Who are the IU fans here besides you Wizop ? Tom ?
You call my name? Yes, I am an IU fan, so I guess I'll give my perspective.
Been an IU fan since the days of Branch McCracken. Enjoyed the 70's and 80's under Knight, but to be honest his "side show" and antics got to be too much for me and I actually quit watching during his last years there. He became a total dick to the players, assistants and anyone who happened to rub him wrong on a given day.
The Neil Reid story was public, but there were other situations that were not so exposed. Back then I was a friend with a son of one of the assistants. There were numerous other "horror stories" that never got told. I'll leave it at that.
The Davis hiring was a mistake, in particular the way it happened, with a few players demanding to get their way on the hire. Those players should have been shown the door. Davis was a decent man, but over his head in that job. He was also treated poorly by a certain amount of the IU "faithful". Yes, I hate to say it, but color had a hand in that.
Looking back, I think Crean did as well as he could, and some years were very good, but it was inconsistent and people were looking for him to be Knight, Part Two. Not letting go of the "legend" was a mistake.
While Sampson did things that are now legal, they were not at that time, and it wasn't his first go-around with thumbing his nose at the rules. Those texts and such were not the only problems though. Alcohol and drug use by players and the idea that going to class was optional became the norm. He had to go.
Archie was in over his head a bit, and just never was comfortable in the fishbowl that is IU ball.
Woody is who Woody is and everyone loved him as a player. Rightfully so. As a coach, I think he thought players would be lining up to play for him and IU, but as we now know, that isn't the case. At times he seems disconnected to the reality of where the program currently is. Will he learn? Lord, I hope so. He has ZERO recruits lined up for next season or even beyond that.
I can still hear the people who said "Woody is one of Bobby's boys, he'll show 'em how it's done". That mindset has always been a problem.
I see that Michigan has hired Dusty May. Good luck to him, but I fear they made that hire based on one season he had at FAU. Still, he seems like a good man, and I wish him well.
You mention UK? Have you paid attention to their lack of success in the tourney? Things are not going well. Calipari can certainly recruit, but he just can't coach.
I think a big problem for the program has been the refusal to ever really say goodbye to the legend. While memories are good to keep, you can't just go on living in them. IU has done that for far too long.
Anyway, enough from me for now.