Rex Hudler

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 01:24 PM) Well I said Friday in the last sentence, maybe that's what you saw. Thursday early session (and I guess late session) are usually ones where you can get cheap tickets on the secondary market. Friday's sessions will be way higher, as will the rest of the weekend. However, a good way to get tickets a bit cheaper for Saturday/Sunday is to immediately go to the fans of the team that lost, while in the arena, and offer cash. They have a small window to get rid of those tickets and they can get cash on the spot - kind of hard to turn down and try to get more on stubhub or something. Same thing works in the NCAA tournament. Yeah, it's something like $15 to pick them up, which is ridiculous. I also hate how Stubhub, when you can have it shipped, costs $15 for Fedex. I stayed away from Stubhub this time, kind of feels odd to pay maybe $25 to get a $5 ticket. On that note, and I hope I do not have to resort to this. But what is the best way to sell tickets on the secondary market on short notice? What if I need to move my 4 tickets to the Indy Regional living in Alabama?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 03:41 PM) They might not tell the whole story but improvement generally shows up in the numbers whereas Zeller's assist rate has gone down and his assist to turnover rate from last year is also worse. He is also scoring less efficiently than as a freshman while not seeing his usage rate go up much at all. I agree he has improved on defense though and he has also improved on the glass. And he is being defended in the post much more aggressively and has scored from a distance, showing range, which was not in his repertoire last year. I think the guy got a ton of hype and has played and improved very well through it. He didn't improve as much as Oladipo and he still has a ways to go in many areas. I think at times he felt like he had to do too much and rushed things. All that said, I will say it right now, I think there is better than a 50% chance he comes back next year.

QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 03:40 PM) Again, I never said none of these guys improved at all. Certainly their defense is better than last year on paper. My post was also specifically in response to another with a specific context, it's not like I compared him to Rick Barnes. However, we're still talking about incremental improvements with basically everyone but Oladipo. You mention a bunch of offense-related improvements when they were basically as good last year even with Verdell Jones III as a starting guard instead of Ferrell. I'm not seeing any of those supposed huge improvements. Perhaps you should watch more diligently. I can see a major improvement in many of these players and this team overall from last year. Trust me, if I thought they weren't improving, I'd have been b****ing from my couch all season. But they have gotten significantly better. This team is one of the most unselfish I have ever seen. Individual stats don't seem to mean much to them. They take what's given to them in a game. Sometimes that means Cody dominates and sometimes others see the limelight. Not saying they are perfect, but watching a team every game in detail will offer a lot more than someone who watches a few games and looks at stats.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 03:36 PM) At least your 80 year olds show up to the game. We can usually give you a run for your money. Half our A section people are rich idiots who don't show up. One thing they talked about yesterday Rock, did they move the student section away from behind the benches? There were games this year I swear it was like MSU, Michigan, etc where they were behind the benches. Luckily, we'll get more students towards the floor with the new renovation project. If you haven't seen it, here's a look: $600 of tickets, geez. Better hope they get that regional... Honestly with how die hard you are I thought your stance would be different. I'll stand behind my "if they don't make the FF it's a failure." Have expectations, and hope they live up to them. That's how I was with Illinois. Do I look back on that season and hate it? No way. Still very disappointed they lost to a great UNC team. Like you said, FF is tough once you get there. But you could hear me saying with about 7 minutes left in Allstate Arena, "this whole season has been a waste, all this #1 stuff, all of it's irrelevant." And honestly, it would have been if they didn't make the FF. I'd always look back and say "yeah it was a fun season, but it was a bunch of nothing in the long run." It's the same thing with the Hawks right now. None of this matters unless they win the Stanley Cup. Maybe it's just me. To move it over to baseball, I don't look at the playoffs as "gravy" when the Sox make the playoffs. Go win the damn world series. And no, it's not crap...IU eventually was going to get a coach in there that could snag some recruits and get some IU guys to stay home. In college basketball, it's not THAT hard once you get a few recruits in there. Sorry, I'm seeing too many people act like this is NW winning the BTT. One of my best friend's brother is an IU alum and a huge fan, he says that a lot of IU fans right now are just thrilled with the BT title and almost don't care what happens in the tournament. WTF? That just doesn't make sense. As far as Crean...I'm FAR from the only one that thinks he's weird/arrogant/jerk, whatever you want to say about him. Sure coaches have beefs with each other, but I can't remember too many times a guy, after winning a title, goes out of his way on national tv to rub it in someone's face in the middle of the court. Whether you like it or not, just because it's IU doesn't mean it's not a news story or worth talking about. Your "why should anyone care" doesn't really do much...why should anyone care about anything? $600 of tickets equates to 4 ticket for all sessions. $140 per ticket I think. Or something close. You're right, I'm sure as hell hoping they make it. I think yesterday all but guaranteed they'll be the #1 seed in the Midwest (I can only see one scenario where that might not happen) but they still have to win the first weekend. If they don't, I'll likely be scrambling to sell some tickets. It would be a long trip for me to come from Birmingham if IU is not in it. The others are all coming from Evansville, which isn't so bad. If you looked at my earlier post, I agreed that the season would be deemed a major disappointment if they don't make the Final Four. I just don't like using words like failure and choke, etc. when talking about humans, especially young athletes. Maybe its the fact that I played college baseball and understand how freaking hard it is for everything to go right all the time. I've been part of teams that went farther than expected and teams that didn't make it as far as we thought we would. Sometimes it is simply the bounce of the ball (see Jordan Morgan's tip in yesterday) that can make the difference. I wish IU was good enough to beat everyone in the country by 30 and I'd never have to worry about it. That's just not realistic. As far as other IU fans, I can't speak for them. I can say I have gotten satisfaction from this season regardless of what happens from here on out. But I'm not gonna lie and tell you how I ultimately feel about this team won't be affected by it. But even if we lose to a 16 seed, once I get over the embarrassment, I'll still have the enjoyment I got from this season. Of course, I'll be wondering what the f**k happened at the same time. As far as the Crean thing. What others think of him doesn't mean squat to me. He got caught up in the heat of the moment and I will reiterate, none of us know the whole story. Did I wish it weren't being talked about today. Yeah. But will it change what I think about him or my team in the long run. Hell no.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 03:36 PM) My preseason prediction was exactly what happened if you go back and look at it. I would say most experts and IU fans had them losing 1 maybe 2 games in conference just like some of the more recent dominant B10 teams did. I dont get your 49-1 point though, is that backwards? Hey, at least we beat all other 11 teams in conference play though! LOL, allow me to state that differently. opposing teams not named Indiana went 1-49 @ Mich, MSU and OSU. IU went 3-0.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 02:14 PM) I honestly dont understand your point at all. Are you saying he didnt have a disappointing year considering the expectations? I think IU overall underachieved even with the regular season title. What were your expectations of IU this year? I predicted them to lose 4 games. They lost 5. I'm a homer! Opposing teams not named Indiana this year went a combined 49-1 @ Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. Indiana went 3-0. The knock on IU was they couldn't win on the road. They went 7-2 on the road in the best conference in the country. They went 6-1 and teams ranked in the Top 10 of the final AP poll. They won the best league in the country outright. Did you really have us on par with the '76 team or are you selectively tossing around words like "disappointing" and expectations"? Seriously, what was your preseason prediction? IU guys on here, were you disappointed in this year to this point?

