Most people nationwide and inside the state of Indiana knew this would be a rough year for the Hoosiers. Expectations were low coming off last season when they went 18-16 and fired previous coach Tom Crean.
However, after losing to Fort Wayne 92-72, the second home blowout loss to an in-state low-to-mid major, some Indiana fans are out for new coach Archie Miller’s blood. Earlier this season Indiana lost 90-69 to Indiana State.
Yes, the effort was disappointing in both games and it was especially disheartening after the Hoosiers 80-77 upset of Notre Dame on Saturday. Despite that, Hoosier fans have to step back and take a look at the big picture.
No. 1: This is not a roster that anyone in their right mind would think its ready to win consistently. There is just not enough talent on the roster right now after Indiana suffered defections off of a team that struggled to even make the NIT last season.
No. 2: The year is still young. There is still plenty of time for this squad to show growth. It’s way too early to judge. I’d be disappointed if the Hoosiers are still playing this inconsistently in late February, but here in December they still need to get accustomed to Miller’s coaching style and concepts.
No. 3: The calvary is coming. According to 247sports composite team rankings, the Hoosiers have the 19th best class in the country coming next season. The highlight of that class is power forward Jerome Hunter, the 55th best prospect in the country according to that service. The other three prospects in the class are all at-least 4-star talents.
No. 4: Indiana isn’t what it once was. I know that’s a hard pill to swallow for fans who lived through glory years of Bobby Knight. Times change and Indiana is notorious for being a place, for the most part (Kelvin Sampson), that did things the right way. That limits what you can do on the recruiting trail. If you run Archie Miller out of town before he gets started; good luck getting Gregg Marshall.
The Hoosiers have home games against Tennessee Tech (12/21) and Youngstown St (12/29) before their next conference game at Wisconsin (1/2).
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