Exile on Waveland

He's still on scholarship. He's working to return next year and is evidently improving. I'm assuming he'll be back. If you're asking me if I expect him to ever play and be a factor again, then my answer would be no. I heard that Mo actually practiced a bit with the team in Portland. The kid has an outstanding work ethic and I don't think all these injuries have crushed his spirit at all. Whether he will be the same player or not, I have no idea. But he is busting his tail to get back to 100%. Oh, for sure. He seems like a great kid and has worked his behind off to return. You have to admire that. But, realistically, anything he provides on the court for IU from here on out has to be considered unexpected. It's hard for me to forget how painful it was to watch him hobble around trying to play last year -- and now having another injury to rehab from, well, you can place me in the extremely dubious category. Hope I'm wrong, obviously.

He's still on scholarship. He's working to return next year and is evidently improving. I'm assuming he'll be back. If you're asking me if I expect him to ever play and be a factor again, then my answer would be no. Just looking at scholarship situation. I don't want to get into the whole 'Creaning' thing but IU is at 15 or 14 if Roth is gone, right? I actually think Roth is a pretty useful role player but it seems like a lot of IU fans want him gone. Jurkin to prep school if Zeller stays? Yes, currently IU has fourteen players for thirteen scholarship spots for next year. That doesn't include Roth because Roth is gone unless he pays his own way (he's been on scholarship for four years, has graduated, is already in grad school, and went through senior night festivities). I'd love to have Roth back; he'd be more useful next year than Jurkin or Patterson, in my opinion. Jurkin to prep school seems to have been squashed by all parties involved. As for the answer? I think Watford is going to go to Europe.

He's still on scholarship. He's working to return next year and is evidently improving. I'm assuming he'll be back. If you're asking me if I expect him to ever play and be a factor again, then my answer would be no.

Smart is going to coach circles around Crean but IU's got more talent. Should be a good game. I think IU will win, but I picked against VCU every time last year and was wrong. This was damn near true until the 14:00 mark-give or take- of the second half. VCU missed a ton of shots after that, but Smart got in his own way, imo. They had 57 points at that time, only to score 4 more the rest of the way. He obviously knows his team better than I do, but with 5:00 or so left, he called a timeout (with a 6 or 7 point lead) after IU turned it over on a held ball on a Zeller shot attempt. I thought for sure he was prepping his guys for one last full court blitz to put the game away. Instead, they continued to run clock and put up contested shots, effectively killing all momentum. IU stole this one. VCU scored four points in the last twelve and a half minutes of the game. IU finished the game on 15-4 and 7-0 runs. If that had happened to IU, people would be screaming at Crean and, on this board, laughing at him for clapping as Rome burned. That, however, is and always will be an overly simplistic view. VCU forced tons of turnovers because IU doesn't have the correct personnel to combat a good press/half-court trap -- i.e., a point guard (which has been Crean's biggest failing as an IU coach, but a failing he remedied with aplomb for next year -- though that's five years into his tenure). VCU lost the game and IU won the game because VCU stopped hitting shots and IU has better players that toughed out a win. Both those guys are good coaches; Smart will do very well wherever he goes, I'm sure (just as Crean has). Anyway, it's pretty amazing to be in the Sweet Sixteen three years after returning no scholarship players and winning six games. IU won twenty-eight games in three years, they've won twenty-seven this year. That's a resurrection by any definition. I'm not optimistic at all about playing Kentucky, who is far better and will be out for blood. I'd be pleasantly surprised if it's not a blowout. But this year is already gravy.

I saw that. He was actually winning at UAB too. 15-16 this year. Second losing season in six years there. He won 20+ games the other four years, but his style of scrambling to fill out a roster is never sustainable. It's always susceptible to bottoming-out years.

Hey Illinois fans: Mike Davis is available. You should hire him . . .

They should have called a foul at the end there. Grant shouldn't have called the timeout with 2.4 left though. Yeah, that was a horrendous time for a timeout.

Never really liked FSU that much, and I think they got overseeded based on conference tourney results. I didn't either, which is why I picked Cincy to knock them out. But I think they were the trendy pick to come out of that region after the back-to-back wins over UNC and Duke plus Fab Melo being ineligible. I agree that Florida State is being overrated . . . and really struggled whether to pick them or Cincinnati to make the Sweet Sixteen. However, if they make the Sweet Sixteen, Florida State matches up great with Ohio State; and I think the top of half of that region could get blown up (which you allude to). So I don't think Florida State to the Final Four is crazy.

