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]]> http://www.crimsoncast.com/2012/05/iu-vs-uk-game-discussion-with-glenn-from-a-sea-of-blue/feed/ 0 0:00:01 Scott is joined by Glenn (@ASeaofBlue) from the Kentucky basketball blog A Sea of Blue, to talk about the ending of the IU vs UK game. Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes by clicking here & follow us on Twitter @CrimsonCast.   Scott is joined by Glenn (@ASeaofBlue) from the Kentucky basketball blog A Sea of Blue, to talk about the ending of the IU vs UK game. Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes by clicking here & follow us on Twitter @CrimsonCast.   Podcast CrimsonCast no no http://www.crimsoncast.com/2012/05/scholarships-matt-roth-iu-vs-uk-series/ http://www.crimsoncast.com/2012/05/scholarships-matt-roth-iu-vs-uk-series/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 13:44:47 +0000 Scott http://www.crimsoncast.com/?p=4021 Read the Rest...

• Will Power’s recent dominance
• Dario Franchitti’s struggles
• Lotus’s struggles
• KV Racing and Tony Kanaan, can he get back on track?
• Marco Andretti
• James Hinchcliffe
• JR Hildebrand
• Helio Castroneves and why he has such a great shot at this year’s Indy 500

Remember to subscribe to us on iTunes by clicking here & follow us on Twitter @CrimsonCast.

We will also post a graph showing the Championship points standings graph for the season.  Onto the power grid!

1st – Will Power  - 180 points / 1st place
This list is not named after Will, but I have a feeling that he will be on top for much of this season and future seasons, so it may well be named after him after all is said and done.  I’m a fan of Will, but not of his victory celebration.  The “Power Leap” just seems a bit forced and looks a bit to much like something you would see in an episode of Glee.  Would so much rather he just do the double bird after every win.  That would get us on the A segment of PTI!

2nd – Scott Dixon – 109 points / 6th place
Had it not been for an engine problem at Long Beach and a bad caution at Brazil, he could very well have 4 podiums so far this season.  I also think that Scott is looking forward to a season where he will get all the Ganassi resources as their championship contender.

3rd – Helio Castroneves – 135 points / 2nd place
I really have no idea how Helio was able to finish 4th in Brazil.  It didn’t help that NBCSports had to buy the video feed from the local network.  They couldn’t just get access to all the cameras and edit it themselves?  Or they couldn’t have sent a few of their own camera guys so we could get a good broadcast?  Why does NBCSports treat these races like a US Air Force Drone, putting the commentators in a booth in the desert and just sending the video into them?  Although it was fun seeing Kevin Lee have to fight a Brazilian reporter to get the Will Power interview in victory lane.

I just know that someone Helio was missing part of his front wing and finished 4th.  He is coming in Indy, with his best chance at getting #4.

4th – Ryan Hunter-Reay – 121 points / 4th place
How many times in the month of May will we hear about how much more “relaxed” and “friendly” the atmosphere is at Andretti Autosport.  We should create a bingo board of all the ways that they will talk around the truth – Danica was a real drag on that team and must have been a royal pain in the ass.

Although, know this Ryan.  If you get bumped again this year, especially if we only have 34 cars, you will be off this list for the season!

5th – James Hinchcliffe – 123 points / 3rd place
A VERY consistant start for James this season.  Great to see this from the Mayor of Hinchtown!  Hope he gets a lot of face-timeduring the month of May, as he might be the best personality in the series today.

6th – Simon Pagenaud – 118 points / 6th place
Close call between Simon & James.  I give the nod to James, because Simon is a rookie in the series and at Brazil he didn’t look great.  Also be interested to see how he does now that we are moving over to a few more ovals.  We still race those in this series, don’t we?

7th – JR Hildebrand – 83 points / 7th place
7th & 5th in the last 2 races.  Not bad for a someone who is still cutting his teeth on the road/street courses.  His biggest hurdle is coming this month, as the reigning champion of the Indianapolis 499.75, I’m very curious to see how he handles his first year back to IMS.  If Marco is any indication, after coming so close as a rookie, JR might be in for a few years of struggling.  I hope it’s not the case for JR.

