You're listening to the back home. Network, presented by home-field apparel. Welcome back to Crimson, Cask ale and Claudio, Scott Caulfield here. It is the 10th of January of 2022. It's good to be back with you
folks. Once again a busy weekend in Indiana University. Jetix we'll talk about that and there's a lot to speak of and basketball and I even some football news we got going on Scott and and some interesting stuff to say the least and as with most things with football, we don't know if it's good or bad and won't for eight months, but we are compelled to speak about it. Scott. How are you doing? Good to see you and I'm doing great.
I can't imagine that you hate October more than you hate this weather. It's freezing outside. The holidays are over. There's just basketball to get us through which is good. I've said this before and I'll repeat It I actually don't mind this as much as I mind October because there is an encroaching sense of death in fall in the late fall. Death is already here in January. Like if you go out and stand in this for 12 hours, you're not coming back from it.
And so I've almost like, it's easier for me to accept what's happened then kind of go through the dread and anticipation of what's about to come if that makes any sense. It's Why up, like it's being in the middle of your dentist appointment versus driving to the dentist's point. It's like it's much easier to live through a 111 Indiana football season than it is to live through like a five and seven football season that will likely lead to a 1 and 11 season
the following year. Does that make sense? Yeah. We'd like to remind everybody that we are part of the back home network and the title sponsor for the back home network is home field apparel. They have been dropping some Zing stuff on the store here, over the course of the last couple of days. Really, they've launched their Montana and Montana State Collections. They just out of the blue dropped at DePaul collection, which looks for a do Colorado
cow. I mean, there's just there's some really, really good designs out there. I'm gonna, I'm gonna end up getting that DePaul hoodie, even though I don't want hoodies. I really need crewnecks right now, but I like, the problem is, I need Nan. Blue crew necks because I've been told that it's a fashion faux pas to wear a blue crewneck or a blue hoodie with blue jeans. Like it's too much blue. You need to mix it up a little bit. Scott's like I don't care how you know, I'm a 43-year old dad.
I wear cargo shorts. Like I've given up on Fast. Yeah, but I want to talk to you but I'm actively trying to avoid that anyway, so, you know, I don't want to turn into Scott I guess is my big concern and so how shots Fire. You're just doing this to get. We can all come together on home field. We can all agree. The open up on fashion. Having my God. I don't want to be that way. Anyway, home field apparel is the place to go. If you haven't been to home field to check out these designs.
And these new schools. You can use the code home at uh, ome 15 percent off your first order. Be sure to go check them out as they just constantly drop amazing stuff on the store and you'll want to buy most of it as I think all of us have. So anyway, as we get into things. Let's talk basketball first Scott when we last talked about this time last week, little concerned about IU basketball. They had dropped that game on the road to Penn State. We had a nice back and forth.
I think talking about some of the implications from that and since then the Hoosiers are 2 and 0, they respond in a big way with a home Victory against Ohio State on Thursday night, and then they turn around and have a pretty workmen like when this past Sunday, as they defeat Minnesota at home. These were two games that the advanced statistics expected, Indiana twin. So I wasn't surprised, but I think a lot of people were really surprised.
Not just at the victory over Ohio State, but the manner in which the victory over Ohio, State happened as the Hoosiers, really put the clamps down on Ohio State in the second half and one by double digits against the number 13 team in the country that had played pretty well up to that point of the Season, you were there. I was there. What was your overall take home from that game? And also what we saw in the Minnesota game.
Yeah, I mean, you know, to your point I was nervous because, you know, unfortunately, we've been conditioned the last five or six years that we get these, you know, little bumps in the road and then it's like, all right. Well, if we can just win you, the next two or three, we can kind of get back on track. We never do. And it ends up kind of becoming this, this bumpy thing. Ya know, the Ohio State game. Gotta remember back to that. That was, that was a great game.
It was the game where it's like, oh, yeah, Trey Galloway. Like I kind of forgot about him and then it's like, oh, this is awesome. Command, like I'm listening to the assembly call on the drive home and they're arguing over, whether like was traced Jackson Davis, the player, the game was Trey Gaudi the player the game. I think it's a everybody wins that argument cause they were both fantastic.
But you saw, you know, Trace Jackson Davis, pull out all of the stops, great defensive, defensive effort, the blocking, but you had Trey Galloway, where it's like, man, this was really a nice spark Off the Bench. Really helped make the offense run as they mention on assembly call like the offense has to Move when he's in because he he has to move. Like he doesn't stop moving. So therefore it kind of like kick start the offense every single time because he's just
moving around, guys. Like oh, yeah, I gotta, I can't just stand here. Whereas, without him you can see a stagnate and you, you know, again just a bit of a higher view, you know, there's a real glass half full. Look at this season where it's like, you know, if Trey Galloway is a round, maybe we win for those to Syracuse, Wisconsin game. James, I'm not going to say both but it's possible. Like both of those were games.
