Expectations are not too far from reality. I was really disappointed in the UK game, and the Iowa game. That's all so far. However, what is disappointing is the fact that they will need mostly a complete rebuild next year. It could end well, but next year should be difficult, even though perhaps we will enjoy seeing their new players.
@tr32 I feel the same way as you about the UK and Iowa game, then I added the Nebraska game. They are what I expected after seeing the roster. I knew there had to a 3rd or 4th to score points because B10 teams would try to shut off or slow down Wilkerson and Devries. I understand why but expected Sisley to get more minutes than he has. As far as rebuild next year, I think DD will still bring 4 portal transfers to add to the returning players and incoming freshman. With those portal players be P4 or what he feels can play at this level?
I didn't have huge expectations this year: winning B10 record and make the tourney showing an improved style of play. I think CDD got hit with a perfect storm of challenges, between the way NIL deals jumped this year, and I believe a reduced NIL budget from what Woodson had, and then having to put together an entire roster with nothing to build from. Overall I'm not disappointed, and still think a tourney birth and winning B10 record are on the table. My biggest criticism is that I think he handcuffed himself with the roster and being so light on post players. He compounded that by expecting Bailey to help in the post, which is not his skillset and a misuse of the talents he has. So, what I'm looking for next year is how he adjusts. Will he adapt his roster to include more post players for the B10, or will he always try and get by with smaller rosters and hustle. I think his offensive style is similar to May's but look at how he gets size on his roster. I think that's the approach CDD needs to work towards. If he does those things, I think this year can be counted as improvement.
My expectations were low from the start. Late hire, late staff, late recruiting, and transfer picks. None of these players had played for Devries or with each other. Add to that half the team was injured at the start and two still are. The seniors who arrived have one year to play an I'm sure some aspired to play somewhere professionally and were tempted to build their own resume with that year. I am concerned about Devries if he intends to build the future with high school recruits because I don't think our fans are willing to wait another 4 years to see if they have a winner in Coach Devries or will have to face another hire.
My expectations were low from the start. Late hire, late staff, late recruiting, and transfer picks. None of these players had played for Devries or with each other. Add to that half the team was injured at the start and two still are. The seniors who arrived have one year to play an I'm sure some aspired to play somewhere professionally and were tempted to build their own resume with that year. I am concerned about Devries if he intends to build the future with high school recruits because I don't think our fans are willing to wait another 4 years to see if they have a winner in Coach Devries or will have to face another hire.
I don't think its an either or, nor that DDV is wanting to only build from HS. He clearly wants some foundation there and thats a good thing. Build a foundation and have some year-over-year consistency in personal while augmenting from the portal. We'll always be taking 4-5 portal guys a year I'm sure but that's a huge difference from needing 13.
Its the opposite of Woodson who wouldn't spend 5s recruiting and just threw his buddies money at the portal for 2 weeks a year regardless of fit or character.
While we'll need a lot of portal guys again next year, it won't be 13, which is helpful and shows the trajectory he's going for there. I don't believe he nor anybody else is trying to sell a 5 year slow rebuild.
I'm still skeptical, but I hold out hope IU did indeed get this right. I never had that hope with Archie or Woody.Not a great roster construction, but he’s been here for 45 minutes. I like watching this team, we need to give this man a chance. We’ve been doing it wrong since Knight, I personally think that we got it right this time. Lots of weak sauce up in here…Top third of B1G and the potential for an NCAAT run. I think that's reasonable.
I don't necessarily expect a deep run, but I'd like to be able to say, "If IU gets rolling, it could do damage in the tourney." Yes, this team has shown the ability to pull an upset, but I don't see the Hoosiers stringing together two or three wins in the NCAAT ... too many holes.
Tbh, I'm not overly concerned about wins and losses in Year 1. Rather, I'd like to know that the future of IU basketball is in good hands. That's still undetermined.
Roster/Staff construction definitely questionable and took much longer than should have. Big concern not bringing a couple players/recruits along with him. I expected CDD to be the type of coach that creates a team that is "better than the sum of it's parts." I'm not sure we are seeing that yet.
I agree with many of your talking points: 1) The offense looks a lot better when there is movement and the ball doesn't "stick", which it does way too frequently. 2) We lack focus and intensity at times and those are things the team can control. 3) Louisville, Kentucky, Iowa and Nebraska games very, very disappointing. Both in result and effort. 4) Sometimes see players look like they exhibit Middle School ability (Wilkerson in press-break).
When the hire was made, I was expecting for results somewhere between Pope/Kelsey - Dusty May. I was thinking top 4 Big, easily in the tournament, S16 DEPENDING UPON THE DRAW. The tournament is tricky and the results are often "matchup-based". I agree with some of those who say, tournament results cannot be the end-all-be-all, especially taken within a small sample size.
Two months after the hire was made, my expectations slipped somewhat after I saw the way things were developing, which was very disappointing to see.
Throw record aside. Throw game results aside. What I like to see is basketball that is not only fun to watch but is played well with the emphasis on strong fundamentals. THE EYE TEST, if you will. I hate it when we give up an offensive rebound off of a missed FT, then it turns into a made 3 by the other team. I hate it when we turn it over against the press. GET THE BALL TO MULLET BOY (I don't care what Cav says, this guy is a tough nut). I hate it when Bailey tries to go strong and doesn't get the ball up to the rim, when he could stop, go straight up 5' from the basket and use his LENGTH, not his STRENGTH, of which he has very little. Hit your FTs down the stretch. How many front ends did we miss against PU? Let them back in the game. We are one of those teams that lives and dies by the 3 point shot (more so when our guys aren't moving on Offense). We all agree that we needed/wanted to see a team more capable from deep, but that needs to be a compliment rather than the main focal point of the offense.
