@surjay

i agree. Sorry but the rope isn't as long as it used to be.  Especially with the portal and NIL.  Get it done, or pack your box 📦 

Posted by: @surjay

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TD faking the injury is so outlandish. Whats the purpose?

Let me first get this out of the way: I'm not sold on the fake injury theory. But ... 5% of me thinks it's possible.

To answer your question, let's say Dolson and DD had a backroom deal before TD sat. Perhaps daddy wanted his son to get paid and, much more importantly, wanted more eyeballs on him (NBA). 

I thought with a coaching connection there was actual smoke with 6' 10" Flory Bidunga of Kansas in the portal. I really wanted him. He looked like a tremendous raw athlete. Lot of people on the boards saying 'no he'll cost 1 million or more, and he's not that good' .

Its early but he so far has greatly improved his first year numbers, 15 points/game, 8.8 rebounds/game, 2.5 blocks/game, 32 minutes per game.

Now, I really, really wanted him, seeing he's exactly what we're missing. 🙁 . It made me nervous when we didn't get him, wondering if that meant this staff couldn't recruit... But, maybe we didn't go after him. Seeing we got no other bigs, maybe that's it, we didn't try for him.

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@iunorth My perspective is that IU significantly upgraded at coach, but they got A guy ... not THEE guy. He'll have enough success to keep the hounds at bay, but I don't see his tenure being anything to celebrate. 

This was my initial reaction, and it hasn't changed. If I'm proven wrong  that's f***ing fantastic. 

@surjay I'm not saying those things occurred, but there's no doubt that a former WVU player said on a podcast that he didn't believe TD was hurt (think it was Sencire Harris). And, I'd heard that CDD didn't meet with the team. I have no idea if he did or didn't, but that was a rumor going around. And, I do think it's unusual that he brought no one at all from WVU, so again, just more smoke that it might be there was some issue or disconnect.

Yeah, but players from Drake gave him high marks as a Coach they want to play for. Remembering from last spring when I checked such things.

I think possibly DeVries may have been healthy enough to play at the very end of the season. Seems possible. But, should he have? Even if he was staying at WVU, if the kid can get another year... ! Why waste it playing a four, or five games, at the end? Yes if it was possible, then it may have cost them a berth. Still, a lot of kids who aren't the coaches kid would ask to sit out at that point to gain an entire redshirt year. And if Coach Devries was looking at his future 2026 WVU squad, he may have agreed.

But, by then also he'd have already had feelers from Indiana, as Woodson was long gone. So I can see WVU players being pissed. Maybe that's why he didn't talk to them. I assume he didn't, because tons of sites said he didn't, and all DeVries had to do (which affects image and recruiting) is mention a meeting or calls. He never did.

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@gthomas I just can't see this being reality. Dolson would have to be a fool to have this set in stone that early in the season last year after Bigfoot spent his 6 million (while he had a ceiling its not unrealistic that the team could have made the dance and QB and the cronies prevent his firing again).

DDV would also have to be a complete fool after watching Bigfoots buddies step in the year prior to save his hide to think this year is going to be different (at least confidently enough to TANK his 1st season at a P5 school in the best conference and have his son fake an injury).

What if WVU completely bombed out and had a losing record?? You're telling me Dolson makes that hire? No way.

There's just no way all the moving pieces would be in play and everybody confident in any of it.

Cignetti's success has put a great deal of pressure on IU basketball. If DD struggles, I don't think fans will be patient. If Cig can take a shit program to unprecedented heights almost immediately, why can't the hoops coach do something similar for a program with a rich tradition and excellent resources?

I don't necessarily think it's fair--Cig is a unicorn, after all--but if DD doesn't have some success in Year 1, the natives will get restless.

@gthomas Cig is a unicorn and the BB team should not be compared 1-1 against him. We just say half the P5 football schools can their coaches mid-season and I'm willing to bet none of their replacements match what Cig is doing.

The fair comparisons are the young coaches who had ok to non-existent resumes who took over major programs last year: May, Kelsey, Pope. They each had varying levels of success last year (May high, Kelsey ok) and all 3 started around top 10 in year 2 (Pope with the injuries and UK struggling is faltering now but likely rebounds).

DDV has to be somewhere in that range. 2 bad years and I think he gets fired in this era. So, I don't necessarily disagree with your premise BUT I don't think Cig is the fair comparison.

@openwheel yes, and Enright obviously didn't have a problem playing for him again. I'm just repeating or addressing what's out there. Personally, I do believe TD was hurt and had surgery. I think it's possible that maybe he could've returned to end the season and he/his Dad/family decided to sit out to preserve a year of eligibility. I also don't think there was any handshake agreement very early, certainly not in the Bahamas, for him to become Coach. At most, I'd say it made an impression on SD how good WVU looked there and he made note of it and placed a call when he decided he was going to make a change.

@surjay All good points, but, if it occurred, I don't think the parties involved were necessarily being malicious. Simply a smart business decision.

Again, I think it's highly improbable. Just playing devil's advocate here.

@surjay Agreed, but I thin Cig's success is shortening the window, fairly or unfairly (hint: it's totally unfair!). I don't believe there's ever been a turnaround like it in college football history. I've asked, and no one has given me one I thought was close.

Posted by: @kkott

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@surjay Agreed, but I thin Cig's success is shortening the window, fairly or unfairly (hint: it's totally unfair!). I don't believe there's ever been a turnaround like it in college football history. I've asked, and no one has given me one I thought was close.

how short can it get?   It may make the seat hot quicker but I don’t see an IUBB coach being fired after 1-2 years unless it was due to shenanigans. Did Miller and Woody get pushed out too soon?   

I get your point though.  It absolutely will put pressure on DD. It’s bad enough that he has no excuses with the portal, NIL, and mercenary nature of the sport.  Having the Cig unicorn in town will definitely draw comparisons.

@gerdis I don't know. I think 2 years in this era might be enough for an ad to pull the trigger now. 

SD wanted to can Woodson after 3 years even with all the pressure but the cronies. I don't think a relatively unknown outsider like ddv will get a ton of rope. 

Now we might be able to debate heavily what those 2 years have to look like to make a move. No tourneys and I say gone for sure. 1 tourney but no advancement and I personally lean towards gone but perhaps that's less set in stone. 

Hopefully things turn around and it's moot.

@iunorth 

Agreed, but despite the NIL money, I think it's hard for a coach at a new program to build entirely through the portal that first year.  You more than anyone, maybe even the only one, might remember my posts and stats about DePaul's season last year with the influx of mid and low major guys.  One thing I didn't note that I think may be something to consider (I don't know yet) is that some of the assistant coaches were from the mid major level as well and I wonder if that affects their evaluations and recruiting of players.

As of right now, I'm not concerned with DeVries going forward, but I still expect this season will be a lot of spurts - start, stop type of thing.  Look horrible against Minnesota but somehow look good against Louisville.  Up and down.  It's why even though they were excellent mid-major players, they were still mid-major players - they just won't be consistent enough and odd things will slow them down (like Minnesota).