@iunorth Grant Gelon and Tim Priller NEVER would have had the types of games Wang has already had against quality competition. You don't have to like the addition and it's very fair to have concerns about him but comparisons to guys like Priller and Gelon are going way too far, in my opinion. Could Tim Priller have ever scored double-digits against NCAA Tournament teams (Santa Clara and Saint Mary's)? I'll answer...no.
I've already spent more time defending this guy than I care to...Wang is not a good player but he's not a glorified walk-on.
@openwheel As we sit here today, it sure seems like the type of last minute addition that has plagued IU basketball since the mid 90s. When we need athletes, that have an opportunity to improve and help in games, but would certainly help defensively in practices, if nothing else... we get guys like this. This has Priller/Gelon vibes, to me. Those types of guys work as 12th, 13th, men on already established rosters. But IU still needs quality depth. Very wary this guy provides that. He's tall. He can shoot a little bit when open. That doesn't constitute quality depth in the B10. We need athletes.
Hell, Wang's teammate, David Fuchs, would be a MUCH better fit for what we need.
And while I obviously know CDD, and the staff, know more about college bball and what they need, than any of us do on this board. Like Mushroom, I'm getting wary of having to acknowledge that when physical, B10 ready and capable post depth, is a factual, obvious need that through 1.75 portal recruiting cycles...its not obvious CDD and his staff see a ton of importance in it.
They don't have to be 7'... there are tons, and tons of very athletic, very competitive, very active 6-6 to 6-8 athletes, up and down the college basketball divisions, that would fill a better role, for this IU team, than Wang will.
I have no idea how much money we have spent but I am guessing we had to way overspend on our top three or four guys to get them. I am guessing there is not alot of money left but that is just my guess. Well I do this the roster is better depth will likely be an issue again.
@openwheel As we sit here today, it sure seems like the type of last minute addition that has plagued IU basketball since the mid 90s. When we need athletes, that have an opportunity to improve and help in games, but would certainly help defensively in practices, if nothing else... we get guys like this. This has Priller/Gelon vibes, to me. Those types of guys work as 12th, 13th, men on already established rosters. But IU still needs quality depth. Very wary this guy provides that. He's tall. He can shoot a little bit when open. That doesn't constitute quality depth in the B10. We need athletes.
Hell, Wang's teammate, David Fuchs, would be a MUCH better fit for what we need.
And while I obviously know CDD, and the staff, know more about college bball and what they need, than any of us do on this board. Like Mushroom, I'm getting wary of having to acknowledge that when physical, B10 ready and capable post depth, is a factual, obvious need that through 1.75 portal recruiting cycles...its not obvious CDD and his staff see a ton of importance in it.
They don't have to be 7'... there are tons, and tons of very athletic, very competitive, very active 6-6 to 6-8 athletes, up and down the college basketball divisions, that would fill a better role, for this IU team, than Wang will.
Very well said, especially since you were nice to me.
Every coach we've had since Knight, with the exception of Sampson, has had some personality quirks and/or blind spots. CDD could be par for the course. For the last 20+ years, when things on their face seemed to make no sense, they truly made no sense. But when we point it out, we have to say "Of course I could be wrong..." first. It's kind of silly.
I don't buy "we're broke" as an excuse, as there are many guys ranked 75-150 or even unranked, who look like prospects, who are going to middling programs. Check out Okku Federiko, a 6 8 210 lb wing from Drake to just committed to Northwestern, as an example.
I hope the staff is serious about these last 3 positions. I hope they are not satisfied, but I fear they are. Prove us all wrong, and we won't question you in the future.
There is the possibility that with Wangs good hands and some good (but slowish) post moves, plus a shot, that DeVries sees something he is looking for. And he won't be a stiff but will be very useful in limited minutes.
Or, maybe not. 😉
I agree our track record isn't too good. I'd rather have a fierce defender at 6'7-6-8 . But those guys don't grow on trees either even if they aren't scorers.
And, seems like we don't have him yet anyway.
,
I just figured it out.
DeVries looked, and thought this kid is no slower than the foot speed of my boy, but is bigger and taller.
Case closed, bring him on!
There is the possibility that with Wangs good hands and some good (but slowish) post moves, plus a shot, that DeVries sees something he is looking for. And he won't be a stiff but will be very useful in limited minutes.
Or, maybe not. 😉
I agree our track record isn't too good. I'd rather have a fierce defender at 6'7-6-8 . But those guys don't grow on trees either even if they aren't scorers.
And, seems like we don't have him yet anyway.
,
You mean a Josh Harris type?
A bit unfair I know because we only saw him play on the overseas trip.
@gros-louis We'll see. I'm usually much more positive about these types of things. We just need strength and athleticism to close the roster out. If Wang is relied upon to give 8-10 minutes, in B10 play... well obviously I've tipped my hand on how I think that will go.
There probably aren't a ton of available 6-9 guys out there that are better shooters than he is. I'm sure I was way too low with my Priller/Gelon comparison. And that blew my argument. I just don't think he moves the needle, and makes us any better. And I suspect if we're healthy, he won't play those 8-10 minutes TJ is referring to.
I appreciate the metrics... but as we saw with guys like Bailey, none of those end up meaning anything when they're playing against B10 front court guys. I'd MUCH, MUCH rather have a 6-6, strong, athlete, in nearly all situations, playing alongside Sherrell, if and when needed, than a 6-9 guy that has decent shooting form, made shots sometimes, but doesn't defend or rebound or pass or handle the ball all that well.
I hope the staff is serious about these last 3 positions. I hope they are not satisfied, but I fear they are. Prove us all wrong, and we won't question you in the future.
Seriously? I've read this closing blurb a dozen times and EVERY time I laugh out loud. In what bizarro world or alternate reality do you reckon that the staff of a program like IU isn't serious about roster positions? A reality where a second year head coach that eked out a record 4 games over .500 and missed the NCAA is somehow satisfied with 3 spots left to fill? A world where they give any sort of shiites or fecks about the "questioning" of some random "us or we" clamoring to be proven wrong?
I'm not sure what leads you to believe any of this, but if it's drugs I'll have what you're having...
A good friend will bail you out of jail, but your best friend will be sitting next to you in the cell saying "that was f***ing awesome"
Basketball fans (and I'm no exception) enjoy discussing and bantering amongst themselves regarding players and potential players. Some 15 or so years ago there was a highly heralded IU recruiting class that went by the name of "The Movement." Hanner Mosquera Perea, Jeremy Hollowell, Yogi Ferrell, Ron Patterson, and Peter Jurkin were going to lead Indiana basketball back to the promised land. Yogi went on to have a fantastic career as a Hoosier but the rest of the cast was disappointing.
I mentioned "The Movement" because that class symbolizes why players can't be hyped too much. The portal class for 2026 looks very promising but in the end it will depend on how well DeVries can get the players to perform. As it now stands I'd say all needs to go perfectly well with no surprises for the current roster to finish 6th in the Big 10.
If Wang becomes a Hoosier, I believe it's mandatory to add a player to the roster that can play the 5 position. Wang is not a terrible player but he's no Kevin Durant, Grant Gelon, Tim Priller, 3 times worse than Ben Humrichous or someone that can play the 5 spot.
(Would have been crazy if Wang was a member of "The Movement" along with Peter Jurkin.)
Would have been crazy if Wang was a member of "The Movement" along with Peter Jurkin.
A good friend will bail you out of jail, but your best friend will be sitting next to you in the cell saying "that was f***ing awesome"
Basketball fans (and I'm no exception) enjoy discussing and bantering amongst themselves regarding players and potential players. Some 15 or so years ago there was a highly heralded IU recruiting class that went by the name of "The Movement." Hanner Mosquera Perea, Jeremy Hollowell, Yogi Ferrell, Ron Patterson, and Peter Jurkin were going to lead Indiana basketball back to the promised land. Yogi went on to have a fantastic career as a Hoosier but the rest of the cast was disappointing.
I mentioned "The Movement" because that class symbolizes why players can't be hyped too much. The portal class for 2026 looks very promising but in the end it will depend on how well DeVries can get the players to perform. As it now stands I'd say all needs to go perfectly well with no surprises for the current roster to finish 6th in the Big 10.
If Wang becomes a Hoosier, I believe it's mandatory to add a player to the roster that can play the 5 position. Wang is not a terrible player but he's no Kevin Durant, Grant Gelon, Tim Priller, 3 times worse than Ben Humrichous or someone that can play the 5 spot.
(Would have been crazy if Wang was a member of "The Movement" along with Peter Jurkin.)
I even bought into the movement hype. Even jurkin was hyped up quite a bit and he never even ended up playing. Every class gets hyped but that one was really hyped.
I just figured it out.
DeVries looked, and thought this kid is no slower than the foot speed of my boy, but is bigger and taller.
Case closed, bring him on!
This one is a done deal folks. David Lee Roth has spoken!
Those were crazy days. Ron Patterson never played a minute for IU as he couldn't get academically qualified. Jurkin scored 2 points in 11 games for the Hoosiers and then transferred to East Tennessee State. When I last checked, Peter was doing some type of coaching at ETSU. On Perea I remember he was a good dunker but that's about it. Crean gave Perea a couple game suspension after a highly publicized DUI incident.Basketball fans (and I'm no exception) enjoy discussing and bantering amongst themselves regarding players and potential players. Some 15 or so years ago there was a highly heralded IU recruiting class that went by the name of "The Movement." Hanner Mosquera Perea, Jeremy Hollowell, Yogi Ferrell, Ron Patterson, and Peter Jurkin were going to lead Indiana basketball back to the promised land. Yogi went on to have a fantastic career as a Hoosier but the rest of the cast was disappointing.
I mentioned "The Movement" because that class symbolizes why players can't be hyped too much. The portal class for 2026 looks very promising but in the end it will depend on how well DeVries can get the players to perform. As it now stands I'd say all needs to go perfectly well with no surprises for the current roster to finish 6th in the Big 10.
If Wang becomes a Hoosier, I believe it's mandatory to add a player to the roster that can play the 5 position. Wang is not a terrible player but he's no Kevin Durant, Grant Gelon, Tim Priller, 3 times worse than Ben Humrichous or someone that can play the 5 spot.
(Would have been crazy if Wang was a member of "The Movement" along with Peter Jurkin.)
I even bought into the movement hype. Even jurkin was hyped up quite a bit and he never even ended up playing. Every class gets hyped but that one was really hyped.
"The Movement" may have been one of the factors that got Crean moved out of IU.