You're listening to the back home network, presented by home field apparel. Hey hey, welcome back, who's your nation. It is the 13th of May of twenty twenty-three. This is Crimson cast, we're back after a bit of a Hiatus, Scott Gail. Ellen, joining you again here and we're happy to be talking to you Scott yesterday. Very, very, very good day to be a Hoosier before we get started with the bulk things.
Congratulations to IU softball. They make it to the Big Ten title game, that's gonna be played a little later on today, on Saturday. And I, you baseball, just pulverize has Purdue in the first game of the series down here at the BART. 22 10:34. I think was the final run total which I mean there. And I you football games where
they didn't score 26 points. So big hats off to both of those but of course, the big news yesterday and the one I think that was kind of a seismic shock, not just through the IU fan base, but perhaps around college, basketball as well.
Five-star recruit Mackenzie mcvaugh KO who had been committed to Duke and then you know, if you listen to the internet was already committed to Kansas like was already like boating with Bill self in the Summertime instead releases an Instagram and announces that he's coming to Indiana University to play for Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers Scott. We're going to dive into that. First of all, great to see you. How you doing? I'm doing great.
All right, you ready for this? Yeah, Mackenzie ombak to know that was. No, that's not right. No, we're off to a terrible start here. Easy boy. Mackenzie I think maybe you just go with that. Lets just think that's an easier thing to go along with Mac, double double Mac. No, this is, yeah, yeah, it's good to see M squared, perhaps, for you and spared like that, but I think for everybody's for everybody's safety, I think that might be best.
But yeah. So is everybody else gets like, you know, the full magazine I just get highlights, right? I just get the Highlights. Yeah. Yeah. You, you get the cover of the magazine. You don't actually open it up. But anyway, but no Scott. This is exciting times. And before we dive into the the bulk of the show just reminder that we are part of the back home. Work, which includes a variety of shows, including the assembly call, who had a live hot off the presses.
Emergency podcast yesterday. That I could not attend because I was having a pre-planned to dinner with some people, in my neighborhood. See my neighborhood, we heard about your neighborhood and we got a little bit nervous and well we just sat on a back deck and drank like Cardinal mixed Spirits, you know, nothing more ornate than that but I didn't get a chance to participate in the podcast yesterday but assembly called Part of the backbone Network.
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Go to the home field apparel website and use the code home and get 15% off your first order. Again, it is home field. Apparel. Be sure to check them out and follow them on Instagram. It's a good follow. Scott IU is suddenly a national player in recruiting. I don't quite know how to get my head wrapped around this. It's you know, it's one. I feel like to some degree, a lot of the reaction of IU fans
to this recruitment. Announcement has been it's like, wow, this is amazing and then I don't know what to do with my hands, you know, it's like this is Just different kind of strata. I feel like for IU in terms of where they've been recently and it's not like Indiana hasn't pulled in 5-star recruits. But a to get a guy that was committed to Duke, who's a clear?
Five star who had Kansas on his list and and then to actually be able to pull that guy, it just feels like all of a sudden, Indiana broke through a glass ceiling of sorts in terms of where the program had been. Because, you know, I mean, yes, they've Cody Zeller. I think was actually, he wasn't Maybe Technically a five-star. He was a borderline, you know, but he was also from right down the road Romeo Langford was deciding between Indiana and Kansas was a five-star.
You know, he's also looking at I think maybe North Carolina, but he was literally, there's maybe Duke, but he was literally right down the road. This is a guy from New Jersey. I think maybe I think, I think our friend IU artifacts told me this is only the second New Jersey recruit Indiana's ever had. And I think the first one was Jordan Geronimo. Like, yes, you got Jalen atrophy know last year and that felt like Cool occurrence but it's like that felt like an anachronism.