Were, you know, you see like a team that is need to figure out how to win down the stretch and the Penn State game. It's like, all right, as to your point many times that you have these Duds in the season, even in good years, where it's just like, if we didn't show up that game, it's not great, but you can kind of look back and be like, besides, that, this team is really good and maybe Trey Galloway, is there, you know, we have him for all three of those games.
Maybe were, you know, 14 and one right now as opposed to 12:03 and Stephen. Three is a really good position to be in. So I mean that was that the main takeaway from that and we'll get to the Minnesota game. That's that's my feeling on, on the Ohio, State game in a game where, you know, there was no students. The crowd was was okay, wasn't like a raucous crowd?
It got there. But yeah, I mean you saw kind of the full efforts of having a fired-up bench for than just Trace Jackson Davis putting on an absolute Clinic. Yeah. So on the Galloway point, I think it's interesting. He's at two games back now from the injury and he's been, you know, I think a really important part of both of those games in different ways, the Ohio, State game. He had one of those offensive games that you hope that you are able to generate, as a player
who's coming off the bench. I mean over a point and a half per possession used eight points. Three, four, five shooting 2 for 2 from the free-throw line for assists. No turnovers to steals. I mean, he he was such a spark plug for that team in the Ohio State game and it wasn't just his testicle output, but it was the and G. He brings to the table.
And you know, this is something that we talked about a little bit on the last show and I've talked with some of my friends about over the course of the last few weeks and trying to I guess, you know, excavate the IU roster and figure out where the
problems are. And one of the big issues that I think Indiana has and has had for several years now, really, since 2016, 2017 is the lack of a lot of players who demonstrate for Lack of a better term, Killer Instinct on the floor, you know, or and maybe get Killer, Instinct is kind of a weird way of putting it, but just like.
So as much as everybody hates Brad Davidson or Davison, he has this kind of intangible factor to the way that he plays where it's like, that dude is going to do a lot of little things, and a lot of effort things to win games that are going to make a difference. And it might not be all one play, but it might be little bit. Pieces of five or six plays in those five or six plays end up equating to Victory. And you can go through the history of the Big Ten. I you always seem to have
players like that. It felt like during the night era and then I would argue during the best Crane years. They had players that were doing those things. You know, they think about that 2016 team. The last team that won the Big Ten title.
I mean, it wasn't just that you had Yogi Ferrell and Thomas Bryant but you had, you know, guys like Nick's ice Loft and Max. Beal felt and guys who were just really effort based players who might have lacked it in certain technical skill, sets or athletic skill sets, but we're able to help tip the scales and it just, it felt like the last year of crean and most of, or maybe all of our cheese tenure. Those were just not the types of players that were getting
recruited. They were talented players, but there would be an obvious disjoint meant in the way that I you conducted its elves at certain times and they would play particularly, you know, the troubles that they've had against Purdue, the troubles they've had against Wisconsin. The troubles have had against Ohio State. Those teams have generally had those types of players and you've been or at least I've been like, wondering where are
those players for IU Galloway? At least in these two games back has helped to Trait that and even in the Minnesota game where he wasn't as big of a factor offensively, you know, he didn't he didn't didn't hit the same number of shots, scored. Almost the same number of points, but it was a little bit more careless with the ball wasn't hitting from outside. He was still making little plays and little effort approaches
that helped. And if you'll notice over the last couple of games, Woodson has defaulted to this lineup that consists of Xavier Johnson Robb, fennessy. Tray, Galloway, race Thompson, and Trace Jackson Davis, when things are on the line Jared from assembly call. Tweeted something, you know, over the course of the last couple of the last 10 games, I guess against top 200 competition. We're talks about like having Johnson and fantasy on the floor at the same time.
And then you through Galloway, and who's also been in the last couple of games in those lineups, those lineups, more than anything else, have become very difficult to score, against teams are not averaging above a point per possession. Ocean against that lineup. And it seems like there's some special sauce that started to be generated there and particularly with Galloway kind of acting in a much more aggressive manner than the players that could be out there at that time.
And I'm talking specifically about Parker, Stewart and Miller cop. Galloway is just brought such a higher level of intensity to what he does on the floor. That it really does kind of. Oh, I think add up to this kind of Rozier scenario that you're talking about, maybe historically. Where it's like if Galloway had been able to play against a Syracuse or Wisconsin, maybe there's a difference, maybe not. There's a thousand variables that go into every basketball game.
