2025 SG Braylon Mullins

[southsidehoosier]

2 hours ago, Stlboiler23 said:

Easily one of the funniest posts I’ve read in a long time. Calling his tenure an abstract failure couldn’t be further from the truth.  Even if Purdue had unlimited NIL budget, I don’t think you’d see Painter changing his model and just going after guys that were only in it for the money.  He made recruiting mistakes 10 years ago and wouldn’t do that again. He could’ve easily convinced Catchings to stay but realized it wasn’t worth it and he was as one of the highest recruits we’ve ever landed.  He’s built a tremendous culture that players want to be part of.  Sounds like jealousy on your part tbh which makes sense. 

Read the room

[Maedhros]

24 minutes ago, Inequality said:

In case your late to the party, this years portal bought team hasn't played a game together yet we are  much better off than kids born and bread in our back yard. Many of which grew up with IU fan parents following the Hoosiers each and every game.

I want to win as bad as the next guy but to dismiss our inability to keeps our ringers home is as disturbing as the excuses as to why we are much better off.

The one guy actually born and bred in our backyard to a family of IU fans committed to Indiana lol.

Look, you're going to hear "no" a lot in recruiting. Don't take my word for it, Bill Self said it. What matters is the guys who say yes. We landed quite a few of those this off-season and will have the same opportunity again. Tearing our hair out over a missed recruit, even a couple, is such wasted energy.

We missed out on literally every prep target last fall. Our roster is nevertheless loaded with talent heading into the season. If Woody can't coach them up into a successful team, then we have a problem. But these missed recruitments ain't it.

[IndyResident16]

1 hour ago, Inequality said:

In case your late to the party, this years portal bought team hasn't played a game together yet we are  much better off than kids born and bread in our back yard. Many of which grew up with IU fan parents following the Hoosiers each and every game.

I want to win as bad as the next guy but to dismiss our inability to keeps our ringers home is as disturbing as the excuses as to why we are much better off.

Mullins and Haralson have nothing to do with this years team. They’re still in high school. 

Edited Thursday at 12:50 AM by IndyResident16

[IndyResident16]

27 minutes ago, IUfaninIllinois said:

Exactly! Now if the argument was we should take 120th ranked Indiana kids instead of portal players then I get it but my issue is Woodson doesn’t know how to get the SPECIAL Indiana high school kids to come here. I know I know I know winning cures all but I don’t care about future I care about in the moment in regards to recruiting and we had two top 25 players in our backyard one of which fills an ABSOLUTE need and yet people are happy because we can replace them because of money. That’s just a cover up for the underlying problem that Woodson didn’t come up with a good enough plan for a kid that has been recruited since the 8th grade instead the coach who in one year came up with a plan JH bought into. Mullins while not officially committed to UCONN is buying into a plan at UCONN with two other kids being recruited and committing at his exact same position. Doing the same thing over and over again is Insanity and yet Woodson does the same thing over and over again in HS recruiting to local kids and it’s not working. Yes I know Sisley committed. Let’s be real honest he wanted to be at IU as much as Leal and Galloway. 

You’re not very good at this. Nobody is “happy” that Mullins is going elsewhere, but most levelheaded people understand that missing on a high school recruit in this age isn’t nearly the blow it used to be. If you don’t understand that by now then I can’t help you.

[5fouls]

2 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

Shrews has grown to Stevens status for some in the last couple of weeks. Just let them roll. It's almost like with Underwood...2 tourney wins in his first 6 years and suddenly he's become a great coach in others eyes.

PS...I'd love to know what Coach Woodson's record is vs Painter, Shrews, and Underwood on his watch. 

Did you say Stevens to IU!!!!  

[5fouls]

18 minutes ago, IndyResident16 said:

 Nobody is “happy” that Mullins is going elsewhere,

UConn is.  

[IUfaninIllinois]

35 minutes ago, IndyResident16 said:

You’re not very good at this. Nobody is “happy” that Mullins is going elsewhere, but most levelheaded people understand that missing on a high school recruit in this age isn’t nearly the blow it used to be. If you don’t understand that by now then I can’t help you.

