1 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,840 You're listening to the Back Home Network presented by Home 2 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:19,840 Field Apparel. Welcome back to Crimson Cast 3 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:23,800 Galen Clavier joining you Here it is Saturday, July 13th. 4 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:27,720 Apologies, we've been out of touch for a little bit this 5 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:32,000 week, but hey back happy to be talking to my you sports with 6 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,760 you folks as we continue to draw ever closer to the start of the 7 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:39,560 college football season. That's coming up here in about 8 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,920 six weeks now, which is wild and practice going to be reconvening 9 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:47,120 sooner than that. So a lot of things to get 10 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:49,960 excited about on that front. And then of course, there's 11 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,640 always basketball, which is looming on the horizon and 12 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:55,040 coming up sooner than you might think. 13 00:00:55,040 --> 00:00:59,240 So there's just a lot not going on, but a lot to anticipate 14 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,080 right now. So we're going to tackle a 15 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:04,239 couple of things. Small podcast today and we'll 16 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:07,680 have a larger one a little bit later on as we get into this new 17 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:09,440 week. First of all, just a couple of 18 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:11,880 reminders. You're listening to Crimson 19 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:13,960 cast, which of course is part of the Back Home network. 20 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:16,840 Be sure to check out all the Back Home Network shows that are 21 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,080 out there. Assembly Call Radio. 22 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:22,760 I think back up and running this past week or this upcoming week. 23 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,280 We've got of course, XS and Joes. 24 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,600 I might be making an appearance on XS and Joes at some point 25 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,680 here soon, but the the guys just dropped a really interesting 26 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,040 episode about college basketball history and whether a school's 27 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,720 past actually matters. And it's a nice long episode. 28 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:43,760 It's like 2 hours long or close to it in the the firm tradition 29 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:46,880 of Crimson cast and what we try to do on the back home network, 30 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:48,480 which is give you the content you're looking for. 31 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:51,960 So go check that out. And of course, plenty of other 32 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,840 great shows on the network for you to check out also. 33 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:57,880 And we're all brought to you by home Field apparel, your place 34 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,680 to go for the finest in college fashions, the softest fabrics, 35 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,200 the coolest designs. They just dropped the North 36 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,759 Arizona Lumberjacks collection and this is a sweet looking 37 00:02:08,759 --> 00:02:12,680 eight piece collection. But if you like lumberjack 38 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:16,240 themed apparel, I'm not sure where else you would go besides 39 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:18,880 this collection. And it's you know, it's a nice 40 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,240 color palette. 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They've dropped a lot of really 45 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:37,880 fascinating and an interesting items over the course of the 46 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:41,960 last few weeks, all in anticipation of what will almost 47 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:46,080 certainly be some amazing stuff coming up as we get closer to 48 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:47,480 the start of college football season. 49 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:50,480 They also launched a dynasty collection if you missed that 50 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:54,520 half off 3T shirts that they will randomly select for you. 51 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:59,040 All teams that are going to be in the NCAA 25 video game, which 52 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,760 of course comes out on Monday of this upcoming week. 53 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:06,280 So hopefully apparel.com. If you'd like to get 15% off 54 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:11,720 your first order, use the code Home 23 again, Home 23, get 15% 55 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,920 off your first order at Home field apparel.com. 56 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:16,840 Also a reminder, we're on Sub Stack. 57 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,480 If you'd like to get updates directly from the Crimson Cast 58 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,000 home offices about when new episodes have dropped. 59 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,040 You can sign up for crimsoncast.substack.com. 60 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,920 It's free and it's for you. And there's actually a paid 61 00:03:30,920 --> 00:03:33,920 option if you'd like to financially support the podcast 62 00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:37,800 where we throw in a couple of extras, some VIP videos, things 63 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:40,880 like that, Just a little bit of extra stuff that doesn't make it 64 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:44,480 onto the main podcast feed. Not every day, not every week, 65 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:46,200 but we try to do that more often than not. 66 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,800 So you're under no obligation though, And you can certainly 67 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,240 sign up for simply the free newsletter. 68 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:55,520 We'd love to have you join the over 900 people that have joined 69 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,840 the Crimson Cast sub stack again, crimsoncast.substack.com. 70 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:02,000 All right, let's tackle a couple of items. 71 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,880 Earlier on this past week, all of the news was about IU 72 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,480 dropping their schedule for this upcoming year in the non 73 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:15,400 conference in basketball and some mixed opinions, although I 74 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:18,040 would say most of the opinions ended up being kind of more 75 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:20,920 negative than anything else. And I think that that's really 76 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,640 fascinating, not surprising, but fascinating. 77 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:26,720 And I'm going to talk a little bit about. 78 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,920 The perceptions of this schedule versus the realities of this 79 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,880 schedule and and kind of why Indiana finds themselves in the 80 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:36,680 position that they're in. And so first of all, if you 81 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:38,880 haven't checked it out, Indiana's non conference 82 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,840 schedule tipping off on the 6th of November, which is a 83 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:44,000 Wednesday, they'll be hosting SIU Edwardsville. 84 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,920 And then that following Sunday, they've got Eastern Illinois, 85 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:52,080 then basically a week off and then South Carolina visiting 86 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,040 Bloomington. That's an interesting game. 87 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:56,560 We talked about that a little bit a couple of months ago when 88 00:04:56,560 --> 00:04:59,560 that was first announced. UNC Greensboro on the schedule 89 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,720 the following Thursday. And then of course, Indiana in 90 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:06,480 the Bahamas taking on a bunch of interesting teams in the Battle 91 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,400 for Atlantis. If you're not up on the Battle 92 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:13,280 for Atlantis field, just a reminder it's it's of course IU, 93 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,440 but we've also got in that matchup. 94 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:17,800 We've got that. We don't know who Indiana's 95 00:05:17,800 --> 00:05:19,560 going to play at. The draw has not been announced, 96 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,960 but Arizona, Davidson, Gonzaga, Louisville, Oklahoma, Providence 97 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,680 and West Virginia. So a couple of really marquee 98 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,800 programs in there in Arizona and Gonzaga and Indiana kind of in 99 00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,320 the third slot maybe maybe Oklahoma. 