Like that's not something that Indiana normally does. Mike Woodson now has managed to pull multiple five-star recruits really like modern athletic basketball players into the fold here in Indiana. You throw in calel where who's a transfer, but he fits that same kind of mold and you know we'll talk about the individual player here but I think overall program wise Scott this just feels like a different playground than we've been invited to. In the past, a hundred percent.
So I'm going to text thread with two friends, shout out to Robert and been Robert is who I've mentioned. Many times the Michigan State fan neighbor, but we have a kind of a fun, basketball, text thread and as mckinsey's got down to the last two, I kind of sent out a screen shot of him like you Kansas Indiana and he comes back very valid. Like I thought you didn't care about recruiting him, like, like had all these, like, screenshots of things.
I've talked about, like, when he's talking about all the Michigan State five stars they got and I'm like, yeah. But now, we're getting five stars, but it's like, now I care. Now, again, I still not into like, the Deep recruiting. But yeah, once once five stars get down to two schools and Indiana is one of them I'm 100% in. No, I agree that it does feel like we've broken through something. You know what, I will reference something I did list.
I was not able to make the assembly call, emergency pot either, but I listened to it and they reference something, which I think is interesting that, you know, Woodson has kind of The Narrative is he kind of sees himself as a closer and you know, maybe that doesn't work as well in the longer, you know, three-year recruiting cycle. But it definitely seems to be working in these shorter windows.
And, you know, it's like and you know the thought may go to some IU fans like well man, why can't you do? The it's like we haven't had a coach do one thing well, in recruiting in a while. So like having him be really good at, this is great. And you know, exactly what you mentioned. This is a guy who decommitted from duke who was Looking at Kansas and we won that battle.
Like we haven't been in those you know we've been kind of peripherally in those battles where it's a guy names like 13 schools and Indiana's, one of them, and then they narrow it down and we're not there. Like we were not going head-to-head with Duke, but we're going head-to-head with Kansas and Rick Pitino at st. John's right? Yes, st. John's yes. Who also is like he's well like, so. There is something going on here.
I think also it needs to be mentioned that, you know, this is I think the third year in a row that we've had a five star D commit at another school in commit here with Tamar Bates and then Malik renew and now Mackenzie, and, you know, that's, that's really good. You know, this is where you start stacking 5 stars on 5 Stars, good things happen. You know, we'll talk about you know again I'm not saying his
last name. I'll get there by, you know, probably November December but you know, Of 25 and 26 and we'll see on. See how see how good he is. He's got a score, if he wants pronunciation, respect, you know it, you know five stars. Don't automatically mean, you're going to win a National Title like Romeo Langford, I think it's still the highest rate of recruit we ever got that didn't
pan out how people wanted. But part of the problem was there wasn't a lot of other five star Talent on that team. You know, this is how you build a program is you start stacking these, these things up, some five stars will be fantastic.
Some will be Okay. But, you know, you get enough and you're going to be doing well in this is, you know, probably the best stretch of, you know, I've not I'm thinking of this as I'm saying this, I probably should have done a little bit of research but you know, when you count all of the, you know, five stars and high-level recruits and transfers that we're getting in this last three year. Period, I'm not sure when we've had such a nice little run in
recruiting. I mean cream built that team. But it's like you know like you said Zeller was like right on that border like oh The depot was a not. He was a three-star who grew into something. I think you know, Watford, Maurice Creek is probably the highest rate of recruit whatever is pretty rated. Highly like Jordan holes was not like that those were all really good players but not a lot of great recruits.
And again the last thing I'll say is you don't you know you don't have to have all five stars to win the title. Like look at this year's tournament Kansas state. Did it with a couple you Lowell or Newell guys would get our transfers that you know from from smaller schools at Penn State is a great example of a great season. All of that said, Often than not having a lot of like Kansas has
done really well over time. Duke and North Carolina done really well because they just load up with tons of talent. So there's multiple ways to win. But this is a very, very high likelihood way to get a lot of wins. Yeah, I mean so there's a couple elements there. One of them is this idea that IU is tapping into Talent channels that it just hasn't had up to this point? Point. And you know so much of what you saw /, really? I mean you could really go all
the way back to the late 80s. Well you know where Indiana kind of stopped being a primary destination for the highest level of athletic Talent the guys who were likely to go to the NBA very quickly after or maybe even skip, you know and just go straight to the NBA when that was still the rule. I think about what kind of win like Will started getting out of their Geographic territory. Well, that means was well good in that area. It was targeting everyone.
