Podcast – CrimsonCast

Scott and GC talk through an absolute gut punch of a loss for the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. We discuss the impact of Haliburton's achilles tear, the difficulty in processing the injury in real-time, where this loss lands in the ranking of "worst losses ever" that the two of us have experienced as fans, and the implications of the injury on the Pacers franchise moving forward. We also discuss whether the Pacers may actually be the most cursed franchise in the NBA at this point.

Scott and Galen recap an amazing night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where we both were in attendance to watch the Indiana Pacers run away with Game 6. We walk through the biggest moments and top contributors, and talk about the atmosphere leading into the game. We then preview Game 7 between the Pacers and the Thunder --- talking through the keys for both teams, looking at the statistics from the first six games of the series, and talking through what an NBA title would mean for the Pacers franchise and the city of Indianapolis.NOTE: We actually did make some predictions for this game, but recorded them as a separate video on our Substack, so go check it out there!

Back Home Network hosted a live podcast this afternoon featuring Bob Moats (X's and Joe's), Ryan Phillips (Assembly Call), Taylor Lehman (Bite-Sized Bison), and Galen Clavio (CrimsonCast). We discussed the recent commitment of Aleksa Ristic to IU men's basketball and how his game is likely to translate to what Darian DeVries and the staff are looking to do. We also discuss the recent spate of football recruits, spotlighting the inroads that the staff has made in some key areas of the Midwest.

We welcome back Ben Portnoy from Sports Business Journal, as we continue to unpack the House Settlement and its effects on college sports. We discuss the NIL clearinghouse, the sudden wave of optimism in certain college sports leadership circles, how revenue sharing may end up working, and some of the other key elements that Ben is hearing about in his role as college sports business reporter.

On this episode of CrimsonCast, we take a look at the financial and organizational elements that have led to the current situation in college athletics. Huge increases in revenue, the creation of new television networks, and a lack of willingness to include athletes in the business structure have combined with predictable court rulings that leave the current system in a precarious position. We aren't sure where it's going yet, but this podcast gives you some sense of where it's been and how it evolved over time.(NOTE: The audio version of this podcast on Apple has the intro music, while the video version on YouTube and Spotify does not due to some techincal issues. Apologies and we'll do better next time!)

Welcome to the post-settlement era. At 9 PM eastern on Friday June 6th, the presiding judge in the House settlement approved the terms of the deal --- effectively waving the green flag on an era where athletes can be paid directly by athletic departments, where NIL deals are evaluated through a fair market value system, and where schools can opt in (or opt out) of being a part of top-level college athletics. We talk through the terms of the settlement and look ahead to some of the challenges that college athletics likely will face as a result of this. Later on in the show, we discuss the Pacers improbable Game 1 victory, and what that might mean for the rest of the series.

We're back with more Pacers talk, as Scott and GC are joined by Tony Adragna to talk about the team's exciting 4-2 series win over the Knicks and preview the NBA Finals matchup against the Thunder. We discuss how the Pacers got here in terms of roster construction, how they beat the Knicks, and how they match up against Oklahoma City.

Galen and Scott throw down some non-IU content, talking about their experiences at this year's Indianapolis 500 --- from the weather issues to the lack of exciting racing down the stretch to the tech inspection issues that overshadowed so much of the race this year. We then pivot to our experiences at Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. We discussed the Pacers on-court matchup with the Knicks and how it has evolved over the series, the wild atmosphere for Game 4 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and what to expect for the rest of the series.

Scott and the doctor are joined by Jeremy Gray, the Senior Associate Athletic Director for IU Athletics, to talk about the long-awaited return of Hoosier The Bison -- an actual mascot for Indiana. Jeremy talks through the background of the bison as a mascot concept at IU, the student-led movement that took things to the next level over the past few years, and the creative process behind the reveal of the new mascot.

