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Crimson Cass. Scott here with you tough times
tough times. Folks were here for you, we're
going to get through this together and we'll continue to
podcast through it before we get to our guest Tony who I'm
excited to have on because I think you can provide kind of
maybe some explanations to what's happening on the court.
We all know how we're feeling, we'll get to that.
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All right, Tony man. It's a great to have you on
although under the circumstances, maybe not.
But I thought you'd be the perfect person cuz I want to
start kind of micro because you, you do your film breakdowns, you
look at it from like, a basketball perspective.
And I, the first question is, what are you seeing on the
court? Have you seen differences?
Because this is just such a different team from, like
December 1st on. Are you seeing differences on
the way? They're playing like on the
court offensive and defensively? Because the in A result is just
like, it's been, it's been really rough last couple weeks,
obviously. Yeah, it's been so weird.
You know, to start things off. I don't discount the fact that
race Thompson and David Johnson are, you know, integral parts of
this Indiana to him. You know.
I don't discount that I think that's fairly significant to
point out before I say anything else.
However but you know, whenever you have that button there, you
know, something bad's about to happen.
It's it's a You know, it's been such a stark contrast from the,
you know, I thought I you would be able to be in every game this
year because they're going to have the defense to keep them in
it and their offense would probably struggle a little bit.
It's, it's been nothing of the sort, you know, now Indiana's
down to I think the number 67 in defensive efficiency on Ken
Palm, you know, which is a stark contrast from where this team
was last year's, you know? So when I look at it and I look
at, you know, the North Carolina game, I was like, man like how
is anybody? In scoring this, this Indiana
team, you know, they Indiana was the aggressor they were playing
extremely hard against North Carolina.
And then, you know, turns out North Carolina's somewhat
mediocre of a basketball team and has struggled offensively
themselves and gets themselves in ISO situations, which which
I, you guarded pretty well and they don't shoot the rock super
well. So I, you didn't struggle as
much there, but now when I watch out you, it's just I mean,
elementary things that are really troubling, you know, when
you look at positioning on the defensive end, you know, I've
tweeted this a put this in our assembly called Community a
couple times. The scary part about Indiana on
defense is it's not like there's one glaring issue.
Like they can't guard ball screens and so they got to fix
how they guard ball screens now, they can't guard ball screens
but they also have poor positioning.
They also Can't keep the ball in.
Front of them, defensively on the ball.
They're step late when they're guarding Cutters off the ball.
Like there is a plethora of items on the defensive end where
they are struggling. And that's the scary part is
it's like it's not one glaring issue.
It's it's five six, seven things that are defensive fundamentals.
Where several guys are struggling.
Yeah, it's so I got to give total credit to Galen for
fighting this out. Out, and he's been mentioning
the stuff on podcast. If you go to Bart torvik site,
you can, you can start to really dissect the data by timeline.
But when you look at Indiana from December first on.
So after that, North Carolina game, you know, on tour, Vic's
rating, their 69th in the country at offensive efficiency
there 154th in defensive efficiency.
So for those who were talking about, you know, and then
honestly across the board, everything else there in the 100
or 200 in the country, when you look at, you know, Field goal,
percentage turnover percentage rebound percentage.
I'm not going to go through it all, but it's it's the profile
of a team that isn't even an IT worthy.
And so for those who would say, you know, take a breath, you
know, it's only a couple games, it's like this is this is more
than a couple games. This is really since December
3rd, you've had basically a month and you know 369 games
which is of large sample size of your season where it just has
not been right? And yeah, I'm with you, man.
In the stuff that you're seeing, you know, like I'm curious the
Iowa game, you know, I'm watching that and Gail my had a
discussion about this but like At first, like man Geronimo
can't keep up with Marie. It's like you feel in Psych?
All right, like you to do something but then it's like you
know, because we switch on all the ball screens, they would put
Geronimo on somebody else. And then Iowa would just
immediately do a high pick and roll and get Geronimo back on
Murray and then torture him. And there comes a point where
I'm like, okay, this is not true like Geronimo can't guard him
like I Guarded. You can't like okay at some
point you need to make a change and just having Geronimo get
torched for five straight possessions.
Like that's not good for the team.
It's also not good for geronimo's.
You know I'm sure it's mental health or how he o is is his
confidence on the court and this is where it comes back to me.
It's like you've got to do something like I was talking to
Gaelic, you just go to a zone or go to something.
It's like they, this is where I really worry about the in-game.
Again, I'm not in a position to say, I know more than any of
these Coaches, but I look at this and it's like, I know, I
don't know more but then I see that and it's like at some point
you've got to show me that, you know, more like I'm I'm cursed
a, you saw that and be like your thoughts on something like that.
Yeah. I mean I think I was in some
texting threads and my in the first 10 minutes of the second
half of that. Iowa game.
I think Geronimo had given up 16 points at some point.
You just take him off the floor, like, you know.
Yeah, right. This isn't working, like he's
having a rough game and then, you know, said, That was
troubling to me and I'll get back to Iowa in a second but
like it was like okay, Jordan Geronimo doesn't look like
somebody. That's going to contribute, you
know, really struggled, gave up 16 points.
Next game isn't starting lineup, you know, so that one was a
little bit troubling to me. I you actually had some success
going small but to go back to the Iowa game.
Yeah. It's You know, I honestly the
best person to guard. Chris Murray was probably Trace
Jackson Davis. He's actually he's done a pretty
good job, keeping guys on the perimeter in front of him, the
last few games. Yeah, it's I'm with you, you
know, I'll never act like I know more than the coaching staff and
I'm not at practices and I don't see what their game plans are
and stuff. But you know, from a bird's-eye
view, it's like what's going on here, you know, there's there's
minimal adjustments made, I mean, Be in there brother.
Going into the Penn State game, New Penn State shoots a crap.
Ton of Threes. They have guys who they have a
guy on their team that has attempted for two pointers, the
entire season. That was left with 15, 20 feet
of space, to shoot a three. It's like, okay, I understand
that, you know, you have a defensive philosophy and you're
standing by that which is it's basically the pack line on
steroids. I mean, that's what's in.
