Rex Hudler

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jan 3, 2013 -> 10:01 PM) That was new. Makes sense though. I missed it. Explain?

Beat Ohio at home on Saturday and all is forgotten.

The toughest stretch of Indiana's schedule: Sun, Jan 27 vs #18 Michigan State 1:00 PM ET CBS Wed, Jan 30 @ Purdue 8:30 PM ET Big Ten Network Sat, Feb 2 vs #2 Michigan 9:00 PM ET ESPN Gameday Thu, Feb 7 @ #11 Illinois 7:00 PM ET ESPN or ESPN2 Sun, Feb 10 @ #8 Ohio State 1:00 PM ET CBS The Purdue game on Jan 30 doesn't look menacing, but a rivalry game on the road sandwiched in between Michigan and Michigan State is not one to take for granted. One might even say the Big Ten title race will be strongly affected by this stretch of games.

I was disappointed in the Michigan result today, but proud of how they fought and played. We gave up some big plays, which is frustrating. I believe it was Balta that posted that Michigan lost/was losing because they could't wrap up the QB. He was right. Bmags commented that UM couldn't get pressure without blitzing. That was true for the most part as well. A true pass rushing presence is lacking, although at times Frank Clark and Jibreel Black get there. Unfortunately, UM was playing without their best two CB's, Blake Countess (out for the season in the Alabama game) and JT Floyd (suspended for bowl game). They've missed Countess all year, but Floyd would have given them better coverage wide which would have given them more confidence to blitz throughout the game. All year, the corners have been good enough to allow Mattison to dial up NFL type blitz packages. When UM usually gets beat deep in the air, its due to the safeties. Sadly, the last play falls on the shoulders of Jordan Kovacs, the SR safety. There is no way he should have been chasing Ellington down the field. Kovacs is good in run support, but sometimes misses assignments. That said, I'm inclined to give the kid a pass. Kovacs came to Michigan and tried to make the team via open tryout, not even as an invited walk on. He initially was told he made the team, but failed the physical due to a HS injury that had not completely healed. He came back the next year and tried out again, this time making the team. He was forced to play some his freshman due to depth and ended up starting in RRod's last year. He's gotten better and better every year, ultimately beating out 4-start recruits challenging him for the position the last two years and becoming captain this year. He's not a great athlete and some pass coverages give him problems, but makes plays. He is everything you love in a college athlete. Great student, gets the most of his limited athletic ability, tough competitor, walk on that earned scholarship, captain, etc. etc. He's a good looking kid too, so he's probably pulling all kinds of tail on campus too. Bastard! I just wish they would have gone with today's configuration all year. Gardner will only get better and think of what Denard could have done if they had all spring and fall to work him at WR as well as RB. You might have even seen him return kicks if that were the case. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20. We lost to the #1, 2, 3, 10 and 16 teams in the country, several of those which were close enough to win.

Northwestern wins, Michigan ahead in the 4th, Nebraska tied late in the 3rd. What the hell is going on? Still a lot of football to be played....

Looking back, I'm okay with yesterdays win. I really felt IU played poorly, especially on offense. But Jordan Hulls won't go 0-10 again. If he even shoots 40%, this is a different game. He got good looks. It's not like he forced up a bunch of bad shots. Not a well played game, but for the first road game of the year against a motivated team in a tough place to play, I'll take it.

QUOTE (Brian @ Jan 1, 2013 -> 12:25 PM) Yes. Down 7-0 in the first. Michigan is done. There is hope, but its gonna take some breaks. I'd love to keep it a low scoring game and see what happens.

Looks like its going to be a long day for Michigan... And probably the Big Ten as a whole. Sadly, Northwestern is the conference's best shot today.

I agree w/ Dakich that Oladipo has been Indiana's best player all season.