100 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:37,200 But I'd say from a brand name perspective, obviously Indiana, 101 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,160 arguably the the the best known brand, even though of course 102 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:44,720 Arizona and Gonzaga have certainly had a lot more recent 103 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,720 success. But that's a three-game stretch 104 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,840 right over Thanksgiving break. Then Indiana playing Sam Houston 105 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:56,360 on the Tuesday following that December 3rd, Miami of Ohio on a 106 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,040 Friday that's also in Bloomington. 107 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:01,920 Then a gap where you will certainly see the Big 10 games 108 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,920 that Indiana plays in December popping up. 109 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:08,960 Then Chattanooga on the 21st of December and then Winthrop on 110 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:12,480 the 29th. So that's the that's the line up 111 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:13,800 now. A lot of people came out and 112 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:15,880 were really disappointed in the schedule. 113 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,880 And part of that, frankly, was the way that the graphic for the 114 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,920 schedule, you know, couldn't really include the Battle for 115 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:27,280 Atlantis teams because you don't know who Indiana's going to play 116 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:29,520 yet. And there's no guarantee, you 117 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,800 know, there, there will be four teams that Indiana won't play in 118 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,160 that group. And and nobody knows not just 119 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:37,920 from the draw, but also wins and losses. 120 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,760 The way that the Atlantis tournament is set up is the same 121 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,640 way that like Maui is set up where you'll have a winner's 122 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,960 bracket and a loser's bracket and that'll determine a lot of 123 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,440 the following matchups. So when you just look at the 124 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,320 schedule as it was announced, you know, I could understand to 125 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,280 some degree why there was some initial dislike or distaste for 126 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:00,440 what the schedule look like because it it doesn't look 127 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:03,520 particularly impressive. But you throw in potentially 128 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,600 playing Gonzaga, Arizona, Oklahoma, Providence, I mean, 129 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:09,720 that certainly brightens the schedule up, especially if you 130 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:13,800 get three games against teams of that caliber and that brand 131 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:15,920 name, suddenly it looks a lot better. 132 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:17,440 But that's not how the graphic looked. 133 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:20,360 And so a lot of people just reacting to the graphic and not 134 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,840 really looking into the other aspects of the schedule. 135 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,840 Now, even if you just take those teams, though, and you know, and 136 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,720 set the Atlantis stuff aside, I think it's important to keep in 137 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:37,400 mind that one of the things that we've seen within the confines 138 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:42,600 of scheduling and how the net is being used the the NET, the the, 139 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,520 the way the metric that the NCAA selection committee uses to 140 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:50,080 figure out seating and selection for the NCAA. 141 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,960 There is an argument to be made for trying to schedule kind of 142 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,400 mid tier teams in college basketball. 143 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:02,080 So teams ranked between say 100 and 250. 144 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,400 And also, you know, there's some argument to be made for 145 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,400 scheduling even worse teams than that, teams in the sub two 50s 146 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,280 that you just blow out. And we saw this last year with 147 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,760 teams like Iowa State and and the Big 12 in general was kind 148 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:21,240 of viewed as a either an offender or a really smart 149 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:25,400 conference, depending on one on how you want to approach this. 150 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:31,200 But essentially, you know what what we saw in this process was 151 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:38,679 IU essentially taking a scheduling tack that does appear 152 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:43,159 to be intelligent in terms of the way that the metrics play 153 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:46,000 with the relative strength of teams and the way the computers 154 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,360 think about those teams. So for IUI think a lot of this 155 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:54,120 is really, well, we want to make sure that our net doesn't have 156 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:58,400 what happened to it last year happen where Indiana 157 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:02,960 underperformed against bad teams and then really didn't perform 158 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:05,560 well against good teams. And you know, that essentially 159 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:08,120 locked Indiana into a situation where their metrics looked 160 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:09,800 terrible. And even though they went on 161 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,720 that five game-winning streak towards the end of the season, 162 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,000 it really didn't do a whole lot. It got them maybe into the very 163 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:20,040 outer conversation for an NIT bid, but enough damage had been 164 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,400 done over the course of the non conference in the beginning of 165 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:26,120 the conference season that it didn't matter that much. 166 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,880 So this schedule takes a bit of a different tack. 167 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:35,160 There are fewer bad teams on the schedule. 168 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,280 The only two that are really horrific I would argue would be 169 00:09:38,280 --> 00:09:40,320 SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois. 170 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,240 And you do need a couple of those teams on the schedule. 171 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:48,080 I think especially for a team like Indiana this upcoming year 172 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:50,680 where you've got a bunch of brand new pieces, talented 173 00:09:50,680 --> 00:09:54,680 pieces, but brand new pieces who haven't played together, it 174 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:58,600 would be not the most intelligent thing to schedule 175 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,960 tougher opponents, even mid tier opponents, you know, early on, 176 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,920 because you got to give that team some time, at least a 177 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,560 couple of games to get their feet under them, especially 178 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:12,720 since those two games lead into playing a power conference 179 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,840 opponent in South Carolina and one that made the NCAA 180 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,400 tournament last year. So that's, you know, I, I do 181 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:25,120 think a lot of the, the reaction to the schedule has been based 182 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:29,600 upon reactions to prior schedules that Indiana's had. 183 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,560 And while certainly that's a separate conversation, I'll get 184 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:36,440 into that a little bit later. You have to take every year to 185 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:38,800 some degree as its own individual entity. 186 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,040 And when I look at this schedule, I think it makes a lot 187 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,680 of sense for this particular Indiana team. 188 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:48,680 You start off with some lesser competition, you let the team 189 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:52,440 gel a bit, you ramp it up a little bit by playing that South 190 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,520 Carolina game. And, and, you know, even UNC 191 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:00,000 Greensboro, which is, you know, you, you look at that, that 192 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,640 brand name and you'd say, well, who the heck is UNC Greensboro? 193 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:06,120 Why is Indiana even bothering? And yet UNC Greensboro's a, a 194 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,240 pretty good team. You know, last year they were 195 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,320 147th and Ken Palm, they won 21 games. 