fiver

While steroids wouldn't have increased his vision, they may have increased his bat speed. That said, he may have been making evaluations on which pitches to hit a bit more quickly last year...This is certainly speculation. However, the declining numbers and talk about dropping weight purposefully certainly lead one down the path of thinking he may have stopped taking steroids.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2327443 Mike Davis is blaming fans for his players' poor performance this season. This is horseshizzle. Also, how the hell is Davis able to give an interview to ESPN shortly after the Iowa game when he is in bed recovering from a "very serious" flu? Your best bet is to shut your mouth in that scenario, Mike. It's not going to be in your best interest to give an interview when you can't even make it to Assembly Hall for the game. IU looked like crap again...careless passes...many, many turnovers. I'd rather watch a team with technical proficiency and little athleticism.

All, There are no more "big" games for the Hoosiers this year. IU scored 22 points in the first half....There is no longer any need to discuss the lack of depth in the paint or being entirely reliant on the three or taking contested shots instead of moving the ba...bah Good luck to Iowa, UI, Michigan, M. State, Minnesota..etc.

Me thinks i vaguely remember Les Lancaster actually fielding a fly ball successfully in LF during that game...anyone recall?

I've heard this previously. Is Davis really that charismatic? Does White really deem his tutelage to be more important than the extra year of eligibilty and/or to play for the Hoosiers? It was fairly obvious why some of the best players didn't want to "torture" themselves under Knight. IMO, keeping White will very much depend upon who IU would hire subsequent to Davis's potential departure.

How absolutely incorrect does Gregg Doyel's article on Davis dated 01/17 look only two games later? http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9171830 snippet: Mike certainly did have the talent on this team for this to be a top 5 team with White on the court...period. What is amazing to me is that this team appears to not be top 25 caliber without White....they will live and die with the three point shot with him on the bench. They've been doing the latter frequently of late, but no one can expect to perpetually lead the nation in three point percentage, IMO. Obviously, Mike Davis wouldn't be in the trouble he's in currently if White didn't get hurt, but I'm just not fond of an offense that cannot seem to generate open looks at the basket inside of the three point arc. If IU continues to falter and does not make the NCAA tournament for a third year in a row, will Davis be fired? Is there any chance he gets the boot even if he he does squeak into the tournament?

I wish I knew the answer to that question, Snood...but honestly I'm not certain that snagging Arthur is worth keeping Davis at IU. Davis has done a decent job of bringing talent to IU, but honestly the university's basketball tradition probably plays just as large of a role as Davis's recruiting prowess. My concern is who will IU be able to allure into succeeding Mike D. It's a high pressure gig...no doubt.

He has to go. I can't understand how anyone can defend this guy. His offense is a joke. IU spots their opponents points at the start of every half because he is outcoached. He has missed the tourney 2 years in a row, and what seemed to be a promising team this year is going in the wrong direction. His seniors, especially Strickland, are no better today than they were the day they came to IU as freshman. He was a recruiter who was put in a job over his head 5 years ago, and we are still paying for it. It hurts even more when you consider the coaches who have been available at one point during Davis tenure at IU. Pitino, Calapari, Matta, Pearl, and Self to name a few. IU deserves better. Luckily, I went to watch a movie this afternoon. Where did IU get beat today? .....Poor outside shooting, lack of paint presence other than Killingsworth, weak side defense, Davis running onto the court hysterically?....??? I believe I did hear that White can get a medical redshirt although I seriously doubt that matters. I only see him playing two more years for IU if he fully recovers....He'd probably opt to test the draft waters after his junior year if he does get the redshirt.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2309721 ..just confirmation that White won't play again this year. It's really very unfortunate, because I think it was very feasible for IU to have made a very strong run in March with him in the lineup.

Yeah, let the teams IU beat keep winning (except Illinois, not knocking U of I but I want them to lose because we have a sure loss coming in Assembly Hall Jr.) It wouldn't surprise me if Minnesota beats Indiana in Minneapolis. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it wouldn't surprise me. I haven't looked at Michigan State's schedule, but they've already done something that I don't think Illinois will do - beat OSU in Columbus. In fact, if Pruitt and Randall continue to underachieve, I can see the Illini with at least four more Big Ten losses. It is a strong possibility. But IU has to win that game if they want to consider themselves among the top teams in the country. IMHO, IU can't be considered one of the top teams in the country..they simply aren't going to be able to consistently matchup with elite teams unless White comes back earlier than expected from the foot injury. I don't think they'll have enough to win the Big Ten Championship and I'd be suprised if they made the Sweet 16.

How about Vaden? He was 8-12 from 3! A lot of those came with a hand in his face or were shots he had to hurry. He was impressive last night. You guys did shoot 42% from 3 you know. The Hoosiers were hitting some tough three's all night long, you just couldn't get any other looks inside and there was no penetration. I wish more and more that Killingsworth would have left Monroe in Auburn.

