Disqus - Latest Comments for b_side

Re: Eric Gordon sprains ankle in camp

b_side — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:27:09 -0000

It's not just you. I'm a bit concerned as well. Did he have issues at North Central? Being in nyc, I missed a lot of the day-to-day details.

These recent injuries sound like a result of EJ still playing a bit out of control. He's so freakishly athletic and talented. But he's got to let the game come to him instead of trying to force it.

As long as we aren't seeing any knee issues, it's not a concern.

Re: Your participation in this exercise would be greatly appreciated

b_side — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:12:11 -0000

1) Calbert Cheaney
2) Zeke
3) Alford
4) Kent Benson
5) Alan Henderson
6) Bellamy
7) Jay Edwards
8) George McGinnis
9) Scott May
10) Mike Woodson

Re: Scouting Report: Bobby Capobianco

HoosierSmitty — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:55:30 -0000

Point well taken. Wasn't trying to sell those two guys short, just was saying our new recruits weren't going to become Tyler Hansbrough type stars, but if they developed the type of "stardom" that Anderson and Henderson had, that would be awesome.

Both Henderson and Anderson were two players I loved to watch play, and did things the right way at Indiana.

Re: Scouting Report: Bobby Capobianco

b_side — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:02:42 -0000

Sorry to harp on you Smitty, but you're selling Henderson really short on this one. Check out his bio from NBA.com:

"…left Indiana University as the only player to rank in the school’s top five all-time in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and steals…as a senior, led the team in scoring (23.5 ppg), rebounding (9.7 rpg), blocked shots (2.1 bpg), steals (1.4 spg) and field goal percentage (.597)…his .597 field goal percentage was the second-best single season FG percentage in school history…named to the All-Big Ten First Team as a senior and honorable mention AP All-American as a junior and senior…was a member of Team USA in 1994 Goodwill Games, where he averaged 10.2 points and 7.2 rebounds…as a junior, he led the Big Ten in rebounding (10.3) and averaged 17.8 points in 30 games…led IU to a 17-1 Big Ten conference record as a sophomore…started 26 of 33 games as a freshman…averaged 11.6 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds en route to earning honorable All-Big Ten and third-team Freshman All-American honors. "

The man wasn't just solid, he was a friggin' stud!

As for Eric Anderson, although he didn't have as many accolades as Henderson, the man still got drafted by the Knicks and played in a couple abbreviated seasons in the NBA. As much as I love our new recruits, neither Pritchard or Bobby C will sniff the NBA.

Re: Inside the Hall turns one year young

b_side — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:14:52 -0000

Fellas, keep up the great work -- like Hoosier07 said, you make the 9-5 life a little more tolerable.

Re: Must be a slow news day in Birmingham

b_side — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:48:46 -0000

Absolutely -- blogs like this would be so dull if we didn't debate.

Re: Must be a slow news day in Birmingham

deedubbadoo — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:22:30 -0000

I agree with you that with more talent Davis' reputation would not be so tainted. I think a lot of people (unfortunately) had it out for him from the get go because of the color of his skin. The blue-haired alumni couldn't fathom life without RMK and that also put more pressure on him. I do not hate the man, I just think that his coaching was a little suspect. I really appreciate the conversation though, made my work day go by a lot faster!

Re: Must be a slow news day in Birmingham

b_side — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:16:56 -0000

I'll concede that Knight's teams making it to the NCAA tourny were not "mediocre." But you also have to remember that those teams had legitimate talent (Andre Emmett and Jarius Jackson). If Davis had 2 more years of Jeffries to play alongside Bracey Wright, you think his reputation would be so tainted?

Your argument about Knight's success at Tech only validated what I was trying to point out initially: "Players play and coaches coach."

Re: Must be a slow news day in Birmingham

deedubbadoo — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:33:05 -0000

Okay I will agree with you on the Josh Smith thing but for you to say that Texas Tech was mediocre while RMK was there is out of line. He took over a team that had not had a winning season or even sniffed a tournament bid since 1996. He then only went on to 3 tourney appearances and 1 NIT in his first four seasons with the team. 2005-2006 season was his only losing season there, and the only season in which they did not win at least 21 games. He ended up 138-82 at TT. I would say that 4 tourney appearances and 1 NIT in 6 1/2 season does not qualify as mediocre.

Maybe we wouldn't have beat Maryland but I would have much rather had the "mediocre" RMK than Mike Davis.

