Laley23 wrote:

centralbucksfan wrote:

september63 wrote: Matta and Crean must not be too close? A blow-off handshake by each of them. Neither attempted to look the other in the eye.

Crean is probably still pissed at Matta for stealing the best Indiana player, DeShaun Thomas.

HEY! Get it right, he isnt the best player, that kid is in the 2011 class. ANNNND it was Sampson he stole him from

Seriously though. Crean shakes hands like that with Calipari, Painter and Weber But those guys have reasons for it. Ive never seen a handshake like that outside of those 3 (or someone else who has criticized him in the media).

Thomas not the best player in the state? Huh? I find that hard to believe. Everyone in Ohio is amped about Sullinger...I happen to think Thomas is better.
I wouldn't take too much into that. Although I think it thru Matta for a bit of a loop. I think Crean was probably pissed his team didn't play better. With Turner out early, he couldn't have asked for a better scenario and after taking Purdue to the wire, probably had high hopes for this one.

^^^yes, right now I think Marquis Teague is a better overall player than DeShaun Thomas. Not as strong and not as good a scorer, but a better player? Yes.

Now, I have only seen Thomas 3 times this year, and that DID NOT include his 20/27 night. However, Teague has looked better than him the 7 times Ive seen him play (and against MUCH better competition).

Laley23 wrote:

september63 wrote: Im dead serious. IU's kids are all young. Only a year or 2 older than the HS sr's they would be playing.

I know, and Im serious in how skewed your thinking is. The best player in Indiana last year (WHO WON THE STATE TOURNEY) and led his team to the #4 ranking nationally is currently on the IU roster. Not to mention they also have the runner up Mr. Basketball on the roster.

No one in 4A could hang with them. Bloomington South would be the closest (Hulls team last year) followed by Lawrence North. I lived in Indiana for 4 years and watched MANY HS ball games. They wouldnt lose.

Neither of which are close to being in the same class as Oden and Conley or Deshaun Thomas this year.

Big Gain wrote:

Neither of which are close to being in the same class as Oden and Conley or Deshaun Thomas this year.

A. Deshaun Thomas plays for Ft. Wayne Bishop Leurs. that is 2A. He hasnt won states in that division, his team sucks. Hulls' Bloomington South team would (and I believe DID rock Thomas' team last year).

B. They wouldnt play in the state tourney 4A > 2A

C. No one in Indiana has a team with Oden and Conley. However, this years Lawrence North team has 6 high major prospects. The 7th man on this years team is committed to Louisville. They have lost to Bloomington South (sans Jordy Hulls) by about 15 and lost to Indianapolis Pike as well (Marquis Teague).

Im not saying they would beat Lawrence North with Conley and Oden, but no one in Indiana is near that good.

I dont follow Indiana HS much this year. Sagarin ratings have Lawrence North rated # 20 in the state. Why you bragging them up?

september63 wrote: I dont follow Indiana HS much this year. Sagarin ratings have Lawrence North rated # 20 in the state. Why you bragging them up?

Im not really. They have underachieved big time. I was just pointing out the amount of talent they have on their squad.

The best team in the state is Bloomington South, and they are replacing the Mr. Basketball, Jordy Hulls with a transfer (Matt Carlino, IU commit) and TJ Bell (Transfer from Bloomington North). They would lose emphatically to this years IU team. That is all I am trying to say really.

Fair enough. Good Luck to your Hoosiers. The Big Ten is a better place with them competitive!! (Like they usually are)

september63 wrote: Fair enough. Good Luck to your Hoosiers. The Big Ten is a better place with them competitive!! (Like they usually are)

Yep, Im just not too confident in Crean. Its IS tough to judge with Creek out. But I havent liked what Ive seen out of his coaching this year outside of a few games.

He also has been in with a few great players (but cant close the deal) recruiting. The loaded 2012 class (which I eluded too earlier) will go along way towards this program being elite again. No joke, the top 12 players in Indiana for 2012 could play for most D1 programs. I expect them all to go to major-high mid-major programs. It is a very talented group of players and if Crean doesnt secure a good portion of them, I (along with the fan base) is going to be pretty brutal on him as a coach.

Great to see some other guys get involved tonight. Huge game by Madsen and glad to see PJ Hill and Simmons log some minutes for the Bucks. Madsen was obviously the most productive, scoring 11 in 9 minutes. Obviously Hill and Simmons didn't do much in their minutes, but Hill logged 10 minutes and Simmons logged 14 in a 17 point win for OSU. Granted, Indiana is 3rd to last in the Big 10 and is not headed in the right direction, but it was evident tonight that the Buckeyes can hang when they get some others involved. It is however much more entertaining to watch our starting 5. They are really starting to play well together and Lauderdale had a great matchup inside tonight. I was glad to see Diebler step up defensively. You can't really complain about a guy scoring 3 points when he gets at it on the defensive side of the ball like he did tonight. I will admit, in the next 3 games, i'm not so sure I trust Hill or Simmons logging significant minutes due to the strength of opponent. However, in any Big 10 game that isn't Wisconsin, MSU, Purdue, or Illinois, I think OSU could easily win with a similar rotation as we saw tonight. The reality of it is, come tournament time, Turner could easily pick up 2 quick fouls like he did tonight and Hill or Simmons will be called upon to contribute. I'd prefer to see these guys somewhat prepared so that if that situation presents itself, OSU won't be an automatic elimination from the tourney just because one guy goes down.

In games against good teams Turner must become a tiny bit selfish and realize he is WAY too important to this team and can not afford to get into foul trouble.

^^Hopefully it's that easy and he can avoid the foul trouble. Unfortunately, all it takes is a whistle-happy official and Turner could easily sit for the majority of a first half like he did tonight. Turner is a smart player though. I love how his style of play changed tonight when he got into foul trouble. He can be just as effective in feeding others as when he is scoring.....As long as the supporting cast is hitting their shots

Saw the video of the handshake on bob baptists blog, really interesting the little look Matta gives when crean just kinda blows by him. Like whoa!

^^^IMO,the only negative about Crean is that he seems to pout after losses--maybe he'll grow out of it(he better!!!)