Comments on: ITH Super Happy Fun Time Player Profile: Jeremiah Rivers

By: Marcus Gresham

Marcus Gresham — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:46:51 +0000

I don't remember specifics of who won what, but could the reference to “three Big East Championships” be including regular season and tournament championships? If that's the case, he could have been a part of three.

By: Marcus Gresham

Marcus Gresham — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:46:51 +0000

By: MillaRed

MillaRed — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:23:53 +0000

Well said Gleas. I don't expect him to be an All-Big Ten performer. But I won't be shocked if he is 3rd team in the category.

Call me crazy, but i just cannot see a kid with this size and handle throwing the ball away 6 times a game! How hard was that too watch? Good point guards have a 2:1 turnover ratio or better. I think he'll do that and more this season. Did we have any guards with more assists than turnovers last year? Let me know because I doubt that happened.

By: MillaRed

MillaRed — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:18:52 +0000

We're both fond of Jordan HoosierGirl trust me. The fact we have both makes me very happy. Hulls just doesn't have the experience that JR has at this stage. I think the fact he has someone like JR to learn from is huge because it appears he is a great leader.

The future at PG likes bright for IU. CTC obviously made that position at priority.

By: GFDave

GFDave — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:13:29 +0000

Exactly. You nailed it.

By: BGleas

BGleas — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:11:47 +0000

I don't think people are expecting him to be a star. We're just expecting he'll be a leader, calming influence and reliable point guard that plays good D, cuts down on team turnovers and shows improved offense from his time at GU.

By: gregmquinn

gregmquinn — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:08:13 +0000

I look forward to seeing some experience on the floor. Rivers and Dumes along with all of the playing time Pritchard got last year should be a big improvement. I am one of the only Hoosier fans who didn't mind losing out on Irving because I think Hulls is going to be an all-time great Hoosier. I hope Rivers abuses him in practice for a couple of years and helps elevate his winning attitude and toughness.

By: HairyTutchens

HairyTutchens — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:46:40 +0000

Regarding Crean's comment that Rivers won 3 Big East championships – I was at Crean's speech to the student body and I interpreted that comment as including regular season and conference tournament championships. So, in one of the seasons that Rivers was at GU, the Hoyas won the regular season championship and the conference tournament at MSG.

By: tberry

tberry — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:37:54 +0000

I have to admit that I am a little concerned because I believe that past performance points to future performance.

Maybe he will be better than what we had but I doubt that he will be a star.

In fact, that is why we should fire Lynch....lousy past performance that has lead to lousy current performance.

By: socalhoosier2005

socalhoosier2005 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:41:29 +0000

Correction: Crean is correct when he says that Rivers won 3 Big East titles; Georgetown won two regular season titles (2007 and 2008) and one tournament title (2007), so that's probably what he means.

By: HoosierGirl

HoosierGirl — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:20:53 +0000

Hulls has to come close to Rivers “from a winning perspective”. I know it is on a high school stage, but is still worth noting.

By: Hoosier Clarion

Hoosier Clarion — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:20:00 +0000

His year under Coach Crean’s eyes means IU will have far fewer turnovers, mature leadership, strong defense at the point and crisp accurate passing using good floor vision. Some gravy might include strong to the bucket, good free throw shooting % and clutch baskets from outside. He is a Senior in years so I am not expecting anything less with his pedigree.

By: MillaRed

MillaRed — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:09:26 +0000

I think when we need to look at the bigger picture here guys. Rivers was an underclassman on a Final Four team. He's lucky he played at all.

Many power houses in the NCAA this season have juniors to be who rarely saw the court last year that were McDonald's All-American's!!!

The two projected starters in Louisville that got into trouble (in Indiana) last week averaged what? 3 and 5 points a game last year? Louisville is a Sweet 16 team easy.

My point is, throw away the stats folks. This kid is the real deal. No one is taking his job. He will face every challenge this year and won't flinch. Hell, he probably has played open gym with 50 NBA players. Rivers will be HUGE for the Hoosiers. He is our best incoming player from a "winning" perspective.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:43:07 +0000

And wqe know he can dance!

By: BGleas

BGleas — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:24:00 +0000

He wasn't around Celtics practices very often, although I bet he was around the Magic practices when he was younger. But, just having a Dad that played in the NBA and is a successful coach is a good thing.

I'm with Jerry's past analysis that Rivers cutting the TO's and better defense at the top will result in a certain amount of ppg and add several wins this season. He might not be the best player on the team, but he'll be a calming influence and the leader/PG this team lacked last season.

By: Name

Name — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:27:00 +0000

I think when he sees a dramatic increase in minutes per game, he just might develop a scorer’s mentality. Something he did not have at Gtown.

By: Duder

Duder — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:19:00 +0000

Practicing against poor competition is irrelevant. Is he an NBA superstar because he plays with Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce? Is he as good as Rajon Rondo because they play one on one?

He played 18 minutes on a great team that made it to the Final Four and played his role. If he plays his different role for us we will be contenda’s

By: CreamandCrimson

CreamandCrimson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:58:39 +0000

I understand the concerns. However, I think we need to put what he does for the Hoosiers into perspective. He brings a winning attitude and an on-court leadership. He brings steadiness with the ball (turnovers and empty possessions kill you, Rivers will help eliminate those). He is a lock down defender.

Anyone suggesting that Rivers is an 1st team Big Ten point guard is kidding themselves. However, he is a big upgrade and his presence on the floor will help the rest of the lineup. Whatever points he provides will be gravy.

By: stevealford

stevealford — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:56:51 +0000

By the time conference play comes around , I expect Hulls to be replace him in the lineup. He is a good defensive player , but his offense is very bad unless he has GREATLY improved since Georgetown. Hulls is a better ball handler, better shooter, and better passer. Rivers should add great depth to our bench.

By: IUMIKE1

IUMIKE1 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:09:28 +0000

The “he hasn't been going up against teammates with alot of expercience in practice” angle has not been talked about alot if at all and is a very good point. Then there is the ” there is no subistute for actual game time expercience” thing and so on and so on. There should be no denying that the fact that his dad is who he is helps in more ways than what we probably realize. Just being around his practices and players cannot hurt. Maybe the most reassuring thing is the amount of time Crean has had with him before he hits the floor. He can't help but have gotten better and more ready to go on day 1. This is but one question of many that we will not start to get answers to until the opening tip of the first game. Unfortunatly what there is no question about is that if he is not what we think he will be we will struggle again at that position at least for good while in the beginning.