But regardless of whatever the past was, you do have to feel better about the future knowing that you've now got Galloway able to come off the bench and give minutes at point guard at the, to even at the three. That's a very versatile player that's playing with a level of energy and intensity that we just haven't necessarily seen from the guys that are in starting in those roles. What I thought was also really
interesting. You mentioned, you know, I heard this brought up in a couple of spots, you know, maybe you should we shake up the starting lineup. I think no, I like Galloway Off the Bench but you know again, it's like not to matter who starts matters who finishes. I thought it was amazing and it should have been this way but you know, Galloway, Miss 10 games. He only played 19 minutes against Ohio, State getting
close the game out like that. That should show us like, what woods and things are what Galloway provides to this team, you know, in a relatively close game against Ohio State, He's there on the you know, well final five and it's like he had played in a month and a half and he's like, he's closing the game out. Well, what was it?
Woodson said he's like, you know, I'm going to play guys who play hard and if you're not playing hard you're going to sit next to me. And look, we've talked about this from the beginning. There's two different ways to evaluate. What a coach does. You can evaluate with the coach does in the game and then you can evaluate what a coach does over the course of a season. Multiple Seasons, what culture they're able? All to create and rightly or wrongly.
When you watched Archie, Miller's teams, play you always kind of ask yourself. Where is the culture of accountability for guys that aren't playing particularly hard? And it was never a question at least in my mind of does a guy have the talent to be on the floor, but it was more. What is the guy doing to really provide something to the team that's needed at that moment in time. And is there a sense of urgency? Because I just felt like there wasn't.
In key moments. It was honestly, so, I was, I got a chance, I went to Southern stone for breakfast before the basketball game on Sunday and they had Big Ten Network up and they were showing a replay of the Indiana Minnesota game from 2004, you know, so Mike, Davis coach game, not a great Minnesota team, Indiana LED like almost the whole time. They ended up losing at the end and it was a similar kind of deal where it's like, where was the urgency when it mattered?
And it's felt like To some degree that's been missing from a lot of Indiana teams down the stretch over the course of the last couple of decades. So I'm I'm buoyed by the idea that Woodson might be focusing on effort and the fact that he's got enough players in the mix now that he can afford to not play a Stewart or a cop or a Tomar Bates because he's got an option now with Galloway who's willing to play hard. Now, look we all watched Ray Galloway last year.
We know that Galloway kind of started off with this. Level of intensity. And then it burned out and was he was just not very effective on the floor for the last half
of the season. So I'm curious if he's learned some lessons there if he's gotten some additional coaching and he's gonna be able to sustain this throughout because if he does if he has that ability then I do think that opens up a different dimension of this Indiana team, particularly in closing time in games where they have the lead, or were it's closed where they can rely on this line up, not just for defense, but also for the energy needed to help close
out games. Which has been a problem over the course of the last several years. The other thing that I'm positive about taking these two games, is you kind of have I think what Indiana can be a real pain for teams in that in both of the games. You know, our defense was was great. You know, we shut down, Ohio State, we shut down Minnesota.
We really shut down Ohio State, but when you look on the, so our defense continues to be just a rock solid defense, I think, at one point, I know after Ohio State, we were, you know, First in the Big Ten in you know, two point field goal percentage. Not sure if we're still there, but what I love seeing is on the offensive side, you have kind of this tale of two teams where against Ohio State. It's like, all right, Tres Jackson, Davis and race. Thompson are going to provide,
you know, 38 of our points. You'll basically, the majority of our points are going to come from. The inside Trace is going to have just an amazing Trace game, super efficient, and that's great because you're going to get one of those out of him. Probably, you know, every three hours. For games, you're going to get just a great Trace, Jackson, Davis game.
And then you see the next game. It's like Minnesota's like, all right, we're obviously going to double team Trace where double-teaming everything in the post, Rob fantasy, Xavier Johnson, go nuts. If you guys can shoot whatever you want. I don't particularly think they're going to shoot as well as they did in that game. But if you can just have somewhat consistent 3-point, shooting from those guys. Now, it's like you saw Minnesota the second half, like we're not quite sure what to do.
Like, if it is, he's hitting threes. So, I guess I got to go up on him. But if I got to come back on tracing it just, it messes everything up and it does really show the dynamic offense. This team really could have, if we can get some consistent three-point shooting that it's like, well, I'm not sure is a defense. How you, how you stop Indiana when they can do both of those things. I mean, obviously we're not going to like win out.