I don’t disagree it’s not as big of a deal as it used to be and I’m not arguing that but my opinion is that Woodson should be able to sell these local kids on the development and he’s clearly not. In your back yard should be the absolute easiest to recruit high school kids. 

[kyhoosier29]

3 hours ago, IndyResident16 said:

Whiffed on our top recruits last cycle and came out better. Who knew 🤷‍♂️

Maybe it’ll show on the court once and for all. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[94hoosier]

2 minutes ago, IUfaninIllinois said:

I don’t disagree it’s not as big of a deal as it used to be and I’m not arguing that but my opinion is that Woodson should be able to sell these local kids on the development and he’s clearly not. In your back yard should be the absolute easiest to recruit high school kids. 

Maybe but multiple players have said how honest Woody has been about their games good things and bad. Mgbako and Tucker both choose IU for development. A lot of people said they were one and done and that’s why they choose IU. Yet they and their Dads said that the plan was not one and done but to develop. Maybe Woody sold them one taking it slow and developing. Ware came to be pushed and said Woody was very honest and straight up. JHS was developed slowly and really took off late January and february.  

[IUfaninIllinois]

24 minutes ago, 94hoosier said:

Maybe but multiple players have said how honest Woody has been about their games good things and bad. Mgbako and Tucker both choose IU for development. A lot of people said they were one and done and that’s why they choose IU. Yet they and their Dads said that the plan was not one and done but to develop. Maybe Woody sold them one taking it slow and developing. Ware came to be pushed and said Woody was very honest and straight up. JHS was developed slowly and really took off late January and february.  

I think you make some very good points. I guess for me if JH and Mullins weren’t Indiana kids it wouldn’t honestly bother me as much but it just seems to bother me more because people like Maryland can get Queen to stay home, Kentucky can get Shephard to stay home and then I see us have two top 50 players and IU can’t get them to stay home so it just gets under my skin more

[Boiler Sam]

4 hours ago, IndyResident16 said:

I didn’t call his tenure a failure. I said his model has been an abstract failure in March over the course of the last two decades and if you want to argue otherwise start talking to a wall.

What exactly is an “abstract failure” ? 
 

Painter has made 5 of the last 7 sweet sixteens, so not sure that phrase means what you think it means…

[IndyResident16]

His PASE ranks 407 out of 422 coaches dating back to 2000, even with a national title run last year. It means exactly what I said it means. Very good coach who has chronically underachieved in the tournament.

https://barttorvik.com/cgi-bin/ncaat.cgi?type=coach&sort=1&yrlow=2000&yrhigh=2024

[IUCrazy2]

12 hours ago, IndyResident16 said:

You’re not very good at this. Nobody is “happy” that Mullins is going elsewhere, but most levelheaded people understand that missing on a high school recruit in this age isn’t nearly the blow it used to be. If you don’t understand that by now then I can’t help you.

What about missing on most of your HS recruits to the point that the transfer portal is a necessity as opposed to another tool?

I am not convinced you are going to have great options in the transfer portal every year.  Not enough to be consistent.  The best players are still found in HS recruiting.  Yes, you will have misses there but you HAVE to have wins.  This staff sucks at long recruitments, they need to figure it out if we are going to be graced with their presence for much longer.

Full disclosure, I can't stand the staff.  I like IU basketball and that is the only thing that has me pulling for them to win.  If this were a professional team where I didn't have the same feelings, I would be pulling for a crap season so they would get booted.  Wins is all Woodson can do for me.  There is nothing else about his program other than the fact "Indiana" is slapped on it that I find overly appealing.  I am an IU fan though so I am hoping he can pull a rabbit out of a hat.

[IndyResident16]

As long as people are paying there will be portal options every single season. And the more NIL allocated, the better the talent pool. Why would that change? You're disdain for the staff clouds your judgement. I don't see any reason why IU needs to be in 2-3 year drawn out recruitments going forward. UConn recruited Mullins for what, 4-5 months? Don't need to waste time and energy on 17 year old high school kids for multiple years in this climate. 