Re: Must be a slow news day in Birmingham

b_side — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:15:00 -0000

Have you ever heard of the phrase, "players play and coaches coach"? If RMK is such a genius, why was Texas Tech mediocre in his tenure? His players ran a beautiful offense, but they couldn't put the ball in the bucket! His players rotated like hell on defense, but they didn't have the athleticism to get a stop. So yes, I mean to tell you that RMK may not have beaten Lonnie Baxter, Chris Wilcox, Steve Blake and Juan Dixon in the that title game. That team was simply physically overpowering in contrast to the stick figures of JJ and Newton.

I love RMK like everyone else, but you gotta keep it in perspective. His IU teams got murdered in the NCAA's in the mid-90's.

And you need a history lesson about Josh Smith -- his talent wasn't on the NBA radar until those AAU tournaments after his senior year. Hindsight is 20/20 and every other coach was chasing McDonald's All-Americans, so you can't fault him as the only foregone conclusion was Dwight Howard. Al Jefferson, Telfair, JR Smith and Robert Swift were all heading to school before announcing their draft intentions. It's just an unfortunate downfall of chasing talent prior to the rule change.

Re: Must be a slow news day in Birmingham

deedubbadoo — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:44:03 -0000

You were sad when JJ, Fife and Cov led our Hoosiers to the title game in 2002?

Your sentence summed it up right there, they led, not him. You mean to tell me that if RMK was still the coach that that team wouldn't have beat Maryland in championship game? I don't associate him with Bracey Wright, I associate him with chasing Josh Smith around when everyone knew that kid was going pro. I associate him with letting arguably two of the best prospects Indiana has ever seen in Oden and Conley go to Ohio State. I associate him with running an offense that provided us with frequent 5+ minute scoring droughts.

To say that his coaching skills were "average at best after the run" is ridiculous! What changed after "the run" that changed his skill set as a coach? Oh yeah it was the players you mentioned above that led the team to the championship. To say that he is anything but a mediocre coach with above average recruiting skill is crazy.

Re: Must be a slow news day in Birmingham

b_side — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:27:34 -0000

Gimme a break! You were sad when JJ, Fife and Cov led our Hoosiers to the title game in 2002? We upset Duke's most formidable team (Jay Williams, Boozer, Dunleavy, Duhon, etc) since the days of Laettner, Hurley and Grant Hill. Cry me a river!

It's a shame everyone associates Davis with Bracey Wright -- the "help is on the way" comment hurt his reputation badly. His coaching skills were average at best after the run, but you gotta give credit where credit is due.

Re: Report: Jamarcus Ellis to Northern Kentucky University

junkman — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:26:29 -0000

And the gambling comment is a simple way of balancing your reasonable expectations of how JeMarcus's life will go forward...If you think he will have a turnaround and make a nice life for himself and his family. Great, than say so, I do not. I have seen his behavior over the past four years and haven't seen him do anything beside have one good season of junior college basketball, transfer to IU and quit on his teammates, threaten his coach, underperform academically, and be such a public pothead that he is a punchline in the newspapers and sports radio. He is now considering some po-dunk D2 school where he is at a crossroads and my belief is that he will continue to defy authority and basic structure. That isn't based on his race, nor is it based on his ability to play basketball...It is based on his trending behavior the escalation of of his antics. For you to write it off as him being only 20 years old, we all remember when Bob KNight was fired and Dane Fife came out publicly...somehow he handled it with a shade more dignity...When Mike Davis got fired his players didn't pull these kind of shenanigans... however, JeMarcus did and I will hold him accountable for his actions....maybe one day you will to.

Re: Report: Jamarcus Ellis to Northern Kentucky University

junkman — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 09:18:59 -0000

OK, now wait a minute...how was this racist...

Seriously, you can't throw that around without merit. I don't see how race even came into the discussion until you brought it in...

If you want a source as to the Dakich threat, ask Ahlfeld who witnessed it and told his family and they have made it public. If you want to know about Deandre's girlfirend sleeping with JeMarcus, I suppose you could go to the coaching staff who had to break up their fight in the locker room...As for his academic performance/aptitude or him smoking weed, does anyone doubt that? He was ineligible to play D1 ball out of high school and as for smoking dope...you do realize the University has drug tests on file for the players and while we will never see those results, is it even a question that he was smoking dope...that has been talked about publicly by reporter covering the team for the past few months...

As for credibility, I have named my sources, now I'm still confused on how my comments elude to a prejudice based on race. As for you wanting to lable me a racist, I don't care, because I know I'm not...However, if you want to question my credibility as a result of not disclosing where I got my information. Well that game is over.

Re: Report: Jamarcus Ellis to Northern Kentucky University

b_side — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 15:48:57 -0000

Junk, this has nothing to do with gambling. This is about your blatant racism. You made these outlandish statements/rumors that have no source to verify the truth.

The more you post, the deeper the hole. Try climbing out instead of ruining your credibility.