It mention like, I don't know what pack line is.
I don't, by the way, this is a pacline free.
Let's not mention that again. We don't talk about the pack
line here but that's what we play.
That's what's crazy is, you know, yeah, it's just a
different terminology that he uses it.
But guys, sitting to get wave too far in the gaps there.
Flat-footed nobody's on the balls of their feet.
That's that's one thing to me. Like it's an easy change.
Like, when you're in help side positioning and you've just got
a guy standing flat-footed, like you're not going to be able to
maneuver yourself to the Hedge and recover or stabbing recover
and that's where Indiana struggle.
Really bad. I mean, I look at a guy like
tomorrow Bates, just getting torched.
Off the ball. You know, when you just guarding
a standstill Wing like not even coming off of screens or
anything, it's just he's guarding a wing and he's
standing in help side and then he's just flat-footed.
And by the time, the dribble penetration happens in the
kick-out happens, he's closing out. 15 feet in the guys wide
open, like little things like that.
That like I said, you know, I'm I'm not going to sit here and
act, like I know everything that's going on in the program
are no more than the coaching staff.
But at some point, it's like, all right.
As you know, they made 18 threes here off of very similar
actions. Like what are we going to do to
counter that and just didn't see a lot of that.
It's troubling because we were sold that this was going to be a
defensive team. And you know and they all
offseason Woodson was talking about how like defense is going
to be the identity and you saw it.
You know this is where the early stuff and I'm always hesitant to
get too excited about those early games because you know a
lot of them is your beating up on you know but soon cookman and
you know Little Rock Rock and you're gonna play those games,
but is that really an indication of good defense or bad
opponents? Now the North Carolina game, you
played great, you played with effort, again, it feels like
something broke after that. Like I don't know what but are
you, you know, from the way that you see it?
You you like me? You watch a lot of them be a as
well. Would you say that Woodson is
still cold? Does the team play as if they're
running MBA, MBA sets versus It sets in the way you see how
absolutely it's, you know, isolate a guy somewhere
typically tjd on the Block, maneuver a couple pieces off the
ball, whether that be a guy cutting or whatever and then let
him go to work and then try to find an open shooter and then
try to penetrate and kick off of that.
It's very much in be a heavy. I mean, there's no creativity to
Indiana's offense, you know, you watch even teams like Penn State
or you know, I watch Alabama and Arkansas.
Saw and things like that. Like, there's just not a lot of
creativity to what Indiana does offensively.
It's, you know, they're, they're number one set that they run.
They don't run a lot of sets in general, but the number one said
that they run is they will run a guy that's on the Baseline a
guard. And he'll go and rub, Trace
Jackson, Davis has man, and then they'll throw it to trace on the
Block. I mean, that's their set like
that, that third graders can run.
And I'm not saying that everything has to be complex
like sometimes. Suppose a simple game and if you
can score off that action, great.
But I mean they've been running that action, two years and are
two years in a row. Now pretty much every ATO is
that set, you know, that's that's easy to guard, no matter
what you do, no matter who you are, who your personnel is.
And so, yeah, it's just, there's not a lot of creativity
offensive ly definitely, you know, when you look at how the
college basketball game is, is being played, Aid and it's
spacing it's opening up double and triple gaps which are
essentially creating space you know maneuvering guys through.
So that other guys have space to create opening up the lane.
You know, every time I you as a driving and there's a big just
planted there on both blocks so there's no driving Lanes, it's
easy to help off of a big and then recover.
So it's just And, you know, and that's the offensive side, which
be quite honest hasn't even been the issue for the last three
games. I mean, it's not been great but
you know, it's defensive side that that's killing them, you
know, and it but offensive lead as well, you know, just throwing
the ball all over the court, you know, you just trying to
force-feed it, you're really easy to scout so when you're
easy to scout, you're going to turn the ball over because teams
know exactly where you're trying to go with the ball, pretty much
every single possession, you know, everybody's just like, you
know, it's unfortunate. Over some Indian and stuff like
that. Well yes and no because teams
are teams are taking away certain actions.
Then they're going somewhere, they're not comfortable going in
that offensive set or that offensive action and that's why
it kind of looks unforced. But, you know, in Trace Jackson.
Davis is used to catching it at the free-throw, line with a guy
behind them against Bethune-Cookman, but then
Northwestern pushes him to feet out in front of the three-point
line. So then try Galway sales the
ball over his head, he's not used to throwing it to them,
they're like, it looks unforced, but Northwestern forces that
because they Adieu and they know exactly what you're trying to do
in that action. So it's it's troubling, it's
frustrating, you know, I tweeted last night during the game
against Penn State. Like I'm just going to get off
Twitter or I'm going to get toxic because, yeah, that's
where I felt, I saw that and it's there's Parts where, you
know, at times under Archie, it felt like, you know, the players
like finna see was always the example.
This like, it felt like he was having his kind of basketball
knowledge, coached out of him. Like he's look like a guy who Is
questioning everything he did on the court, and there was a
moment last night. And again, we're diving into the
little details like 10 minutes to go in the second second
quarter. Second half, Trace back to Davis
gets the ball. He got a fumbles it, he's like
in the middle of the lane, but because he's taken time to
gather the ball, like he gets triple-teamed as a Penn State
guy like standing behind him, who's not.
So he's like theoretically quadruple teamed with his triple
team has a guy behind him who's kind of guarding that the
Baseline of the lane and all the rest of the end of guys are all
on one side. Like nobody cuts.
And at the same time Miller cop and Tamar Bates cut to like the
same spot toward Jackson Davis. He then passes it to Tamar Bates
who's like basically. Like it's like a handoff, like
here's the ball for like two feet and then Bates takes a bad
shot because he gets it in that position.
I'm like, how how do you get a guy triple-teamed and not have
somebody cut to an open spot? Not toward the guy with the ball
and it it again. It feels like we're running a
lot of sets and then when we have things break apart it's
like guys feel like they don't know.