8th – Takuma Sato – 83 points / 7th place
It was very nice to see Sato finally get to a podium, as he deserved to be there at Long Beach.  There are flashes of brilliance with Sato.  Unfortunately, there is always a lapse of judgement, which normally sends him into the wall.  My money is still on him NOT finishing 500 miles in May

9th – Rubens Barrichello – 79 points / 11th place
Since St. Pete, he has been in the top 10 of every race.  I think we will see improvement in every future road/street course.  I really thought that he would help Tony Kanaan improve this season and KV would be a team to be reckoned with.  Doesn’t look like the case so far, which makes me very worried if the window has shut on TK.

I just want to know why INDYCAR allowed Rubens to color his number in such a way that it looks like an X.  Can’t we just agree that everyone has to have solid numbers?  The cars are already going 200+ mph, do we need to make it HARDER to catch the numbers?

10th – Ryan Briscoe – 83 points / 7th place
Seems like it is going to be another Briscoe year, where he hangs around the top 10 in most of the races, but is never a threat to win.  A big month of May could really help him out.

11th – Dario Franchitti – 82 points / 10th place
How many horseshoes does he have up his ass?  Is it over a baker’s dosen?  He gets spun around in Brazil in a place where most people would get hit, and if he did get taken out, it would have probably been the nail in this season for him.  Yet, nobody hits him and he comes back and finishes 5th.  Until he is mathematically eliminated, he must stay on this list.

That’s The Power Grid for this week.  It will be updated after Indy 500 qualifying.

2012 IZOD Championship Points Graph – After Brazil
(Click on graph to view it in full screen)

Best Game of the Season: @Purdue – 23 points (6-14 FG, 1-1 3pt, 10-12 FT), 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks

What We Knew: Following last year, we saw the potential that Oladipo had. While incredibly raw, his hustle and insane athleticism got him playing time off the bench last year. We knew that Vic had to work on developing something resembling an offensive game. He couldn’t rely on athleticism forever and either developing a jumper or a go-to move was necessary.

Defensively, we saw an equal amount of potential, but Vic had to keep himself under control. Many times, he would get overwhelmed or excited and make a bonehead play. Really, in order for his game in general to be effective and to keep and gain playing time, he was going to have to play under control.

What We Learned: Quite possibly no one made bigger strides and improved more than Victor Oladipo. Not only did he get his game under control, he was easily IU’s best penetrator and his Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors prove his prowess on that end of the floor.

Offensively, while maybe not being a distributor, Oladipo was essentially the team’s point guard. No one could get into the lane or break down and get by his defender like Vic. While his finishing skills leave much to be desired at times, his consistency to draw the defense in  was a huge key in IU’s success this year. It might not have been on display then in his best game of the year at Purdue. With the Hoosiers having lost five of their last seven at the time and facing a seemingly do or die game, Oladipo stepped up and gave his best performance of the year. He got to the line 12 times and controlled the game throughout. The game turned IU’s season back around and launched them toward their Sweet 16 berth.

Defensively, Oladipo Island quickly became a none-too-desireable destination. The list of unhappy visitors include Aaron Craft, Doron Lamb, Tim Hardaway Jr. and a slew of other guards and forwards alike. One of the stand-out moments by Oladipo from this season came when we hosted Ohio State. Late in the first half, with IU attempting to close the gap before halftime, Oladipo ripped Craft of the ball and found Verdell Jones downcourt for a lay-in to cut the deficit to one. He then picks up Craft full-court, rips him of the ball, and slams it home for the lead. And it all happened in less than 15 seconds.

What We Expect: While we may not expect as much from him as we will Watford, we still expect a lot. If he can at least come close to matching the strides he made last off-season in this one, then we’ll have a very special player next year.

On the offensive end, I’d love to see him develop a more reliable outside jumper. In no way, shape or form do I want him to become a primarily outside shooter. However, he needs to be able to knock down open jumpers, something he couldn’t come close to doing this year. If he can match his ability to get to the basket with his ability to knock down outside shots, he’d take an even bigger step forward than he did last year.