The Midwest, it was partially that but it was also, you know, I you kind of got left behind as college basketball changed, its approach to playing the game and and you really saw l.a. l.a. gears on a good shooter who wants to have well a lot. And so and I honestly kind of came a little bit later because it wasn't just talent. And one of the things that I think is important about this, it's not just that high level Talent from a ratings for spect is being criticized.
You point out, I use gotten some highly rated guys before that haven't really equated to anything, but there's a development aspect to it as well.
And this is where Mike Woodson in a very short period of time has managed to create a reputation for himself and his program that hey, not only will I get you to the draft, if you come here as a highly regarded recruit, but, even if you weren't at highly-regarded, I can get you closer than when you when I first got my hands on you, trace Jackson, Davis being
a good example. I mean, You know, that's a guy who I don't know, if he's going to get drafted, you know, he probably will seem like his draft stock had gone up to the point. Maybe he's a, you know, a high second-round pick, but for a guy with a relatively limited offensive skill set, you know, more than 8 feet away from the basket. Mike, Woodson did a tremendous amount with him to develop his game.
Jalen Hurd, Shaheen. Oh yes, he didn't have a perfect freshman year but he did more than enough and Woodson put in enough situations to succeed, that he is going to be a border. Online Lottery top 20 Prospect in the NBA draft and that matters to people. And that's what Indiana really hasn't had. I mean, you know, yes, Romeo Langford got drafted, but you could argue, he went backwards in terms of his draft stock between the time.
He got to IU in the time that he got drafted and Woodson's NBA connections. I mean you know Carmelo Anthony's getting involved in the recruitment. As we saw from one of the stories you know from this from this particular commitment, you're starting to see. Comments from people about Woodson, being the type of person that they want to go play for and the kind of guy who will, you know, be a real human being, but will also push you. And that's kind of what Trace Jackson.
Davis has animated in a bunch of his postseason press conferences as well. That environment is to a large degree, something that Indiana's missed. Yes, they've had guys that are developed and have gotten drafted, but it's always felt like an accident or a nice. Bonus as opposed to the way the program does business. And I feel like in a very short period of time. Now, Mike Woodson's managed to put his own stamp on the
program. And it's it's weird because I think this you know, it's hard to give like a huge amount of credit for not for like okay, Scott Dolson couldn't have seen all of this coming per se because who could have predicted, that college basketball would have been at a point where you've got the transfer portal where you've got
all this player movement. But you have to give Golson some credit because Woodson as a coach with what he brings to the table and what he's been able to do already has kind of defied. What a lot of the initial expectations were in that. It's not just a paycheck, caching situation for an xn.
Be a guy like we'll see you in a lot of situations but instead someone who's molding a Blueblood College basketball program back into what it could be in an era where a different type of cogent, a different type of approaches. Needed from kind of what Indiana has been able to have over the
last 20 to 25 years. What I also really like about this is and we don't know how these things were going and you know when guys announced versus when they make their decisions and all those things but you know just from what we know, you know I don't think Mackenzie had even decommitted when we were talking to Chris Ludlum. Like again to the point of how how fluid these things are. But you know, we go after Chris LED l'm, he signs with Tennessee.