Do it again, they know what to do.
This is him tomorrow base. The five-star recruit Jackson
Davis is a great player, you'll Miller cop knows where to go.
It's like but it feels like they've almost there, they're
like zombie walking out there. They don't know what to do.
It's bizarre. And and for those who tell us
to, you know, calm down saying this is the red flags.
We saw in the Archie era. Here's the other question, you
something you mentioned about you having bigs posted there and
I've been kind of kicking this idea around And I preface this
Jack Tracy Jackson. Davis is phenomenal.
He's awesome. But he is limited his skill set
and to me, one of the most disappointing things of his
career. Both either him or his coaching
staff is, you know I don't know if it's not him or coaching or
both or what it is but it's like he's he's fantastic at what he
does but he has not gotten the he started to bring the ball up
a little bit. In transition I would love to
see him like get the ball at the you know top of the key.
Key. I've been saying he's shooting
threes for a while but like wouldn't it be great if he got
the ball outside? The three-point line was able to
like Drive in you know dribble break somebody down and just be
able to drive her do something, and not have to get the ball in
one spot because I've been saying it feels like he changes
the geometry of the court in a very negative way.
You look at a guy like Zach ET at Purdue similar issues, a guy
who's not going to go out and break something down the
dribble, but, you know, he's shooting it a higher effective
field goal. Percentage of Trace Jackson
Davis, he gets the ball in. I hate to say he can get the
ball in more locations and do more with it and then the guys
on Purdue or doing a better job of moving around him, but it
does feel like, you know, the it's almost like this team is
limited because Jackson Davis is limited in where he can get the
ball and then it's like the the court changes and you look at a
guy like Miller, cop and people are pissed because he's standing
in the corner and like, I'm starting to be like, well,
where's he supposed to go like, there's nowhere else for these
people to go and like, put your feet o can't drive the lane like
it. No, I'm curious your thoughts on
that because I'm starting to be like, if we can't as a coaching
staff, use him in different ways, it's like he's hurting the
geometry of the court, in a way that like, gives this team a
real ceiling. Yes, you know, something that
I've been talking about at least Texans buddy.
And stuff is not so much where Trace has to catch the ball
because I do think he can, he can do a few things off the
gerbil especially especially when he's got bigger guys
guarding him, you know, he's got a pretty First Step, but, you
know, you don't have like, you don't have to just plant them on
the Block, and then throw it to him and let him post.
Like you can said, you know, diagonal screen, and you can set
screen. The screen or action, you can
have Spain pick-and-rolls. Like, that's what my biggest
frustration has been when it comes to trace Jackson Davis is
how they utilize him, on the offensive side of the floor,
like, you rarely go see him set, like pin down screens or
anything, and then slipped those, and then try to find him
with an easy bucket, like when he Scores nine times out of ten.
He has to work his butt off to score that that basketball like,
you know, he's he's grinding, he's posting somebody up or, you
know, he's being pushed or he's being double-teamed by a
cup-like. Get him easier looks by moving
him instead. Yeah, as you mentioned, you
know, it's like he'd so one-dimensional, you know, not
to mention that. So as to All Seasons, we've been
told about how much he's been working on his outside game and
then it's nowhere to be like it's not even utilize.
Even like tried, you know, they don't even like looked like
utilize him in a pick and pop situation or something like
that. Well, and that's the thing, and
I'm not again, I'm going to stay off at race here, like he's a
grit really good past week. He passes well on the post.
I don't know why even. Okay, like, he can't dribble and
drive. That's fine.
Like why not get him 20 feet from the basket?
Given the ball. They're like he can take.
He can take two dribbles and he could pass from there, like, he
could do kind of. But, you know, again, go to NBA
like, yo, yo, kit takes the ball up and he's, it's not like he's
a I am at you, he's not Kyrie with the ball but he's able to
take the ball from the three-point line and like kick
two dribbles and find an open guy.
And I'm not trying to make that comparison but it's like just
why not give when they're doing that little three-man weave up
top put him in it like open the cord up or just have him be a
decoy. Bring him up to the top and just
have him stand there. Bring his man out and open it
up. Like it's stuff like that.
Where I continue to look at this coaching staff and I'm really
concerned and it's a lot of the red flags.
Saw during the Archie era. You know, I look at that Iowa
game and you know this was something I was always kind of
annoyed at Archie to it's like during that Iowa game, you know
this happened two years in a row.
I was getting smoked their players.
Look kind of zoned, out for a McCaffrey goes Bonkers.
Gets a technical and the game shifts.
And it's like if you're Woodson, like, all right, like Brands
doing stuff like Brands doing what Fran does, we can joke
about it, but it's like it's, it's working like do something
call some time out. You get a tech like like act
like you can't and I care but just act like you're engaged.
I know he is but it's like there comes a point where it's like
what's and man. Like you gotta you know, the one
of these games the Northwestern game like you just get a tea,
like, try that, try something that goes a point where it's
like, dude, the too cool for school route doesn't look
fantastic when you're losing by 15 back-to-back games?
Yeah it my thing is was, you know, everybody's coaching
demeanor is certainly different but there are Ways to like look
like you're engaged, you know, by like making changes for per
se. Like, let's say, Fran had what's
demeanor, you would still know he was engaged because they
switch defense it. You know, they changed up how
they were getting the ball offensive ly, like, little
things like that. Like show you like, all right,
like I have a pulse here on what's going on and that's
what's frustrating about. I use it just seems like
adjustments and changes aren't being made.
To like you know it's like trying to fit a square peg in a
round hole right now with some things they do offensive, ly and
defensively, it's like Mega shit.
You know. I loved that against
Northwestern they showed a little bit of Zone like they
actually yeah it made a change because they were getting sliced
by like the number 120th can Palm office in the country.
Yeah, it's it's, it's just, it's so frustrating.
You know, I went on bark for back after you mention that with
gaalan and kind of set the parameters and then I control F
which You do a search for Indiana?
Indiana was the second search because Indiana state was ranked
above them, since no one. And that's where again, you have
to caveat it. You know, having Xavier out is,
is a big deal having race out are big deals.
But you know, these issues were happening before.
Xavier went out before race went out.
And you know the thing is quietly, you know, I was having
Race Thompson was, you know, had a pretty good game against Iowa
before then was not having a great season.
How you do? This is a killer race.
He's like he was having an offseason.
The trouble is you lose him? And now it's like, you have this
back who's the backup? Like there's nobody who can
really play, and, like Geronimo played better against Penn
State's, that's good. But still like, you know, you
look at a guy like Geronimo with.
It's like all right. You know part of what was
getting people excited this year is like you saw a little
development at the end of last year.
It's like all right. Build on that and it again, I'm
not knocking his exist, it doesn't seem to be a bit too.
Seems to have been any thing built on make.
It looks like the same Geronimo we had last year, which then to
me, it's like you look back at the coaching staff.
It's like, all right, if I'm not saying they can see everything
in their.all knowing, but it's like if you don't think you're
going to be able to get any Improvement of this guy, maybe
that's somebody. You let go into the portal and
you get somebody else out of the portal.
Like that was the whole idea here is you're bringing all
these guys back. And so you're going to have this
This, you know, team that has a lot of experience and we're
going to all get better and if you know, seems like there's
really nobody behind race Thompson, who can fill that
spot, it's like to me that's that was a problem that could
have been solved last spring and you should have kind of seen
that cut. That's that's what you get.
Paid the money for, for being a high level D1 coach is you need
to be able to see those things and if it doesn't work out, it's
on the feet of the coaching staff in my mind's eye.
Absolutely. And that's, you know, a lot of
the people that I do the negativity, Yes and it, which I
okay, whatever. Like that's fine, you're
entitled to that opinion. But you know, it with the
portal, you can construct the team pretty quickly, you know,
in for Indiana's, you know, a lot of people like you got to
give him four years to get his guys.
It's like that's not how it works anymore.
You know, you can construct a roster pretty quickly, and then
when I, you know, again Xavier race important pieces to the
puzzle, but when I look at Penn State's roster versus Indiana's
roster, Anna starts a 5 Star point guard, and then they
started Galloway last night. Who is a four-star?
They started cop, who's a five year starter in the Big Ten,
they started Jordan Geronimo, who was a three-star, I think
French for Star. They started tray.
Second Davis, was five-star recruit coming off the bench.
They got tomorrow, Bates was a fringe five-star, they've gotten
weak, renew Fringe, five-star coming off a bit like that's
seven guys that right there that are cat, you know, on paper.
Extremely talented players, you look at Penn State, you know,
these are top, 400 level recruits and things like that.
And so it's like okay I'm with you, recruiting rankings, don't
mean a lot to me. However, these guys are very
obviously talented, you know, several people that understand
basketball rated them highly like that.
That means something versus these guys are Penn State.
Like, you look at, I mean, they just absolutely Indiana was
never in the game after the first 10 minutes of the game
because they just ran a more effective offense.
They were were locked in on the Scout on defense and ran Indiana
out of the gym and I and you know biggest what a friend is
Going yeah no it's it's not good going a little bit more macro
you know you mentioned the giving them more not you but
like that that if refrain like we gotta give more time.
Like I am so tired of hearing that.
The the two things I will say is I went in this with the last pot
with gaalan, but when you retroactively look back, you
know, keep it quick for those who've listened to all the pods
and for those listening, appreciate it.
You know, crean had four years after the number one season
Archie. Add four years.
And so, you're going to both say that those guys had a, we kept
them too long which I agree with Archie.
I actually, I think cream was the right time.
You just want a Big Ten title, his third year, it's like that's
four years. So if you say that's too long
than three years is, it should be the new window.
That's means we're halfway done. And then, you know, you
mentioned a guy who I have, like, he's not leaving, we're
not getting him, but it's like Nate oats what he's doing at
Alabama. I don't, I don't keep up with
Alabama deeply, but just looking at, If their numbers, you know,
that was a team that in 2019 was coached by and be a guy Avery
Johnson didn't work too. Well, that was a team that I
don't think had much going for them.
They weren't men. The tournament his first year.
They're 16 and 15. His second year, there twenty
six and seven to two seed in the tournament, they're 19 and 14.
The next year this year, they're 14 and to look at one of the
best teams the country like that's Alabama.
That's a school where I'm not sure, you know, the judge, I
don't know, they know where they feel that they football school.
If you know what you're doing and you have a system, it
doesn't take that long. The other thing I would say to
where I think you have to be more aggressive is you could
even retroactively go back and say that crean and Archie both
probably deserved a little more time because if Archie had been
able to figure it out and turn it around, it's like all right
there's a guy in his mid-40s we got 20 plus years of now.
Having a stable system ready to go.
This was always going to be a thing with Woodson is he's in
his mid. TS like even if it's killing it,
he's got six more years or seven more years.
I don't want to 78 year old coach so there's a short window
anyway, and if he's going to, if we're going to need more time to
figure this out, like we don't have more time.
Like this is not a 20-year window.
You have a five or six-year window.
You can't just piss one away. So to me, it's like you have to
be even more focused. And and, you know, going that, I
don't know that those anywhere you want to go off of those
thoughts. That really a question, but I'm
just Shut up and let you talk. Yeah I feel the same way in
this. This Woodson higher was very
clearly. Not like all right this is our
guy moving forward for the next two decades and this is who's
going to take us to the promised land for, you know, for the rest
of the time, it was. All right, this is somebody
who's going to come in, steer us on the proper track.
And then the next guy is going to be the guy that's like the
program foundation and the pace of the program and all of that.
That will like to mention it's five.
Six-year window may be here for Mike Woodson.
You know, you're one, if any others knowing that that Big Ten
Tournament run and you know the ghost 36 hours right?