Speaking of getting to the rim, he still needs to work on his decision making near the rim. Too often he’d put up either a contested lay-up, an overly difficult one, or miss an open teammate. While I realize he’s (likely) never played a point guard position, he has to learn that, when another defender comes, someone is up. With the shooters this team has, driving and kicking out needs to be something he can get use to. However, just as I don’t want him to become an outside shooter, I don’t want him to become someone who only drives and kicks. He needs to know when to finish and when to find a teammate.

• Tim Thomas’ future with Boston, and some potential trade destinations (including Chicago, maybe? Please?)
• The Rangers finding a way to push through to the second round
• The defensive/goalie armageddon that this St. Louis vs Los Angeles series promises to be
• Excitement at potentially the first-ever I-24 series
• The chances that the Devils can somehow sneak by the Flyers due to bad goaltending
• Washington’s possible matchup advantages over New York
• The NHL award nominees and where we stand on some of the bigger ones, including the different ways that the Norris could go

All that and more, on this episode of SCP!

Stats: 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 41.6% FG, 43.7% 3-pt, 81.5% FT

Best Game of the Season: Sweet 16 vs. Kentucky – 27 points (9-20 FG, 3-9 3-pt, 6-8 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks

What We Knew: Coming into last season, we knew Watford had a unique skill set. He was a big man who could step out on the perimeter and cause mismatches against bigger players or post up smaller players. However, we also knew that Watford was incredibly inconsistent. He would impress you with a 20-10 game, then follow it up with a 2-9 shooting performance where he looks totally disinterested. However, he was viewed as an x-factor for a team that needed a go-to player.

What We Learned: Where to even begin. First, we learned he was clutch with one of the biggest shots in IU history (short of Keith Smart, obviously). Outside of that, he also proved to be a big game player. In the team’s two games against Kentucky, he totaled 47 points and 10 rebounds on right at 50% shooting from the field. His two games against Michigan State resulted in 37 points and 24 rebounds (double digit rebounds in both games). When IU needed a go-to guy, Watford became that guy. Early on in the season, it was uncertain who could be considered that go-to scorer. It was until tournament time that Watford emerged as someone willing to take that role. He single-handedly kept the Hoosiers in the game against the Wildcats in the Sweet 16.

None of this, however, is to say that Watford didn’t have his frustrating inconsistent games. In total, Watford scored in single digits 11 times. In those 11 games, IU went 7-4. Clearly, Watford means a lot to this team. If not for his huge run through the NCAA Tournament, I might even question whether Watford shied from the big stage. Coming into this season, it was certainly a question, but given how he finished, I doubt you can question him anymore.

What We Expect: Well, to keep expectations in check, we expect a lot from him. Judging by his late seson run, fans should expect Watford to emerge as “the guy” for this IU  team. He’ll be the focus of this team from an opponents stand point and he’ll have to adjust. He needs to completely avoid the inconsistent games now, also. For someone who will need to be “the guy”, you can’t have him no showing in big games. With IU unable to fly under the radar next year, each team is going to give us their best shot. Not having arguably your most talented player not at 100% will be difficult, if not impossible, to overcome.

Another thing I’d like to see is Watford step it up on the defensive end. Someone with his size and length should be a great defender, yet many times, he was taken advantage of. Later in the season, against smaller guards, he played well. However, we don’t need him on guards. Watford will spend more time at the three next year with Jurkin and Perea joining the team, and we need him to be able to guard that position. Strengthening up also needs to be a priority for his defense against some of the power forwards.

In the end, though, we just need Watford to play like he did to end the season. Against Kentucky, although the stats may say otherwise, that is probably the best game I’ve seen him player at IU. He was agressive, got to the rim, finished with authority, and got to the line. That’s exactly the type of player IU needs him to be next year.

Warning: Some of the language used on this podcast contains “swear words”, which are used by “adults”. You’ve been warned! I promise none of it was sexual in nature! All punctuation! Although we did make a few Brodeur jokes.

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