And you know, I do have to give Woodson the entire program credit of not being like Oh should we gotta just sign three more guys? It was like getting to know just getting like who the next week guys? Before we'll get him get him, get him get him which feels like what you know like cream might have done it did seem like there was kind of a measured response now getting, maybe they were already talking to McKinsey. They knew that was, you know, we
don't know. But it did have a very kind of cool calm approach, like, hey, man, we're good, like we're, you know, we will, there will be somebody good and better, not just. All right, we struck out on two of our dues. We now need just get Ever we can before this portal closes and I really like that patients. And again, looking at it from kind of a high-level view of we're not just going to grab any piece that's available.
Like we're going to wait for the right piece, even if that means getting really close to the end of the shot clock so to speak. Yeah. And I mean the the last kind of overarching thing I'll say on this is we tried to talk about this last time when we were discussing what was going on
with the portal. And, you know, we at that I don't think with the last time we podcasted the Adlam news had come down or the the the news on the other player whose name, I've already forgotten had come down right. But but there was an immediate, it's like ex-girlfriends the
right with you. There was a real Panic among the fan base again, and there are certain corners of the eye, you online experience that seemed to really just relish the thought that Mike Woodson doesn't know what he's doing or that the program and they athletic department is going in the wrong
direction. And they're not doing what they should be doing and every perceived failure is Amplified to a ridiculous extreme and you know my perspective on it has been okay maybe they maybe they did fail we don't know. There's so much going on behind the scenes in the portal and with recruiting that we just don't know about as fanzi. And and look a lot of journalists or people that report on teams will claim that they know things. And a lot of that is what coaches are.
Telling them, or assistant. Coaches are telling them or people connected to programs because they're trying to put particular types of information out or not. As the case may be, you really is a fan have to accept to some degree that despite what you might think, you don't really know what's going on behind the scenes with a lot of these
recruitments. And as you said, like this was a relatively late pop, it took some happenstance, Kyle Philip house key doesn't come announce that he's coming back and you know you're probably not seeing this. Our be available for Indiana in the first place but that's where it's a lot more flexible and a lot more of a malleable situation than just oh we lost that player. Therefore we're screwed, which is how a lot of people seem to be evaluating this and the message I put out on Twitter
yesterday. It's like if you're an IU fan why don't we just say, you know what? I think Mike Woodson and his staff know what they're doing. I mean this is a as much as there was criticism all last year. It's a team that finished with a top four. Feed. You know, finished within spitting distance of you know, the top of the Big Ten and beat Purdue twice and did a bunch of things that people have been asking for, and it felt like for a lot of people that still wasn't enough.
It's like, well, I have to criticize this or criticize that and the recruiting piece and the piecing the roster together piece is another part of that, where it's like, well, you didn't get this player, why don't I have any guards and out of that and it's like well, hey guess what? Have a 68, you know, small forward power forward with three-point range. Is already projected to be a first round pick in the NBA draft.
These things. I understand where people are are snake bitten by the past but I really think if you're going to be a good Steward of your eye, you fandom, you got to look at what this coaching staffs done in a relatively short period of time and say, these guys seem to be Pros, they seem to be know what they're doing, knowing what they're doing.
Let's give them room to operate. And I think this is a good example, as to why, well, if you take that out again, like, you look at our Are you know, I don't want to start playing the starting five game but I'll just I think I can figure four of the
starting five. It's like how many years would I have wanted to go into any neiu fan wanted to go into a season just knowing this, you know, you're starting five at point guard, you're going to have a, you know, an ultimate senior, who is, you know, it all big, 10, caliber player. I think it's if you know, first or second team all-big, ten caliber player and then in three of the other spots are all going
to be five star guys. And I'm not talking like, you know, five star guys that were Goodbye other Blueblood five-star programs like how many years already? Like I love, we just had a five star. It's like now you know you three of your starters could very well be all five-star recruits and you and you have an all big ten point guard. Yeah. Like that. Like how many years like I would have loved to have had like, we have that right?