Taylor Lehman of Bite-Sized Bison joins DoctorGC to talk IU football! We recap Indiana's spring season, discussing the transfer portal additions that the Hoosiers made and how they have shaped the roster for the upcoming season. We also take an in-depth look at each of the position groups and get Taylor's thoughts on where they stand --- and how they stack up against Big Ten competition. We also discuss some of IU's recent recruiting successes, and why the 2026 class feels different from past years. Finally, we look at IU's SP+ projections for the 2025 season, how those compare to 2024's projections, and the pivot games that Indiana will need to win this year. 

Scott and Galen revive a yearly tradition --- it's Indy 500 preview time! We start off by talking about our observations from watching old races on YouTube, with a focus on the 1983 Indianapolis 500 broadcast. We then move to discussing the bizarre series of events that took place over the course of qualifying weekend, including a rookie winning the pole and Team Penske suffering yet another inspection violation. We go through the field, talking about some of the storylines of the various drivers and which ones have the best chance to win. Finally we give our race predictions, and preview the weather for race day.

We welcome Zach Browning from The Hoosier and On3 to talk about the recent recruiting successes for IU football, how this class looks a lot different than classes in the past, and what message Curt Cignetti and his staff have for potential recruits. We then pivot to basketball (25:58) and talk about the flood of official offers and visits that we are seeing from the men's program. We discuss the areas of impact in recruiting from Drew Adams, Rod Clark, and Kenny Johnson, the types of players that Darian DeVries is going after, and how this recruiting cycle is a unique one for the program.

Scott and Galen tackle the NBA, as we preview the looming Pacers-Knicks series in the Eastern Conference Finals. We discuss everything that has changed for the Pacers since a conversation that we had two years ago at IMS, and what it is about this current Indiana team build that works so well. We also discuss how similar the Pacers feel to the Indiana teams of the 1990s, and how the current landscape of the NBA actually feels more friendly to this type of team than what we saw in those days. We also take a look at what the key elements of this matchup are likely to be, and give our series predictions.

On this edition, Galen and Scott delve into some of the controversies and political machinations happening in the College Football Playoff this offseason. We discuss the move to a seeding system that ignores conference champions, the format of a 16 team playoff (which seems inevitable), the inequities of scheduling in the mega conference era, and how all of these things affect Indiana football.

We take to the live airwaves to cover a bevy of topics, including the slow-motion car crash of the House Settlement, Kentucky Athletics becoming an LLC, Arkansas exempting NIL payments from taxation and FOIA requests, and the real dangers awaiting college sports. We also talk about Indiana men's basketball and their recent recruiting offer spree, IU football's schedule and over-under projections, the national media's love affair with Illinois, and an update on the Bloomington Pizza Scene.

A relatively quick podcast --- well, relatively quick by CrimsonCast standards, at least --- talking about IU football's new portal commitment from California, the increasingly confusing NIL space and the possibility of an executive order (and why that won't matter much), a short update on Bloomington restaurants, and a few other items left over from this week's listener questions.

Scott and the doctor dive into the CrimsonCast mailbag, and field a bunch of questions about IU football and IU basketball. We discuss IU football fending off big programs for assistant coaches and players, what fan expectations in 2025 should reasonably be, and what the attendance is likely to look like in August and September. We also discuss whether IU men's basketball really *needs* a rim protector, how roster construction is likely to look in future years, how this current roster is likely to compete in the Big Ten and NCAA tournament, and whether or not there is hope for an equitable NIL/portal system in the future. 

On Friday 4/25, the CrimsonCast crew and Tony Adragna did an emergency podcast to talk about the three newest IU men's basketball signings - Nick Dorn, Jason Drake, and Sam Alexis - and how they fit into the roster. We talk about the strengths of each new player, play some video to see them in action, and try to get a sense of what Darian DeVries is cooking.

It is Little 500 week in Bloomington, so it's time to preview the races! Zion Brown and Austin Platt, play-by-play commentators for the 2025 Women's Little 500 and Men's Little 500 (respectively) join the show to preview both fields and talk about their experiences in broadcasting the race.