Some disappointing fight news today. Andre Ward - Pavlik is off. Ward having surgery on his shoulder. That sucks. I really like Andre and was hoping a buys 2013 might gain him some popularity with US fight fans and help him become a bigger draw. Hank Lundy loses his shot at Lucas Matthysse due to "promotional issues"? Sucks for him. Mike Dallas Jr. is his replacement and doesn't belong in that level of fight. That said, he'll present problems for Lucas. He won't beat him, but Dallas Jr. makes for sloppy fights. I've seen him several times including once live. He lunges a lot when he punches and holds a lot. Hard to get into any kind of flow or rhythm against him. Hope the undercard that night is good or it might be a good night to have something else going on.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Dec 17, 2012 -> 10:18 AM) Nah, UK and UNC were both thought to be great teams entering last year, they both had multiple NBA lottery prospects on them (so did UConn, who was 3 or 4 in most places, but they underachieved). I wouldn't say Kentucky was "exposed" by Indiana, Davis was in foul trouble, Jones had a horrible game and IU still needed a buzzer-beater to beat them at home. UNC a bit moreso with the UNLV game, but s*** happens over the course of 30-35 games. If the bar for a "powerhouse" is going undefeated, yeah, there hasn't been one in a while. That's a bit too high though. Admittedly you don't REALLY know until March like you said because teams do choke (2010 Kansas and Kentucky come to mind). However, people certainly crown them long before that. Perhaps "clear favorite" would be a better term than "powerhouse". There is one of those most years, and I really don't see one this year. To think Kentucky was thought to be in that same breath when the season started last year is ridiculous. Kentucky was said to have potential and it turned out they gelled together well and became a great team. But Kentucky's main talent were freshman, and no matter how highly ranked kids are, you don't know how they will turn out until they actually play. Considering them a powerhouse before the season started is revisionistic. Calipari's formula for playing freshmen all the time isn't going to pan out consistently. Not all will become teams and buy in like last year's group.

Playing away from Assembly Hall scared me and it showed today. Today, IU played a little confused, taking shots I haven't seen them take all year. Missing a ton of FT's didn't help. Give credit to Butler, they have a way of making teams look and play ugly. They did that well today. I thought they mugged Zeller all day, but I can't complain because IU is often gets the benefit of those calls. I think Clark Kellog said it best before Butler made their run. You have to put Butler away, they won't go away on their own. Many times I thought IU was about to put them away and Butler made a huge play. I love the word undefeated but it was way too unrealistic to think that way. Ultimately, they are going to have to find a way to play away from Assembly Hall. Part of that is going to be finding a way to stay composed.

Michigan football got two 4-star commits today, OL David Dawson and CB/S Delano Hill. Dawson is a re-commit from earlier who had de-committed and flirted with Florida and other schools. Hill, a former Iowa commit picked up a recent Michigan offer.

The Good and the Bad I thought it would be interesting since the non-conference slate is almost complete, for posters on here to review their own teams, both good and bad. It could lead to some good discussion or at the least some feisty arguments. I'll start. IU - the Good #1 team in rankins No true weakness Unselfish and very team oriented Very versatile and deep - can mix and match lineups and adapt to different styles This team could be as good as any I have seen in awhile and as good as any IU team I've seen (can't speak for the 75-76 squads, I barely remember them) Much better defense Experience - one of the most experienced teams in college basketball and 3 NCAA games under their belt IU - the Bad No true road games - today vs Butler in Indy is only their 3rd game away from Assembly Hall, all on neutral sites New players - how will they integrate Perea, Jurkin and then Elston? Will players that lose minutes handle it well? The added depth could become a major strength, but for now until they are in the rotation on a regular basis, that's unknown. Tempo - How will they react when a team slows the tempo and stays disciplined? Esp on the road? Pressure - How will they handle it? Right now this team seems impervious to expectations, but what happens if they are stll undefeated in late January? How will they react to their first loss? What about two in a row?