Marco was getting double-teamed, Cacique. That should leave a player in good shape for an open shot. With Kline as your 5 for most of the second half and Suhr playing over 20 minutes, Iowa was able to take advantage of multiple mismatches. Kline may be 6-8, but he plays like he is 6-4. That said, Indiana had NO ONE on the floor that could matchup with Brunner OR Hansen OR Haluska. Indiana was only down 3 points at the half, and Killingsworth was taken out of the game soon after the beginning of the second half. You can cuss Killingsworth for not finding the open man, but you will NOT win with on the bench. The game was not over when Davis benched Killer, IMO... I'm all for benching him for a couple of minutes when he isn't in foul trouble (or tired) to prove a point. Benching him for ten minutes in that scenario is a death sentence for you team when there is no legitimate 4 or 5 on the court. I don't necessarily disagree with you on any of this. Erik Suhr is terrible. All this pepper-pop crap makes me want to puke. He stinks. I don't care how "smart" he is or how much he "hustles". He's still bad. Problem is, they didn't really have much choice with Strickland injured and Ratliff playing only nine minutes because of foul trouble. Kline can be thrown into that same catagory (though he played respectable last night). They were only down three at half, but Iowa opened up with what, an 11-0 run to start the 2nd half? That's when Killer got benched. He obviously wasn't getting much help from the outside, but he was being out worked the entire game. His defense was terrible, at best. As far as being double teamed, he better get used to it. He needs to be able to pass out of that double team. Right now, that part of his game seems kind of hit-and-miss. Davis is not without blame either. The coach is ultimately responsible for the product on the floor. If his players aren't motivated, he needs to either find a way to motivate them, or figure out a different rotation to put on the floor. I absolutely agree that having Kline as your only "big man" on the floor is a terrible idea. There were a few times last night where Vaden was basically the only legitimate scoring threat on the court. I thought Allen was okay last night too. I hope he'll get some more minutes as a result. I'll comment on the emboldened parts : Agreed, Suhr plays full speed and I will give him that, but not many 5-6 or 5-8 players for that matter are going to be able to stay above water in any major conference. I love his hustle, but that only goes so far. Agreed, Kline played well for Kline. No need for me to comment further Agreed, Marco has to get better at passing out of the double team although he indeed did this quite a bit last night. IU wasn't taking advantage of these open shots. Agreed, I've stated that Davis took the Killingsworth benching a bit too far...and I probably took my criticism of Davis a bit far as well (based soley upon last night's performance). My frustration with Davis is deeply rooted, and I don't deem him to be a coach that gets the most out of his teams. Yep, Kline is not a 5. Indeed. Vaden was the only player there for a while in the second half that could take a shot and not have it blocked. edit - Allen will only get better. Double edit - IU's only chance of going anywhere in the dance this year is to get White back in time for him to get some conditioning under his belt...I think that last injury probably sealed this season's fate as being promising yet unfulfilling.

Marco was getting double-teamed, Cacique. That should leave a player in good shape for an open shot. With Kline as your 5 for most of the second half and Suhr playing over 20 minutes, Iowa was able to take advantage of multiple mismatches. Kline may be 6-8, but he plays like he is 6-4. That said, Indiana had NO ONE on the floor that could matchup with Brunner OR Hansen OR Haluska. Indiana was only down 3 points at the half, and Killingsworth was taken out of the game soon after the beginning of the second half. You can cuss Killingsworth for not finding the open man, but you will NOT win with on the bench. The game was not over when Davis benched Killer, IMO... I'm all for benching him for a couple of minutes when he isn't in foul trouble (or tired) to prove a point. Benching him for ten minutes in that scenario is a death sentence for you team when there is no legitimate 4 or 5 on the court.

lol...now Davis is given the T. Certainly, Knight had his share, but Davis at times looks just as foolish as Knight did as he was heaving that chair across the court...and in a totally different way. edit - Knight's loss of self control seemed somewhat calculated. Davis? ...heh I can still see him frantically running out on the court BEFORE the end of that Kentucky game a few years back...when IU still had an opportunity to win the game.

I'm accustomed to the Cubs disappointing me. IU has been my only glimmer of hope throughout the years. Edit - I doubt IU would have won this game with Killingsworth in the game for those 10 minutes in the second half, but it went a bit far. It's pretty tough to win on the road in the Big Ten this year...no doubt.

fire the trainer! trainer? Fire Davis....They just called this a "scrappy" IU lineup. It's embarrassing. I didn't become an IU fan as a child to see this an adult. Put Killingsworth in the lineup. There is no excuse for throwing a game in order to make a point. This is Big Ten basketball.

IU will beat no one with Kline as their big man...no one...not purdue...not hellen keller tech...certainly not iowa

Use your brain, Davis...you've made your point. Put Killingsworth in the game NOW. edit...Davis has no brain

I don't think that Hansen will be strong enough to contain Marco, but what about Brunner?..or Thomas..how are they defensively?

What does everyone think about the Cuse-Pitt game tonight? I'm thinking that Pittsburg is probably going to rebound from their loss and extend Cuse's losing streak to 3.

Someone posted a Stark tidbit that they are worried that Roberts won't be healthy(elbow?). Yes, Jayson Stark mentioned this first. Apparently, the Orioles fear that Roberts recovery from a dislocated elbow will be slow. A dislocated elbow is tough. I dislocated mine once. Getting it popped back in to place was the worst pain I've ever felt. Two guys held my should while another doctor grabbed my hand and jerked as hard as he could. On about the 15th yank it finally popped back into place. I immediately passed out. It was a very long time before I could straighten my arm out. That was about 5 yrs. ago and it still bothers me. I can dislocate both my shoulders at will. No pain at all. I dislocated a shoulder once too, but it went back into place on its own. It didn't hurt bad. Me thinks should and elbow dislocation may not be synonymous. I've known others that have popped their shoulder out of place without a lot of pain.

fixed ...sorry....I didn't get to the "fixed" thread in rants in time and couldn't help myself.

Lots of upside, but didn't he bomb last year?

I think Pie getting up to 200 means the Cubs will look to re-sign Pierre, with the belief that Felix can play a corner (most likely RF with his arm). I'd still like Pie to be the CF in 2007. I would like to see him get some ABs in the 2-hole next season. I'd start him at AA again, and call him up to AAA about midseason. Agreed..after a subpar winter, I think it will be important for him to have some success early in '06. Hopefully he would pickup where he left off for the Jaxx, and then we could let him test the AAA waters later in the season. BTW, do we give him some playing time in RF this season in the minors if Pierre plays well for the big club?

on Barfield from CBSSportsline: