Comments on: ITH Super Happy Fun Time Player Profile: Tom Pritchard

By: Ben_M

Ben_M — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:44:48 +0000

Any predictions for this year? I'm saying 18-14 with an NIT bid. I also think Maurice Creek will win freshman of the year.

By: Ben_M

Ben_M — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:44:48 +0000

Any predictions for this year? I'm saying 18-14 with an NIT bid. I also think Maurice Creek will win freshman of the year.

By: Name

Name — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:49:19 +0000

i think my favorite part about this whole story is the dude on the bottom right corner of this picture. thats the guy we were giving so much crap to from the student section that he basically took himself out of the game. great memory from a not so great season. sooooo excited for hoosier hysteria.

By: Justin D.

Justin D. — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:11:26 +0000

Is bawa a no-go or what?

By: IU Mike

IU Mike — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:16:27 +0000

I think the the pressure of not being able to get into foul trouble did hurt him last year also and hopefully that will not be near as big a problem as it was last year. Of all the talk about what or who will end being the big suprise or one of the biggest unforeseen positives I don't recall anyone listing TP as one of them but that might very well be what turns out happening.

By: MillaRed

MillaRed — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:28:31 +0000

I agree with you Diesel. When we had 3 guys on the floor terrified to take a 15 footer the defense sagged on TP.

I think the poor kid hit a wall. He was asked to do so much and he's not real athletic in the first place.

With the depth we have this year he will be able to stay fresh and not have to worry about fouling out every game.

Personally, I just think CTC is trying to motivate the kid.

By: aerialM

aerialM — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:37:22 +0000

he was simply asked to do too much last year & with an improved cast around him, I fully expect TP to continue his development. He'll be pushed for playing time, pushed in practice and Crean's comments thus far show us that they expect more from him than simply a repeat of last year. This is a guy that can average 10/11 points a game as well as 8/9rebound a game. Will be an all Big Ten guy? Probably not. But he's a banger and a grinder and can be a solid contributor for all four years. And who knows, by the time he is a senior…

By: stevealford

stevealford — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:57:00 +0000

Pritch will not be unseated by Elston or Capo. I look for very big things from him this year. Elston should be starting at the 4 beside him. Elston or Capo are not big enough for the 5. We would be eaten alive in the big ten with a starting center of Elston or Capo, even though unfortunately Crean does like to go small.

By: GFDave

GFDave — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:47:23 +0000

I think Pritch will definitely benefit from having better talent around him. But I hope his game improves too. Last year he could only score right at the rim, usually on that up and under move. There's that old saying in basketball that if you only have one move you really don't have any so this year I'd really like to see him be able to hit short jumpers too.

Also, his touch around the rim needs to soften as I seem to remember a lot of the bunnies he shot rolling off the rim. But the kid worked his butt off and gave what he had under tough conditions so I don't want to sound down on him, cause I'm not.

By: Diesel

Diesel — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:33:46 +0000

"Pritchard did disappear some games last season, particularly in Big Ten games where more experienced and skilled opponents knew to key on him because we didn’t have much else"

This is a very accurate statement of last season for Pritch. I argued with so many people last year who would say that Big Tom was worthless, where I really felt teams could just key on him inside. He was pretty much doubled any time he touched the ball last season from Taber's man or Danny Moore's guy, we just had so many guys on the floor last year who were not scoring threats. I think Pritch has a much better year just by the simple ability to keep teams defensiviely honest with our improved talent.