I'm not saying that but it really shows a higher level and you saw it in these two games that the different ways that we can win games because the last thing I'll say like, Tres Jackson Davis against You know, against Minnesota. He only had what 11 13 points didn't go to them a lot.
They didn't need to like, maybe he was getting doubled, that's like, so anyway, yeah, I mean look, so it's interesting because the trace Jackson, Davis is still the default and when they can get him the ball efficiently and he's not getting overplayed, then I think you're going to get games like that, Ohio State game where he's just bullying his opponents in the post. Minnesota was basically like, we're not going to let that happen. We're not going to let this guy beat us.
You can beat us from outside and you know, Xavier Johnson really struggled from outside in the game and look, you're going to get that. And you know, I think that, you know, he had an unfortunate shooting game where he still shot 33 percent from three. Like it felt like he missed ten three-pointers and they weren't respecting his shot. But he was still 246 from outside. But Rob fantasy was certainly the storyline, and it wasn't
just that Rob was hitting shots. It was that he was looking for the threes by, you know, about the second. Or third time that he shot the bike. He was, he was setting up with his feet. It was a determined purposeful Rob finna, see, which is the best Rob fantasy. It's the rub fantasy.
We've been asking for it's the not tentative, the not overly concerned with what's going on around him, rub fantasy, and that believe it or not was a tie for the most three-pointers that Rob fennessy as made in a single game, in his entire IU career, the only other time that He has made four three-pointers in the game. Was that game at Iowa last year where he was 447. So I think there's a lot of really positive signs. When you look at Rob fennessy.
He got the Ken pom MVP award for this last game. He has hit threes now in four of his last five games. And you know, that's that includes two against Notre Dame, but includes a three against Penn State, the four threes against, Minnesota. That's a huge change. And this is a player who, you know, he's at the beach. For the first month of the year. Rob, fennessy was having, I think I counted it up. If you look at offensive rating and overall offensive contributions.
Rob fantasy was having among the worst seasons of an IU starter in the last 20 years. That is no longer the case. Now, he's still got a long way to go to kind of dig himself out of the statistical whole, but as of right now, you can't look at Rob fennessy. And the what he's contributing and say anything other than this is helping to contribute.
I you contribute to IU winning games in a way that we don't think could have expected through the first month of the Season. He still isn't hitting shots from inside the three-point line, that much but the fact that he's shooting. What is it? Now, 32 percent from three that is about as good as he is shot in a season throughout the course of his career. He was 33 percent from three as sophomore year, but last year He
was 26 percent from three. So this does represent a big Leap Forward. Obviously, he has to sustain it. But I do like the development that's happening there. And I think it's great that Woodson and his staff seem to have figured out a way to make Rob fennessy feel like himself again, and I was very worried that that wasn't going to be the case. What anything else from the Minnesota game in particular that stood out to you? One thing I don't know why I was thinking about this but it's one
thing. I just kind of looked in the numbers and thought about, you know, again, even when he isn't having a great statistical game, Trace Jackson Davis just does so much by being on the floor drawing so much.
The defense you always have that thought is like right when you're you know, when you have a big man kind of leading the team like, you know what happens if you get to inspect gets in foul trouble and I was just going back and looking like, you know, how many times this season Trace Jackson Davis has had four Outs. It hasn't happened. Yeah, he's only had three fouls. Once that was against the Louisiana. If you go back and look last year. He only had four fouls in four games in 2020.
He only had four fouls once he's never fouled out of the game. I'm not saying it isn't going to happen. Like don't shoot me. It's like he gets you three quick ones against Iowa. It is Big Ten officiating but it's again, you know, we talked about tracing all of these great things. He does. That's another thing, you know, he's his fouls per game as down under it like one. 89 for this season .6 1.6.
Yeah. For as much usage as he gets and for as many blocks as he goes for and I would never think that, you know, I never leave a game thinking like, wow, he just didn't go for it, on D. Like he's everywhere. Going at everything. You know, he's lowering his shoulders into guys on the offensive end. It is, it's remarkable how little he gets in foul trouble. Like I wish you could take like, 20 percent of that and just hand it off to savior Johnson's. Okay, you don't get in that
foul, but it's just, yeah. I don't know why I was You think about that? But it is something where again, I think we can feel confidence. I you fans I don't see us many times this evening having an issue where it's like, what do we do when you trace picks up his third foul, in the beginning of the first quarter? Well, it's just it's amazing how little foul trouble he gets. If I mean, if he picks up fouls in the first quarter, we don't have to worry about it.