196 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:14,600 They've had three years in a row where they've been in the top 197 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,280 200 at Ken Palm. They made the NCAA Tournament in 198 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:19,880 2021 when Wes Miller was the head coach there. 199 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,720 You know, that's a good program. That's a program that if you go 200 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:28,120 back like since 2016, they've only had one season where 201 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,600 they've lost, excuse me, where they've won less than 20 games. 202 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,320 So, you know, that's a that's a game that's going to be against 203 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:38,280 an opponent that I think is going to be projected to be, you 204 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:40,480 know, relatively decent. If you look at the Torvic 205 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:44,120 numbers that that came out here recently, they are still 206 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,960 projected about in that one 4141 range. 207 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,680 And that's the type of team that you do want to play as a warm up 208 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:53,720 for going to Atlantis. Again, you don't want to play a 209 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:59,360 team necessarily that is, I think you know, a, a, a top 50 210 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:01,440 squad there because you're already going to go likely play 211 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:04,720 at least a couple of those and you again, you want to give your 212 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,960 team some time to gel. So, you know, I do think that 213 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,520 the way the schedules laid out makes sense and as someone who's 214 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,960 done bracketology for years, I understand the concept by which 215 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,880 this was designed. So I think that that's important 216 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:20,600 to keep in mind. However, I also think it's 217 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,240 important to set aside a little bit because if you're going to 218 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,360 go added from that perspective, you have to go back and think 219 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:28,760 about something that I said before. 220 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:34,200 Who you schedule and how the metrics look at how you are done 221 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:38,880 against that schedule is really a product of what are the 222 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:42,320 projected margins between your team and the team that you're 223 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:48,720 playing and how do you fare in, in the circumstance where you're 224 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,480 you're matching up against that team. 225 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:56,040 So what I mean by that is if you are taking on, let's say the 226 00:12:56,040 --> 00:13:01,120 150th ranked team in the country and you're projected to win that 227 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:06,320 game by 9 points and you win by 9 points, the metrics are going 228 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:08,880 to be like, all right, well, they did what we projected them 229 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,080 to do. That doesn't mean that that 230 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:14,880 they're better than we the, the computers thought they were. 231 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:17,280 That means that they are what the computer said they were. 232 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:20,760 If you go in and win that game by three points, the computer 233 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,560 say, well, Indiana must not be as good as we had projected 234 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:28,000 because they won by less than what our numbers say. 235 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,280 They should have won by taking all the different items of the 236 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:33,520 both teams into account. If you win by more than nine, 237 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,480 then it's like, well, hey, Indiana is better than the 238 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,840 projection and that causes your rating to increase. 239 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,800 That's basically the simplest version of explaining how that 240 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:47,280 system works, and I think that. You know, this is something that 241 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:52,920 a lot of people get confused by. When we talk through scheduling 242 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:55,840 and why you do certain things that you do, and it's why, you 243 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:57,560 know, if you look at what happened with this last year 244 00:13:57,560 --> 00:14:01,320 with Indiana, that the problem that they had was largely that 245 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:04,840 they're, you know, that they were projected to win by much 246 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:06,720 larger margin than they actually did. 247 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,920 So, for instance, that Florida Gulf Coast game that Indiana 248 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,560 struggled in early on the first game of the season last year, 249 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,960 you know, going into that game, Indiana was projected to win by 250 00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:22,000 more than the six points that they won by the army game. 251 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:25,320 The next game was a game that Indiana was should have won by a 252 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:27,840 significantly broader margin than they did, but they only win 253 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,080 by 8. That's what the computers are 254 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:32,800 looking at. So that's where when you look at 255 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:36,280 this year's schedule on paper, it makes sense. 256 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:42,520 Actually playing the games, I think there's some concern both 257 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:46,280 because Indiana is going to have to get off to a good start 258 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:50,320 against those lesser teams this season in terms of over 259 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:52,800 performance versus what the metrics are saying. 260 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:58,200 But also because I think that, you know, there's some 261 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:01,520 significant questions about whether Indiana's really capable 262 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,280 of playing that way and whether they're, you know, they're 263 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,320 they're different than what we saw last year. 264 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,960 And this may end up being a situation where Indiana quickly 265 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,440 gets into a groove and is able to win games by by wide margins. 266 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:14,680 That is absolutely a possibility. 267 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:16,160 That's what Indiana has to have happen. 268 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,600 They have to over perform what the metrics say. 269 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:23,760 But I understand the IU fans and the the external media observers 270 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,600 who might look at this and say, you know, we haven't really seen 271 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,240 Indiana blow out a lot of lesser competition. 272 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,720 They have more often than not played down to the level of the 273 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:37,360 teams that they are playing against. 274 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:41,160 And they also have a struggle to play up to the top competition 275 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:43,560 that they've played against. You know, they they, they 276 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:46,360 clearly played well against Kansas last year at home and 277 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,200 that was nice. But they really underperformed 278 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,360 against UConn down the stretch. And they underperformed 279 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,560 basically the entire game against Auburn. 