Indiana has some new portal signings! Jasai Miles and Tayton Conerway were announced as new transfers for the Hoosiers on Wednesday night, continuing a great week for Darian DeVries and his staff as they continue to assemble the 2025-26 roster. GC is joined by Tony Adragna, Ryan Phillips, and Jerod Morris as they break down the new additions and how they fit in with the rest of the team as it currently stands. 

Taylor Lehman of Bite Sized Bison rejoins the show after a long absence to talk about the IU Football spring game taking place on Thursday 4/17 at 8 PM at Memorial Stadium. We discuss some of the things that stood out from last year's spring game, the importance of the game in recruiting, some key position groups to look at, and how to watch the spring game like an informed fan.Scott then joins the show to talk some IU men's basketball. We reflect on the Lamar Wilkerson commitment and discuss some of the perceptional differences between last year and this year in terms of portal signings, systems of play, and the atmosphere around the program. We then discuss what lies ahead in roster building, and why there is room for both optimism and careful consideration in evaluating what Indiana has done so far in the portal.

A short weekend update as we discuss some IU football spring practice items, IU basketball coaching and recruiting updates, and some NCAA sports updates.

On today's CrimsonCast, GC goes solo on some topics in and around college basketball, starting with the lack of transfers into Indiana's roster so far, the importance of not panicking for fans, and some thoughts on team building, culture building, and the problem with relying too heavily on talent rankings. Then the discussion moves to the concept of "fit" in college athletics, and how the fit of a coach and a program is perhaps the most important consideration. Finally, around the 30 minute mark, we finish with an extended look at the global soccer transfer market, the lessons we can glean from how it works, and why that may end up being the ideal model for college athletics to follow. 

Scott is joined by Ryan Phillips of Assembly Call for their regular two co-pilots show.  They chat about the current NCAA Tournament, which leads to a Kelvin Sampson discussion, leading to some historical IU talk, before they un-pack some of the Woodson era and wrap up with their thoughts on the current state of the program and what lies ahead. 

We are joined today by KMOX sports director Tom Ackerman! In this episode, Tom gives his thoughts on the Darian DeVries hire and recounts his observations from seeing DeVries as the head coach at Drake. We also discuss the keys to getting IU basketball back into a nationally competitive position, and learn about Tom's history with the university.

Scott and Galen are back, talking about Indiana men's basketball and the various roster and coaching moves happening within the program. No news is not necessarily bad at this stage, so we talk through the elements at play and discuss how the timetable for roster additions may have changed a bit from what was initially anticipated. We also discuss the impact of available money on the roster moves, the need to balance productivity and potential with financial resources, and the fortuante position that Indiana is in compared to some of its competitors. We finish with a deeper look at the current trends in college basketball around efficiency numbers and how Indiana will hopefully be part of that movement moving forward.

On this episode, we dive to a question from a listener about why there weren't the normal number of upsets in the NCAA men's basketball tournament this year. Lots of factors come into play, and we dive into several, including the huge jump in efficiency numbers this year, the NIL/portal impacts, and conference realignment.

We're joined by longtime CrimsonCast contributor Tony Adragna to talk about the Darian DeVries hire. We discuss the offensive and defensive philosophies of DeVries, the types of players he likes to have in his system, and how his style of play compares to other teams in the college basketball landscape. We also talk about the recruiting and portal areas for IU, what sorts of things are appealing about the systems DeVries runs to potential players, and how this profile has fared in the Big Ten and nationally over the last 20 seasons. 

IndyStar IU Insider Zach Osterman joins CrimsonCast to talk about the end of the Mike Woodson era, the coaching search process and how Indiana landed on Darian DeVries, the financial realities driving the upcoming roster changes that will likely take place, and why Indiana felt that DeVries was the right man for the moment. 

Indiana has hired a new coach! Former West Virginia coach Darian DeVries is now the head man in Bloomington. We talk about the hire, DeVries' history at Drake and West Virginia, how this will impact IU's roster, who might come in from elsewhere, and a ton more. 

