So when will the banner hanging ceremony be? Halftime, end of game, or prior to next game? Oh wait - has to be before start of next game so time for some pre-game hype and hoopla to draw 'em in from near to far................... 

I GOT THIS (CAPITAL LETTERS CLEARLY CALLED FOR).

WE WIN AT HOME.  PERHAPS IT'S A FUNCTION OF TOP QUALITY OPPONENTS NOT COMING TO CONVO (SEE OTHER THREADS..MANY OF THEM..ABOUT THIS.)  SO, THE GAUGE IS HOW WE DO 1) ON THE ROAD AND ALSO 1) VERSUS TOP FLIGHT OPPONENTS.

SO, YEAH IT'S AN OFFENSE AND MAYBE IT WORKS TO HAVE ONE OF OUR TOP BIG MEN PLAYING OUTSIDE SUCH THAT THERE'S LESS INSIDE GAME AND NO IVO VISITS TO THE CHARITY STRIPE.  MAYBE WE'LL HAVE TERRIFIC SUCCESS CONTINUING TO PLAY THIS SAME WAY.

BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WE LACK AN INSIDE GAME AND IVO HAS THAT.  AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT ANYONE OR ANY TEAM SHOULD TAKE REASONABLE--AS IN 'REASONABLE'--STEPS TO ENSURE THEIR BEST PERFORMANCE.  PERPAHS A STOUTER INSIDE GAME COULD BENEFIT OUR PERFORMANCE.

SO, YEAH, DESPITE 24-4 IN THE LAST 30 OR 35 GAMES, THE STREAK LIVING ON IS NOT ONLY AN AMUSEMENT.

IT'S A CONCERN.

Here's what I know about Ivo:

The Good:

*It appears he's improved his outside shooting touch a bunch.  I still think "oh no" when he shoots a 17 footer, but that only because I remember those being line drive/no arch shots that rarely went in.  Now they are.
*He no longer is a black hole as in the past if you'd pass the ball into him in the post, it was 7 dribbles and a guaranteed shot, whether good or bad.  He now, though often ineffectively, is willing to pass the ball when receiving it in the post.

The Bad:
*Instead of balancing an inside/out game with his new found outside jumper, he's gone all face-up and no "inside."
*This shyness in the post and in the paint may have been the by-product of 3 things:
1.  While his post moves worked the majority of the season versus lower/average caliber post defenders, it was all but eliminated against larger, more physcial, defenders.  He couldn't get position deep enough and struggled to get any quality shots off against better post defenders.
2.  He made a bunch, but boy did he miss a bunch of "bunny's" at point blank range.  Got to give him the benefit of the doubt in that many of these interior moves were acrobatic in nature, but a 3 foot gimme wasn't always a gimme.
3.  He totally lost his confidence from the free-throw line and turned into a Dwight Howard'ish 50% guy. 

Put this all together and he's either purposefully transformed his game realizing that after MAC basketball he won't be writing many checks for his play with his back to the basket, or he's simply timid/lacks confidence due to the reasons listed above (doesn't do well against bigger bodies, misses lots of chip shots, misses free throws).

Whatever the case, I think he needs to worry about today and this team.  And in my opinion, we need him to be an inside/out guy.  His new-found jumper should make him an even more effective slasher as people now need to start respecting his jumper a bit more.  On the flip side, if defenders know he's shy about going strong to the rim they play up on him and not give him as many opportunities for open jumpers.  And finally, if he now passes every time he gets a pass into the post, there will be no double teams and opportunities for him to kick it out to an open shooter.  Defenders must respect that he may spin and go to the rim quick, thus needing to double or sag off on the help side.

What I'm confident we DON'T need is his joining Nick, Walter, etc... standing out on the 3 point line.  We really need him to spend some time in the paint and help a team that is short of rebounders and interior scoring options. 

He used to be all "inside," now he's all "outside" and really what we need is a 60/40 or 70/30 mix with the majority around the hoop.

That's my take on him and I'm as confused as this post reads.

Agree with C-George.  The outside game doesn't need to be eliminated.  Just balanced with the inside work.

For the "eyeball test", it helps to have a photographic memory for possessions like you do.  You're a poor man's
Larry Brown.    

It is sad to see a big man not take it to the rim like he should be doing.  Yeah, he does have a nice side jump shot but it would be nice to see him go hard to the rim.  I admit, the air ball may have shook him up a little but, that was last year, time to get over it.  I think if Kadeem comes in and starts taking it to the hole, he will be taking some of Ivo's minutes.  That is the one weakness that everyone I talk to about the team is the lack of an inside game.  We don't have a lot of size but it's easier to foul out the other's teams big guy(s) if we continue to take it inside.  And I hate to say this, but more than one guy has said that Ivo is one of the weakest links on our team because of his lack of big man skills.  Now, as many of you that I think will agree on this, is that Ivo has a big man's game.  It would be nice to see him start doing this again.  Maybe if Kadeem comes in and takes some minutes from Ivo, maybe he will bring it back.  

Nice post. Where you been hiding?

now on a 1-3 streak - OK to complain yet?

That reply made my day - needed some comic relief!

Ivo darn near banked both free throws in.  Whatever the case, they had a better chance of being banked in, than being all net..