280 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:57,280 And that essentially set the table because it wasn't just 281 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:01,160 that Indiana lost those games in the cases of the Connecticut and 282 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,920 Auburn game, it was that they lost by more than the computers 283 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:05,880 said that they should have. And I think that's a real 284 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:11,280 concern with this team is that you don't know still based upon 285 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:13,640 not knowing what the offense is going to look like, not knowing 286 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:15,320 how efficient the defense is going to be. 287 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:20,360 And having seen the problems that the defense has had in 288 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,080 playing at a high level from an efficiency perspective in the 289 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:27,120 last couple of years, you do worry about Indiana's ability to 290 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,520 showcase to the computers and to the metrics that they are 291 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:32,880 actually a better team than whatever their projections are 292 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,600 going to be. You know, there was an 293 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,440 interesting article that or set of articles that came out this 294 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,960 week. And inside the hall had I 295 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,160 thought some some interesting things on this looking at what 296 00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,800 the expectations would be for this upcoming year. 297 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,720 And you know, one of the things that you note in all of this is 298 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:58,400 that Indiana is I think actually Tony Adrania had this as well. 299 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:03,120 You know, Indiana's projection I think is right now probably 300 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,480 going to be somewhere in the realm of like 30th to 40th in 301 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:10,200 Kenpalm and in Torvik and in some of these other metrics. 302 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:14,839 Well, what does that mean? That's that's a huge jump 303 00:17:14,839 --> 00:17:18,400 actually from where Indiana spent most of the year last year 304 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:19,599 and where they finished the season. 305 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:24,599 Indiana finished 91st in Kenpalm last year and Indiana finished 306 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:29,400 83rd in Torvik, so you're talking about a 50 to 60 spot 307 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,960 jump Now. Is Indiana going to be 50 to 60 308 00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:34,560 spots better? I would say with the talent that 309 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:38,480 they've got, probably, but they have to play that way and being 310 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,680 at that level or pushing up into the top 30, the top 20 is going 311 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:47,680 to require Indiana to play at a much higher and more consistent 312 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,520 level than they did last year against all competition. 313 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:53,160 You know, and I think it's different. 314 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,280 Like clearly there are a far more talented team than these 315 00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,520 smaller scale programs that they're going up against, but 316 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:02,520 can they play at that level? You know, if you look at what 317 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,840 made Iowa State, for instance, such a metrics darling last 318 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,360 year, it wasn't that they just won a bunch of games. 319 00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,320 It was that they blew out most of their opponents. 320 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:15,920 And the games that they lost against good opponents, they 321 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:17,760 lost by relatively small margins. 322 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:19,440 There were very few games last year. 323 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,720 In fact, I think there was only one game last year where Iowa 324 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:27,120 State lost by double digits and that was a game at BYU, which 325 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:30,360 didn't hurt them too much because BYU was projected as a 326 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:32,840 really good team by the metrics. So that's that's what I'm saying 327 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,880 with all of this. So if you're, if you're looking 328 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,640 at this schedule and you're saying IU under scheduled, 329 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,680 that's not necessarily true. But for this schedule to be a 330 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:47,080 good one for Indiana, they're going to have to perform above 331 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:49,560 expectations. Because that's what's going to 332 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:52,440 pump their metrics up. And so the table is set to do 333 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,400 that. And now it's just a matter of 334 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:58,440 Indiana and and Mike Woodson and the coaching staff going out and 335 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:01,920 making this happen. And, you know, I'm very 336 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,080 optimistic about the personnel they've got that could make it 337 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:05,840 happen. But that's ultimately the 338 00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:07,960 equation that you have to think about with all of this. 339 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:11,080 I also think there's a separate problem with IU. 340 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:16,560 Like nobody really cares if Iowa State under schedules or to give 341 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,160 you another example, if I told you that, you know, Indiana's 342 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,240 schedule this year, I, I just gave you Indiana schedule. 343 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:28,040 And let's say you throw those teams that I named off in with, 344 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:34,360 let's say the three teams that they play in Atlantis are you 345 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:37,160 know that let's say they play West Virginia in game one. 346 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,120 Let's say they play Gonzaga in game two and then they play 347 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:43,960 Oklahoma in game 3. That's not as good as if they 348 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,080 got to play both Gonzaga and Arizona, but that's still, 349 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:49,320 that's a pretty good collection of teams. 350 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,960 Now let me throw you another schedule out there. 351 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:56,680 If I told you that your your overall games being played were 352 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:03,080 against Howard, Oakland, UNC, Wilmington, Furman, NC State, 353 00:20:03,080 --> 00:20:06,320 Brown, North Carolina, Michigan State, Duke, Creighton in 354 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,880 Missouri, you'd be a lot more excited. 355 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:11,880 That's Kansas's schedule in the non conference. 356 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:14,800 That is a significantly better schedule. 357 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,040 Kansas can do that because Kansas is obviously, you know, 358 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:22,040 a, they're stocked, talented wise, They've been successful 359 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,160 for a long time. I think they're very confident 360 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:26,560 in what they're putting out on the floor. 361 00:20:26,560 --> 00:20:29,080 I don't think that confidence is quite there yet with Indiana. 362 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:32,320 But that schedule I just read off where you've got four or 363 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:36,560 five power conference teams in the mix that you're guaranteed 364 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:38,680 to play. That's what people expect out of 365 00:20:38,680 --> 00:20:41,520 Indiana. And this is where you go back 366 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:46,520 and you look at the last 15 years of Indiana basketball, it 367 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,280 annoys people. And I think reasonably so, given 368 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:53,640 how Indiana likes to present itself as, you know, a, a blue 369 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:56,480 blood and as a top level program, it's annoying that 370 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,160 you've got teams like Kansas playing that type of a schedule. 371 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,680 And it feels like Indiana is far away from playing that type of 372 00:21:03,680 --> 00:21:07,360 schedule. And there's obviously you've got 373 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:09,280 to focus on where you're at at the moment. 374 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:13,600 But I think for a lot of IU fans and a lot of neutral observers, 375 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:16,680 the fact that Indiana isn't playing a tougher schedule 376 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:21,280 regularly and that it's become kind of routine for Indiana to 377 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,560 only have a couple of of clear tests and that's it in the non 378 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,040 conference it, it rubs people the wrong way. 379 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:29,920 And I think that's a perfectly reasonable take. 380 00:21:29,920 --> 00:21:33,160 I mean, Indiana likes to hold itself up and its basketball 381 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:37,920 program up as a, an elite level of basketball, elite level of 382 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,760 program. And you just don't necessarily 383 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:43,080 get that. I, I mean, there's people 384 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:44,760 complaining about that Kansas schedule. 