Rex Hudler

dasox, I think what is different about the Big Ten and its fans is that the most important things are winning the conference title and playing in the Rose Bowl. It goes back to the days that the bowl games were a reward. Yes, the coaches and players want to win, but a win or loss in bowl games really doesn't change their season or affect the next season. In their minds the season is already judged on the first 12 games. This is a concept that SEC fans and media can't grasp (or refuse to). Unless that mentality changes, then they are never going to be on the same page. I can't speak for the Pac-12 but my guess is their philosophy aligns with the Big Ten's more so than others.

I'm disappointed to see the IU-Kentucky series end. I'm torn about the differing opinions since the only IU-UK game I have been to was in Freedom Hall. There was something special about the arena split into two halves, red and blue. I also understand the allure of playing on campus and the student involvement at home. It seems to me a simple compromise would be to settle on a four year deal. playing home and home, one game in Indy and one game in Louisville. It is kind of funny that Kentucky is the one that moved it to campus sites after they had been playing the split neutral format for several years. I do think there is merit to Calipari not wanting to lose at home next year and also that he feels like having half a stadium filled with blue in Indy would help his recruiting efforts in Indiana, especially the Indy area.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Apr 29, 2012 -> 10:06 PM) That's what I want whenever Purdue-Illinois play basketball, or when Purdue-Notre Dame play in football. Somehow, it hasn't happened yet. It's Purdue - Kentucky for me.

QUOTE (Heads22 @ Apr 28, 2012 -> 10:44 AM) IU-Kansas would be fun. They played before I believe. I know they played once somewhere around 1990. It was in the Hoosier Dome and I believe we lost. I was there, but have had many beers since then. Edit: I went back and checked... IU played Kansas from 93-96 seasons. 93 - lost at Hoosier Dome 74-69. KU ranked #3; IU #2 93 - lost in Sweet Sixteen 83-77. KU ranked #9; IU #1 (this was shortly after Eric Anderson, a key player for IU was injured. I truly believe IU would have won the NC that year if he hadn't gotten hurt. IU was 13-2 against ranked teams that year until the lost to KU) 94 - lost @ Kansas in OT 86-83. KU ranked #6; IU #12 95 - won at home 80-61. KU ranked #3; IU not ranked 96 - lost in Kansas City 91-83. KU ranked #1; IU not ranked All close games except in 95. It was a good series, but we lost 3 out of 4 plus the NCAA Tournament game. I liked the 4 game series, one at each home court and one at "neutral" site for each. I'd like to see something like this again.

Early pieces from IU's 2012-2013 schedule... Legends Classic finals in the new Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. IU will play two of UCLA, Georgetown and Georgia Butler in Indy - Notre Dame and Purdue play the other game Expecting possibly North Carolina or NC State at home in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Played NC State on the road last year. Kentucky is still up in the air. Discussions with Kansas have existed as a possible replacement if UK falls through. Kentucky wants to go back to off campus sites. IU wants to keep it on campus. While the atmosphere was electric this year when we won at home, I've been to a couple of the games when they split the stadium in half and play it in Louisville or Indy and it was a great atmosphere also. Strangely enough, Kentucky is the one that moved it to campus several years ago.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 19, 2012 -> 09:27 PM) As we all know I disagree with SoxBadger about EVERYTHING. Because he's wrong on a lot of things... However, without digging into Crean or any of this other stuff, I don't see how Bo Ryan is wrong in this, unless something isn't being reported. The kid wants out for apparently no real good reason/not mistreatment, so yeah, why would you not restrict him somewhat? I mean he's the one who committed there, if it's not the right fit for him and it's his own doing, it wouldn't make sense that he could come play for Illinois or something. How would that be fair to Wisconsin? In theory, coaches can't kick kids off for no good reason and go snag another kid already rostered on another BT team. Why should the reverse be allowed? Krush, I hate to admit this but I was thinking almost exactly the same thing. I don't always agree with Badger and don't really care about all of the back and forth about this particular topic. But I really don't see the big deal with all of this. I still don't know all of the details, but I have no problem with transfer restrictions within reason. If the kid never spoke with Coach Ryan and essentially "faxed it in", then I'm not too worried about his whining to the press (or the press whining for him). It seems to me this story was really a lot of noise about a very small or non-issue.