But no, I think you make a good point. And look, I think it points to I was talking with, with a friend of mine on Sunday about what is Woodson done. That's been the most impressive to me. And to me, I think the change in defensive approach and defensive
mentality. And the way that Indiana has been able to improve significantly their effort and their abilities on defense while simultaneously, you know, not turning into an overly physical team that is just getting by on, you know, Wisconsin or Michigan State are a bully ball is really impressive because it really has been Focused on denying opportunities for Shooters denying opportunities for
passers. And for Trace Jackson Davis coming in and being able to block shots or Ultra shots without picking up, fouls and Trace deserves a lot of credit because the takes a lot of body control and a lot of mental control to not put yourself in the wrong position, but I think Woodson deserves a lot of credit because he has taken a lot of these individual pieces and is built a framework within which they can operate effectively and look.
It's why, you know, I know a lot of people Get frustrated with Xavier Johnson, you know, that I was getting texts from people. Like why is this guy even in the game during the Minnesota game? But it's so easy to let Johnson's offensive. Proclivities, I guess overly affect you and even, you know, his offensive. Proclivities aren't that bad?
He's, he's averaging over a point per possession and he's one of the best assistant in the country's 52nd in the country and assist rate right now, and his scoring has been, okay, you know, he's shooting. 35 percent from to 35 percent from three, seventy percent from, the free-throw, line, like he's doing all of that relatively. Well, if you, if you just watched Johnson as a stat line rather than watching him as a
player. I think you'd be a lot less inclined to ask why he was on the floor, but what honestly he does best that doesn't show up in the in the stat line is how well he's able to lock down his opponents in key situations. Most of the time when he defends its Not all the time. And I think if there's a growth curve for IU basketball over the course of the next couple of weeks.
It's going to be continuing to rein in his emotional, impulses and continuing to try to get him to keep from putting himself in a position, where referees, feel compelled to call fouls on him. That if he can do that in context of what's going on in the individual games. I really like the possibilities for Indiana because I think he does provide a lot of things that just nobody else on the roster does.
And more to the point him. Providing those things allows Rob fennessy to not have to be the primary distributor allows tray. Galloway to not have to be the primary distributor in the clutch in key moments that's going to matter and it look as I've said before and I will continue to say, this is a flawed roster. It is not a roster that was put together with long-term goals in mind. It was a cobbled together roster and as Woodson has talked about, it's a roster.
That just hasn't been together that long. At long, if they continue to play like they played in the last two games. I like their chances of continuing develop and being a team that's going to be hard to beat down the line. So, anyway, two games this upcoming week and I think these are going to be interesting games, Indiana at Iowa on Thursday night, and then they're at Nebraska technically next week, but it's Monday of next week. So when you get Iowa is never
easy. Although Indiana did do it last year. Are that would be a big win, not a win. That's projected right now, Indiana only a 39% pick in that game. According to Ken pom, the game at Nebraska is a game that looks like a must win since they lost that game at Penn State. So, you know, you'd love to see Indiana, go 2 and 0 in this stretch, but one in one is pretty much right on track with what you would hope or expect. This team would be able to do at
this point in the season. Yeah, I mean one-on-ones what you got to do and Iowa is an, is an odd teaming. They're ranked right where we are in Camp, Amor kind of right in that 2526 range. When you look at their their schedule. It's like the only teams they've beaten have been worse than them. Like when they played Purdue Illinois, Iowa state, Wisconsin. All teams kind of in the same ranking is Indiana.
They've lost their best win outside of that is probably, you know, either Virginia Utah, State or Maryland and Maryland's kind of fallen off a cliff and be you start the Utah State win is good. I mean, people don't Give you just a lot of credit, but that's a that's a top 60 team and they want on a neutral floor. But your your point is well-taken. Go on.
Ya know. So I don't you know, this is where you know, I think that I've I go back to this, you know, the the the the game we beat Kentucky, you know way back when with that team. What to me that the key part of that that lead up to that game was winning at North Carolina State, because that team had kind of got a little bit of juice, but like, We have a tough, you know, ACC Big Ten challenge game. It's on the road.
We won that game. We went to the Kentucky game, undefeated, and remember thinking like this is going to get Assembly Hall like fired up. Like we're going to be undefeated, people can like this, you know, kind of like this. This T might have a shot. I'm not saying you have to wonder One is kind of what I'm expecting. But if you could win the next to suddenly, you're on a four-game winning streak.
I think it kicks. Some of that Penn State dust off and now you're really fired up coming into that Purdue game. I don't, I think people would already be fired up to that Purdue game, but if you're 40 and May this team's got something rolling. Now. We just wanted Iowa. Like I think you could have a really electric kind of History, you know, memories of older Assembly Hall crowds that we've seen.