I do get some of the angst at the end of last year because like it felt like it was a we're losing a lot of guys which we
did. We were losing, you know, a generational player and Trace Jackson Davis and was kind of like, wow, there's what's going to be there but But you know, in part of it may just be from fans, you know, having years where we didn't, we weren't able to reload, but this is a new Administration and this is a new coaching staff and they seem to be able to reload it. And again, I go back to the idea
of, you know. Yeah, maybe and again, give Woodson some time on some of these 34-year recruits like, you know, people are kind of hammering him and I don't want to turn this into like, you know, a kiss-ass rodeo but it's like, oh, you know. But yeah, everyone's hammering on the 2023 class, like dude, he's only been there for eight.
Months, like he missed the beginning part of those recruiting cycles and like he's showing that when the time is short, he's able to kind of focus and get it done. And in 2024 2025, we may see better recruits coming in because he's had that time to build that relationship. Like, obviously, he can build those relationships and the players respond to it. Well, no, I think it's all really good and now, you know, you think about it.
Now, you've got a five-star in McDowell coming in and you've got four stars and Gabe cups and Jukai Newton coming in and then you've already got on the roster Khalil where ours, who's a five-star you've got renew, who was a borderline, you've got Caleb Banks, who was a promising for Star. You've got CJ gun, who was a for? I believe a four-star. And then you've got this depth among your seniors. As you mentioned, either 60 or starting point guard, which is a tremendous luxury to have in
anywhere. You've got, you brought in this kind of utility knife and Anthony Walker from Miami. You've got another utility knife in the post in pain. and Sparks you've got tray Galloway who could just end up being your starting to because now I mean, you think about this if Baco can actually Shoot and score. And that, you know, that's kind of the best part of his game is, he's shooting ability.
He averaged, I think something like 16 and a half points, a game and 7.6 rebounds per game, he was on the Nike ybl circuit, you know, he he had 22 points and eight rebounds, in the Nike hoop Summit, he's not a perfect Prospect, that's why he's not like a top-five guy. Because, I mean, he's a little from what you've read. I mean, Jack Ankeny from the SI Indiana imprints talking about. He's a little bit stiff athletically, that's something that can be, Be worked out.
He could use some time in the weight room but now you don't need necessarily tray Galloway to be anything other than like your number five offensive option. If you're starting, we're at the five renu-it, the 4mc Baco at the three and Johnson at the one. It's like, well, gosh, if you had a fifth offensive option, who could shoot 46 percent, or 45 percent and three occasionally and play good defense and you've got some backup. You still need, I think another
guard. It'd be nice to pick up one more guard. But if CJ gun Develops over the offseason suddenly your roster looks really, really nice and really complete. That's this is where I think going back to something that you said, a lot of the criticism, I understand where it comes from, but God's college, basketball has changed so much in the last two years.
I mean, this is a guy who Indiana, I don't think was on the radar for at all, maybe a little bit in the initial recruitment, but guy goes to Duke. That's not the strata Indiana isn't pulling in, but the fact that you're going to get Get D commits, you're going to get guys, transferring that you're not expecting. There are three or four guys that hopped in the portal. Including I think a kid from Marshall that Indiana is looking
at who's a guard. You have to be able to Pivot very quickly and say, alright, I realized we have to fill this hole and suddenly these guys are available and then we even saw like when Ludlum committed to Tennessee. Now, there's a guy in the portal from Tennessee who if Indiana hadn't gotten big Bako, might have been able to go after that
guy. And it would have been a really good fit, so, I think ultimately as we've talked about many times on this show, you almost have to unplug what you think college basketball works like, from where things are right now because it's a very different world. And weirdly this staff with Woodson leading, it feels really well equipped to handle the constant fluctuation. And I'd like to note like yes, you lose Jordan Geronimo and it's a shame Geronimo, didn't work out as a player.
But, you know, outside of people leaving because Our eligibility was exhausted, Indiana didn't lose any key pieces that they were really worried about. You know, it's clear that Mike Woodson's built something where the good players that were here wanted to stay and the players that are coming in are like, this is a project that I want to be a part of and that should be really exciting for you as an Indiana fan.