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Dec 15, 2012 -> 08:46 AM) I think the other huge variable to look at here is that Crean has the advisors set up a 3 year plan for kids to graduate, instead of the regular four. That locked down Vonleh and his mom the instant they got to Bloomington. Hulls and Elston are in grad school right now. Oladipo and Sheehey will be finished with their bachelors this May. Zeller will be done in 2.5 this coming summer in one of the best business schools in the country. He's not only going after elite talent, he's going after elite students (a lot of kids are coming in with tons of credits, Zeller came in with something like 30+) that are willing to take a boatload of classes in the summer and be put on the fast track. It's actually a really smart strategy, if you have the student athletes to maintain it, which is sure looks like he does judging by the team GPA. Read the other day where every player that has stayed at IU and not transferred out during the Crean era has graduated. It was 39-39 or something like that. That doesn't mean all these kids are Rhodes Scholars or budding theoretical physicists, but it at least tells me the kids are getting the full college experience (i'm assuming the girls and parties automatically!) rather than just treated like visitors who happen to play basketball. That doesn't make IU different than many other schools, it's just better than having say 24-39 graduate.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 15, 2012 -> 03:22 AM) No, he's just one of the best at it. Some coaches deal with one and dones (Crean will shortly) and some just sign HUGE recruiting classes and they work. This has been going on in football for a LONG time, in bball in the Big Ten, Crean is one of the first and definitely the best at it right now. It's within the rules and its super smart. Your roster in college bball turns over about 4-5 kids a year. Why not just sign and sign and sign and if kids are exhausted as far as education or playing time goes let them leave. Unfortunately Matta is letting really good players leave instead of crap talent. He also hasnt recruited s*** until the 2014 class. Its a bad strategy. I agree. That said, I will be much less quick to defend if I think legitimate kids are getting run off against their will. The problem is, it's never crystal clear. Sometimes a player needs to be shown the door. Whether the talent isn't there to play or they aren't putting in the work the others are, there are a myriad of reasons. Sometimes its in the kids best interest to go elsewhere and a fresh start is good for them. The kid may not realize that. I've seen some of that personally in the past. Outward appearances make it look worse when you have kids signed to come in and take their place.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 14, 2012 -> 10:35 AM) Wake me up when I say it only happens at indiana and is sinister. Seems reasonable enough. Like it or not, roster management in either sport is not going away. I get a little touchy when others make it sound like Crean is crooked as hell and treats kids terribly when there is no evidence to believe as much. You didn't argue it that way. I'll give you that.

I liked this one a lot. Don't think Kentucky was expecting anything of the sort. I don't think they thought he could turn the corner that quickly. If only Vic could learn to land on his feet instead of his ass....

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Dec 13, 2012 -> 10:38 PM) Did you miss the last few pages of this thread or something? At that point, I had not read it all. However my point remains. Let me know when they outright cut a kid. Matt Roth is a special situation. I have no problem with how that was handled. Got any others??