I think that could really help leading into another tough weekend of Purdue and Michigan next week. So I think that you get to your point one and one is probably what we need to do and that's not anything bad, but I do think there is a nice opportunity here to pick up a A really good road win but not like a Michigan State type Road win. Like one. That's probably a bridge too far for this team. Yeah. I mean, yeah, there's no there's no shame in losing at Iowa.
It's going to be interesting because Iowa is a classic Fran mccaffery team. They are fourth in the nation and offensive efficiency, and they are 184th in defensive efficiency. And and so this ends up becoming one of those things where you ask yourself. Well what wins in the Battle of a great off?
Sense of team versus a great defensive team and you know, for Indiana, I think this Iowa game, a lot of it's going to come down to you know in Iowa's got the 23rd best two point percentage, completion rate in college basketball, Indiana. The best has the best to point B fence in college basketball, you know, Iowa play for it. Maybe just do with other Raiders
as a virgin, should it almost. Yeah, you know, but then it's also like Iowa doesn't turn the ball over and Indiana doesn't Force turnovers, so It like that there's certain this is a fascinating game and I'm really curious to see how it goes. Because I would argue that it was even a, you know, because a slightly more extreme version of this last year and Indiana and up winning, not just at home, but also on the road against Iowa, different coach, different Personnel, different situation.
I'll be curious to see how this one plays out. And then the Nebraska game next week. We'll have time to talk about before that happens again, but a lot of that comes down to one of the issues that Indiana had to manage in this Minnesota game was You have a big win, potentially. How do you manage your feelings about yourself? And your team when playing a lesser opponent? Particularly on the road? We saw it like last night, Wisconsin who's got like a two
seed resume right now. Jumped out to a big lead against Maryland and then almost lost the game. You know, I mean, they had to really hold off Maryland at the end of that Maryland, teams kind of been adrift lately. So there's a lot of intangible mental emotional elements to all of this that we have to consider, but there's also the straight up basketball. That's so just a really fascinating set of circumstances. Coming up for this, Indiana basketball team, and all of that
leads up to that Purdue game. Coming up next Thursday. So a critical stretch for Indiana early on, in the car, in the season. One. The one thing I will say, I'm looking, I'm looking forward to hopefully, see an uptick. I don't want to be too negative here. But, you know, I think we know a trace Jackson Davis race Thompson. Going to give you what they're going to give you.
And for the most part, you know, fennessy and Johnson, there are there obviously up and down, but they do it kind of within a Range, you know Trey Gowdy has kind of shown that the the one area I can try to stay positive here. I think you could see a positive uptick is getting something a little bit more out of Tomorrow Bates. He's really been off the radar. Probably since the, you know that Nebraska game, you know, this last three games have been
zero points. Two points against Northern, Kentucky. So, he's really not been looking good. And I've said this the beginning of the year. This is a freshman. You're going to have these ups and downs. What I do. Hope is that maybe we now see an uptick Tick and we see a couple games maybe he can get 78, you know ten points account Nebraska. Like last time you'll get 13 points because that could really add a boost this team. I like in theory what he produces it hasn't been happening now.
And again, I do not want to be negative because this is a freshman play, but I do think that's a positive. We're we're kind of do for a nice little tour 3, You Know, Tamar Bates, run here because what he can provide this team could really use to, because he has a little bit of that tray Galloway. Quick spark thing. It just feels like he hasn't been able Kind of plug it in the right way. The last couple games. I mean, you know, Bates I think has you could make an argument.
He's hit a wall here. He did, you know, he had a dnp obviously for, for family reasons, against Notre Dame, but the last three games he's played. Six minutes, four minutes and five minutes. He's 0 for 6 from the field with three turnovers in those three games, combined. Look, it's better than that.
He's better than that, but it's hard to play in the Big Ten as a freshman and And look, I think this is actually good because ultimately, while I think he provides a lot, he is still very raw and a bunch of areas and you can tell when he's out on the floor. He doesn't exactly know what he's supposed to be doing. And that's something that I think the coaching staff will work with them on, it would be great to have him as another functional member.
He's still getting run in that second unit rotation. That happens, that that's it. About the ten minute Mark of the first half, but he's got to show that he can do more. And I think as we've talked about Many times it is the Hallmark of a good team to have options as opposed to having to play guys, simply because you don't have any other options. And so I'd love tomorrow Bates to become an option that you can't keep off the floor. But right now he's not there.