That's the problem with numbers. They don't always tell the story. For Cody to have done the same thing as last year would have been a big improvement just based on how teams defended him. But by looking at the numbers, you'll miss that Cody has become a better passer, he has extended his range in a big way and he's a better defender. Cody doesn't care how much he scores if the team wins. Watford has rebounded much better this year and been more consistent. He has struggled in the last few games, but he has been solid all year long as a 3rd or 4th option on this team. Hulls has improved light years in the past two years. He is actually a very good off the ball defender and has improved greatly on the ball despite physical limitations. Hulls handles the ball and passes much, much better than even last year. When Hulls arrived, he was simply a catch and shoot 3 pt shooter. His release has gotten much quicker. He makes shots off the dribble, and off shot fakes moving inside the 3 pt line. To say he hasn't improved greatly is assinine. Sheehey is a very good all-around player and defender. Stats don't tell half of what he does on the floor. Teams have assistant coaches too. The Head Coach isn't responsible for the improvement of every player in any program more than motivating that player to work hard, improve their basketball IQ and choosing the right assistants to work with these guys every day. I'm not making this argument to say Crean is Top X, just to defend the fact these guys have gotten much better. Oladipo is a perfect example. His work ethic is as much responsible for anything, but don't you think it is the coach's job to cultivate that and give the player the tools to make himself better? I get the feeling that you think the Head Coach is having two hour individual sessions with each player every day. That doesn't happen anywhere. QUOTE (ZoomSlowik @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 01:06 PM) A lot of those are terrible examples. Oladipo okay, the rest haven't exactly made the leap. Zeller averaged about 16-7 on 62% shooting as a freshman. This year he's averaging 17-8 on 57% shooting. WOW, HUGE difference! One of the main strikes against his draft stock is that scouts don't think he improved his game much. Watford's numbers have been fairly consistent since his freshman year. Sr- 12-6, 43/82/48 shooting Jr- 13-6, 42/81/44 shooting So- 16-5, 42/84/38 shooting Fr- 12-6, 38/80/32 shooting Basically his 3-point shooting got better. Improved, but not exactly off the charts. You can do the same thing with Hulls. He got more minutes and his shooting percentage went up from his freshman to sophomore years, but other than that his numbers have been virtually identical. Sheehey, it's really hard to say how much he's improved the last few years given he's still a role player. He's solid, but doesn't strike me as a potential All-Conference guy with more PT. Ferrell, way too early to say he's made massive improvements. He's still putting up single-digit point games a lot and isn't exactly putting up 7 assists a game. I suspect he'll be very good next year, but that'll have a lot to do with an increased role. I wouldn't put those types of developments anywhere close to what Bo Ryan does on a regular basis at Wisconsin. You can't say I'm biased either, as a Northwestern fan I only hate God.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 01:04 PM) I haven't looked at the stats at all. I've watched a lot of big ten games and I talk to my indiana friends who agree with me. As to Watford, he was terrible for the majority of the year. It's not that he didn't get the number of shots, it's that he sucked and never fit into the flow of the game. That's regression in my book. Look, I get it. You don't want people talking bad about your coach/program. But i'm not the first or last person to question Crean's coaching ability. It's more someone talking about about the coach/program who shows some accuracy in what they say is what we're looking for. The stuff you are spewing is so off base it's not worth arguing. Make an argument with some solid facts and I'll be happy to listen. Or better yet, how about posting your basketball coaching resume and enlighten us with what you know about the game. Certainly in your posts today, I haven't read much at all.

