Indiana loses to Minnesota
The seat suddenly got hot again for Mike Davis. Judging from this performance, 0-8 on the road in the Big Ten is a real possibility. Let me reiterate: An 0-8 conference road record looks likely. Even Northwestern won at Minnesota. The only shot IU had at getting to 4-4 on the road was winning this game, at Purdue, at Penn State, and then upsetting either Wisconsin or Iowa. Purdue and Penn State look real iffy now (especially after watching PSU take it to the Spartans at MSU on saturday), and that's best case scenario.
This team looks like it deserves a low NCAA seed (if one at all) and will probably be out by the second round. That probably means Davis will be fired. But I dunno. Davis could also turn it all around with a nice run in the Big 10 tourney or even in the NCAA's. He has survived before.
Now, I've seen a Hoosier Sweet Sixteen team get crushed (106-56) at Minnesota before and rebound nicely. But they were playing without their 3 best players. This club was only missing DJ White, who now is almost certainly out for the season.
Hmm. So what happens if Davis does get fired? We'll certainly lose any recruits for a year or two (well, Darrell Arthur at least). Do Vaden & White go pro (unwisely)? If they do, Hoosier fans are looking at a rough year or two, no matter who comes in.
I've defended Mike Davis in the past. But at some point in the last two years, I stopped making excuses for him. He doesn't win games that should be won, and it looks like he's not getting his players up for these games. I may reverse myself later, this may just be the low point of the season, but right now I'm feeling like the best thing for IU basketball is part ways with Davis.
I really do wish him the best, but for too long he's not been getting it done, and he should be.
This all said, I would get down on my knees and beg IU not to bring in Bob THuggins or Steve Alford. These guys are not the answer for Indiana basketball. But don't stick with Davis either, as this is the most talent he's ever going to have, and if he can only produce a mediocre squad, he's gotta go.
posted by Indiana Fan @ 9:59 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I agree with you for the most part. The loss yesterday was a tough one. I have also been a Mike Davis supporter but there is a point where enough is enough. Having said that though, win 2 of the next 3 and most (if not all) is forgiven.
Also, I don't think that IU would ever stoop to the level of hiring Huggins and there are much better canidates out there than a guy that can't win regularly at Iowa.
Good blog and good post.
Go Hoosiers.
I missed the game on Sunday (Bon Jovi concert in Milwakee). But good old Jones called at half time and left a nice old voice mail about how the Hoosiers were playing like a high school team.
I like Davis. It is a welcome change after Knight. He lets them play in a loose manner. Sometimes though, they could use a little structure. Sometimes their shot selection is lacking.
Having said that, even though Knight would win at a 70% clip, we also faltered in the tournament.
CNNSI wrote an article saying that Indiana was one of the top seven teams likely to win the whole thing this year (and MSU squeaked in at #8). So nice to see the Big Ten as a tough conference again!!! Hopefully MSU, IU, and UI are not playing on a certain day in March!!!
Thanks to Kyle. Your sentiment is appreciated. Put the bad game behind us and support the team going forward.
Go Hoosiers!
Taco...
Knight did win a little more consistently, and I've pointed out before that Knight's numbers over his last five years look pretty similar to Davis, except without Davis' postseason success.
I think that article identifying IU as a national contender was when DJ was still expected to come back. I saw a couple of articles about how IU was no longer a contender without DJ. They were by Gregg Doyel at CBS, soemone at ESPN, and Seth "know-nuthin'" Davis, all of whom are fans of Mike Davis.
But I'll address this Davis-Knight thing more in today's post.
Post a Comment
<< Home