Otherwise it's it's in nit birth for Indiana and then this season
which looks like it's headed in a good place.
Obviously they could change the 1 January 12th but I don't see
how Early. And so, you're a third of the
way through kind of that, like, getting us back on track, and
you're right where you were, essentially when you let go of
Archie and and next year, if you don't get some portal additions,
it looks even worse. And so yeah, because how does
the, how does the recruiting look for next year?
Because that's the thing to, I've been thinking of as
everybody's like man you lose race and Xavier like I don't you
know, you can't compete at the high level it's like I agree
like Your chance of the Big Ten title goes away but it's like
also next year, racing Xavier not going to be here.
Like so like no this is the core Galen nowheres cop, right?
I would I would pump the brakes on Jalen.
I I do wonder. I hope he stays.
I think he could use it but I do wonder, you know, everybody's
kind of like all you Jalen's gone.
You know when you look at NBA draft, mock-up drafts, it's
still early. Is he's in like late second
round mid second round. He's not really popping the
first round yet. I doubt we're gonna have that
n-c-double-a tournament run, that's gonna highlight him.
Greatly know he could move up. I would also say to, you know
this, like whether guys pan out or not is a different story, but
I would say that right now, half of the lottery is already booked
for the like whether women Yama is good or bad.
Like that's a different story. He's the number one.
Pick scoot what, scoot Henderson I think from the g-league.
He's the number two pick like Whether they're good is
different. Like it's like so.
Jalen is not going to crack the lottery.
No matter what this year just because like the lottery already
has six half a lotteries already taken.
So I do I just want to have fans pump the brakes on that.
I think there's a world where he comes back but sorry, I cut you
off there but the point being give Jalen for next year.
Yeah, you have this team. What, what is the incoming
freshman look like next year? Like what are we adding?
There's not a five-star coming in right now.
You've got Gabe cops who you know looks to be a solid point.
Guard at these three star point guard, and kind of run the show,
but probably not really ready for freshman production as a
point guard and you got to kind of Newton who hasn't played yet
this season. He's had a knee injuries and
dealing with for the better part of the last six months or so and
those are your two recruits you've got in so far.
So I mean you're going to have to hit the portal very hard
Indiana. Struck out on the 23 class on
some of the guys they were trying to get this past fall and
summer. So Yeah, it's the picture for
next season isn't all, you know, bright and shiny either.
And so again you can change your roster very quickly but it can
be tough. Like I don't know what guys in
the port or thinking in terms of where they want to go, but I
know that if I saw a program like this where there looks to
be some internal strife along with not performing on the court
right now, I don't know that I would be clamoring to go to a
place like that. Now look, Indiana has some
Prestige and you get to play on National Television, pretty much
every night. And that certainly is enticing
to recruit but you know, I have a hard time not being pretty -
right now and almost Doom and Gloom just based on.
I always thought this season was going to be the kind of like
either, going to take a step forward, they're going to, you
know, hopefully be a second weekend team and the Here, it's
going to be a step back and going to be some learning you
know hopefully like a fringe tournament team perhaps but
there's light at the end of the tunnel and right now, I just
there's not a lot alike. No, and the other.
Let's get let's will stay negative and positive.
The the other negative thing too is you know, you mentioned like
yeah we should be able to get people in the portal this
because you have the prestige were Indian all that.
I I'm getting more and more nervous as that you know the
landscape is changing quickly under your feet.
I'm not I hate to keep coming back to Nato to in Alabama but
it's like our whole life. Alabama's never really been like
lots of that's a Powerhouse and in basketball it's like he's
built something there and you know into Talking to some other
friends. Like I don't I'm not sure he'll
ever leave like, I don't know why he has to leave and it's
like if if a guy like that doesn't want to leave Alabama
again, like the landscape is changing.
Like you have to go to a blue blood and if you're a transfer
like what's, you know, Muslims building some in Arkansas
outside of those two years in the 90s, like Arkansas has been
a hot bed. You know, like Baylor, Scott,
Drew's, building something there, like the the players in
different parts of the country are popping in different ways.
Guys are building new programs and new places like It feels
like we're a bit of a sea change, which we are and IL like
everything's changing, you know, the idea of a blue blood and
like, we have all the resources, I'm not sure that matters
anymore. And if you're a young player
wants to transfer a sec, hey, I could go play a cool system or
there's already coaches in the big tent, like, you know, what,
Underwood's doing it Illinois. It's like, hey, I've brought in
a bunch of transfers this year. We're figuring it out, like,
come here, we'll figure it out like it.
I really, really am concerned. Indiana, not saying you're
saying this, but it's like, if the thought, Says you kind of
they well we're Indiana. It's Indiana.
And like people are going to want to come here because I I
think that's old style thinking you're you know, you're GE in a
world of Google and Amazon and apple and Facebook.
Yeah, I mean I will say Indiana seems to have ni L figured out
pretty well, probably probably top 10 to 20 program in terms of
and IL. And in terms of support for
basketball at the very least which I do think does help.
Yeah, you're right landscape. But yeah, again though, you
know, if your you've got two competing in il deal and you're
in the transfer market, do you want to go play for a program?
That just went to the Sweet 16, or you want to go play for a
program where, you know, They weren't met and guys are
fighting people on Instagram and things like that.
So what you mentioned that to you, that that's something that
I have. This is one of the things I hate
about recruiting. Like I hate people who go after
kids, who go to different school, like, you know, high
school kids like just don't even Tech.
Please stop tweeting it then like we're all adults here.
I'm even the same boat. Like, I have as I'm getting
older, it's weird. Watching college basketball.
Now that I mean like my mid-40s and be like man these kids are
young with 18, 19. 20 like I'm much more.
I've always Has been like I want to go, I want to, I'm going to
criticize. I'm going to criticize the
adults who are full-time employees.
I you say, who the ones are getting paid.