So we'll see what happens with all of that. But yeah, a lot of fun stuff coming up and certainly I think for his down as IU, basketball Twitter, and IU, basketball fandom was last week at this time, certainly a lot more reason to feel optimistic. This week heading into that Iowa game, quick. Let's turn to football and talk about of a wild, couple of weeks here for Indiana.
So at the end of last week, we discovered that the defensive coordinator, the brand new one that was hired to replace cane Wommack leaves to go to North Carolina. Trout and Warren after one, season is DC takes off and heads to Chapel Hill where he becomes a co-defensive coordinator with Gene, chizik and Kevin people's also gone the defensive line coach. Meanwhile, you've got a new quarterback and Connor Baza lakh from Missouri. And now, as of this morning, you've got a new defensive
coordinator. Having been announced, as we welcome to the IU family. Chad Wilt who's been the defensive line coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, he ends up coming in and it sounds like he'll be coaching both the defensive line as well as being the defensive coordinator, which is not that unusual of an arrangement. You also have some additions from the transit, the transit, the transfer portal. Kentucky linebacker Jared, Casey a former four-star comes in. You've had a couple of other
players join as well. It's hard. And we talked about this at the beginning of the show, Scott. It's hard to know what any of this is going to mean in the long term. But you know, as quickly as the war and departure curd you now have somebody that replaces them and that looks very orchestrated, it. Like that doesn't look like it was a surprise that war and left and Wilt comes in, feels like this was planned.
It's a little bit peculiar because you kind of got the sense from Tom Allen back in the middle of December that there weren't going to be any more staff changes. Now, there's at least two and I'm guessing there's going to be at least one more, but it's it's certainly just it's an interesting time for Indiana right now. Just a whole lot of churn with this program.
Yeah. I mean if I told you in November, we're going to have, you know, three or four coordinators, leave how high Would you have offensive line up there before? As you as one of your draft picks? I would have put a lot of money that offensive line would have been one of the changes but yet it's still not and we'll talk about that in September.
No, it's you know, it's it makes for bad podcasting but like in the end, it's just going to come down to results like this is next year's a big season and there's a lot of new people and new places that you're going to have. Both new coordinators are new new quarterback, and there's a lot of new pieces here, a ton of transfers. You know, and it's Alan has got to make it work. That's the basic thing. It was funny.
It's like this is kind of against his, you know, his whole Mantra is kind of like, you know, family and I'm sticking with my guys and we're going to have, you know, consistency and continuity. And this is not that this is going to be a team of transfers with two brand-new coordinators.
You know, I don't know how how easy it's going to be for our wounded to get that Elio field mushing for and it definitely felt like One was more of a guy who wanted to build like, you know, a consistent model where you had this, you know, guys coming up through the system and knowing it, that's not what you're going to have. But in the end, you know, I no idea if it's going to work but it kind of like there is no other option. Like there is no failure is not
an option so to speak. Unfortunately, with IU football. It seems always be an outcome. But you know, that's that's where we're at. And yeah, I know it's going to be interesting. This is definitely unlike. Very few IU football, season's. I can think of, you know, but you look at, you know, I keep going back to be, look at Michigan State. They made it work, you know, they had a lot of transfers and able to figure it out. So it's not impossible and maybe this is what this team needs is.
Kind of like almost a it's a shocking your pool. We're just throwing a bunch of core chlorine in the system and just trying to get a whole new look. But it's a ton of change. Yeah, it really is. And I think ultimately what you're dealing with with this particular change is a situation where Tom Allen is, you said he has to make it work. He has to find people that can
coach at this level. And look, I, we had a lot of criticisms of the Walt Bell higher and look, I'm still, but the jury still very much out on that. This one feels a little bit more, like a reasonable higher, you know, if you look at at this particular coaches track record at Minnesota, he was an effective defensive line coach. Absolutely. He. There was some numbers that I were tossed around. I think this was Mike Schumann from the daily.
Hoosier talked about this we recruited very well was was very much able to pull in some. I think some four stars on the defensive line was able to figure out a lot of good options in terms of getting their run defense to be better. Obviously. We got a chance to watch that Minnesota defense up close and personal this year and they were certainly a good unit that defensive line in particular. Gave Indiana. All kinds of fits granted.
Defensive unit gave India fits this year, but this is a guy with Big Ten coaching experience. And, you know, look, we one of the things we criticized Alan, for with the Bell higher was that it felt like another higher, where Allen was leaning on his coaching connections or people that he had either personally coached with, or it kosher somebody who can vouch for the person. I don't see that in wilts background. Like he's, he coached under Luke fickle at Cincinnati.
