recruiting, Dakich said "I'm trying to find out from Greenspan". How do you guys feel about him becoming the head man after this season?

I have to be honest, I didn't like him just because he hasn't really proved a whole lot to me. However, I love his attitude and how straight forward he is. I've met with him before on some things I did here at the university and he's very accommodating and understanding. I feel he might be our only shot to keep recruits and all the current players because he could start damage control immediately. Any other scenario leaves us with lots of uncertainty until after the tourney. Thoughts?

Ryan_Btown · 1 year ago

PS> I've never bought the argument that Indiana "HAS" to hire an Indiana guy to do the job and reunite the fan base. With that said, even though they don't have to, they could, and it would probably bring back people like Benson and those guys, which isn't a bad thing. Who knows, maybe one day you'd even see a Knight in the stands...but don't hold your breath.

Ryan_Btown · 1 year ago

Just saw this title on the school's home page: "ESPN and ABC Sports analyst Steve Lavin to speak to IU students"....looks like Lavin is jockeying for a recently vacated position! haha

the other steve · 1 year ago

Just about everyone on here are like the players, you think because we have IU across our chests we should kill teams like Northwestern and Penn State. The thing we have to remember is that when teams play us we get their best shot. Not because they are so good or we are so awful its because it is IU. It would not matter if we are number one or not even ranked, everyone wants a piece. We can thank our past success for this. DJ and Bassett understand this and Gordon is just good the others do not have a clue.

kelin · 1 year ago

I can't really say whether I would want Dak now or not. I haven't really thought about it.....Maybe at the end of the season look at it....I would have to take into account his time at bowling green which wasn't that good. I would like IU to consider him, but if they do that they would have to do the same for McCallum....BUT I still want to talk to...

Sean Miller, Anthony Grant, Brad Brownell, and Tony Bennet.....

Is the game tomorrow on BTN..I am scared to ask....

Jerry · 1 year ago

I love Dakich BUUTT hiring him makes a statement that "only IU guys need apply". This is one thing with our track record that scares away quality guys like Mark Few. They wonder how much fan support they can actually get and during adversity they need it.

I again like your choices Kelin but I also dream of Jay Wright , another COY, who , if you recall, developed a dynamite team playing 3 smalll guards. Don't you think Bassett, Crawford, and Gordon would relish the chance to be Villanova's 2006 team w Gordon playign the part of Randy Foye ?

Ryan_Btown · 1 year ago

Rest assured Kelin...the game will be aired by ESPN. As much as I love Don Fisher, I would rather be able to see the game.

Matt J. · 1 year ago

I'd kill for Don Fisher, but then...I live just a little bit out of range of most IU broadcast partners.

Jerry · 1 year ago

As for Ellis I have been begging all season for an additional scorer nearer the basket which is why I always want to see McGee get some minutes. I therefore have no problem w Ellis taking shots early in the game or when we are within range of the other team.

His reduced output may have sommethign to do with the other teams defense and his focus on trying his offense.

Bottom line however is he either needs to get effective at this or refocus his role to the earlier part of the season

IndianaJoe · 1 year ago

I don't know how many of you read Gene Wojciechowski's column on espn about what IU should do to limit NCAA's sanctions on IU. My personal opinion is that I think Gene is an idiot.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?co...

Brett · 1 year ago

I will second that.

td · 1 year ago

A good article and I hope the statement in your last paragraph will be accurate.Somehow, I doubt it. The media people will continue to feast on this until the carcass no longer exists. And, why, just why can't our former players stay away from position statements to the media. All they really do is give the situation added life, thus getting back to just watching basketball will be accompanied with the dirty laundry. Why can't they be just part of the loyal fan base and support the team, regardless. What do they mean when they won't attend a game because of something besides the team? I wouldn't look at their attendance as a positive or negative towards the coach or administration. A basketball game shouldn't be a political event. If they would refrain from position statements, how does one know where they stand and why is their opinion more important than any other? Why can't they just remain "anonymous" much like the recent donor? They need to show a willingness to yield the spotlight, theirs' is 30 years old. We will continue to honor their names and that should be enough. The media will continue to rip us, they don't need help from any of our former players.

b_side · 1 year ago

A good article? I was a livid while reading this! I actually wrote Wojciechowski an email. Told him that our kids shouldn't be collateral damage and have their pro prospects hurt because of Sampson. What did DJ White do to deserve this -- the guy is a borderline first round pick and he needs a big tourny to show the world what he can do against Hibbert, Hansborough, etc. Millions of dollars are at stake here and Sampson has done enough to tarnish this season and next. It's not like the professional prospects of DJ and EJ should be held accountable.