385 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:46,600 Among the Kansas. Fan base that that is in the 386 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:50,440 particularly good schedule that, you know, NC State is, is yes, 387 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,640 they were just in the final four, but that was a fluke. 388 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:57,000 And that, you know, having Brown and Furman and and Oakland on 389 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,720 the schedule isn't necessarily that impressive or Howard. 390 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,160 So this is where perception kind of is something that you battle 391 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:06,600 if you're the IU program, but it's also what you're asking 392 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,040 people to buy. You're asking people to buy for 393 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:13,280 a higher level of schedule, a higher level of perception. 394 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,640 And when that doesn't happen, I think that that is something 395 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:17,120 that's certainly annoying to people. 396 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:21,720 And so at, at some point, I, I think Indiana's got to reset 397 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,600 its, its approach. This is where the stability and 398 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,240 the consistency that we talked about a bunch on this program 399 00:22:28,240 --> 00:22:31,240 regarding IU basketball, this is where it's missed. 400 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:34,200 And I think for a lot of people, the mindset of we need to be 401 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:35,960 playing better teams more regularly. 402 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:39,280 That really goes hand in hand with we need to be a better 403 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:43,200 basketball program that doesn't have these huge dips in form 404 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:45,880 where you have a season like last year where you missed the 405 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,320 NCAA tournament entirely or you have the Archie Miller era where 406 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:51,040 you don't make the NCAA tournament at all. 407 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:55,400 It's like, well, you know, to to be what Indiana claims to be, 408 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:59,280 the scheduling kind of has to come after Indiana gets better. 409 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,000 But the question then becomes, does the schedule end up helping 410 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,360 to make you better? And I would say the one thing 411 00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:07,240 that is to me the most concerning about the non 412 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,160 conference schedule for IU is that they have no true Rd. 413 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:11,760 games. They're not testing themselves 414 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,600 on the road at all. They're all their Rd. games. 415 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,080 All ten of them are going to be played in conference play. 416 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,200 And you're, you know, yes, you've got the neutral site 417 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:25,480 games in the Bahamas. You do worry a little bit about 418 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,120 that, not just in terms of metrics, but in terms of how the 419 00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:31,960 team is getting prepped for tournament play down the road. 420 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:34,800 And while, yes, I know tournaments are played on 421 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:38,000 neutral sites, playing in Rd. environments really does help to 422 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,240 uncover what the character of your team is and how well 423 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:42,480 they're able to play with each other. 424 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,200 So I do think that there's certainly room for criticism 425 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:46,840 there. And I think that those who have 426 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:49,920 noted, as Zach Osterman did in the Indy Star, that there's not 427 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:51,880 much room for air with this schedule. 428 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,760 That's the other big piece. And when I saw this schedule, I 429 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,240 immediately thought, you know, there's a lot of potential and 430 00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,440 this season is is already starting to remind me of this a 431 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:03,840 little bit. But there's a lot of potential 432 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:08,040 for like a 2015, 2016 type of scenario with this Indiana 433 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:09,600 program. And if you remember back to that 434 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:13,640 season, you know, Indiana, I think you can actually make an 435 00:24:13,640 --> 00:24:18,240 argument that their schedule on paper that year looked like it. 436 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,360 Might be slightly better than what Indiana's got coming into 437 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:23,160 this year. They had a couple of of really 438 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,440 terrible teams on that schedule, but they were going to Maui. 439 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:29,800 They had Duke on the road, they had Creighton at home. 440 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:32,560 You know, they were, they had Notre Dame on a neutral site 441 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,520 like there, there was at least a couple of tests away from home 442 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,760 there and then everything went sideways. 443 00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:41,040 You know, they go to Maui, they're playing Wake Forest, who 444 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,480 was not particularly good that year in the first game, they 445 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:46,160 lose that. They beat a pretty bad Saint 446 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:50,240 John's team in the second game. And then they lose to UNLV and 447 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,240 then they lose to Duke. And you know, I think people 448 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,880 forget that, You know, that that IU team, they won the Big 10. 449 00:24:57,880 --> 00:24:59,880 They were 15 and three. I know you didn't forget that. 450 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,120 And they were a five seed in the NCAA tournament. 451 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:05,680 Why were they a five seed? They were a five seed in large 452 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:10,280 part because they didn't really beat that many teams that were 453 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:14,800 notable during that season. I mean, they're they're only a 454 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,920 level victories on Ken Palm that whole year. 455 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,200 Notre Dame was their only non conference A level victory. 456 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:24,440 And that was a neutral site game against the 36th rated team in 457 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,040 the country. You know, they they, they beat 458 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:30,600 Purdue at home, they beat Iowa on the road, they beat Maryland 459 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,680 at home, they beat Michigan on the road, they beat Iowa at 460 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,160 home. I mean, that was essentially the 461 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,920 sum total of their good victories that season. 462 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,800 And that's where I think this season could be quite 463 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,440 fascinating because if you remember, like, there was a lot 464 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:49,840 of heat on Tom Crean coming off of what had been a very 465 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:54,280 disappointing two years in a row in 2013 and, excuse me, 2014. 466 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:58,680 And then 2015 coming into that year when Indiana fell apart in 467 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:03,040 Maui, a lot of people just assumed that the end was nigh 468 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:06,600 for Tom Crean. And it took a very unexpected 469 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,680 run through the Big 10 that year and winning the Big 10 title for 470 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:12,920 everybody. I, I like the, I, I can recall 471 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,560 like being halfway through January and being like, wow, how 472 00:26:15,560 --> 00:26:19,440 is this team six and O 7 and O eight and one in the Big 10? 473 00:26:20,120 --> 00:26:22,960 You know, it, it took a while for people to realize that the 474 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,200 season wasn't going to be a disaster. 