[HoosierDom]

15 minutes ago, IUCrazy2 said:

What about missing on most of your HS recruits to the point that the transfer portal is a necessity as opposed to another tool?

I am not convinced you are going to have great options in the transfer portal every year.  Not enough to be consistent.  The best players are still found in HS recruiting.  Yes, you will have misses there but you HAVE to have wins.  This staff sucks at long recruitments, they need to figure it out if we are going to be graced with their presence for much longer.

Full disclosure, I can't stand the staff.  I like IU basketball and that is the only thing that has me pulling for them to win.  If this were a professional team where I didn't have the same feelings, I would be pulling for a crap season so they would get booted.  Wins is all Woodson can do for me.  There is nothing else about his program other than the fact "Indiana" is slapped on it that I find overly appealing.  I am an IU fan though so I am hoping he can pull a rabbit out of a hat.

There's no reason to think the transfer portal will do anything but grow. Guys will always want to move up in class and guys will always want a raise. Old timers might not like it, but that's the way it is. As long as we have the money, we will benefit from that.

[IUFLA]

20 minutes ago, HoosierDom said:

There's no reason to think the transfer portal will do anything but grow. Guys will always want to move up in class and guys will always want a raise. Old timers might not like it, but that's the way it is. As long as we have the money, we will benefit from that.

I agree with everything you're saying, except the bolded part...

I'm an "old timer" and I embraced both NIL and the portal years ago, and, yes, I have contributed...

The people, at least in this thread, who have the issue with a "bought team" are younger fellas who simply have an agenda...they don't like Mike Woodson...it really hasn't got much to do with the portal...

Edited Thursday at 01:57 PM by IUFLA

[IndyResident16]

4 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

I agree with everything you're saying, except the bolded part...

I'm an "old timer" and I embraced both NIL and the portal years ago, and, yes, I have contributed...

The people, at least in this thread, who have the issue with a "bought team" are youngers fellas who simply have an agenda...they don't like Mike Woodson...it really hasn't got much to do with the portal...

Bingo

[tdhoosier]

I don't think many will accuse me of being Woody's biggest fan on this board.

The likely 'no' from Mullins does not come at much of a surprise for me. Many have said it: this system needs to show that they can use SG's effectively before we can expect to get a commitment from a highly ranked SG. 

That said, I think Woody's approach to recruiting is exactly what Indiana (this staff) needs to do. Note, I specifically said "Indiana". Not Purdue. Not UConn. With Indiana's resources, I think it makes sense to primarily recruit top 50ish high school players because why fill your roster with guys that have a low likelihood of getting playing time? And obviously, recruiting higher ranked HS kids results in a greater percentage of "no's.". High risk. High reward.

I say to these "no's":  who cares? Holes can be plugged in the transfer portal. Indiana has an advantage in the portal that most schools do not($$$$). They will use it. And who's not to say another Mgbako or a Tucker or a Scoop will become available in the last minute?

Let Pudue be Purdue. 

Let Uconn be Uconn. 

Let's stick to our strengths.

[tdhoosier]

38 minutes ago, IndyResident16 said:

Don't need to waste time and energy on 17 year old high school kids for multiple years in this climate. 

I will just like to add that this also not our forte. 

Above I said let Purdue be Purdue. Recruiting lower ranked HS players and developing them is Painter's forte. He does it well. He does it every year. It's how he built his program. This is what works for PU. 

This is not what works for our staff. It's not a knock on Woody, but he hasn't really developed 'average into good'. He's better at developing 'good into great'. (Just going by the short history we have) 

So again, I will say: let's stick to our strengths. 

[Alexd]

58 minutes ago, IndyResident16 said:

As long as people are paying there will be portal options every single season. And the more NIL allocated, the better the talent pool. Why would that change? You're disdain for the staff clouds your judgement. I don't see any reason why IU needs to be in 2-3 year drawn out recruitments going forward. UConn recruited Mullins for what, 4-5 months? Don't need to waste time and energy on 17 year old high school kids for multiple years in this climate. 

