Live look at @eppy99 enjoying some time in his daily fantasy sports lair.
Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
POTFB
@larsiu I thought Sharon was from Carmel?Publius McMurtrius Sharonius Probertiusof course, I also believed in Archie Miller.
To quote the great millennial philosopher from St. Louis, "co-sign."
Who are you referencing?
All the great ones have a Nom de Plume to throw off the crazy GILF stalkers.
Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for. - Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and likely Hoosier basketball fan.
POTFB
Building a team in today's NIL and Transfer Portal era as IU did in football and Michigan did in basketball simply requires Transfer Portal Mastery (TPM).
IMO, the TPM hero at IU goes to Athletic Director Scott Dolson who hired Cignetti and assisted him in the Transfer Portal recruiting. At Michigan, it was Dusty May's ability to hire top tier transfers who are simply stopping off at Michigan on their way to the NBA.
The days of the student athlete as existed in the Bobby Knight era are long gone as big money donors, NIL, and TPM along with the ADs and coaches who can master the system will prevail.
Spot on regarding Dolson. Other than Knight, this was the greatest hire in the history of IU Athletics.
If someone had given Cig a Power Conference chance 20 years ago, I believe he would have ultimately been recognized as the greatest college HC of all time. 27-2 over two seasons AT INDIANA, historically the shithole of college football, is other-worldly. Sure, the portal and money helped him accomplish this, but the other power teams enjoy those options/resources too. In fact, I'd argue that Cig was at a distinct disadvantage compared to the other power programs because of our historically bad reputation.
Cig accomplished the damned-near impossible at IU - - a national title.
I'd add that he won big at every school where he was a HC before coming to IU, so it wasn't the new rules that elevated him. He's an outstanding evaluator of talent, character and grit (he honestly doesn't give a shit about stars), he gets every last ounce of effort and talent out of his players, and he's a helluva gameday coach.
@big-ryan he spent money. It was absolutely the new rules. Not taking away from him but it helped immensely. He would not have gotten Mendoza and others without the new rules
@big-ryan putting in calls to Wagner etc to buy players is a difference maker
@big-ryan he spent money. It was absolutely the new rules. Not taking away from him but it helped immensely. He would not have gotten Mendoza and others without the new rules
I acknowledged that money is important. But the other power programs have money too, some substantially more than IU.
Regarding Mendoza, Cig had a leg up on other schools because he already had Fernando's little brother.
Fernando has also mentioned that he took note of (and was influenced by) the tremendous success Cignetti had with quarterbacks both at IU (Rourke) and JMU.
I acknowledged that money is important.
money is the new rules. without iu isn't national champions. and believe me i think cig is a miracle worker but without being able to call up wagner/cook we aren't national champions and aren't the program we are today
I acknowledged that money is important.
money is the new rules. without iu isn't national champions. and believe me i think cig is a miracle worker but without being able to call up wagner/cook we aren't national champions and aren't the program we are today
Cignetti is the best college coach in the game. Period. And I have zero doubt I would have been saying that 20 years ago if he had been the HC at a power program.
@big-ryan i think he is too. but without the new rules i'm not sure many of us would have ever heard of him. he's what 64 and only now on the scene. but for the new rules he'd be 8-4 7-5 at iu or an iu type school
@bradstevens Still alive, been working on a new show, The divorced wives of Carmel.
@big-ryan i think he is too. but without the new rules i'm not sure many of us would have ever heard of him. he's what 64 and only now on the scene. but for the new rules he'd be 8-4 7-5 at iu or an iu type school
As I said earlier, the "new rules" did not provide him with any more of an advantage than was provided to the other power schools. He leveraged the rules, though, and worked the portal, better than anyone.
That said, IU ranked just 72nd nationally in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite. With the "new rules."
To bridge the talent gap, Cignetti utilized a much older roster. The team benefited greatly from fifth and even sixth-year seniors and a strong core of experienced guys who followed him from JMU.
EVERY team we beat in the postseason - Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon and Miami - was loaded with four and five-star talent, vastly superior to our own. We won with mostly three-stars and even zero-stars guys (including some of the JMU transfers) who had zero power conference offers. Aiden Fisher, for example, was a no-star recruit. He had no power conference offers coming out of high school and, in fact, had only one FBS offer - - from James Madison. He was older and experienced, though, when Cig got the IU gig, and Cignetti and Haines molded him into an All-American linebacker. He was hugely instrumental in our success, and was drafted by the Texans last month.
Without Cignetti, there would have been no CFP (in 2024 and 2025) and no national championship. We don't need to emulate Alabama or anyone else. (That first post in this thread is a doozy). We kicked the Tide's ass out of the Rose Bowl, 38-3. Cig's way is the BEST way.
@bradstevens Still alive, been working on a new show, The divorced wives of Carmel.
You buying or selling?