475 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:28,560 This season is really fascinating from that 476 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:35,880 perspective because as much as this offseason has been a repair 477 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,320 job, a little bit on the the the perception of where this 478 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,400 particular coaching staff and program are taking the program 479 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,680 because of the success that Indiana had in the transfer 480 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:47,480 portal. And, you know, getting Bryson 481 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:50,640 Tucker is a late recruit. The reality is there's still a 482 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,760 lot of people who are not particularly optimistic about 483 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:57,080 the direction of IU basketball. And people are going to be 484 00:26:57,080 --> 00:26:59,080 watching the metrics closely. They're going to be watching the 485 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,960 performances. You've really put a lot of eggs 486 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,880 in the basket of we're going to perform really well in those 487 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,680 early games and get off to, you know, a hot start and then go to 488 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,240 Atlantis and win at least two out of three games. 489 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,800 And really you got to win your first game in Atlantis because 490 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:15,640 you got to get on the winner side of the bracket. 491 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,560 There's a lot of those kinds of things that you look at and it's 492 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:23,160 kind of like, well, if that doesn't go right, like if what 493 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,920 if Indiana goes and, and they're let's say they're drawn against 494 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,360 Providence in the first game and they they lose that game 495 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:32,200 unexpectedly. Well, now you don't get to play 496 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,520 Gonzaga, you don't get to play Arizona. 497 00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,600 You, you're playing Davidson, you know, you're, you're 498 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,280 playing, you know, West Virginia, who doesn't look like 499 00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:42,720 they're going to be particularly good. 500 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:46,680 I mean, that's, that changes the entire trajectory, not just of 501 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,920 the metrics for IU, but the way that the program is perceived. 502 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:54,280 And a lot of the heat that got turned down or turned off 503 00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,720 because of the successes Indiana had in the portal. 504 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,840 That comes right back, I think. And I think people who already 505 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,680 are concerned about, you know, not knowing where things are 506 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,880 going and are concerned about how the team is going to play 507 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:09,960 those jump back at exactly the wrong time. 508 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,640 And that's really, I think that's going to be what makes 509 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:16,760 this season so fascinating from a fan's perspective, from an 510 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:22,240 observer's perspective, is it is it is really it could go any one 511 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,160 of a number of directions. It could be amazing. 512 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:29,200 And Indiana could be back and, and at a high level, it could be 513 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:33,360 kind of like just doing enough to be in the conversation and 514 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:36,240 then picking up momentum in the Big 10 season. 515 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:39,000 It could be a situation where things kind of go off the rails 516 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,920 and questions start coming down and, you know, it's almost 517 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:46,600 impossible to really say for sure what direction this could 518 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:48,640 go. And it just feels like this 519 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:52,440 schedule, while smart from a metrics perspective, makes 520 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,280 Indiana walk a tightrope in terms of their performance. 521 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,760 Because if they don't come out of the gate swinging, if this 522 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:03,240 group takes longer to mesh or if the offensive systems that were 523 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,520 being used last year that we're creating, you know, frankly, not 524 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:09,800 very exciting or very effective basketball. 525 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,240 If the defense is still not particularly good. 526 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:14,800 If all of those things are are the way Indiana starts the year, 527 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,960 That's both a problem in terms of their positioning for the 528 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,320 NCAA tournament, but it's a larger problem in terms of their 529 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:23,280 positioning in front of the fans. 530 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:27,720 And I do worry about that trajectory, but I'm also 531 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:29,800 fascinated by how all of this plays out. 532 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:34,800 It really is a a novel where we don't know what the plots. 533 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:37,640 Going to be. So that's, that's kind of my 534 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:39,880 take homes from the schedule. We'd love to hear your thoughts 535 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,000 obviously in the comments section. 536 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:46,600 And you know, if you I, I certainly, I would understand 537 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:48,360 anybody's perspective on the schedule. 538 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:51,240 If you think that this makes sense and that this is how 539 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,320 Indiana needs to go, totally get that. 540 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:56,120 If you think that this is a bad way of going about things, I 541 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,080 would totally get that too. So if you're on Spotify and you 542 00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:02,600 haven't used the Q&A section yet, use that. 543 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:06,880 Go to the go to the page of the podcast and you can respond to 544 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:09,480 this particular episode. Let us know your thoughts, I'm 545 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,000 always happy to share those on the show or you can use the sub 546 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:13,880 stack. You can always respond to us on 547 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:15,120 that as well. We'd love to hear from you 548 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:17,200 there. Last thing I want to hit before 549 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,240 I wrap up today was the announcement that came down on 550 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:25,520 Friday that Indiana officially has re upped with Adidas and is 551 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,640 taking less money up front. Zach Osterman had this piece. 552 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:35,280 So just to kind of give you the facts of this deal, this is a 10 553 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:38,680 year extension for IU with Adidas. 554 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:42,680 It's $54 million, but almost all of that is in kind. 555 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:46,280 It's, it's essentially product. So it's a, it's a variety of 556 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:52,800 different apparel and there's also marketing activities that 557 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:57,600 are wrapped. Up in this this is essentially 558 00:30:58,320 --> 00:31:01,960 not a surprise. It's the previous Adidas deal, 559 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,960 according to to Zack's reporting, was worth slightly 560 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:10,760 more annual compensation, but this was changed to focus more 561 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,080 on apparel because that's money Indiana would have to spend 562 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:14,760 anyway. So they might as well get it in 563 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:16,040 in trade. Now. 564 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,080 I know a lot of people were not happy that Indiana resigned with 565 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:21,840 Adidas. And if this is, I think an 566 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:25,720 interesting thing, because the reason why people are upset with 567 00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:29,680 Indiana resigning with Adidas is always it's it's it's kind of 568 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,960 like people say one thing, but I often when I look at the actual 569 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,080 complaints, it tends to appear to be something different. 570 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:42,760 So a lot of the discontent with Adidas has centered on Indiana's 571 00:31:42,760 --> 00:31:47,200 lack of centrality, I guess, in what Adidas does, or at least 572 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:48,800 the least the perception they're in. 573 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:53,480 You know, it feels like Adidas has focused on a particular set 574 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:58,560 of winners within their group. And, you know, it's been Kansas 575 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:01,800 or it was Louisville, a couple of other teams in that mix. 576 00:32:02,200 --> 00:32:06,160 And there's also been a lot of negative perceptions. 