I would think. So I'm just I'm kind of laughing is you're saying that I know this is not what you mean but I'll use it as a proxy argument. The, you know, when you were talking about, you know, the the reasons why McKinsey is not a top five. Kurt, you're seeing some of that chatter of like, you know, he's you know, there's there's parts to his game that aren't great and it's like, alright well like but see you scarecrow arguments, those Indiana fans.
It's like you can't just go from like zero to 100 in one season like there is a great like like yes we're not getting the top two recruits every year but like we're not getting anything five years ago so you can't just go from like kind of being out of recruiting to Suddenly It's like wow he's only the top using the for recruiting the country. So it's like that makes me laugh but the Other piece too is like two people who would say that
again. Not saying it's you but it's like there's also the peace that you know, we're talking the values of Woodson, how he's doing in this recruiting, in this new age which is showing to be very well. It's also like, let's not forget that. Yeah. MacKenzie's going to come in with some holes in his game but Woodson has also shown the ability to make players better. Like look at Tres Jackson Davis in the first two years under Archie. He was good, he kind of What he was.
And then once Woodson really got his hands on Trace I think, you know, obviously Trace put some work into but it's like Trace transformed his game, totally differently. So you know and you look at guys like he was a savior Johnson who's become you know much more focused and what he's able to do, you know so it's like there's a world tour. Like Woodson can take these guy, you renew struggled a lot with fouls and he still did near the end but you could definitely
see. He was getting so much better and he was doing starting to do the Right? Things by the end of the season. So, you know, there's a world to were like, you know, this is a guy would sort of guy who can also develop players. Not like, we're just getting recruits and then rolling the ball out and say, well, that's a part of his game is never going to get better. So, I know it's all, it's all really good. And again, that the piece that I really like is something that
you had hammered home. You know, near the end of the crean era cannot pick going back to pick on cream but it's like when you looked at the recruits we were getting for a while there. Your point was always look at the other schools were competing against at that point. It was like Well, and Western Kentucky and like you know, maybe they had an offer from Cincinnati at the time.
It's like who like big win? I mean, you know, these are these are really big recruits like where had you know guys. You know five-star he had deal top level program offers last year went to Oregon you know. But then he was wanted by a bunch of different schools when he when he dropped out you know it Mackenzie went to Duke, I'm not sure where else he was offer but I'm sure it was all the schools you'd imagine and then we went head-to-head to Kansas like this.
Is if nothing else too. This is something that we just really haven't done too because going back to some of those other targets that we've gotten, It's Like Romeo, you know, probably would have gone to Louisville, had it not been for the hilde to Scandal, but it's also an Indiana kids. So we have an inside track like right?
Ike, I would be hard-pressed to think of another high-level recruit that really didn't have like a real Indiana tie that we were also going up against a Kansas, North Carolina Duke. And we won that like these are again, this doesn't mean we're going to win the national title with me. The guy is going to be the As pirate Indian history but it's like those are things that we haven't traditionally done it.
If we want to be the program, we want to be, we've got to be doing these kinds of things on a in you know, every season basis. And the fact that we're starting to see a lot of traction very quickly is really positive, I agree. And look like you said, it doesn't mean I'm going to win a National Title necessarily but you've got a lot better shot at getting there with those types of players. Do for right right? Yeah that was the last thing I would say because I know Scott's got to get to it.
They party but before not mine. Not Scott's birthday party, though. But the other thing I'll note and I this was in one of the articles but Indiana's ni L operation was was specifically named as one of the factors for Bach, bro, to come to Bloomington. And I I'm going to keep saying this and for those of you who are still skeptical of Ni L, this is the biggest innate advantage that Indiana has right now in college basketball.