On a spirited live edition of CrimsonCast, Scott and GC talk about Indiana's exclusion from the NCAA Tournament, the inconsistent logic applied by the committee, and the mistakes Indiana made in scheduling and style of play that left them on the outside looking in. That then led into an extensive and wide-ranging post-mortem on the season, including some thoughts on the state of the program, the treatment of fans, the issues with the Woodson era, and where the athletic department needs to start with the coaching search.

Happy Bracket Day to all of you. Indiana is squarely on the bubble for today's NCAA Tournament Selection Show. Where will the Hoosiers ultimately land? On this special live edition of CrimsonCast, we evaluate the possibilities and discuss which teams are in, which teams are out, and what the criteria are that the committee will be looking at.

Indiana lost to Oregon in their first Big Tournament game, throwing the Hoosiers into a waiting game for their NCAA tournament prospects. We talk about how the game went and where IU struggled, as well as how it impacts their spot in the NCAA Tournament field. We also discuss the comments from Oumar Ballo postgame, and talk about the online discourse in general. Then we discuss the coaching search updates, go deep again on Ben McCollum, and discuss some timing issues.

CrimsonCast is back to chat about Indiana's matchup versus Oregon in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. We also discuss the latest "news" about the coaching search, the rumor mill, and some other related items. Finally we walk through four more coaching candidates, none of which are likely serious but hey, we're in a completionist mindset right now. 

We had some technical issues with the live Sunday podcast, so here's a make-up show! Catch up on the latest news and analysis on Indiana's place in the NCAA tournament field, where they look to be seeded, and what impact the Big Ten Tournament might have on the Hoosiers' tourney chances. Plus, some talk on the coaching search, the keys for IU in the process, and the lack of available information.

We recap the weekend's action against Washington, discuss the black uniforms, and take a look at the seeding picture for the Big Ten Tournament. We then continue our evaluation of the ongoing search by going in-depth on four IU coaching candidates - Dusty May, Grant McCasland, Shaka Smart, and Todd Golden. 

Indiana men's basketball continued their streak of effective play on Saturday, walloping Washington in Seattle and moving their overall record to 18-11. The win moved the Hoosiers into good position all the way around, as a single-digit seed in the Big Ten Tournament is still on the cards, and an NCAA Tournament bid looks more and more like a reality. We discuss the win, the implications, and what lies ahead this week for IU.The bracketology picture becomes clearer by the day, and we talk about the placement of Indiana compared to other teams in and around the bubble --- and what the Hoosiers need to do over the next two weeks to secure their spot in March Madness.

On the newest CrimsonCast, we take a look at Indiana's most recent victory against Penn State, and discuss the lineup and coaching changes that have led the Hoosiers to some recent success — and whether what we're seeing is sustainable. We then dive into the next round of coaching candidates for evaluation. In this batch we tackle some younger candidates, discussing Northwestern's Chris Collins, Vanderbilt's Mark Byington, McNeese's Will Wade, and Ole Miss's Chris Beard. We also talk about the recent news of TJ Otzelberger's contract extension.

On this edition of CrimsonCast, we break down Indiana's surprising 73-58 win over Purdue. We discuss the shortened rotation, the shifting offensive approach that Indiana took, and the defensive adjustment that flustered Purdue's offense. We also discuss IU's potential route to the NCAA Tournament, and what they need to do over the next few games. We then turn our attention to the Indiana coaching search, as we zero in on four more names that have been bandied about - Iowa State's TJ Otzelberger, Creighton's Greg McDermott, Texas A&M's Buzz Williams, and Arizona's Tommy Lloyd. We discuss the pros and cons of each, and also focus on the importance of revenue and available money in examining the relative attractiveness of the IU job compared to other programs.

We are in Week 2 of Indiana Men's Basketball Coaching Search Season, which means A) we have a long time to go until a decision is made, and B) we have a lot of candidates to talk about. On this episode of CrimsonCast, we dive into the numbers for four of the candidates being discussed in relation to the IU job. UCLA's Mick Cronin, Baylor's Scott Drew, Clemson's Brad Brownell, and Drake's Ben McCollum get the spotlight on this episode, as we look at each coach's prior accomplishments, style of play, success rate, and other important factors. 