He's coached under PJ Fleck. At Minnesota, the only connection I can see is he played at Taylor? Like the he was a, he was a big, a defensive lineman at Taylor when he played in the late 90s, but and that's not even a direct
connection. So if we had questions about what direction we were going to see Alan go with this and whether he was going to try to keep it in the family, so to speak, he doesn't appear to unless there's a connection that I'm missing and so I am happy to see that and hopefully that bears some dividends for Indiana as they move forward and to your point. It does feel like this. You know, Warren. Let it we don't know. But it did feel like Warren maybe said a couple weeks of.
Okay. I'm going to North Carolina and then is I use a cake you hold it will find somebody else to get it didn't this didn't feel so much as a firing as a coordinator leaving in US. Almost kind of trying to figure it out without when the circuit should already kind of stop and to your point. I think this is I'm okay with this as well. It just it does leave you in a spot where both of your coordinators are now brand-new.
Yeah, it does. But look that's That is, you know, kind of a reality of the business right now. And I look, I think one of the things that dominates college football in this are more than anything else. Is it's going to be a constant constant era of churn. And for a program like Indiana particular, when you're dealing with n IL related issues as it comes to transfers, you're going to have to figure out a way to maintain, maybe not continuity
of coaching staffs. Players, but you're gonna have to figure out. How do I get a team that's competitive out on the field and a given season. And that might be a team that looks very different from the previous year's team. That's not necessarily a bad
thing. It's just a different thing from how we have been kind of weaned on college football, where we've always looked at the programs that have the most continuity with the highest-ranking recruits as programs that are able to sustain and these arrows Indiana never really had that. So, And they go this opposite route. Can they do what Michigan state did last year and have a bunch of changes but melded together in a way where they're able to
take advantage of things? And like you said, we're not going to know until the season not as soon as the season starts but like well into the season, we're not going to know if any of these changes have been successful and as much as I think Alan, you know, deserves some criticism for how things went this past year and and the overall management of things. You never know. He might be the perfect guy, to figure out how to navigate some of these issues or you Not be,
we'll have to just wait and see. So, and the thing that I will say is, you know, I hate it, but he's kind of, you know, so to speak. Allen has been winning the press conference in that, you know, are recruiting ranking is getting better every single year. And this year, it was obviously a top 20. And then to your point. This is definitely the new world where we're in this, you know, transfer portal year-over-year. And again, I think I'm not sure how the rankings are totally
being done. But if you go to 24/7 Sports the transfer rankings, you know, we're second in the country with this, you know, a head of Michigan State ahead of Alabama ahead of Ole Miss. Alabama, is pretty good.
Last, I checked something where s the country and transfer rankings will see if that bears any reality to wins and losses, but thus far, it does seem that Alan's able to get our recruiting up and is able to play in this transfer portal Market, which does which to me, is actually the most fascinating and maybe the most, you know, positive note. There is. It does feel like, you know, recruiting feels like it might have like an 18-month lead time
or guys. Who recruited, you know, off of the Outback Bowl or the Gator Bowl. And it's like they're like don't have time to basically open up their commitment when they see it's go to and 10 the transfer stuff feels like it's very in the Moment. Like This feels very much. Like this is a reflection of where your program is right now and coming off a very disappointing to and 10-year. No big 10 wins for Alan to get s in the country. Is pretty remarkable. Yeah. Anyway, that's going about.
Wrap it up for us. Just a reminder that we are. Are sponsored in part by the power rank. Power rank is the place to go to learn about the trends that exist behind college and professional sports. For wagering advice for just understanding, what's going on with the World of Sports Media or Sports in general. There's just there's so much going on every day and it's helpful to have an expert. Like Ed Fang, help to give you some insights some behind-the-scenes.
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So, check out the free newsletter the power rank 0 to the power rank.com /. AC, you'll be able to tap into when bowl, season rolls around next year. The bowl guy. There's a March Madness guide that will pop up in March that you want to check out. So be sure to get the check out the power rank. It's the power inc.com / AC Scott, any final thoughts before we wrap up? No, let's go. Let's go to 2 and 0 on the road. Let's do it.
Yeah. I mean I sit we would be good and I you football keep reeling people in. Let's keep Keep the redesigned going. Let's see if we can relaunch this model into a better version of what we saw the last time around anyway for Scott, I'm Galen. Thank you for joining us here on Crimson cast will be back sometime soon. I don't maybe this week maybe over the weekend when we can find time will be sure to talk with you about things.
Anyway, thanks for joining us. Folks will catch you on the flip side. Bring back the Bison, so everybody.