Re: Report: Jamarcus Ellis to Northern Kentucky University

junkman — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:00:09 -0000

OK...

Smoking weed is still illegal...

He threatened to kill his coach (not his boss)...

Never really portrayed the model student image and the likelihood of him obtaining degree is not very strong...

Was Dakich a dick...probably...but does that mean you threaten to have your boys come from Chicago and kill him???

Ohhh and the fact that he was sleeping with his teammates girlfiriend is another red flag in my world...

Sorry, but those are just too many character issues for me to think the kid is going to have a life of strong decisions and opportunity...He flushed his first chance at college down the toilet in high school when he couldn't qualify academically, than he flushed it down again when he stopped going to class, was known for his drug use and threatened his coaches on and off the court...Now his third chance is at some rinky-dink D2 school in Kentucky and I'm supposed to think his future is looking brighter?

Take a look at the trend

Re: Report: Jamarcus Ellis to Northern Kentucky University

b_side — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:17:08 -0000

A criminal in the making? Just because he hated his new boss, missed some classes and allegedly smoked some weed!

It's comments like this that make me embarrassed to be associated with fans like junkman.

Re: One reason IU shouldn’t recruit Leonard Washington

CoveyDale — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:04:14 -0000

actually, if you read a bit more carefully, you'll find that those violations were committted by Phil Dickens and the IU football coaching staff. the basketball team as well as every other varsity sport paid the price with postseason bans because of the football team's trangressions.

"Swimmers, baseball players, runners and the beloved Hoosier basketball boys all paid the price for the alleged sins of Dickens and his staff. But, the University stayed faithful to its coach, and Dickens remained on the Hoosier sidelines for another five years. "

p.s. i don't need any IU basketball history lessons.

Re: One reason IU shouldn’t recruit Leonard Washington

b_side — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:50:50 -0000

Covey, quick history lesson...we unfortunately have not had a clean program for the past century:

"The 1960 Hoosiers stood on the brink of humiliation. Allegations of severe recruiting violations summoned an NCAA investigation, followed by sanctions. IU’s violations included the offering of free plane tickets to several athletes along with financial stipends, according to an NCAA report, while other recruits were delivered envelopes filled with cash." (http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=49238...)

50 years isn't bad -- although the RMK issues in the last 5 years of his tenure weren't exactly full of integrity either.

Re: Eli Holman will not return to IU next season

b_side — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:32:03 -0000

Trust me Mr. C, blogs were made for people to disagree.

Re: Armon Bassett speculation is just…speculation

CincyHoosier — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:24:43 -0000

Vaughn went to Harmony to make sure he was D1 eligible while Bassett spent a year at Hargrave Military. He never "dipped out," rather both he and IU went separate ways in late 2005, which was before Sampson was on board and before Eric Gordon was headed to IU. DV committed to Cincinnati in April 06 after Mick Cronin was hired and by that time, yes, Bassett was already inked to play for the Hoosiers and wasn't receiving interest from IU. In fact, the only other school he took an official too was Oakland in Michigan.

Re: Armon Bassett speculation is just…speculation

b_side — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:46:00 -0000

Hadn't heard the rumors about Armon transferring to Cincy, but it would certainly make for some irony given that we had commitment from Indy's own Deonta Vaugn (Cincy's PG and leading scorer). Vaughn was a Davis recruit who dipped out when Sampson was hired and the EJ recruiting wars began.

Guess he figured with Calloway and Bassett already on board his freshman year and EJ coming in the following year, there wouldn't be much room for him. He would have been a stud for this team as a junior PG.

Oh and Mr. C, let's not get carried away with putting Bassett and Wade in the same sentence. I love Armon for who he is, maximizing his talent and how he will fit in for this team next season if his grades hold up. But he is not built from the same mold as Wade.

Re: Stern and Brand ponder new age limit rule

b_side — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:29:29 -0000

A, we can all come up with slogans/phrases for leaving college early no matter what rule the NBA adopts.

If it's two years, then we'll start saying "two and thru."

If 3 years becomes the standard, then "three and flee."

I think if the NBA increases it to two years, there needs to be more education to families about insurance policies. If the NBA wants to institute this to improve the game and give more 10-12th man roles to its veterans, then at least out for the rare occasion when a kid blows his knee out.

Re: On Dan Dakich and the dismissal at The Dagger

xxZPxx — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:25:59 -0000

Yeah the fact that its now being reported by many sources kind of ruins the April Fools Joke hopes...

Re: On Dan Dakich and the dismissal at The Dagger

b_side — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:25:10 -0000

For what it's worth, I just heard Lon Kruger is our new coach. ESPN Radio is reporting it right now. Whoopty friggin' do.