If you don't think I want them to "go win this f***ing thing" you're crazy. I bought $600 worth of tickets for the Indy Regional in October! But I also had delusions of an undefeated season at one point. And while this team has lost games I thought they should win, it just proves to me how tough it really is. The best coaches in the game who coached 30+ years have won the title no more than a handful of times. To look at IU and say it is a failure if they don't win it all is ridiculous. This team has been enjoyable to watch and regardless of how this turns out, that won't change. Will I be disappointed with an early exit, hell yes. But there are other good teams and all I have ever wanted for IU is to be one of them and to have a shot. Winning the whole thing is gravy and something to be celebrated, but not something to denigrate a team over. I sure as hell hope you don't remember your 2005 Illini that way! If so, that's very sad. And this whole "it's IU, you knew they weren't going to be down for long" is a bunch of crap. All people have been spewing on here for the last several years is how IU is no longer a top program and that they haven't done anything in 25 years, blah blah blah. Now you're going to tell me we should have all known it was coming? I'm sorry, but I get irritated when people sit on their couches and judge others without knowing the full story. I could care less whether you think Coach Crean is an a**hole, a great guy, an embarassment, or anything else. What you or anyone else thinks about "my" team means nothing to me. So forgive me if I have an opinion that doesn't jive with the masses that want to plaster something on TV and talk about how bad it is. Screw that. Coaches have beefs with each other. Should he have handled things differently, sure. But it's OVER. Why should anyone care? As soon at the first ball is thrown into the air Thursday, no one else will talk about it. QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 11:52 AM) Crean, at best, is a very weird guy. You could call him a lot of other things. It's no surprise he seems generally hated by many. There's definitely something amiss about him. That creepy smile after that exchange yesterday was ridiculous. Yesterday was an embarrassment. Cmon Rex. "So what, move on?" You just won the BTT, go jump around with your team or something. Instead, let's take the focus off that and go call someone out in the middle of the floor and on national TV. Please don't tell me that he didn't know a camera would be on him, either. Post game cameras are always on the coach, especially the winning coach. This whole "we're back" thing is getting tiresome. Again, it's IU, you knew they weren't going to be down for long. In college bball, you need a few good recruits and you can turn it around in a minute. They got Zeller, etc...and they are where they are. This isn't a miracle for IU to be good again. Any IU fan that is satisfied with this season, regardless of what happens in the tournament, is setting the bar much lower than any IU fan should. If they don't make the FF, I would guess most fans with high expectations won't look back years from now on 12-13 and say "OMG remember that awesome team, what a year." They'll remember that they didn't finish the job, when they have arguably the best team/most talent in the country. This is the same team that played with Kentucky last year, basically went with them blow for blow, and there's not Kentucky this year. This could be the best chance IU has at a FF/title for the next 10 years, who knows. Seems that IU fans could be setting themselves up to be "OK" with an earlier than expected tournament loss. If you are going to be Indiana, and you want to play the banner pointing game, then play that card to the max. Expect championships and don't be satisfied by this drawn out "we're back" thing. Sorry Rex I just see you coming on here if they lose in the sweet 16 and saying "Disappointed they lost, but what a great season." I like Balta's attitude yesterday of "go win this f***ing thing."

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 11:41 AM) Hulls you have a point, but Sheehey does way more than shoot the ball. He's been cold lately, I'll grant you that, but Sheehey's at his best when he's not just shooting the ball. But again, I think it's shortchanging Crean to say "he just simply has better players" as if they showed up out of the blue in Bloomington, no thanks to him or his staff. However, I think that "coaching" and "recruiting" are not as easily separated as the conventional wisdom seems to think they are. EDIT: Rereading your post, I think you're doing a disservice to Oladipo too. He does give Derrick Rose style effort, but his "skills" have also definitely improved year-over-year. Shooting and ball handling mostly. Hulls has improved by leaps and bounds every year he has been at IU. Because he is a great shooter that's all he gets credit for. This team is better because the players work hard, they are more experienced and they are better players across the board. Period. Whether that puts Coach Crean as one of the "best developers of talent" as HE_Gawn said, I don't know. I don't think anyone on this board sees enough basketball, including practices, to tell which coaches are the best at it. Most will look at one or two players on a team and judge it from that, which is an incomplete picture.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 11:36 AM) See, I would argue that he hasn't really made any of his players better, he just simply has better players. Zeller hasn't gotten much better in his two years. He still has the same good skills, as well as the same weaknesses to his game. Oladipo made the jump, but I think everyone would agree that was sort of an unexpected fluke. It's not like his basketball "skills" have increased, he just gives 110% Derrick Rose style effort and has a knack for making critical plays at critical times in the game. I guess that can be Crean influencing his basketball IQ, but I dunno, he's still not some guy you want dribbling the ball needing a basket. He's the perfect glue guy, not the go-to-guy. Hulls/Watford/Sheehey do what they've always done at IU - shoot the ball. If they aren't hitting their shots they don't impact the game that much. That post tells me you know next to nothing about basketball. Without dissecting the whole thing, to say that Zeller has not improved and Oladipo's "skills" have increased is laughable.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 11, 2013 -> 10:44 AM) So You are ok with his actions yesterday? As far as Meyer being "central" or "at fault", IU hired Kelvin Sampson, whoever hired him ruined the program. Honestly, I could care less about what he did yesterday. In a perfect world, he handles himself better, just as he has already stated. But none of us know the whole, true back story. It happened. Two guys had a beef. It doesn't change the way I sleep at night, nor affect my way of thinking either way. Athletes and coaches compete. They get caught up in the heat of the battle. Things are done and said that shouldn't be. But in the end, its a small blip on the radar and doesn't affect much. I actually find it comical that everyone is focusing so much on it and acting as if it is the only time a coach has ever had a beef with another.