All five Kentucky starters announce they are leaving school. I've heard all of the arguments, but I just can't get myself to feel this is what college basketball should be like.

Is this Uthoff kid any good? Why is it such a big deal? Hell, if he's not great, just replace him and move on. If he's very good, why haven't I heard of him until now?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 16, 2012 -> 10:38 AM) It is all about how IU fans think of themselves and IU. They honestly believe they are the premier basketball program in the country. There is some of that out there. There are also some IU fans who still refuse to watch because of what happened to Bobby Knight. I can't help those idiots. But I don't think the larger part of the fan base believes that. I think IU fans believe they are a top tier program in the country and expect their program to be able to compete at a top level. In all my life, I've never experienced IU fans as a group expecting final four appearances or national championships. I do believe Sweet Sixteen appearances are the expectation, knowing that we'll advance in our fair share of years. But I also believe it is important to IU fans that things are done the right way. They want to win, but they want to win with good kids who work hard and go to class. So much to the point, they were willing to The fact that we've been down for awhile may distort those general expectations, however. As Rock pointed out, there is a new generation of IU fans who haven't lived through the past successes. I can't answer for them and what they expect. I just know I want IU to be a top 10-15 program every year with the occasional shot at the very top. None of it is assumed, however.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 16, 2012 -> 07:45 AM) If IU ends up as a three seed, there are going to be a lot of disappointed IU fans. That was my first reaction. But about 3 seconds later, I realized that a 3 seed is reasonable. Anywhere from a 1-4 would be okay as long as they have come together as a team to compete for the title. I'm not expecting them to win it. But it sure is nice to be going into the season feeling like they have as good of a shot as most teams. I expect there to be a few hiccups. I really believe there will be an adjustment period for this team because of the leadership lost. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think too many people underestimate the contribution by the seniors, stats notwithstanding.

Soxbadger, the problem with your argument on oversigning and the web site oversigning.com is the opinion is based purely on numbers. If a kid transfers out, he was pushed out. The reality of it is, there is a lot that goes into those decisions. Some kids need to be pushed out. I agree with honoring the scholarship for four years, if the kid is busting his ass, a team player, doing everything expected of him off the court and in the classroom, etc. But most kids want to play. When a coach sits down with them and gives them the harsh reality that it looks like he's not going to play, MOST kids will leave. Most kids don't want to ride the pine so to speak, for four years. Some kids will go to the coach and ask to transfer. Other times it is the result of a player evaluation that they may or may not agree with. An example from football. Michigan had a CB named Cullen Christian. He came highly rated out of PA and didn't play much his freshman year. He got passed up by a few lesser rated players. After Coach Rodriguez left, he stayed through the spring last year in Brady Hoke's first year. After the spring, they sit down with every player, tell them where they are on the depth chart, what their prospects for playing time are and discuss what they need to work on in the summer and fall. Christian was told he was not in the two-deep and would be on the scout team. He wasn't happy. So he transferred to Pitt (where some of Rod's asst coaches landed) and spoke out about how he was treated unfairly. The problem was, he had a higher opinion of himself than anyone else at Michigan did. Does that mean UM pushed him out for a better recruit? Theoretically you could stretch it to that, but it would be a very weak stretch. Yet, a site like oversigning.com is going to look at the numbers in these type situations and make it appear the coaches are doing something sinister. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but without knowing the details of each situation, you can't make accusations. And sometimes, even if a kid is pushed out, its in his best interests whether he realizes it at the time or not.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 14, 2012 -> 09:57 AM) Indiana surely has some talent to compete in conference, and possibly the tourney, but uk has a TON more and better coaching. I think IU fans are going to be surprised how different it is with the target back on your backs. It's a tough road through the Big Ten. You act as if we're Northwestern and finishing in the top 6 in the conference is new to us. Find me one IU fan that thinks we're going to walk through the Big Ten? Get freakin' real. IU fans won't be surprised by anything in terms of how hard the road through the Big Ten is. We've been there a few times. If any of the IU fans on this board need some help with expectations, I'll be happy to discuss with them and give a little history lesson in the process. The simple fact is, IU is looking as good as anyone in the country on paper with 7 months to go before the start of the season. Any IU fan should be disappointed if we aren't better in the Big Ten next year, competing for the conference title with a chance to win or tie for it and be set up for at least another sweet sixteen run. Anything beyond that is nothing more than a guy being excited about the prospects of his team. We all have final four dreams. But that's a tough road and the potholes in the road present themselves when the tourney field is announced. The bottom line is IU SHOULD be a top ten team all year and COULD be a top 5 team with a shot at #1 if things go well. The same could be said about several teams, not just IU.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Apr 12, 2012 -> 11:22 AM) It's not Actually it is different because the NLI had been signed. A last minute de-commit happens before signing day. This kid has already signed. That said I don't think it is automatically a terrible thing. See my previous post.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 12, 2012 -> 09:31 AM) My question would be how different is it than a player de-committing from a school at the last minute? http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-p...-185529935.html I tend to agree. It sounds harsh, but if they don't feel the kid is good enough to play, he won't be happy sitting the bench. Who knows exactly how they presented it to him. But if they feel he's not going to play, I think the kid would rather (maybe he doesn't realize it yet) know now than invest a year or two and have to sit out a year while transferring. Note the article stated they are asking the kid to release the school from its obligation. If he says no, he can go and work his ass off and prove he belongs. I can't see a coach not playing a kind that is good enough out of spite. Especially one that does everything asked, works his tail off and is a team player. Perhaps they could have asked him to switch to preferred wak on status for a year with an opportunity to earn the scholly in year 2? Maybe they did?