577 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:09,240 And I think the perceptions are are borne out often about, you 578 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,280 know, how Adidas has not seemed to take Indiana's brand 579 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:15,920 particularly seriously in terms of the types of uniforms that 580 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:17,400 they've produced. Like a lot of that gets 581 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:18,840 mentioned. People have talked about that 582 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:21,280 being a disadvantage in recruiting and there's a desire 583 00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,680 that Indiana go to Nike or or Jordan brand or things of that 584 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:27,200 nature. Now, a lot of the, the day by 585 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:30,720 day complaints about Adidas are more about the lack of available 586 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:35,600 consumer product, the the lack of jerseys, the lack of, of 587 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,360 you'll see things that are being modeled by athletes and it's 588 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,440 like, oh, that, that's amazing. Where can we get that? 589 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:42,720 And then the answer is you can't. 590 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:45,280 It's not available for sale. It's only available to the 591 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:48,480 athletes. The lack of like soccer apparel, 592 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:51,960 we all these kinds of things that it feels like other schools 593 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:53,280 are getting in, Indiana's not getting. 594 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:57,640 And I think there's certainly some truth to that, but I get 595 00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:58,520 it. I think it's important for 596 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:02,840 people to understand why, even though Adidas I don't think has 597 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:09,280 been a particularly good partner in terms of, of providing fans 598 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:14,800 what they want or doing a great job of promoting IU as a premier 599 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:18,840 brand. The latter part is I think an 600 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:21,040 important thing to keep in mind. It's like part of the reason 601 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:23,760 they haven't been promoting IU as a premier brand in athletics 602 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,600 is that IU has not been a premier brand in athletics, at 603 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,640 least not in basketball and football. 604 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:33,400 Football, especially Indiana has, while they've been better 605 00:33:34,080 --> 00:33:38,200 over the course of the last decade, they they don't have the 606 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:41,760 history or the depth of fan interest and they don't have a 607 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:43,680 lot of juice on the national stage. 608 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:48,040 What little time they had there in 2019 and 2020 they failed to 609 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,600 capitalize on. And so, you know, if you look at 610 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:53,840 things from the standpoint of, well, why doesn't Indiana go 611 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,600 with another apparel company, It's because nobody else is 612 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,920 really interested right now. And you know, from from my 613 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,720 understanding of this process, this was this was not a 614 00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,200 situation where there were multiple bidders in Indiana was 615 00:34:06,200 --> 00:34:08,440 like, we're going back with Adidas because, you know, that's 616 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:10,440 it. You know, my understanding is 617 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:13,600 that that there wasn't a lot else out there for Indiana in 618 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:15,960 terms of who was interested in Indiana. 619 00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:21,080 And this again, it is kind of like the, the program building 620 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:22,800 and scheduling thing that we talked about. 621 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:24,440 This is the chicken versus egg thing. 622 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:32,159 Again, where I think IU fans and the IU marketing, the, the, the 623 00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:34,880 way that IU puts the program out there and the way that the 624 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:38,400 program is generally publicly perceived, at least by IU fans, 625 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,800 is that it is in the conversation with the top brands 626 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,159 in the country. And the performance just hasn't 627 00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:46,719 borne that out. And, and again, you know, you 628 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:51,040 look at what Indiana's done in basketball over the course of 629 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:54,960 the, the, you know, almost a decade now and you know, 630 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:59,400 there's, there's one Big 10 title in basketball in there and 631 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:02,320 there are four NCAA tournament appearances. 632 00:35:02,720 --> 00:35:07,160 And that's, I mean that again, we've talked about this on the 633 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:09,280 show a lot. Like what about that is 634 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:13,000 attractive to an apparel manufacturer or, you know, an 635 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,680 athletics marketing company, which is really what Adidas is 636 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:18,400 like. Why would that be held at at the 637 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:20,760 highest levels of their promotion and marketing? 638 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:24,120 And you know, you, I think you throw that on the apparel front 639 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,680 as well. There's plenty of basketball 640 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,000 stuff available for IU. Maybe, you know, you certainly 641 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,360 would like to see some more and maybe some more unique designs, 642 00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:34,480 but you've also got a group of people who don't want anything 643 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:38,160 other than the very traditional approaches to IU basketball 644 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:41,000 apparel. So you're you're limited there. 645 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,080 I know this sounds like I'm taking Adidas's side. 646 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:44,800 I'm not. I'm just trying to explain the 647 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:48,080 mentality. You've got a football program 648 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:51,240 that most people in the IU fan base don't particularly care 649 00:35:51,240 --> 00:35:52,640 about. And the hope is that that will 650 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,320 change. But the number of people that 651 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,000 care about IU basketball is way, way proportionately higher than 652 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,360 what you have caring about IU football. 653 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:04,760 And that is noticed, you know, that is that is not something 654 00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,400 that is missed in the in the process of evaluating these 655 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,040 things and the rest of the sports. 656 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:13,520 You have die hard fans that are on social media who talk about 657 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:17,160 wanting XY and Z as you have everywhere, but the numbers just 658 00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:18,720 are not there. You're not getting a lot of 659 00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:21,160 sales generation. You're the the interest that's 660 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:24,240 being expressed on the Internet is generally not the interest 661 00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:26,960 that's being expressed at the actual points of sale. 662 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:32,000 So, you know, I think. A lot of people were envisioning 663 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,000 a scenario where Indiana would have left Adidas and gone a 664 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:36,720 different direction. And, and it's not like they've 665 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:38,800 been Adidas forever. They, you know, they, there was 666 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:43,200 a period where they were Nike and Nike did a, a pretty good 667 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:46,160 job with that. But Indiana and Adidas have, I 668 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:49,120 think, found a comfortable partnership where Adidas is 669 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,240 willing to give a certain amount to IU. 670 00:36:51,720 --> 00:36:55,560 And IU has yet to be able to capitalize and and raise the bar 671 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:59,760 on their premier programs to the level where it makes commercial 672 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:02,280 sense for other organizations to come in and bid on it. 673 00:37:02,680 --> 00:37:09,800 So ultimately, this is, I think, in general, probably an issue 674 00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:12,520 that is overblown in the big scheme of things. 