Yes but UConn is doing this from a position of strength. Intricate & complex offense leading to two straight dominant runs in the NCAA's and six players from the past 3 teams currently playing in the NBA. 

[IU Scott]

I don't know if it is just my age but I am getting burnt out with sports. To me sports is about the game but today it seems like the only thing that matters happens off the field. I just think they have over saturated the sports to where the game doesn't feel special like it use to. The last few years I have felt the NFL game has become boring and bland where most teams play the same style.  I also think with gambling and fantasy sports it has interfered with the actual sport and more people are worried about that than the game itself.

With college basketball I am getting tired of recruiting plus the NIL and the portal. I also think with all the media outlets and message boards it has made sports more toxic and less enjoyable to discuss. I would rather go back and find out your recruiting class on signing day. It made it easier to not know the misses you actually had and only cared about who signed.

I am so ready for the season to start and not worry about who didn't pick IU and actually enjoy the players who are on the roster. I am going to try to stay off  this board during the season because no matter what happens there will be a conflict between the fans. I have already stopped going to BTB because it is so toxic.

Sorry for the rant but I have felt this way for a year or so.

Edited Thursday at 02:42 PM by IU Scott

[IndyResident16]

2 minutes ago, Alexd said:

Yes but UConn is doing this from a position of strength. Intricate & complex offense leading to two straight dominant runs in the NCAA's and six players from the past 3 teams currently playing in the NBA. 

They're not wasting 2-3 years on recruits is my point. Reibe was a 3.5 month recruitment. Mullins will have been a 5 month recruitment. They offered Darius Adams at the end of January this year and he committed earlier this month. 

[IUfaninIllinois]

29 minutes ago, IndyResident16 said:

They're not wasting 2-3 years on recruits is my point. Reibe was a 3.5 month recruitment. Mullins will have been a 5 month recruitment. They offered Darius Adams at the end of January this year and he committed earlier this month. 

I’m about to Shock you but I agree with you! Woodson has been phenomenal with short recruitments like MM and Tucker and has killed it with portal transfers. I just think where that should differ is on Indiana High school kids that are ranked super high like JH and BM. To me that’s where Woodson has struggled. In an earlier post you said people just care about winning and I also agree for the most part. I too just want to win but i absolutely hate losing high end recruits in our backyard. Just my own personal preference but your thoughts on overall strategy are on point. 

[IndyResident16]

2 minutes ago, IUfaninIllinois said:

I’m about to Shock you but I agree with you! Woodson has been phenomenal with short recruitments like MM and Tucker and has killed it with portal transfers. I just think where that should differ is on Indiana High school kids that are ranked super high like JH and BM. To me that’s where Woodson has struggled. In an earlier post you said people just care about winning and I also agree for the most part. I too just want to win but i absolutely hate losing high end recruits in our backyard. Just my own personal preference but your thoughts on overall strategy are on point. 

What more could Woodson have done in either recruitment of Mullins or Haralson? He offered Haralson as a freshman, made him a priority two years ago, and had the best NIL offer. He choose ND because ND gave Haralson the one thing IU couldn't, the ability of free reign and to be the man from day 1.

Same thing with Mullins. IU offered Mullins an entire year before UConn and well before he blew up, pitched him on the new offense they are installing this season that is more guard friendly and doubled UConn's reported NIL offer. At the end of the day he's choosing the two-time defending national champions. It is what it is.

It'd be one thing if Woodson neglected both of those recruits seemingly they way Crean did with many in-state prospects...but that simply isn't the case. When you prioritize the top ranked players in the country, your competition grows.

[Inequality]

Kind of hard to argue with the approach of a back to back national champion as they cherry pick our best vs what we have as a program.

Never take advice from someone thats not where you want to be. To think that our approach in the new age of transfer portal and NIL is the way to go when we have zero accolades is an odd take.

Kids transferring and getting paid is nothing new that is suddenly this huge change in modern basketball. It’s just legal across the board. Backchannels and pipelines have always been there. The whole purpose for Ya and Hunter on this staff is the very back channel connections and relationships they have which are now only more transparent.