And I for one am thrilled that Woodson and the athletic department are leveraging it, as well as they are and doing it in a way. That is both careful. But also thoughtful, there's so much money tied up with IU basketball. Fandom that has never really been tapped officially or at least not to the degree. It hasn't been leveraged to a degree the way that Kentucky or Kansas or Duke has leveraged their money people because it was quote-unquote, you know, against the rules and we didn't
do that with Indiana basketball. but it's all legal now and it's clear that Indiana has figured out a formula and has a group of people who are like Oh you mean if we give this to this person we're going to have an advantage in recruiting and there's very few schools I think when you fully unlock the financial resources among alumni and among donors that can match, what Indiana can do, you know, I mean I'm not saying Indiana can exceed a Kentucky or a Kansas or North Carolina, but they also
don't necessarily have to be particularly far behind I think they're in that argument and if you put everything else equal out there and you have a coach that people believe in and want to go play for, that's a dynamite combination like that.
Is that is what elevates your program back up to, where it needs to be. And look, I don't think that money is the sole reason why Indiana struggled in basketball for the last 30 years, but it certainly hasn't helped that Indiana has gone into a lot of these battles with both hands tied behind their backs, compared to what some of their competitors. Have done. So that is exciting, Scott and go ahead. And I want to, I want to expand on that.
I think it's a great point. And, you know, because I thought here this all the time, I think we have this like Indiana's. A second largest alumni base in the country, like, not just in the Big 10 but I think out of all schools, like it's Ohio, State and Indiana. So, there's a huge alumni base to give money, but I agree with you a million percent. I also think that it's really good that we're getting those.
Those stories are getting out there that, you know, hey, this is a fan base and they program has a real positive and good ni L program. Because what's interesting is other schools in the Big Ten, you're seeing the opposite
happening. Like I think it was Minnesota, you know, the university came out and said like, you know, we had, you know, four hundred thousand dollars to all of our basketball players this year at ni L. It's like okay well if you're saying that is probably lower because everyone flakes everything. And like that's not something to gloat about like that semi.
It sounds like a lot of money but it's like but the other thing is that you look at hundred Dickinson who's like basically, basically Aang, I left Michigan because they weren't paying me enough money. And I can make a lot more money.
It can was. And so you get more of these stories stacking up where it's like, hey these other schools, the Big Ten kind of don't have their s together at ni L and look, I you kind of does I think that's going to just change the perception because, you know, you and I are on this page I'm fine with this but this is like all these things matter but in the end like this, you know, that famous quote, the answer to all your questions is money, you know, in the end like if you're
like, hey Andy, Yeah, and it has money and they're willing to pay players that's going to change a lot of opinions. Even more than all the other things were mentioning Penn State is actually the school that has the largest alumni base, but all Penn State alums care about is football in the Indiana. Second, they've 650,000 living alumni want to read the rest of the list real quick Michigan's 3rd, which is kind of ironic. But again, Michigan fans care
about football. They don't really care about. They say, they care about basketball. They honestly don't fourth Michigan, State, Michigan State, I think has It's that both before and during the ni El era, but you need to be fair, all their alumni are buying NBA teams, right? We'll take their money. Their money is going to the NBA, it's like Point actually over
atmosphere. Well, no, well, then no Magic Johnson, just was part part of the bid that bought the Commander's. So when I got the Dodgers. Yeah. And you know it well but to be fair, they also tied up, what three hundred million dollars on Tucker's? Yeah, fifth is UCLA. Which again this is my point is it's not a 14-1. It's not like we have a huge alumni base. Therefore it's going to result in a lot of recruits because you
know who's what is it a fun? The list is Rutgers intent on the list is Purdue, but produce problem is like two-thirds of their alums live overseas, you know, the oven. So, that's this is where Indiana's just in this really fascinating spot where there's, this is what people in Indiana care about. They care about basketball, you know, as much as we've talked about football as much as you and I have podcast about football, realistically, the straw that stirs? The drink?