Hoo Hoo Hoosiers! :stickman: Working with a hangover, it sucks. #-o It's totally great when the reason for the hangover is IU's first tournament win in five long years. I posted earlier that I was confident about beating New Mexico State. They're not very good, other than looking imposing. It always struck me as odd that people expected them to beat IU because they were big and athletic -- like IU doesn't play in the Big Ten and isn't used to that (except the Big Ten teams also have actual skill). VCU is going to be much, much tougher. I think Pomeroy is overly optimistic; I personally think this is a toss-up type game (I predicted IU to lose in the second round). I don't fully trust IU against pressure defense; they are prone to turnovers and Hulls has always struggled when being trapped by bigger/more athletic guards. However, VCU's secondary defense is not as good as last year. If IU can break the pressure, they should get open shots. Should be fun.

Reggie Wayne just became maybe my second favorite Colt player ever. To come back to the Colts -- on a reasonable contract -- when they are rebuilding says a whole lot about Wayne. Thanks Reggie. It says his career is winding down and everybody knows it. No crap; everyone knows that. Wayne is not as good as he used to be, but he is still solid and could really help a good team. But instead of following Manning or whatever, he chose to spend his "winding down" career with a rebuilding team that is going to stink next year (at least). It's hard not to appreciate that.

Reggie Wayne just became maybe my second favorite Colt player ever. To come back to the Colts -- on a reasonable contract -- when they are rebuilding says a whole lot about Wayne. Thanks Reggie.

I don't agree. Nothing will take away from the UK win. That's the signature win of the season, not for IU....for anyone. Until yesterday it was the only time UK lost all season. ESPN uses Watford's shot to advertise for ESPN 3. If IU makes it that far and gets blown out, I don't think people the win in December will be less memorable/meaningful. I think it re-established Assembly Hall as one of the tougher places to play. I also disagree that this isn't a good draw for IU. I don't like that they got put in Portland, but once they became a 4-seed, it was the logical place for them to be. 3 of the #4 seeds are playing in either Portland or Alburquerque. And of the teams IU was in contention with for a 4 seed, all pretty much had better resumes, including Wisconsin and Michigan who righfully got to play in Nashville over IU. It actually would have benefitted them to be a 5-seed, as I think they would have been the best of the 5 seeds (over Temple) and gone to Nashville. Especially since New Mexico and Wichita prefer to stay west. As for UK, I like that matchup over any of the others. I don't think we can stay on the same court with UNC or Cuse. Wouldn't think that of UK, but we have and did. I'd rather play UK again than Michigan St, even if that was possible. 1) I thought I was pretty clear that I thought it was technically a fine draw for IU. My complaints were "personal" which shouldn't be confused as a complaint that IU was "screwed." They weren't, in my opinion; the draw is fair. I think favorable in the first round, about par for the course in the second round, and extremely hard in the third round (but that's expected as a 4/5 seed). 2) I'm not saying a possible IU loss to UK erases the first game, it doesn't. It is, and always will be, a signature win. But IU loses bragging rights (hey, a one-point win is great and all, but doesn't compare to a double digit tournament win). Perhaps this is more relevant for me than others on this board -- I'm from southern Indiana and UK is by far the biggest rival down there (I basically did not know any Purdue fans growing up and have never hated them). I may just be more sensitive to the UK thing.

How good are they at rebounding? And just looking over what I'm able to, but their offense looks to rely heavily on Johnson-Odom and Crowder, followed by a bunch of guards who shoot as well as Flip Pressey. I'm halfway optimistic that if Missouri can get to that point, they could beat them. I would love to see Missouri and Marquette play; think that would be a great matchup. Struggling with which to pick, and I will probably have the winner in the Final Four (reminds me of 2003, when I planned on picking the Missouri-Marquette second round winner to go to the Final Four, picked Missouri . . . and Marquette went to the Final Four . . . ugh).

That's true and I don't expect sympathy. If you agree that John Elway, Peyton Manning, and Andrew Luck are the three best quarterback prospects in recent memory, it's shocking that the Colts will have drafted all three (obviously the Colts had no luck with drafting Elway, but still). It's just very difficult to see Manning in free agency and about to play for another team -- that's not necessarily a complaint, I understand why, but fandom isn't always rational. For me, the only thing somewhat comparable is Bob Knight being fired, but he was a jerk; Manning has done nothing wrong -- and pretty much saved pro football in Indiana, was the proximate cause for the new stadium, and thus the recent Super Bowl hosting. Milk that's already spilled, I know.