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Apr 11, 2012 -> 07:20 PM) Rex, Crean has a terrible reputation in Wisconsin for over-signing. My guess is that on the recruitment trail someone told his family about his love of oversigning and they didnt want to feel their sons commitment caused another player to lose his spot. http://oversigning.com/testing/index.php/2...more-1419\ http://kentsterling.com/2010/08/24/indiana...rivals-5-stars/ I dont know if that will play well in the Indiana High Schools. At Marquette he basically would get 1 recruit from Wisconsin a year, at Indiana he seemingly is going to get multiple in state. You have to believe the Creaning of players is going to eventually ruin some relationships. I'm not a big fan of it in theory, but it is is managed I can live with it. I trust he will manage his roster in a fair way. I think this year we're here because it was widely believed (even before the season started) that Watford would not stay for his 4th year. If he starts having players leave early for the NBA he'll need it. If players aren't playing enough and unhappy, they'll leave. It would not shock me for Creek to be unable to return and be healthy and take a medical hardship. I'm just speculating. We'll see how he manages things the next few years, but I do agree that it could become a problem if we are oversigned every year at this point.

I'm still trying to figure out how Petrino had broken bones and such injuries and the girl walked away unscathed. Just seems odd.

QUOTE (Palehosefan @ Apr 11, 2012 -> 06:39 PM) Shabazz to UCLA, not a shocker considering... "Asia Muhammad, Bazz's sister, is ranked No. 386 on the WTA Tour and has an adidas deal. UCLA is also an adidas school." UCLA gets the #1 and #3 player according to Rivals. Guess we'll be seeing a quick turnaround there.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 11, 2012 -> 05:40 PM) I dont know about the IU guys but it pisses me off every time I see Gary Harris and the f***ing MSU logo next to his name. I don't like it, but to me it's better than having Purdue or Kentucky next to his name. Not sure how close we were to getting Harris, but I had heard he wasn't going to pick IU unless there was a spot available (meaning not oversigned). No one questioned whether he would have a spot, just that his family wanted him to fit in an open spot. Maybe they didn't want to feel like he was causing another player to lose his scholly or whatever, but that's just what I had heard. When we signed Remy Abell last year, I knew it was going to be an uphill climb with Harris simply due to numbers. We're still oversigned by one right now and that doesn't include Matt Roth who has eligibility remaining. Though not sure what Roth would do since I'm told he is very close to having a graduate degree already.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 10:29 AM) AH, you forget I dont really care for Urban Meyer or his character. My issue is with an article that claims someone broke something when he left them with a TON of talent and two crystal footballs. Its sour grapes, nothing more. And from what I have seen so far in recruiting, he has distanced himself from some guys Tressel would have gladly taken so perhaps he is trying to do things differently, especially with a program on probation. As far as Tebow goes, he was a bit player in his first national championship, I should know, I had a stake in it. Dont neglect what he did at Utah and BG as well. He's good, very good. I just hope he's clean. The Sampson comment plays right into my post earlier about IU bball fans and OSU fball fans. Delusion at its finest across the board. What I am saying is regardless of this article, there were rumblings of problems at Florida before he left. They just weren't very loud. It wasn't just coming from this guy. The word was the players were running the program, there was no discipline for the "good" players and while there was talent there were a ton of kids who were bad kids or kids who needed guidance and weren't getting it. The idea that Florida was broken didn't just come from the guy in the article. I'm asking you to take your focus off the article and the guy who wrote it and see that maybe there is some merit to some of the things he said. Florida was ready to take several steps back and Meyer knew it when he left. If you're program is under control, you shouldn't have to quit for health reasons, change your mind, then quit the next year.