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 05:15 PM) Matt Roth Spoke up until Crean made it clear he would be a good job reference since he is in sports mgmt. Creaning isnt just a bunch of people getting together wishing something would happen to whats been the doormat of the conference for the last 10 years. IU was oversigned for this year so they got rid of a guy. Patterson developed academic troubles all of a sudden, Story, Bawa. You are oversigned next year and are at limit the year after. I'm betting those numbers will round themselves out somehow. Crean plays the numbers game well, its not an NCAA violation but its a real thing. Why not just own it while you are at the top? Football teams have been using "attrition" for decades, the SEC does it in spades. A&M has 35 recruits signed next year and 10 are enrolling early to offset that number. Hell FWIW OSU has scholly restrictions the next few years so Urban deliberately ran a few players off that he thought were dead weight and a few left on their own. Whatever. We were running with roughly 62 scholarship athletes this year. Players leave programs all the time. Sometimes because they aren't happy, other times because the coach tells them they likely won't play. That's a coaches prerogative and it happens all the time. It happens whether scholarship limits are in play or not. So attributing what goes on daily in all sports across the country just because you know the scholarship count is disingenuous. When IU gets in a pinch and does something that seems immoral or unfair, I'll be the first to complain about it. But until that happens, I will go along with the possibility that the coach knows his program and what's going on inside it. You're right it happens. It happens all the time, but it happens every day regardless of scholarship situations. The Matt Roth situation was unique and one I don't have a problem with. Here is a kid that had averaged 3 points a game and was on track to earn a Masters degree (which he did). There was no reason for him or Coach Crean to think he would come back. Sometimes there isn't room for graduated 5th yr seniors. It happens on every football roster in the country. It turns out Matt contributed more last year than expected, which is the only reason anyone cares. If he played 3-5 minutes a game and averaged 3 pts again, no one would have said a word. I say good for Matt and thank you for your hard work. You left IU in 4 years with a masters degree. If he REALLY wanted to play basketball, he still could have. I guarantee you Evansville would have found a spot for him. He knew it was time to move on, but hell the kid in all of us would have loved to played on a team with such high expectations. I just don't think there would have been much, if any, PT for him this year anyway. So wake me up with something happens that is actually worth discussing in this regard.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 04:54 PM) No it ends with IU fans getting butthurt and it getting too annoying for anyone to respond. IU signs more players than they have schollys at this point and so far have just worked with convincing older players to go off scholarship. Its the same game thats been played in football for a long time. Nothing illegal about it, but you guys keep being so defensive. Might as well just own it, you are the #1 team in the country until March, so who cares. That's a bunch of crap. Yes, the possibility is there for this to happen, but until it does, your words are nothing but noise. Things work out. Last year the Zeller's agreed to pay to open up a scholarship if needed. It's quite possible things are handled out of the public view. And its not like this doesn't happen elsewhere. Last year Kyle Kuric paid his own way to stay and play at Louisville and he was a starter. To act as if it is sinister without having any substance is a bunch of crap.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Dec 12, 2012 -> 03:23 PM) His highlight tapes make him look like Tyler Griffey's clone. Even if he's shot up the rankings, there's still plenty a head of him. Probably, just hope it's not an Indiana situation where we start cutting kids. Let me know when they cut the first kid.

Since I can't figure out how to post pics on here... See the link below for a photo album of pics from this past weekend. My battery died so I didn't get any pics on fight night other than the three right after I arrived. The album is not password protected and set for public viewing. PacMarquez Vegas Photos

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Dec 11, 2012 -> 11:37 AM) Well then what do I do when we go 4-0? Anything your imagine allows that still keeps you out of jail!

QUOTE (Real @ Dec 11, 2012 -> 04:44 AM) what about matthysse makes you think he isn't that good? I had him beating Judah 8 rounds to 4, it was a clear robbery but boxing is subjective so you can't argue with somebody when it goes to the cards he's the only guy I'd pick over Broner. i could see Rios taking Broner out but only if Broner doesn't KO him first. eventually that chin has to crack and we haven't seen broner against a true pressure fighter. that demarco fight was a joke. tons of videos on youtube saying "BRONER PASSED THE TEST". how is it a test when you're an 8-1 favorite in vegas before the fight happens? he did what he was supposed to do. lucas is a smart fighter who can brawl, similar to Guerrero. i think people look at matthysse as a brawler but he's more of a boxer/puncher with a high ring IQ we'll see how he does against hank lundy but i'm pretty sure he'll get lundy out of there I've seen Matthysse fight a few times and I just don't think he's elite. I think he's good, but not great. I agree with you on the Demarco fight. I saw Edwin Valero destroy Demarco and knew then he was nothing but a good fighter with guts. Not championship quality. As far as Broner, we haven't seen him really get hit yet. Which is why I'd love to see vs. Gamboa. Both are lightning fast and have power. I'd say Broner's defense is better, but if he gets rocked once or twice, who knows how he will react. Farenas gave Gamboa a good fight. Gamboa clearly won, but Farenas had a strong chin and tested Gamboa. He also showed again that Gamboa can be caught. I would be surprised if it wasn't a great fight between the two. I really like Guerrero. He showed a different side against Berto, some Andre Ward type skills with the ability to adapt to different styles. I don't know that he's a match for Floyd (maybe if the fight waited another year), but I'd have him rated above Matthysse for sure.