I don't think you can ever call a season a failure if a team doesn't win the title. The Final Four is just too competitive. That said, I would be very disappointed if IU doesn't make the Final Four, but I have enjoyed this team a lot this year, even with the few disappointments. As far as Crean, I don't much care what others think from the outside looking in. I like him and hope he continues to be IU's Head Coach. As far as yesterday, who knows what has been said between Crean and Meyer. The bottom line is, Michigan can say they win with class, but they did hire a guy that was central to all of the BS that happened at Indiana under Sampson. That doesn't mean he shouldn't be hired anywhere, but it should be no surprise if he is one of the last guys Crean wants to be social with. I'm sure there was a lot of emotion yesterday, with the game ending the way it did, clinching the title outright and the journey that it has taken to get to that point. Yes, he should have controlled his emotions, but it happened. So what. Time to move on and win some more games.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 10, 2013 -> 06:33 PM) When the top 4 or 5 teams are that good, no draw is a decent draw. Yes, but let's look at the 2 seed. They have to deal with Purdue, Iowa and Michigan State than the 4 I mentioned. I'm not sure I care if we get to Sunday or not to be honest. I'm not going to root for us to lose, but I think the reality of beating Michigan for a 3rd time will be very tough. I'm certainly not taking Illinois and Minnesota for granted or assuming Wisky won't be there. Wonder if Bertrand will be okay?

QUOTE (zenryan @ Mar 10, 2013 -> 06:23 PM) I'm guessing it was an alternate design dark jersey they wore at home? Not their normal road green? I guess $$$$ talks. Yes, that's exactly what it was. Resembled alternate uniforms their football team wore. As far as alternate unis go, they didn't look horrible, they just should have been worn on the road. IMO

A few thoughts.... 1. With Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan in the same side of the bracket, I'm not convinced the 2 and 3 seed didn't get the better draws in the BTT. 2. I do not think the foul on Watford should have been called differently than what it was. I will argue this whether it is IU or the Topeka YMCA playing, if the defender makes a legitimate attempt at the ball the call should simply be a foul. End of story. Hacking the right arm of a right handed player about to lay the ball up is a basketball play. The problem lies in the use of the word intentional. The rule was placed into effect in essence to prevent overly harsh, aka flagrant fouls that could hurt someone. There are "intentional" fouls throughout EVERY game in college basketball and 10 or more could be called every night. Murking up the waters is the newer, yet different rule on Flagrant 1 and Flagrant 2 fouls. If Watford (or Johnny Stevens from Topeka) pushes the player in the back with both hands, that's a different call. Watford simply placed one hand on the players back as he swatted at the ball. He got his shooting arm instead. That's no different than hand checking. My opinion on this would have been the same had the roles been reversed. In fact, I hate it every time I am at a basketball game and there is a foul late in the game and half the crowd stands up with arms crossed yelling "intentional". I've hated it for years. Unfortunately, you don't see it interpreted consistently across the country so there is confusion as to the correct intention of the rule. Just my $.02

QUOTE (zenryan @ Mar 10, 2013 -> 05:56 PM) try telling that to LSU football. Somebody always has to be different. But at least LSU is consistent. If I were Northwestern, I'd have worn road uniforms and forced the issue. That said, I'm sure it was cleared by the league and okay'd by NW well before game day. But still... Count me as hating all of this alternate uniform shiite!