How much of that was Clark being really bad now and how much of that was the Painter/Orlovsky QB duo, I wonder? It certainly didn't help. However, I don't think that was the sole problem. Clark was tied for seventh in the NFL with nine drops. Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon still were able to have good years with Painter/Orlovsky. I'm not saying Clark is incapable of playing well in the future, but I'd be shocked if his days as a top-level tight end weren't over. How much of Clark's entire career was just being lucky enough to have a HOFer throwing to him? That's a difficult question. Obviously, it helped a lot, Manning made everyone on the Colts look better than they were. That's not to say Clark wasn't a very talented player, he was. I don't really mean to have this conversation again, but for years Colts fans had been saying that the overall talent level on the team wasn't that high and that Manning made everything go. I think last year helped show how good Manning actually was . . . and I hope the next couple years do the same wherever he goes (now I'll go cry in the corner again).

Obligatory IU post: First, I'm thrilled just to be back in the NCAA Tournament. It's been a very difficult -- self-inflicted -- three/four years prior to this; and this team has already exceeded any realistic expectations. I'm pleased with the 4-seed and the first two pairings. This is tied with 2001 for the highest seed IU has received since 1993 (when they lost in the first round to Kent State . . . ugh). Obviously anything can happen in the tournament, but I feel relatively good about the first game with New Mexico State. Not that it's a "gimme" by any means, but it could have been much worse. The second round matchup will be very difficult whether it's Wichita State or VCU -- and I'll probably pick either one to beat IU -- but it's still a winnable game. It's also nice to avoid a potential matchup with New Mexico and all the hoopla that would have entailed. My issues with the draw are more at a personal level. With so many nearby sites -- Louisville, Columbus, Nashville, Pittsburgh, even Omaha -- I was hoping to be able to easily attend (even though I was expecting to get sent out to one of the two western locales). I'm just not going to be able to travel to Portland, unfortunately. Second, and my biggest complaint, is that IU's upside in the tournament is now losing all bragging rights to Kentucky -- and, my guess would be, humiliatingly so. The UK win was such a pivotal moment for the program -- and probably my favorite moment at Assembly Hall, in 15+ years of attending basically every game -- that it could become somewhat forgotten/less meaningful/whatever. If IU does make it to the Sweet Sixteen, I think UK will be very primed for that game and probably win by 15-20 or more. My first priority for seeding/selection, was avoiding a possible game with UK; that's the team I dislike the most in any sport and I would hate to see IU lose to them after the earlier game (again, IU may never face UK, but still).

I think that's a really good draw for Purdue. If I was a Purdue fan, I might feel a bit slighted with the 10-seed -- I think the Big Ten overall was a bit undervalued after the top two, and this board's picks seem to agree with it -- but, as you said, I'd rather be undervalued with a 10-seed than be an 8- or 9-seed. As for the opponents, Pomeroy has Purdue favored over St. Mary's (61%), who is the lowest-ranked No. 7. I'm not saying Purdue necessarily will win, but they have an excellent chance. In the second game, Kansas is obviously better than Purdue but I think they are pretty ripe for an upset. Bill Self did a great job this year, but the subtext of that is often that the team isn't quite as good as the performance. With the probable exception of Duke, I'd rather play Kansas than the other No. 2s.

Missouri was a No. 1 seed in 1994. (By the way, how pathetic is it that I remembered that off the top of my head? I need a life.)

How much of that was Clark being really bad now and how much of that was the Painter/Orlovsky QB duo, I wonder? It certainly didn't help. However, I don't think that was the sole problem. Clark was tied for seventh in the NFL with nine drops. Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon still were able to have good years with Painter/Orlovsky. I'm not saying Clark is incapable of playing well in the future, but I'd be shocked if his days as a top-level tight end weren't over.

Wow, didn't realize Clark was that old. I knew he was getting older, but I was thinking 30-31. Still might be a decent 2nd TE option in the right situation, though. Goes without saying that I'm a huge Clark fan and hope he does great wherever he goes. But he was really bad last year.

OK, I'm all in for Drexel and Iona and whoever; the major conference bubble teams stink.

That's a tough break for a senior on a team that is going to the tournament when they've been bad for his entire career. Yeah, as much as I hate IU, that really sucks. It sucks. Injuries always suck. It sucked when Hummel got hurt a couple years ago when Purdue was really, really good. It sucks that Jones has had to play on three crap teams and, then when he finally plays on a good team, he gets hurt right before he can play in the NCAA Tournament.

If we're not going to compete, what does it matter? What would the team be losing by waiting a month or two to bring him up? Is it worth a year of team control to have him on the roster in April/May in a rebuilding year? Just because you have more money than the Pirates doesn't mean you should be stupid. How do you know they're not going to compete? He probably looked at the roster.

"Good"? No, not seeing it. Even if basically everything goes right.

No matter where he goes, I really want to see him win a couple more Super Bowls. Knew it was coming; but still so depressing. Wish him all the best.