I think CDD can and will handle the big IU stage. I don't care if he isn't "colorful" in front of a microphone. I think he's fine on the sidelines. I think we will be just fine with him moving forward, but this first year is letting me down a good bit. Was hoping for more JUICE right off the bat to get some excitement generated for the program and entice recruits/portal guys to want to come here. I think the rebuild is going to take another year to two longer than we all had hoped due to this slow start, but I think we will get there. 3 or 4 SOLID high school recruits each year. Keep them around for 3/4 years, less emphasis/need on the portal each year, ending with a solid returning core each year and 2/3 additions thru portal.
What was I expecting? Not much. I've been pleasantly surprised at points and pissed off at other points. I see what he wants to do offensively and I like it a lot more than what we saw under the last two regimes. We're short some athletic big'uns like Houston always has. Give us an athletic big that wants to go after every rebound in the gym like it belongs to him and we'd be onto something with our ability to shoot. If only Alexis was a few inches taller, that would make a difference. It would also be nice to have a leader on the floor who isn't afraid to get into his teammates' asses for taking mental breaks.
Diligence is the mother of good luck. Plough deep while sluggards sleep and you shall have corn to sell and keep. Work as if you were to live 100 years. Pray as if you were to die tomorrow. All progress springs from work. Work has laid the foundation of every fortune in America. – Benjamin Franklin
POTFB
It doesn't sound like the last 3 games changed anyone's opinion on DD or the outlook for the season. I was expecting to compete for a NCAA tournament spot and hopefully get one. It doesn't look like DD got the NIL funding that Woodson did. A source close to the Cook family tells me QB works for Cook. If that's the case, not surprising for DD to not have the same funding. With that being said, it's not surprising to see IU where they are. Win the next 3 and IU's NCAA tournament chances should look pretty good. DD will need to secure more funding to get some NBA level talent. It really seams like IU has a lot of role players right now. This isn't football. You can load up on a team half full of Seniors and expect to win. Going to need some pricy superstars and five stars to go with the role players. Do that and hopefully sweet 16 next year.
I'm still skeptical, but I hold out hope IU did indeed get this right. I never had that hope with Archie or Woody.
I was pretty hopeful about the Archie hire, initially. He was a hot prospect at the time. Woodson was a shock, I wanted him to succeed especially as a legendary former player, and tried to convince myself that with the help of Matta and Fife it could work but we all know how both of them turned out.
@ams66 I was very excited about the Archie hire...that excitement vanished after his first game. Woodson, I was very, very blah about that hire. And that blah became entrenched after his first game. Devries, I was mildly excited. And I'd say I'm slightly more excited today, than I was when he was hired. But certainly not over the moon about it, at this point. Lots of good, some bad, still many questions that need answered. But I do really, really like the "stuff" and the style of play he's implementing. I can't say that about the last 2 coaches. So that's what I'm holding on to, right now.
I was fine with DeVries. Had to talk myself into him, but seemed reasonable. I was disappointed with his gathering staff and players a bit, so disappointed in the start. And it is affecting his first (and probably at least second) year negatively. But I don't think those teething pains disqualify him.
Been up and down since, but overall more optimistic than pessimistic. I do think we got a good coach, and despite reading on here 'the word is' that he's not a great program manager, I'm betting he'll do pretty well.
All he needs to do is recruit. I'll bet he will. He may not naturally attract the stars but he'll get players.
So what was I expecting? It didn't matter for #### to me. I was just glad the previous regime was gone. I figured this year could be anywhere from below average (which is where we are) to a chance at a decent big ten finish and tournament seed, But I'm not bent about being at the lower end of my expectations.
I was fine with DeVries. Had to talk myself into him, but seemed reasonable. I was disappointed with his gathering staff and players a bit, so disappointed in the start. And it is affecting his first (and probably at least second) year negatively. But I don't think those teething pains disqualify him.
Been up and down since, but overall more optimistic than pessimistic. I do think we got a good coach, and despite reading on here 'the word is' that he's not a great program manager, I'm betting he'll do pretty well.
All he needs to do is recruit. I'll bet he will. He may not naturally attract the stars but he'll get players.
So what was I expecting? It didn't matter for #### to me. I was just glad the previous regime was gone. I figured this year could be anywhere from below average (which is where we are) to a chance at a decent big ten finish and tournament seed, But I'm not bent about being at the lower end of my expectations.
so what do you think he can do to overcome this. Why are we here. How is this scenario in a macro sense any different than the type of Mumbo jumbo Woodson or Archie fed us. To me it sounds like that same ole same ole. Yes the philosophy or verbiage may be a little different etc. but similar song and dance
What does that have to do with anything that I can do anything about? And what do you want me to do about it if it does have to do with anything?so what do you think he can do to overcome this. Why are we here. How is this scenario in a macro sense any different than the type of Mumbo jumbo Woodson or Archie fed us. To me it sounds like that same ole same ole. Yes the philosophy or verbiage may be a little different etc. but similar song and dance
Did I like the Archie hire? Not a ton, but media sure said he was the berries. So I watched and hoped. Did I like the Woodson hire? Not much but it was such a swing out of left field I hoped, 'maybe'...I hoped he could recruit NBA potential guys. Durp.
Did I like the DeVries hire? I wanted another guy or two probably, but liked this hire more than the last two.
Did I see any other programs do clearly any better in their coaching hires? No. Other than May at Michigan.
I think the question of 'what can he do to overcome' is (edit out seeming attack) TBD. He can coach and recruit. Like the other hundreds of Div 1 coaches. He will work at his job.
Will he do well? I don't know, I'm optimistic. You're not. I don't care much about who likes our coach and who thinks he sucks.
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