675 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:18,040 And I think it's also an area that's likely going to change 676 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:19,480 anyway. And Zach brings this up a little 677 00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:25,760 bit in terms of the, you know, the overall setup, not just in 678 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,920 terms of something like name, image and likeness and how 679 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:32,440 Adidas now fits into the mix there and how Adidas has been 680 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:34,440 signing. I use athletes like Trace 681 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:38,720 Jackson Davis to, to NIL deals, but also in terms of the idea 682 00:37:38,720 --> 00:37:42,200 that the licensing processes have to change the whole 683 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:45,520 business of college athletics and apparel and, and the way 684 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:48,400 that the relationship between these companies, you know, it's 685 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:49,680 altered. And, and I think what you're 686 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:53,360 getting is a situation where whether it's an IL or some of 687 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:57,320 these other items, there is some value in having a consistent 688 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:00,800 relationship with a partner, even if you're not particularly 689 00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:03,440 satisfied with all of the aspects of that relationship. 690 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,720 Rather than trying to jump into a spot where you're going to a 691 00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:10,120 new company who might not, they might care even less about the 692 00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:12,200 relationship because they've already got existing 693 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:14,440 relationships that they're having to maintain. 694 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,560 And again, the way Indiana would fix that would be to really 695 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:20,600 raise the bar in terms of performance, either in 696 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:22,480 basketball or in football. I've heard a lot of people say, 697 00:38:22,480 --> 00:38:24,680 you know, I mean, well, the reason Indiana's not getting, 698 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,200 you know, another company like Nike to come in and bid is that 699 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:29,320 their football program isn't good. 700 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,360 And that's part of it. But again, if you're going to 701 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,240 hang your hat on basketball and men's basketball, you've got to 702 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:35,800 be really good at men's basketball. 703 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,400 And Indiana just hasn't been they, they just, they, they, 704 00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:43,480 they have not been good enough to, to make that their primary 705 00:38:43,680 --> 00:38:47,240 area of focus. And so you, you just got to hope 706 00:38:47,240 --> 00:38:50,920 that Indiana has a really good season this year and is able to 707 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,920 capitalize on that and build on it so that the next time the 708 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:58,560 negotiations roll around, you know, eight years from now or 709 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,760 whenever that is when we get to the tail end of this deal, that 710 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:04,680 Indiana has been able to leverage their brand back up in 711 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:08,440 basketball to where they are legitimately a top 10 brand and 712 00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:11,000 are playing as such and are having success as such. 713 00:39:11,200 --> 00:39:13,280 Until that happens, I don't think you're going to see a lot 714 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:15,480 of change on this front. And you could even make an 715 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,840 argument that given the lack of success that Indiana's had in 716 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:21,280 both of the sports, that that really matter to these apparel 717 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:24,000 companies, that they got the deal that they did, that it 718 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,160 wasn't worse. So that would be probably I 719 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:32,160 think the best, the most accurate way of evaluating how 720 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,320 all of this is setting up. But it'll be interesting to see 721 00:39:35,520 --> 00:39:41,320 if the overall relationship between athletic departments and 722 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:45,560 apparel companies changes as the relationship between athletes 723 00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:48,400 and apparel companies and college athletic departments 724 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:53,800 change as athletes really start to generate more NIL dollars or 725 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:58,000 for themselves as as they command more NIL dollars and as 726 00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:01,320 colleges and their athletic departments are looking around 727 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:03,360 and trying to find a way to pay for all of this. 728 00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:06,560 You know, that's I think where you're going to see the 729 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:10,280 relationship with whoever your apparel provider is really 730 00:40:10,280 --> 00:40:14,200 matter more and more. And that's I think a really 731 00:40:14,200 --> 00:40:17,240 fascinating area because we don't really know how these 732 00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:21,760 apparel companies are truly going to enter and, and maintain 733 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:25,520 themselves in the NIL era. You know so much of of the 734 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:28,960 sponsorship of. Of programs over the course of 735 00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:32,360 time and the money that's been spent by Nike and Adidas and 736 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:36,040 Under Armour, it's been because you couldn't directly pay the 737 00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:37,360 players. Not that it didn't happen. 738 00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:40,760 I mean that was the whole basis of that, that scandal that 739 00:40:40,760 --> 00:40:44,680 wasn't, or the, the quasi scandal that that engulfed 740 00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:46,960 Louisville and Auburn and and Arizona. 741 00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,960 You know, a lot of that was based around this idea that, you 742 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:52,120 know, we're, we're under the table paying the players, but we 743 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:55,840 have to pay the, the programs. You know, for the longest time, 744 00:40:55,840 --> 00:41:00,600 that was how you got a, a player potentially into your orbit for, 745 00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:03,520 you know, if you've got a pro prospect and, and they're 746 00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:08,720 playing for a school that's tied to your apparel company, you're, 747 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:12,160 you've got a potentially better chance of, of signing them down 748 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:15,560 the line if they're a pro now you can just do it directly. 749 00:41:15,640 --> 00:41:19,240 And so I do really wonder from an environmental perspective 750 00:41:19,240 --> 00:41:21,960 within the the business model of college athletics, how that 751 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:24,920 changes all of these equations because there is still some 752 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:30,200 value in attaching your brand to a an athletic program that's 753 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:34,000 successful. There's probably less value in 754 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,600 attaching it to a brand that isn't successful or isn't at a 755 00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:40,960 particular level of success. And so that becomes the 756 00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:43,400 challenge for a lot of programs. And I think Indiana squarely in 757 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:46,400 the middle of that. Again, Indiana's aspirational to 758 00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:49,480 be at that top level, but the actual results that we've seen 759 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:51,960 have come nowhere near that over the past decade. 760 00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:56,400 So anyway, hopefully you all have a wonderful weekend. 761 00:41:56,400 --> 00:41:59,360 We'll be ramping things up here again in a couple of weeks. 762 00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:01,800 It's always a little slow around here during the summer, but we 763 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:04,640 appreciate you sticking with us. Thanks to all of you for joining 764 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:07,280 us here on the show. Thanks to our sponsors at Home 765 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:09,800 Field Apparel. Be sure to check out the rest of 766 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:13,600 the Back Home network this upcoming week and we'll catch 767 00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:15,000 you folks. On the flip side, I'm Galen 768 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,200 Clavio for Crimson cast Bring back the Bison. 769 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:17,840 That's all, everybody.