Btw, what's up with Michigan State wearing dark uniforms at home? It's not that difficult a concept to deal with - home white (ok, highlighter yellow if you must) and road colors.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 10, 2013 -> 04:33 PM) I know, Michigan has no one to blame but themselves. The two layups at the end have to fall, too. Just think about what the one and one rule is. We just fouled you, but you only get one free throw because you weren't shooting and we have enough fouls for you to go to the line, but not enough for you to automatically get two free throws. However, if you make the first you get two after all. WTF? It creates drama at the end of high school and college basketball games so I guess it adds that element and you won't hear many coaches complain about it because just make your free throws, but the logic behind the rule is truly strange. Ahhh, youth! It used to be one and one in perpetuity. The two shots after 10 fouls has only been around about 20 years.

QUOTE (danman31 @ Mar 10, 2013 -> 04:27 PM) This is kind of a side note, but who came up with the one and one anyway? It's such a goofy rule and it decided today's game. It's better than the old NBA 3 to make 2 rule.

Am i correct that Illinois is playing for a 7 or 8 seed in the BTT tomorrow? It appears Iowa has the 6 seed locked up and Minny the 9 seed after today's games. That is if I understood the tiebreakers right. Here is what I've got so far... 1. Indiana 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Iowa 7. Purdue or Illinois 8. Illinois or Purdue 9. Minnesota 10. Nebraska 11. Northwestern 12. Penn State 2-5 still have too many possibilities. For example, Michigan could be a 2, 3, 4 or 5 seed depending on what happens Sunday.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 8, 2013 -> 04:40 PM) Hook and ladder to end the ISU Evansville game, the officials miss one of the easiest travels ever to call, but the kid gets his shot blocked into next week to even it up. Yep, its March. It was a pretty cool play and it worked. Except you're right, he took 3 full steps and then got the shot blocked (where a foul could have been called). But who could argue the non-foul call when he skated to get there. The disappointing thing was the two missed FT's with :22 left that could have made the final play unnecessary.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Mar 7, 2013 -> 12:18 PM) You're IU, act like you've been there before. If they lose early, actually any earlier than the FF, I'm pretty sure most IU fans aren't looking back favorably on the 2012-2013 Hoosiers. Over time, they will be disappointed with the finish, but will remember the players fondly, especially the seniors. It's hard to explain, but with what Indiana went through, I think there is an appreciation for the journey and commitment of the players. This senior class started with six players and 3 "celebrated" senior night. Mo Creek still has a year remaining after red shirting, two others didn't stick around. Suffice it to say, while Indiana fans can be very arrogant, the last 6-8 years have been somewhat humbling and make you look at things differently than before. Just one man's opinion.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 6, 2013 -> 05:02 PM) Yeah, its clearly for the fans at the game. I had never attended one before, it seemed really long to me but thats probably by design. For example he spoke about every member of his family that was there. I'm sure its a great event for those kids, especially the ones who were there through the s*** times. It's been a tradition since the 70's. Jim Crews brought it to Evansville, so I am familiar with it. Basically, the players have the mic without a time limit. Some talk awhile, some make jokes, some get real emotional. Heard there have been a few marriage proposals. As far as the nets being cut down and celebrating the title, I'm okay with it. From a distance its kinda weird, but the rationale was this year was special because of the journey it has taken to get there and this team will be considered special in IU history, regardless of how the season ends. They wanted to do it in front of fans. I'm sure everybody wishes they would have done it after a win. But how is it really different from a baseball team celebrating a division championship after a loss when the other team in contention lost also? Don't see it everyday, but to me, I say let them have their moment and its not time to take care of business and keep your eyes on the bigger prize.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 5, 2013 -> 10:54 PM) Hulls speech on BTN, are all senior night speeches as long as this? Some years yes, some years no. Just depends on the player. Some are funny, some emotional, and so on.. and so on.