But now like the ones who have W to jobs and get benefits, I
should say now. But you know, I will say this
that, you know, this is a situation where I do think, you
know, the coaching staff the adults in the room, need to tell
you, tell the players like look, stop, like I know social media
is big. I know it's the way that your
work, your online all the time. I get it but it's like no one's
going to win those battles. You can't, you know, this is
where the university is kind of step in like look we can't be
aggravating like I'm not saying who's right or wrong but it's
like you can't have the team fighting with the fan base.
Like, fans are going to do dumb shit.
That's what fans do. I'm not excusing any of it.
It's wrong fans shouldn't be tweeting.
Its players. I've never done that.
Nor will I ever do that? I saw that note.
Trace Jackson, Davis and out. Like that's despicable.
People shouldn't be writing notes to players like, but it's
like you also have to rise above that noise and, you know, the
players are never going to win that.
Battle and especially it looks really bad.
It's like you're talking about your smack and then you go out
and lose 15 to North Penn State. Like that's not going to look
great either. It's like this is where the
adults and I used to hate stop. Like we're taking your, you're
just you're not responding on any of the social media until
the end of the season. Then after that, you know, go on
blast and go nuts. I I do think there needs to be
some some control here because it it's looking bad.
When you have players like going after, you have like the team
going after fans again. I'm not saying the fans are
right, but it's like that's what fans do.
You're not going to stop it, I don't know.
I just I wish it could all like all of that noise could just
stop because it's not helping any of this.
Yeah it is you know it's an Optics thing, right?
It's just like you know us that our day jobs you know we don't
we don't go like I don't go fighting my customers on Twitter
even though I think there might be wrong when they tweet at my
company about how we wronged them you know.
It's like I don't want to say the customer's always, right?
Fans, always right? Because there are some
despicable fans and as you noted the letter and all those things
are just despicable and there's no place for it and nor should
there be or Toleration for it but the same time to as you
mentioned like the adults in the room step in and be like, guys,
look this is frustrating. Don't look at the bar stool.
I you comment section. It's because I mean, that's
where all the yeah, that's where all this happened in the bar
stool. Are you comment section?
Like, look, I'm I was I'm like, torn on that.
Like it's like, I don't know if it's a big deal.
It's magnified when you're losing for sure and so it's it's
it's the Optics of it. Alright.
It's like look just this isn't a good look for the University.
And you know I look at social media and this program in
particular. So my questions daughter goes
after people a lot on Twitter. She's done in a few different
times this year and right or wrong.
Whatever. I saw last night Logan Duncan's
Grandma was too. That Mike Wilson, doesn't know
what he's doing. I saw David Johnson like the
comment from somebody that said, wasn't in know what he's doing.
I saw Todd low tweeted that your friend.
No, he's doing. Like social media is a weird
place right now to be at a basketball because there's a lot
going on and, you know, as I said it just gets magnified and
then, you know, gets picked up by a national Outlet of look at
these Indiana kids or what's going on.
Indiana basketball. Football or it's just it's a
weird place and like, it's and I'm sure you'd find that if you
went to Kansas and went to Kentucky and Arkansas, they
don't care. They're begin to Kentucky's.
You know, when to Kentucky's not mention, I'm sure they're having
two days. Kicked a fan out on a sign
saying you'll go to Cal go to Texas Calipari so I'm sure it
happens everywhere and your it's you know a couple people making
some noise but it does. It's just like I want my players
focus on just playing the game. I will say this is just a
complete side note apropos of nothing but I I've been a
proponent payer players should be getting paid.
It's criminal, they didn't. I'm I always find it so funny
that the university could never pay for anything.
It's a go, you new practice facility, like, we gotta find a
funder. It's a really, because you have
been paying your employees for 100 years and you decide the two
billion dollar TVD, like, I understand how it works.
I'm not an idiot. I get that.
He found. It was like, this is, It's
always funny how your arms really, really short, when you
got to pay for stuff anyway. Players should be getting paid,
they should be n. IL is fantastic.
I mean, really, the universities.
Be paying them. They should getting benefits
different story. The one thing with NI L that I'm
worried it's opening up is you know when you go to Pro sporting
events I'm not saying it's right, but you can go to a
Pacers game. I was picked on like, you know,
go go batons. I'm not a huge fan of him but
it's like you can sit there and talk smack to go go and it's
like, I'm not saying it's right, that's like in the end, he's
getting paid. Like he's making a very good
salary to play basketball and not that he should be hearing
it, but it's like, you know, your job is to win at that
level. If your job is to play really
Well, and score points. If you don't, it's like, you're
not making your money. I do really worried that with NI
L and again, it should be happening.
I prefaced it all saying that. Like I think it opens the door
now. The people feel like they can go
at college kids because like why they're getting paid.
So like I can start you know talking smack about their
performance and to me I think it's a fine line because again
you're looking at Guys Like, You Know, Tamar Bates is what like
20 years old and 19. The he's still a kid.
He looks like an adult. He plays basketball like an
adult, he's still a kid, he's got a lot of stuff going on and
Is not making millions of dollars, he's not making
generational money, not saying that GoGo is either.
But you know, he's making more that, you know, but the point
stands and I do wonder if this is opening up a can of worms
right now, some of those lower lower tier fans, I'll call them
feel like I now have the opportunity to just go after all
these guys, because like, they're professionals with air
quotes and I just that's the part that I'm like, I think we
need to be very, let's all be careful up there.
Yeah, I mean, you mix that, in with direct access.
Access to their Twitter accounts and yep, you could hear you're
gonna, you're going to see some vile stuff that's for sure.
And, you know, I do think that that gets magnified to like I
think I think the majority of the Indiana fan base is actually
very rational. I do.
I think that great, you know, it gets painted in a bad light and
you know they don't give God time and they're just running
coaches out of there. It's like no like Tom crean.
Everybody understood what he was going through.
Gave him time to write that ship and then That ship kind of
sailed. You know year nine they're not
making the tournament and it just that ship sailed people
jumped off that ship Archie Miller, hot name.
Everybody was excited about that.