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 09:43 AM) The article was supposed to show how Meyer "broke" the Gators. ZERO NCAA violations, zero. PLayers were refuting the "statements" made all night on twitter. Its a jaded fan who now sees that Muschamp sucks and wants to blame someone. ONce again, if Urban Meyer "breaks" my buckeyes to the tune of 2 national titles, numerous conference titles and zero NCAA infractions he will go down as a legend. Every single team in the Big Ten has suspended or had a player go injured that got caught with weed. If thats an indictment of a coach then nobody is doing a good job. In case you also think he is a Florida fan that has objective opinions on OSU: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=128...e=3&theater You sound just like me when Sampson was in town. I could care less about the article. But there is some truth to it. Meyer is one of the biggest hypocrites in college football. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. This isn't new information. He had detractors while at Florida too. The detractors just have a quieter voice when teams are winning consistently. When the wins slow down, the voices get louder. We shall see if he can replicate his "success" at Florida without a guy named Tebow.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 9, 2012 -> 10:52 PM) Yawn. Muschamp hasn't been there long enough to be called a bust and a failure so a Gators fan writes an article blaming it on a coach that brought them 2 national titles and left them with the #1 recruiting class in the country. This is a guy who just a short time ago wrote that Urban was the best coach in football. Everyone, especially floridians know Hayes is a hack. Is there a fan on this site that wouldn't want to "broken" to the tune of 2 national titles, a huge pool of in house talent and ZERO NCAA infractions? Now we're back to normal and disagreeing again. Regardless of whether this guy is a hack or not, there is some merit in what was reported. This stuff was known while Meyer was still at Florida. It's not all new. Whether you believe this guy or not, you can't have your head buried in the sand and actually think there is no odor coming from this hire, can you? Let me give you a piece of advice... I bought into Kelvin Sampson. Don't make the same mistake I did! Meyer is far from squeaky clean. That said, I have no doubt he is smarter than Sampson was.

Another article on the job the fine folks at Baylor are doing... Drew's cheating stigma now has merit

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 09:28 AM) If a team loses less than 3 games in conference I would be shocked. I agree again. Something must be wrong here. lol Conference will be too tough for anyone to walk through it even mostly unscathed.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 09:21 AM) As much as its hard to say when you are excited about recruits, not all of them are going to be able to step in and play at a high level right away, the depth that he gives you is incredibly valuable. Exactly! Can you say HUGE?

QUOTE (He_Gawn @ Apr 10, 2012 -> 05:08 AM) Yes, that happened Rex... Hanner Perea text.... As for Watford, Peegs thinks he'll likely be back. Hope so! Watford and Zeller back for another year! Zeller is no surprise, but Watford was iffy. Sweet