The drink itself is basketball. Here it is. Anna. It's not football and so that's where I'm really our podcast. Numbers agree with that. They really do. Let's take you behind the analytics here at Crimson cat. No, no we really don't want to do that, but the point is ultimately a fully activated IU, n IL infrastructure combined with a coach like Mike Woodson, who is, you know, I think Tyra and you can feel free to come
back, fans listening. Feel free to come back and Ten years if I'm wrong and say Galen, you were wrong. But I think 10 years from now we're going to look back at the results of the 20 22 23 season and say, how the hell did Mike Woodson. Squeeze a four seed out of a group of players that were that one-dimensional, in terms of the things that they brought to the table? That's not a criticism. But it's like, Trace Jackson Davis did one thing incredibly well, Miller cop did like one
thing. Incredibly, well, they lose a starting point guard. They had a freshman point guard who, you know, was still learning the ropes. Hopes and they somehow got them. Do a four-seat. I think we're going to look back on that and say that was a really incredible job of putting a team together and getting the most out of what you had. I think we're going to look at things moving forward with as Woodson starts to get more athletic, more modern, you know, athletic players into the mix
and starts to work with them. I think you're going to see, even greater gains in terms of what Indiana's able to do on the floor. What we're seeing here is is Woodson, kind of doing the best with what he what hand he was dealt and What limited things, he was able to get in the
portal. Now we're starting to see, okay, this is the caliber of player that frankly Woodson's used to coaching at the NBA level, like long athletic guys, that can shoot from anywhere and, you know, put him in his developmental team on those guys for a year. Two years, whatever. I'm really excited to see what happens with all of that. Last last last thing. Last last let you in, you have all of this, which is good.
The other thing that he is this is where, like, I'm just very happy with where things are going. It was just announced a couple days ago. This is not the biggest one but it goes to my point. You know, we're playing Florida Gulf Coast to open the season, but that's another area where Woodson is helping and these all these things are all connected where our schedule in the non-conference is getting just so much better. You know, last year you saw us play Kansas and Arizona.
You know this year we're playing the Empire classic which is looks like a really good field including the defending national champion, you know. Again the Florida Gulf Coast isn't a like a high-level team but it's still like it's a team that's made some noise in the Animal. That's better than some of these, you know, Louisiana Cajun state or whatever and then you know, we have Harvard which is a name school but then you have a law bird and Lana we're playing
Kansas in a home-and-home. We get 100 Dickinson back, you know? And there might be one more. Like that's another piece of all these things like these high-level players want to play in shockingly, high level games against other high-level players on National Television. They don't want to play, you know, five teams in Assembly Hall, that are just, you know, 30-point blowout.
So I'm also really encourage. By that seeing us continue to as you would say, like we're continuing to act like a big-time program, like this is what high level programs do. They go after high level recruits? They go after high-level transfers, they schedule like high level teams and like we're starting to do all of the things that a high-level program does. Yeah. And and they do things with those players. I think is the other piece of the puzzle.
That's, and at that is obviously had to be seen but I don't know how you look at the first two years of what. Woodson was able to squeeze out of the rosters but there's years and say, well gosh, there's no way you can do anything with these guys. I think to me, it's quite the opposite. So anyway, we'll be back with more. We've got some schedule stuff to talk about on our next podcast. We might have another recruit because the portal hasn't completely closed.
Yet there's still some time to do some stuff, but we will come back and talk more about that on a future show. Will also have a special show coming up this week that I'm not going to spoil for you, but it'll be interesting to a certain segment of our audience. Scott have fun today. Are you going to the race? So I am going to the Grand Prix. That's great. I hope you have a great time. I'm going to watch it on television. They haven't black that out yet, but it was available on TV.
Well, maybe he's still got a couple hours to Black it up. Anyway for Scott, I'm Galen have a great weekend. Hoosier Nation will catch you folks on the flip side, bring back the Bison. So long everybody.