We start off Episode 1200 by discussing IU's loss to UCLA, the malaise that a lot of fans find themselves experiencing in not particularly caring about the outcome of the individual games, and the reality that IU is likely going to keep playing past the regular season due to some new contractual items with the Big Ten.We then move on to talking about the coaching search - discussing the origin of many of the coaches in the KenPom Top 20, how hires generally work out, and why the idea that Indiana has to go hire a coach from a top program is out of step with the realities of the college basketball coaching world. 

We're joined by Tony Adragna, our BHN teammate, to talk about his most recent article on Assembly Call and discuss the IU men's basketball job. One of the main narrative points that has come up during recent searches has involved the relative qualtiy of the Indiana job --- with many media members outside of the IU sphere (and even a few in it, along with some fans) claiming that there's something inherently flawed with the job, and that it's not actually that attractive or that good as a destination. We explore that perspective by looking back at the past four-ish coaching hires, discussing the tenures of each coach, and evaluating some of the factors that have led to each tenure ultimately not being successful. 

It's the first full week of Indiana men's basketball's coaching search, and speculation is rampant about who the Hoosiers might be targeting and what type of coach might be the best fit for Bloomington. We've heard several names bandied about already, but one that has been mysteriously absent --- and who I think deserves some special consideration. 

We start off the show by reflecting on an enjoyable day at The Upstairs Pub with IU fans and our friends from across the Back Home Network, before talking about the Michigan loss and the overall vibe in Assembly Hall and Bloomington. We talk through the Woodson news, the things IU needs to immediately address in the hiring process, and reflect on how challenging the next 6-8 weeks may end up being for fans. 

IU announced on Friday that Mike Woodson would not be returning as IU basketball coach next year, setting off an avalanche of speculation on who the new IU coach might be. Here's some quick thoughts on the announcement, the timing of things, and Indiana's status as a job in the college basketball landscape. 

Indiana lost at Wisconsin, and things continue to not work for this team. We talk about the performance issues, the miles being put on one particular group of players, the postgame comments, and the road ahead.

Indiana played hard at Purdue, gave a good accounting of themselves (for the most part), but still lost. We talk about the effort and energy, but also the execution issues that continue to plague the team in the clutch. There are no simple answers - it appears to be a combination of roster construction issues, coaching issues, planning issues, communication issues, and other items. With no clear resolution on the cards, there's not much else to do but talk about it - hence this episode.

As Indiana gets ready to take on Purdue this Friday, a decent number of fans appear to think that the Hoosiers have already blown their shot at the tournament. The truth is that they have not --- yet --- but the trends are not positive, with IU having lost four of their last five games. However, Indiana's not that far outside the field right now. We dive into a variety of numbers to explore where IU sits as a team on the eve of February, and talk about what the Hoosiers need to do in order to get back on the right side of the cut line.

Back for Part 2 of our football check-in, Scott and GC dive into some more listener questions. We discuss the potential stadium expansion and what it should entail, the overall gameday experience at Memorial Stadium, the floor and ceiling of expectations for IU football in the wake of the 2024 season, and whether IU fans will keep coming to games. 

Let's talk some football. Taylor Lehman joins the show as we deep-dive into everyone's new favorite sport. We discuss the outcome of the CFP and what we learned from it, go through IU's transfer portal haul and evaluate the positives and the areas that still need improvement. We also talk about the freshman class, the coaching staff, and take some listener questions.

Indiana men's basketball continued their confusing season with an exciting and unpredictable chapter last night, traveling to Columbus and knocking off Ohio State by a point in overtime. It certainly wasn't perfect, with IU surrendering a double-digit lead late and allowing OSU to force the extra frame, but strong games from Luke Goode and Oumar Ballo helped propel the Hoosiers to a much-needed victory. Longtime CrimsonCast contributor Allie Sanzenbacher was on the scene to watch the game, and we get her impressions of how the Hoosiers played, how the game went, and even a little Ohio State football talk at the very end.