Matt J. · 1 year ago

Woj is a moron. I love how these journalists will climb on their moral high horse whenever there's a chink in the armor of any high-profile program. They're still getting lots of mileage about Notre Dame after parting ways with Willingham. I'm guessing this will be ridden to death for a couple of years at least, and it'll be largely the same people playing the same song over and over again.

I'm just curious...Jay Bilas cited 116 other phone violations in last year's tourney field. Where are the ESPN people calling for the heads of THOSE coaches?

td · 1 year ago

I wasn't talking about about Loco Wogo's article, my two-cents worth was about the lead article above written by Postman E.

b_side · 1 year ago

My bad td, definitely a good read on E's part.

kelin · 1 year ago

Jerry I would agree........I just sure as hell hope Greeny gets it right this time....a local broadcaster here in Indy recommended IU save there money from hiring ICE miller to do a search and just have a handful of IU fans give some names....

So get us in a room with some pizza, and let us put together a list and save some danm money geez......

Matt J. · 1 year ago

Or better yet...you and I could start a business and do these coaching "searches". It can't be too tough. UNC paid a lot of money to get the name "Butch Davis" when Butch Davis was already on their short list for football.

Matt J. · 1 year ago

Oh, and as for just letting IU fans decide...I don't know about that. Read the Star's comments on the possible replacements for Sampson. I feel sorry for some of the idiots out there who don't have a clue. Almost.

Jerry · 1 year ago

After reading the article I conclude this guy is only interested in hearing himself attempt cute, pithy, semi humorous phrases w/o a lot of facts or real substance. This is easy for idiots like him..........he does not need to leave his desk or actually know anything to be a "journalist".

Not even 577 impermissable phone calls got OK a post season ban that I know of. Majerus lost 4 scholarships but no post season ban. He knows nothign of the NCAA history on post season bans.

He passes over key facts like IU already penalized itself severely AND removed the coach. I DO think Sampson had pretty high values for grades, drugs, on time behaviour , high level recruiting , winning etc. His programs have been cleaner than UCONN or Memphis , Cincy etc when it comes to criminals.

We can all hate the situation and anyone who abetted it . KS must suffer the consequences but the cheap shots make me sick

kelin · 1 year ago

Matt I read it and lost my lunch.........

Matt J. · 1 year ago

Sorry about that. I guess I should have posted a disclaimer before telling anyone to go read it.

Jerry Reinsdorf · 1 year ago

Why is Rod Wilmont in this picture?

Brett · 1 year ago

Did you not watch the game!? Dude you totally missed it.. Rod Wilmot came out of the stands in full uniform and started playing along side DJ and others!!!

Dale · 1 year ago

and ratliff came back!

b_side · 1 year ago

Same could be said for AJ Ratliff at the top (#20)! A stock photo from last year's game I presume. That's ok ITH'ers, we forgive you.

PostmanR · 1 year ago

It's a pic from last year's game in Evanston. Everyone love Rod.

td · 1 year ago

Has anyone noticed that a Detroit sportswriter is already calling for the hiring of Sampson at the University of Detroit Mercy? You talk about a group of sick puppies, sportswriters that is.

Jack Schneider · 1 year ago

Though I'm tardy, I want to offer my heartiest kudos to this report. PostmanE regularly offers, IMO, easily the most incisive and well-expressed analysis of Hoosier basketball of all the commentators and reporters.

Sherron Wilkerson · 1 year ago

it’s important to prepare for them carefully; they’re like no other team on the schedule, even if that walkthrough was the most productive, insightful walkthrough of all time, it was but one walkthrough. Northwestern requires more prep than that.

SHerron: Really? They are 0-12 with no athletic talent whatsoever, Dont give me this BS about how one walkthrough is not enought to beat this joke of a team, last month you were talking about how much more talented we were than most B10 teams and how none of out Big Ten games should be close against the lower half of the league.

Thomas for coach · 1 year ago

more proof you need to step up the journalism here