Strengths/Weaknesses

[IndyTreeFan]

Alright, I know everyone and their younger brother has an opinion on this, so what do you think are ISU's strengths and weaknesses in trying to lure high quality recruits to our beloved alma mater?

Strengths:

1. High quality current players (i.e. - Jake Kelly...)
2. A fantastic arena
3. Quality coach with NBA connections
4. Beautiful campus that is generally stocked full of pretty girls (OK, I know, I'm not 18 anymore...but the recruits are, and when I was giving campus tours, this was always of great interest to the kids...)
5. Play in the MVC
6. Larry Bird, John Wooden

Weaknesses:

1. A traditionally losing program
2. Terre Haute is not a big city
3. Small, lethargic crowds
4. In the shadow of IU and Purdue...

What are your thoughts. And let's not make this personal...

[IndyTreeFan]

No one? Come on. I know you all have opinions on this. What do you think? This could be a really interesting conversation!!!

[SycamoreStateofMind]

aahahha This could be a really interesting topic... What makes you think so? The fact that you posted this 3 days ago and it got so many hits? EEEEEEEEEK!


I will humor you:

1. Good selling point
2. Ehhh I dono its a draw. The Hulman Center is great when it's filled up but last time I checked it was never filled up. So I think it sucks! That falls under #3 of your weakness also.
3. Sure - Dono how many NBA connections he still has. Bird? who else?
4. It's what you make of it... 1 in every 25 girls looks good at ISU. lol That sounds bad.
5. The MVC is wayyyyyy down. Not sure if that is a good selling point these days. Not to mention it is tough to make it pro out of the MVC in my own opinion.
6. You think they still sell the name John Wooden? Do young kids really care? Doubtful

Weaknesses
1. Agree
2. Terre Haute Rocks! I love this city - Ok it's not a big city but this place is great. It has all you could ever want...
3. F - IU and PU. Yeah I agree we could be in their shadow but I can't stand to even talk about them. They are garbage.

[IndyTreeFan]

aahahha This could be a really interesting topic... What makes you think so? The fact that you posted this 3 days ago and it got so many hits? EEEEEEEEEK!


OK, so I thought it was an interesting topic. Perhaps I was mistaken. Sure seemed like a good idea at the time...:confused:

[SycamoreStateofMind]

I mean it was not a bad topic. I think everyone just agreed with your strenghts and weaknesses so much that they didn't even bother responding. Think of it as a sign of respect! That's what I would do... lol

[IndyTreeFan]

I mean it was not a bad topic. I think everyone just agreed with your strenghts and weaknesses so much that they didn't even bother responding. Think of it as a sign of respect! That's what I would do... lol

Oooo, that's good. I'm sooooooo good that everyone agreed with me. I like that...:worship2:

EEEEEEEEK!

:sycamores::sycamores::sycamores:

[Superfan312]

Yea, I think you're list basically covers it lol. The big negative that I notice from a lot of people I know from High School are: "Smelly Haute" "Sh**ty Haute" "Terrible Haute" "IU/PU is awesome/amazing/god" "Isn't ISU D3?" "Do they even have sports?" "I though Larry Bird went to Indiana.."

[SydCamore]

Your strengths and weaknesses were good.

Hulman Center is the best college gacility in the state of Indiana, hands down. It's really not close. I'm serious about this.

[4Q_iu]

Strengths:
1. Sounds like they’ll have a ton of talent
2. ?? Been many years since I’ve been in it – but aren’t they talking rehab / refurbishment?
3. Am guessing the Creighton crowd (Korver, etc)
4. Better now than ever; amazing what closing the campus to through traffic can do…; can’t speak for the girls but am sure they’re there
a. Thank goodness that paper mill is FINALLY CLOSED! Quite possibly the best thing for recruiting!
5. Best tool they have
6. Bird – OK; but I doubt the current HS player knows/heard of Coach Wooden

Weaknesses:
1. Hate to admit it but it’s true; they’ve had what 6 winning/non-losing season since Bird graduated (1 every 5 years…)
2. Yep though it seems like it’s grown; maybe just a shift of population
3. Yep, they have, what, ~4500 dedicated folks that show for every game
4. Again, hate to admit it but true
5. State seems to be an afterthought; enrollment is flat or declining – what little news I get, it never seems that State is in line for big $ from the state
Yet they continue to shower $$ on Ivy Tech and the Regional IU campuses…

The incoming class is the first in a long time had a lot of kids w/ State as their first choice – anytime a kid is willing to walk on at Div I and turn down Div II scholarships – that’s a good sign; the staff is recruiting well, the school is doing something right

[sycamore fan]

To start with the obvious, ISU has a tough time recruiting in Indiana because the traditional powers of IU, PU, ND immediately shave the top 10 Indiana recruits off the page. Throw in Lousville (who is cleaning up in Indiana right now), Butler, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Xavier and the next 10 to 15 kids are gone.

That leaves ISU fighting Ball State and Evansville for the "tweeners." Illinois State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, SIU, Bradley and American seem to be hitting the state real hard for those kids right now too. More obscure schools like American and another 50 just like them go after the Indiana kids big time as well.

I think the toughest sell for the Sycamores is the home attendance. Recruiting visits to other schools demonstrate just how weak our support base can be. Don't get me wrong, I think teams earn what they get in regard to attendance. TH will support the Sycamores as they improve. Most recruits though, don't sit there and think about what could be, they observe what is going on at the time.

Our venue is OK. Hulman Center is nice, but it's starting to need repair and is really similar to many other gyms across the nation. The improvements lately have helped. However, accessibility of the building to the team is a huge concern. We simply need a building that our team can use whenever they want. Practice facilities and dorms at some of the other mid-majors blow our accommodations away. It sounds like we're working toward imporving these things, but they are concerns when you're selling the school.

The campus is much improved of late, but could still use more attention. Moving the football stadium onto campus would be a boon there. I'd continue closing down the campus to street traffic; make the environment a little greener.

The previous staff's reluctance to recruit locally also eliminated a large part of the recruiting pool as well. Obviously, there's been a switch here. I don't know if the local kids will be the answer or not, but they have changed the perception of what is cool. Our young kids are now wearing ISU shirts and talk about attending games next year...you never used to hear that.

One thing that seems to have helped and is a main reason most of these new kids chose ISU is that they want to play together. They want to represent the area. They've played with and against each other back to the elementary boys' club days and through AAU. I think this is what we need to build on.

But...I'll again close with the obvious, winning cures all ills. The more we win, the more we'll attract recruits. I remember when Butler was in the same position; they solved that problem by winning. Now, recruiting is easier, they're getting top level players, and they have a program most of us envy.