His first game, they get torch and everybody's kind of like oh
you know, he's implementing a system.
But what by your whore, they're chanting fire Archie because
nothing really changed it. So I actually think India has a
fairly rational fanbase these. These Knuckleheads that write
letters and stuff about how terrible leaders people are.
Like, that's goofy. But that's that's not the The
the Indiana fan base. And so I do think it's painted
in a bad light because the loud few get magnified.
So let's try an end on a positive.
I will have enough time to talk macro later about where we go
and like it'll bigger itself out the solution to all of this is
winds. And unfortunately, last night,
I'm sitting there looking at this and it's like I'm texting a
few people but it's like I If we play like this, I mean honestly
it's like I don't outside of Minnesota, I'm not sure.
Sure where the winds come from. I know, that's not the way it
works. I know that we will win some
games that were not expected to win.
We're going to probably lose some more that we're not looking
for, but how do you see us getting out of this, you know,
with play with adjustments? Like how do we do that?
Because we're not going to lose out.
I still think we were still projected at 9 and 11.
I literally don't know how we get to nine wins sitting here on
January 12th, but I know we're not going to end the season you
know, whatever to and whatever that would be to win, that only
works in. Would I be so tell me how do you
how do we get out of this? Yeah, I think some of it is like
a shooter going through a shooting.
So mattoni solvent, some of it is like a shooter getting out of
shooting slump, you know, like Steph Curry, you know, and a
couple games will go. 24 25. And it's like, okay, you know
that he's a great shooter, you know what he's capable of, but
he's struggling and then finally, one goes in and then
all of a sudden, he makes eight or nine in a game and then he
kind of gets back on the right path to me.
It's kind of like that. Like Indiana is lacking any sort
of confidence right now and their ability to play offense or
defense in be quite honestly they need a game where
Everything just kind of gets put together, like they, they're
capable of it. We know, they are, they need a
game where everything kind of gets put together.
That could be Wisconsin playing without Tyler wall, you're at
home fan bases and see, like, and then you win that game and
then all of a sudden things turn around, you know, look at Iowa,
Iowa had a loss to Eastern Illinois.
It's like the biggest kin Palm differential in history, where
the team didn't win their down, 22 Indiana, you know, just
everything looks all for their program.
They come In that second half against IU next game.
They go to Rutgers and win at Rutgers which is like impossible
to do so, you know, look at Illinois, they are struggling,
they're struggling, they're five star point guard leaves the
program, they reel off a couple wins in a row and now their
season looks like it's back on track.
Like What we're crazy innocence at IU, you know, I talked about
how rational fan base is. But you know, a lot of times, we
live in a globe where we don't really see what else is going on
outside of Indiana. But like this isn't there.
This isn't the only team that had expectations this year that
is. It hasn't been meeting them.
Yeah and some other teams have gotten back on the right ship.
Now have all those teams had two starters injured, don't know
with that said though you know, I do think there's a path to get
back on the right track. Back.
But they it's going to take a collective confidence boost.
Like it's not like oh, Tres gets hot and scorched, 30 and so
everybody else just like it's happy again, it's like I've
Collective confidence boost, you know, you hold Wisconsin to 55
points or something and you look at that film to, hey, look, look
how good you did here. Like, you know, you have a film
session where everything's positive and look at the things
we can do. And maybe you do that today,
maybe you go back to the North Carolina film and say, look how
we defended here. Look what you did here.
Like, you know, there's there's different ways to kind of try to
boost Confidence and you know, as a coach that's been through a
long losing streak and I've tried to pull out all the stops
before as well to get things back on the right track.
I remember at Southport one year, we were on like an
eight-game losing streak. Didn't feel like the guys were
playing hard. You know, I took quotes from all
the stop word grades, I called him up.
Hey give me a quote about what it means to be a Southport card.
I'll give me a quote and then I distribute that to the team like
this is you know, these are the guys that laid the foundation
for you to be here bottle of like I've tried it all.
So I've been For and it's, you know, I know that we think like,
there's a lot of people are like, oh, you know, what's in.
It doesn't seem to care about why.
Like, I'm sure him and his coaching staff right now are
very stressed out. No matter what they say in the
press conference and they're trying to figure out the right
buttons to push, like I'm positive of that like,
regardless of what you think of the guy, or how he coaches.
I'm positive. He's trying to figure out how to
write this shit. And so what that is, I don't
know. Is there a way?
Yes. Is it guaranteed to happen?
So we'll see. Yeah, I know, I think you laid
out some great stuff there. I mean, I think you know, the
the fact that he went to Zone against Northwestern we need to
start seeing more adjustments. I think.
Hopefully you're going to see that and I look at the schedule
here. Again, just for the guy who's
been texting the shortest, another win, you know, it's got
to happen soon but you do have, you know, this is a point where
you got to, you've got to, you've got to use home court to
your advantage and you have one of the weakest teams based on
Ken, Palm coming in Wisconsin as a home game like this is, if you
could win, if you could just find a way to get some kind of
momentum change like you said, kind of have that shot go in,
get a win here. If I was, you know, if I was
coaching In this team I'd almost be like all right you know
forget Illinois like just let's look at Wisconsin.
Michigan State. I let's go two and two and one
and our next three like let's let's use Assembly Hall to our
advantage because then we go to Minnesota and that's a
manageable Road game. I gots a road game, you should
be able to win. Now you've gone 3 in 14 games
like that. Now, you're coming home to Ohio
State and it's like, Ohio, State's really good, but now you
have Assembly Hall. Like, to me, it's like assembly
Halls. Like, has got to be the
Fortress, you protect, and that's where you go to feel
good. Because, unfortunately, after
this, run your home games, After that in February are Purdue and
Rutgers. It's like, you still Assembly
Hall, but those are really tough games.
And then, you know, you have Illinois and then you finish
with Iowa and Michigan. But by the time you get to the
Illinois, game, February 18th. If you haven't turned shit
around by then it's like, it's over like at that point.
