and I don't know if that's naive (because we had kinda insane retention last year because of class balance and promise of a playoff run that we can't offer next year), or if there really is something that shifted.

IU seized a moment in time better than anyone else has in the history of the sport... I think overall we've played the same game ~pretty well~ but we also need to continue to adapt to stay competitive, and the more the new reality settles in the more that historic powers will catch up and adopt practices that work, and the more the whole ecosystem looks like it always has.