I think Devon Dumes could be that go-to-guy. He just needs to have a little more confidence that will come whenever he gets a break out game in the Big Ten.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/track…

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/track…

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/track…

Would anyone be pissed or upset if Rivers little bro decommitts on his verbal to Florida and heads to IU? mmmm do we want to deal with that again, but geez the kid scored 46 the other night with 8 3's

Cheer.

In power boating you start at A and you drive like hell to B. Being at B is the goal

In sailing you are at A but the sport is the “process” of getting to B that is the enjoyment or goal.

Most of us recognized before the season that this year was going to be measured as a journey or process and not as to whether we are at point B yet. Controlling our “power boat” instincts is difficult to be sure.

I actually believe this year is good for Crean and staff as it helps them sharpen coaching skills.

Noticing improvement in our teamplay will be difficult because I think improvement will be very subtle. Look for new stuff like:

1. we get an open shot in the half court offense, and we take it w/o hesitation ( forget if it goes in )
2. we donot back down or quit
3. play to win vs play not to lose, ie we take some risks to win
4. new defenses like half court traps or zones ( forget if it works )
5. new player skills like:
– Roth fakes a 3 , drives and pulls up for a mid range
– Williams and Story drive to the basket hard
– Pritchard uses his right hand to score , or does not foul out in B10 play
– Dumas runs the point
– Jones knocks someone else down
6. team makes grades and no one throws a potted plant at Crean

what else ? ……….we are not used to measuring the journey

While each game has had it's improvements and regressions, I think overall it's been a progression. I expect games in which there was/is little improvement, no improvement or even regression and remain confident continued improvement will be the norm. I suspect we will see at least one or two horrifying games in the conference season.

Brace yourself for them. I suspect one will be Purdue and it's likely Illinois will be up to crush us. Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State have shown they are capable of high caliber play and could lay a severe beating on us.

While there will be setbacks, these guys have shown they will continue to work hard.

To me, reducing the turnover rate is something that can be coached (during a game) with an experienced team. This team's turnover rate is simply a factor of inexperience and reducing the turnover is a product of teaching, not coaching. As Coach teaches (in practice) these players through the season, and they learn and mature, we should see the turnover rate drop. It's going to take patience.

Who else is playing this many freshmen this many minutes? It makes sense we're the fifth worse team for turnovers.

Did you see the stats on the freshmen displayed during the game? I don't recall what they all were (one was points or minutes/game which I think we were first), and the others we were 2nd and there were at least 4 or 5 stats. That either means we've got some great freshmen or we're playing alot of freshmen alot of minutes.

I thought we were going to see something from Daniel Moore in this game. He started out well, driving and dishing, a layup, a three pointer. Then when the 3-2 zone came in, we had no offense. You can bet they're practicing againse a 3-2 in practice this week.

I am hopeful that well see these guys develop skills offensively and defensively this year. I would also hope that as the year goes on, we'll see some offensive consistency develop.

Last night on TBTN they ran the 1981 NCAA campionship game. That was when basketball was really basketball, no shot clock, no three point baskets, Carolina four corner offense, etc. It will take a long time to undo the Samson mess, but yes, we will get back to our traditional IN. hoops.

1) I don't know if I would trust one person with my life to dribble the ball from baseline to basline. VJ can't dribble, Dumes can't dribble well, Moore is spastic and if he gets it up court ends up throwing it away. VJ and Dumes should spend every practice dribbling because Dumes could be decent if he had a handle. I think VJ should red shirt next year and spend the year dribbling and getting better.
2) we can barely jump above the rim on rebounds. from a standing position under the basket jumping for rebounds its amazing how little our players can jump. off season needs to be spent on some explosive movement for Pritchard.

It is clear that he would have shared PT with Sapp, Wright, Freeman and maybe CLark and only Sapp is a SR.

So while I agree he probably left to better showcase his talent for 2 years you make it sound like he would ride the bench due to not good enough to play. That was not true last year and would not have been true this year.

Stare at his ONE turnover a game for awhile and think about our team this year. How much would that be worth ? Add to that tough defense at the point. How much is that worth ?

Then you got your answer. Thanks for the question . I now feel much better about next year