Now you're just a dead man walking, and you may not even
have a shot at NCAA tournament. So that's how I would look at
framing. The next couple of weeks is I
honestly would almost like right off the Illinois game and just
like, let's focus on protecting Eating home court and do what we
can. They're not that you want to
lose games, but it's like, let's just don't know that's how I
would look at it. And I, again, I think in a world
like that, you know, this this team even without race, even
without Xavier. It has the talent and it has the
ability to beat Wisconsin and Michigan State at home.
It just does. And when it was constant M,
sorry I Minnesota on the road so that makes you three in one in
four games. Like that helps right the ship
and maybe that confidence helps bring some of those guys back
but What'd you do man? Much easier said than done, the
date is not set the world on fire this year.
You know. There's not yeah.
It's like absolute dogs that are in the conference that are just
insurmountable talent that you just can't overcome outside of a
couple programs. You know, looking macro, big
picture here Indiana's, got six games before that Purdue home
game on a Saturday where, you know, Assembly Hall is going to
be rocking. All indications currently are.
That's that's kind of the timeline of race coming back.
Is that game? If you could?
Three, and three before, that Purdue game.
You got six games as you mentioned, you've got Wisconsin,
you got Minnesota and then you can win one of the Michigan
State or the Maryland or house at home or whatever the case may
be. If you can go 3 and 3 500 is all
right before going into that Purdue home game and you get
race Thompson back and you're playing an electric environment
and produce got two freshmen that would probably have never
seen that type of environment as hostile before.
Yep you have an opportunity there where if you can go
through and Three and somehow, pull out that Purdue game that
you can kind of turn your season around, and you've got race
Thompson back and that's where that confidence boost comes out.
Hey, we got like our guy and, you know, we've got some glue to
us and like, Now that's very wishful thinking obviously and a
lot has to change for Indiana to get to that outcome but that
like that's the light at the end of the tunnel for me is like I'm
just asking for three and three like get to the 500, get a
little bit more healthy and then figure out a way to somehow be
Purdue and just kind of like turn your season around and
start playing your best basketball and then hopefully
get XJ back. Sometime at the end of February
and figure out a way to get into the tournament and, you know,
surprises all there. That's like, that's yeah.
No, no. It's the thing is that we have
the talent to do that. It's just, we've got to, we've
got to play with a little more Christmas, a little more
Effectiveness, and it's like that that does come down to
coaching and this is, you know, I will flip it all in.
Just say for people who, you know, I got a couple of friends
who like, man, take some breaths, like Big Ten stuff.
It's like this is unfortunately you know, every coach at IU
Woodson is now bearing this brunt.
Like this is what you bear when you have a Program that has
sky-high expectations, that frankly charges, the prices for
fans of Sky, you know, charges BMW prices but gives you Chevy
results. Like we've, you know, I was
joking, my son is six years old, he's never seen, Indiana finish
above 500. The Big Ten we finished above
500, the Big Ten once in the last like nine years and it's
just it is and and unfortunately that the pressure continues to
build year-over-year. It's not, you know, Woodson is
carrying two years on his back but really Carry eight years
like he's carrying the four years of Archie and for all you
know for people like take a breath.
It's like well these are all the same warning, signs and weird.
Tingly feelings that had in the middle of the Archie era during
that 12 13 losing streak. But when you know people take a
breath given time. It's like what we did that
already and it's like it's maybe it's unfair to Woodson but it's
like it's reality. Like I lived those four years.
I'm not going back in time and redoing like those years are
gone. I'm now 44 years old, I was 40
when I started with argue 38, it's like that.
Times gone. And unfortunately, we all had
that feeling and we were all told to wait and we waited and
now you know, we're feeling that again.
And so for fans to feel that again I don't think it's
unreasonable to be like, hey I'm really concerned even though
it's the middle of January even though it's only his second
year. It's like this is got to turn
around and it's going to turn on quickly because we've all seen
this movie before very recently and unfortunately you know, one
of two things is going to have to happen.
Either Indiana is basketballs going to have to start playing.
Meet level or they're going to have to stop selling us as a
high level program or else you're going to have this
continued problem. Where if things don't turn
around quickly, people are pissed because it's, it's what
the university is selling us. I'm sorry.
I've been a donor since I've been a donor, my entire adult
life. I've given money to The Varsity
Club, at good levels. I've been a basketball season
ticket holder. I've been a football season
ticket holder. We're getting to that point in
my life, where I'm like, am I really getting value for my
money? Money.
I really just think that's a real question.
It's and love of the university all that.
I'm sorry. I'm venting here, but it's like
I loved by you. I love having my tickets.
I don't want to get rid of them, but it's like II work to make
money and I do things with money with my family and I give a good
amount of money to IU, and that's my decision.
The value prop is really starting to get tweaked for me
at this point in my life. And I want that to change.
I'm all-in. I'm with you, man.
It's, it's a lie. It's a struggle and it's, it's
not fun. And as you mentioned, it's kind
of like history repeating itself right now.
And that's why there's concerns here because we've kind of seen
this song and dance prior, and in the like, give it time, give
it time, give it time, like, how much time we gotta get it
before? Like, things turn around and we
just haven't seen it and 67 years.
Like any level of success that meets the expectations of
Indiana fans. And yeah, and the worst thing
happened is apathy sets in and that's kind of what happened
with With, with the end of the art Sierra, that's kind of what
has happened with Indiana football now after he sets and
people stop caring. And that's when that's what
you're in trouble to me. I agree.
Well let's let's and because I don't think we should have it on
the positive note. It's been awesome.
Yeah. Hopefully we have better things
to talk about and we see better things on the court until next
time. Tony it's been awesome.
Having you on will have you on a couple weeks maybe after that.
Maybe after that Minnesota game we'll see where we are at for
game stretch but you be good. Thank you all for listening out
there. Appreciate all the support.
Keep it positive online. Come on, I'll be the what?
Let's be the positive to positive.
They have a site with that. Thank you all for listening.
This is Scott for Crimson cast signing off.